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How Robin Got His Red Breast

© retold by Mary M. Alward

An Inuit Tale

Long ago, in the cold North Land, there was only one fire. A man and his small boy were Keepers of the Fire. The man tended the fire at night. The boy watched over it during the day. One day, the man had to leave his home to go hunting. He would not be back until the next day.

"You will have to watch the fire all night," he told his son. "Do not fall asleep, or the fire will go out."

"I will stay awake," the boy promised.

While the boy watched the fire, a large polar bear hid in the snow nearby.

"If the little boy goes to sleep, I will put the fire out," said the polar bear. "Then all of the people will be so cold. They will have to leave the North Land. I will have it all to myself."

Late in the night, the boy began to feel sleepy. "I must not go to sleep," he told himself. "Father would be very angry if he came home and found I'd let the fire go out."

Soon, the boy had fallen fast asleep. The bear ran to the fire and stomped it out with his great wet feet. He then returned to his home on the ice.

"Now, all the people will have to leave this land," the polar bear said. "I will have all the fish I want to eat."

Unknown to the polar bear, a robin had been watching his movements. The robin saw a red glow from the fire and realized that it was still burning. The robin flew down and fanned the fire with his wings. "Fire, please burn," he said.

After a long while, the fire flamed brightly. It burned the feathers on the robin's breast until they were bright red. The robin didn't mind as long as the fire continued to burn.

"Now, I will carry fire to every home in the North Land," the robin decided.

First, the robin woke the little boy, who was still fast asleep. Then, he flew away. Wherever the robin landed, a new fire began to burn. Soon, instead of one tiny fire in the North Land, there was a fire in every home.

When the polar bear saw all the fires, he was very angry. Now the North Land would never be his.

The people of the North Land never forgot how the gray robin got his red breast. They still call him Robin Redbreast to this day.

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