A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Pelican holds a large giving feast and has Mouse, described as a young woman with long hair, dance on lashed-together boats. Blankets tied to poles are thrown into the water for arriving guests to retrieve. Inside, Mouse serves food and dances while people keep time and sing, and more blankets are distributed. Her appearance draws many prospective husbands. Mink puts on chiefly clothes and binds his hair with mountain-goat wool, hoping to pass as a chief from far away, but she recognizes and refuses him.

Thunderbird then courts her, and she accompanies him home. His first wife is jealous and wants her removed. While Thunderbird and that wife are away, Mouse opens the chests containing stored mountain-goat fat and eats it. Thunderbird discovers the loss, becomes angry and throws her down to earth. The ending connects the episode with mice stealing food. It does not say that the jealous wife tricks Mouse into the theft, that Pelican is her biological father, or that she dies when cast down.

Long-haired dancer at a giving feastRecognizes Mink despite chiefly disguiseBecomes Thunderbird’s second wifeFat theft followed by return to earth
01

Origins & earliest records

Boas1895, Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas, III.11, Die Maus,45. The section introduction credits most tales to George Stseélis and his wife without identifying the individual speaker for this item.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected German narrative and original pages read, with18–19 collection introduction. No modern community-wide belief or single pan-regional animal biography inferred.

In the literature

“Die erste Frau des Donnervogels war aber eifersüchtig”
Franz Boas · Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas
III. Sagen vom unteren Fraser River; 11. Die Maus, complete p.45; brief exact German prose p.45 · Boas’s German collected narrative witness; no independent Indigenous-language translation claimed

Mouse, a long-haired young woman, dances and distributes food at Pelican’s gift feast. Many desire her. She recognizes and refuses Mink’s chiefly disguise, then accompanies Thunderbird home. His first wife is jealous. Mouse takes stored mountain-goat fat during their absence; Thunderbird throws her to earth. The ending links this to Mouse’s later food theft.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas

    Franz Boas; Lower Fraser narrators include George Stseélis and his wife · 1895

    III.11, Die Maus,45. Complete narrative and boundaries, original42–45; collection-level attribution qualified.

  2. 02

    Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas — III. Sagen vom unteren Fraser River; 11. Die Maus, complete p.45

    Franz Boas; individual Lower Fraser teller not identified for this selected story · 1895

    Berlin: A. Asher & Co.,1895, actual title imprint verified. Complete selected German episode(s) and attached notes independently read; original18–19 introduction and40–45 pages inspected.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas — III. Sagen vom unteren Fraser River; 11. Die Maus, complete p.45

Berlin: A. Asher & Co.,1895, actual title imprint verified. Complete selected German episode(s) and attached notes independently read; original18–19 introduction and40–45 pages inspected.

  1. Mouse, a long-haired young woman, dances and distributes food at Pelican’s gift feast. Many desire her. She recognizes and refuses Mink’s chiefly disguise, then accompanies Thunderbird home. His first wife is jealous. Mouse takes stored mountain-goat fat during their absence; Thunderbird throws her to earth. The ending links this to Mouse’s later food theft.

    III. Sagen vom unteren Fraser River; 11. Die Maus, complete p.45; Complete III11 p.45

No entire volume, original performance or independent Indigenous-language translation inspected. Collection-wide majority attribution is not converted into a definite individual-teller credit. Adjacent III6–7 seen only incidentally, not claimed as new complete coverage.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textOriginal Boas1895 collected volumeResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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