🧚 Rama Witches. (no. 2.)

Told by Peter York.1

Another old witch once lived in Rama.2 She disguised herself in a turkey’s skin when she wished to fly.3 She caused many people to die.4 One day when all the people were having a bee to hoe corn she went to the bee, leaving her turkey skin in her bag (medicine bag) at her home.5 There was a little boy who lived with her and who had often watched her through a hole in his blanket when she was dressing herself in this turkey skin, and thought that he would like to try it himself, so he took the turkey skin out of the bag and put it on.6 The skin was very much worn by now and had lost lots of feathers and was ragged, but still preserved the power to fly.7 So the boy flew over to the hoeing bee, and all the people began to say: “Look at the witch, look at the witch,” and the witch herself began to get very mad (angry) and act crazy when she saw the boy in her turkey skin.8 The boy lit on the ground and the people rushed over and took off the skin and found that it was only a boy.9 The witch’s son who was also there took an axe and rushed up to his witch mother and said, “You must stop causing people to die, or else I’ll put the axe to your head.”10 She said, “No! she would not.”11 Whereupon he struck her on the head with the axe and killed her on the spot.12

NO. 14.13