In which my gift for you is a story about a special baby

Glooscap and the Baby (Wabanaki)

The people say that the first person on the earth was Glooscap, the strong and brave.  Glooscap lived among the people for many years, which is good because the world was full of monsters.  

Where now we see mountains covered in trees, those used to be giants until Glooscap captured them and tied them up and ordered them to sleep until he called them by name to awaken. 

Glooscap used charmsongs to transform evil magicians into snakes, and sent the snakes off to live in the sleeping mountains.  

Glooscap used magic to speak to the stick people who were night spirits of the dead, and found a good home for each of those stick people so they would not threaten the live people.   

He banished the rainbow spirit into the sky and allowed her only glimpses of people in the few minutes after a rain.

Glooscap made all of these spirits promise to come when he called to them, and the spirits made that promise so Glooscap let them go.

As you might expect, Glooscap felt very proud after all these great deeds.  But of course, because he had been so busy conquering monsters, Glooscap had never taken time for ordinary things, like raising a family.

It happened that Glooscap met a woman of the village one day and he boasted to her that there were no more terrors left in the world.  

“Are you so sure, Glooscap?” asked the woman.  “I know a small monster who cannot be controlled by anyone.”  

Glooscap was very surprised, and asked to be shown this monster.  

The woman pointed inside her home, to a little baby sitting on the floor and playing with a feather.  “She is called Wasis,” said the woman, “and I don’t recommend that you try to control her.  I have given it up, myself.”

“You cannot control one so small?” asked Glooscap, amazed.

“I admit that I am her servant,” said the woman.

Glooscap puffed out his chest and called to the child in a friendly voice, “Come here, little one.”  But the baby ignored him.  He pulled out a flute and played a pretty song, but she ignored that as well.  He stamped his feet and commanded her to come to him, but again, the baby ignored him.  

Finally, Glooscap shouted a word so powerful that demons rose up from the ground and howled around his head in protest.  Then, the baby started to wail, and her cry was so loud that even the spirits were afraid of the noise.   

When the demons left and went back to their places, the baby laughed and clapped her hands.  

“Goo, goo,” she said, and Glooscap knew that she was taunting him because she had defeated him.  

“This baby is stronger than me,” admitted Glooscap.  

Even to this day, when a baby gurgles and says “Goo, goo,” we know that babies are the strongest of all.