The following Fosk myths and folktales were developed by students working in groups.
Fosk Myth
kakild do’ar’in dar’failhïz r’i t’uskyuk s’u. Kanilst dolhysaisaiz r’i skyul.
Xadirrlhyais do do’iz: Chilst r’i failhïz such’isk r’i koggonh . Xanilst lhyaskalnh zaidiz zafailhonh il xadirrsisisilhsilh zafailhïz r’i tinhük s’u xaskoskae iz sur’aeggi zakoggonh s’u. Xanilst zatinhïz zafailh schyolais’chilïz ailt xakyaesti zatinhna kalhyask iz ailt xaskulnaw r’i lhawrrlhawïz. Xanilst sch’ai zanisisit’uz kakyawlt’ ar’in zarülhi nakyaestichilïz taes xakyült zanisisit’u’ar’ zakoggïz kakyaelh ar’in zatinh nakyaestichilïz.
Xakyaelh zanisisit’u’ar’ zariver nakyaestichil xadirrfilch r’i chilhyus’ük sur’aeggi zakoggonh. Xakyaelh zanisisit’u’ar’ xadirrsae zarülhiz r’i ‘ilhyus’ük s’u xaskaggaggalh iz sut’ilch zatinhonh s’u. Xachyaes’aelnh ar’in zatinhïz o xasae ar’in r’i t’osto. Xachyalchdof zanisisit’u’ar’ schyo ar’lhyastoz schyo zalhyus’ov il xaqil fiz “nilt.’ Xas’äzi zachilhyus’na zastoz o xakyawlt’ iz s’u r’ix stïkanald nalin zastoz da kadanlhaw zatinhïz. R’ix chilt r’i chilawïz s’u xaskoskae iz za’ilhyus’olh s’u o xas’äzi nalin ar’silhïz sur’aeggi zakoggonh. Xakyut’ zanisisit’u’ar’ ar’failhïz zachilhyus’olh stïkachyäv ar’in r’i idik chilhyus’ïz zachilhyus’olh o kakyut’ zanisisit’u’ar’ za’ilhyus’olh stïkachyäv ar’in r’i idik chilawz za’ilhyus’olh. Xadawlho zalhyus’dona zanisisit’u ar’kyut’chilïz.
Taes xïkya zanisisit’uz kakild ar’in ar’failhïz. Äqchyäv ar’in r’i chyaskyoz s’u xadirrsilh r’i chilhyus’ïz s’u. Xachyalchdof zanisisit’u’ar’ schyo ar’lhyastoz schyo zachilhyus’olh il r’ix xastichyo iz chyolhyud xas’äzi nalin zachyaskyoz. Xaqil iz zanisisit’ulh “ r’ix kas’äzi r’i ‘ilhyus’na kasilh iz sur’ailt zani’onh “. Taes xïkya zanisisit’uz o xasit’u iz ailt xachyäv ar’in r’i kyaeschyaiz s’u xadirrsilh r’i chilhyus’ïz s’u. Xachyalchdof zanisisit’u’ar’ schyo ar’lhyastoz schyo zachilhyus’lh il r’ix xastichyo iz chyolhyud xas’äazi nalin zakyaeschyaiz. Xaqil iz zanisisit’ulh “ r’ix kas’äzi r’i ‘ilhyus’na kasilh iz r’i kyaeschyainh “. Taes xïkya zanisisit’uz o xafadstälnaw iz chyaik.
Lhyaistfa’uk xakyaev iz r’i koggolh s’u chilt s’ik ar’chilawz s’u. Chilt r’i lhyaskalnh idiz s’u xadirrkyokyokyo iz r’i tinhük s’u. Xafadkyült zanisisit’uz sur’aeggi zakoggonh o xakyaelh ar’in r’i chilhyus’ïz. Xachyalchdof zanisisit’u’ar’ schyo ar’lhyastoz schyo zachilhyus’olh o xastichyo iz a iz zanisisit’u ar’koggonh o kakyülch nalin iz nachilawz za’ilhyus’olh. Xasisit’u zanisisit’uar’ zachilhyus’z ar’failhonh o xafadkyült fiz sur’aeggi zakoggonh. Xasilh zachilhyus’ul sur’aeggi zakoggonh no’idi o xaxäxäna donalin zastoz o xalhaw zatinhïz. Xïkya za’ilhyus’ïz idik zakoggonh o xanilst kyaelch iz. Xaskyo zanisisit’uz ar’failhonh o xadirrfilch iz xanilst r’i t’äskä ar’chyäln ch’ïs’äzichilik.
Fosk Myth
They say village chiefs are born human but they gain their divinity when they save their village by a great feat. This story is one such feat.
This was said thusly: There rested a village at the base of a mountain. The terrain around the village was dry, but the village was sustained by a rich river (that) ran down from the mountain. The river was the village’s lifeblood until one day it began to dry up until only a small trickle remained. Curious to know the cause of the drought, the village chief climbed the mountain to find the river’s source.
At the mountain’s peak the chief discovered the river was made by a water elemental living there. The chief discovered the source for the drought was by an earth elemental who had settled right on the river. It had stopped the river and created a large lake. The chief explained his problem to the elementals but they said “no.’ The water elemental loved the new lake and knew it could not sustain the lake while the river flowed. The earth elemental had no other home to go to and loved life on the mountain peak with a . The chief offered to find the water elemental a companion and the earth elemental a new home. They both accepted the chief’s offer.
So the chief set off to save his village. He soon found a sandy beach inhabited by a water elemental. The chief explained his plight but the elemental refused for it loved the beach, and also pointed out an earth elemental would not want to live next to the ocean. The chief left and walked until he found a marsh inhabited by a water elemental. He explained his plight but the elemental refused for it loved the marsh and pointed out an earth elemental would not like a marsh. The chief left and wandered far.
Eventually, he came to a mountain similar to his own, a dry terrain made semi-fertile by a river running down. The chief climbed to the peak and found a water elemental living at the top. He explained his plight and the elemental agreed to come to his mountain, and give the earth elemental its old mountain home. The chief led the water elemental back to his village and up the mountain. At the peak, the water elementals lived together, sustaining the lake as the river flowed. The earth elemental left for the now-vacant mountaintop. The chief returned to his village and was made a great spirit by his people’s love.
Written and translated by Emily Dreher, Tatiana Gutka, Dava Hollis and Drew Turner
[2]
Long ago, in a village by the ocean, there lived a young boy. This was a curious boy, and he loved the ocean. Every day he would wait until the ocean retreated from the shore, and he would search the seabed for shells. But every evening the ocean would return, and he would have to return to the village. He grew tired of this, and wanted to explore the seabed more. So he became friends with the ocean, and every day he would speak to the ocean, and persuade it to stay away from the land for longer and longer. The ocean loved the boy, and wanted to see him happy when he was exploring. But holding back the tide was hard on the ocean, and one day the boy grew too greedy. The boy told the ocean to stay away for a whole day and night. The ocean tried to warn the boy that it was too much for the ocean to withstand. But it was too late. The ocean failed to hold the force of the tide and the boy was drowned. The ocean fell to sorrow, and to this day it will not obey humans who wish to change the tide.
[3]
When the world was created, all of the land was connected. Everyone spoke the same language, Fosk. They got along and worked together to maintain a healthy world. However, unknown to them, Earth and Air was in dispute. The people living on Earth were running out of water. They only had access to small lakes, some of which people had to travel for miles just to reach. Earth saw its people starting to become ill from a lack of water and decided to demand Air to bring rain which would create cast reservoirs of water. Because there was nothing in it for Air, Air refused. Earth was enraged because it cared deeply for the people living on its land. Being so angry, Earth began to shake. The shaking was not only in anger, it was also because Earth was becoming ill from the lack of water. Earth shook so hard, it cracked in many different spots. This scared Air because it did not know Earth had such strong powers. To appease Earth, Air whipped up a large collection of clouds which brought rain to Earth for the first time. It rained for thirty days and nights filling in the cracks in the land. The cracks widened creating oceans, which caused the broken pieces of land to float away from each other. Earth was now not one large area; it was made up of many smaller islands. When the rain finally stopped, not only were there many islands, but each island had plenty of lakes and rivers to provide fresh water to all people. Earth and Air came to an agreement. Earth would never shake apart the world again if Air continued to bring water from time to time. The people living on the islands eventually realized they needed to be capable of reaching other islands in order to trade for items that could not be found on their island. So each island maintained Fosk as their language and the people devolved boats in order to visit other islands and trade with each other.
[4]
Long ago there was a young women who did much of food preparation for her village. She did not resent the job itself as she liked to be helpful, but she did resent how long it took. To heat anything they had to leave rocks out and wait for them to capture the heat of the sun. Most of her day was spent collecting hot-rocks and replacing them before they could cool.
One day she was looking across the ocean and saw that the hot mountain was throwing another tantrum. His was not an uncommon occurrence. The whole village knew that the mountain was lonely, and that she raged when her loneliness became unbearable.
On this particular day, as she stared at the mountain raging, the woman remembered a story she had been told when she was young. Once, a brash young man had gone to the mountain to try to steal fire from her. This had angered the mountain, and she killed the young man in retaliation. “That was a very stupid thing to do,’ the young woman thought, “he should have just asked for fire. The mountain probably would have given it if he had been kind.’
For the rest of the day the woman could not stop wondering why no one had asked the mountain for fire. Soon, the young woman decided she would be the one to ask. Having fire would make cooking so much easier, so she was willing to take the risk. Unfortunately, she was not given permission to try. So one night she stole a boat and set off for the mountain.
When she arrived the mountain was angry.
“Be gone, person!’ she boomed, “You kind has tried to steal my fire before! I’ve killed them all, and I will kill you, too!’
“I am not here to steal from you,’ she girl said, “I am here to ask. Please, may I have some of your fire to take back to my people?’
The mountain was silent. She had never been asked for her fire before. “I cannot give it to you,’ she said, “but I will trade for it.’
“Anything,’ the girl said, “I will give you anything I can.’
“I want companionship,’ the mountain told her, “If I give you fire, will you return to me after you bring it to your people?’
The girl thought for a moment. She knew that once she went back to her village she would not be allowed to return to the mountain. However, she also knew that she was expected to make a marriage that would be advantageous to her family and that making a marriage to gain fire would certainly count.
“I can marry you,’ she offered, “then they would have to let me return.’ And so, the two were married by the Air, who would be able to return with the girl and tell her village of the validity of the union.
But the village did not care. They refused to let the girl return to the mountain. Because of this, the mountain became very angry. She started raging larger and longer than she ever had before. Soon, the results of her rage started to threaten the village. The young women pleaded to be allowed to return to her wife, and this time the village relented. Finally, the lovers were reunited and the mountain, no longer lonely, stopped raging so incredibly.
The Legend of Prince Chyawskyo
Long ago there was a prince named Chyawskyo. His kind mother and father were deeply loved by the people they ruled, as they always worked hard to see to the health of all in the kingdom.
But there was one in their lands who did not like them. Qust was a cold hearted noble who cared nothing for the common folk. He would always argue with the king and queen that they should be taxing more and allowing less leisure. That they should be building armies for war. The King and Queen however, would not listen. Using dark sorcery he convinced the other nobles to rise in rebellion and together they killed the kindly King and Queen. They placed Qurst on the throne.
Not wanting to seem like an absolute monster to his new people, he agreed to spare the young prince. He gave Chyawskyo a little ship, barely twice his height and set him adrift. As he floated away from his homeland, now an orphan he began to weep. The elements heard his cry and rose to help him.
They heard his cries and, furious at Qust’s callous actions, came to his aid. Air wrapped around him in a hug, allowing him to float and water blessed him so that he could drink from the ocean. Fish were called to him whenever he was hungry and the Air and the Water sang him to sleep every night. For ten years he sailed the empty seas on his little boat, until at last he wash up on the shore of a beautiful island.
While walking through the forest looking for food, he came upon a fruit he’d never seen before. It’s flowers attract bees that made the sweetest honey. It’s smell attracted the most succulent boars and it’s meat was unlike anything Chyawskyo had ever tasted. With all the food he could ever need, he set about building a castle in which to live.
Meanwhile, in his homeland the people were deeply unwell. The earth had taken its revenge on Qust for his crime by poisoning the land and filling the air with ash. The mountain rained rivers of lava and sulfur. The city was starving.
In desperation they built themselves a ship and set off to try and find a new home. They were so hungry they smelled the sweet scent of the island’s sweet fruit from miles away. They arrived on the island to see a great stone wall protecting the fields where it grew. At first they tried to attack the stronghold. But Chyawkyo had grown into a strong warrior. He easily held them back single handedly.
Finally, defeated and hopeless, the people laid down their weapons and begged him for mercy. Remembering them as his own cries for mercy, his heart filled with sorrow for the hungry people. He opened the gates to his stronghold and bid them come in and eat their fill. In gratitude they swore their loyalty to him and he took his rightful place as their king. He ruled over the land for a hundred years and bore many children, all of whom had their own journeys to take. But those are other stories.
[5]
Many years ago, there was a girl named NAME. She lived in a place named PLACE NAME 1 many years ago, with her mother and her father. For thirty days it rained, the river flooded, and PLACE NAME was filling up up up with water. NAME and her parents left for higher ground. As they headed to higher ground, NAME was separated by a wave of water and was lost. NAME was rushed away by the water far far away from PLACE NAME 1.
Where she landed was in a place called PLACE NAME 2. The people in PLACE NAME 2 helped NAME from the water. The leader(s) of PLACE NAME 2 had NAME come to their home for dinner. There were all sorts of food at the dinner that NAME had never seen before. There were orange-ringed melons, blue triangular fruits, loaves of purple bread, and a sweet-salt beverage of a light green shade.After the meal began, NAME asked the leader(s) if they knew how she could get home to PLACE NAME 1. They said no, that they never heard of such a place as PLACE NAME 1 before. They then offered NAME to be part of PLACE NAME 2. NAME said no, and that she would try to return to PLACE NAME 1 by following the water. The leader(s) though sad said they would help make sure she had everything she needed for her journey home.
The people of PLACE NAME 2 packed her a bag full of provisions– orange-ringed melons, blue triangular fruits, and a loaf of the dense purple bread. The leader(s) gave her two last gifts before she went to follow the water. The first gift was a KNIFE LIKE TOOL to protect herself. The second gift was a packet of orange, blue, and purple seeds to be sown and to remember PLACE NAME 2 by. NAME thanked the leader and the people of PLACE NAME 2 for all of their kindness and generosity.
For thirty days NAME followed the water. On the thirtieth day, NAME came to PLACE NAME 1. When the people of PLACE NAME 1 saw NAME they cheered. They had thought her lost forever to the waters. NAME’s parents came and they embraced. That night the people of PLACE NAME 1 gathered around NAME and listened to her story. The next day, NAME and the people of PLACE NAME 1 planted the orange seeds, the blue seeds, and the purple seeds as the leader of PLACE NAME 2 had instructed NAME.
It was many years ago when our ancestors planted orange, blue, and purple seeds that give us the fruits and bread we eat today. May kindness and generosity continue and spread like seeds. May kindness and generosity spread like stories.’