Algon, a hunter, came across a perfectly circular pathway in a prairie; a circle that must have been walked upon many times, yet there were no visible traces of walking outside its bounds. Amidst his confusion he heard the faint sound of music. As it grew louder he looked up and realised this beautiful melody was coming from above. Amongst the extensive blue sky Algon distinguished a tiny white speck that also grew in size along with the music as it approached closer. The astonished hunter saw that this was not a cloud. It was a white flower with twelve beautiful young maidens seated within it. Those beautiful melodies he had heard were the harmonised voices of the young girls singing mystical and unearthly songs.
After descending to the prairie the young maidens placed themselves along the worn out circular path and began to dance along its shape. They danced with such grace and eloquence that the mesmerised hunters heart fluttered. He fell in love particularly with the youngest of the maidens. His infatuation was so strong that he was driven to snatch the young girl in an attempt to take her home. The young girls were too quick for Algon as they snatched her back. In one swift movement the girls were back in their flower and sang their way back up to the star kingdom.
The next day the beguiled hunter returned to the fairy circle on the prairie in a second attempt to capture the girl he had become so enamoured by. However, similarly to the day before, he was not successful. Algon cunningly devised a plan to trap his young crush. He collected mice which he placed within a hollow tree trunk and placed it close by the fairy circle. Using a charm from his medicine bag he made himself a mouse as well. As the white flower delivered the girls back to the circle the following day, the youngest maiden noticed the unusual hollow tree trunk which was not there the previous day. As the mice swarmed out she shrieked and backed away with fright just as Algon resumed his human form and grasped the poor girl. Successfully he ran away with her as the frightened sisters sang themselves back to the star country. Back at his village he immediately married her.
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| illustrated by James Jack |
Despite Algon's kindness eventually swooning her over, she couldn't help but yearn for her home back in the star kingdom. One day she built herself a boat, and with her son returned to her home in the star kingdom where they lived long enough to almost forget Algon. However, when the boy grew old enough to hear about his father he wished to meet him. The boy and his mother went back to earth with the request from the star people to ask Algon to bring back with him a feature of every creature he has killed. Algon, who spent most of his time around the fairy circle in the prairie, was thrilled to see his long lost wife and son and agreed to accompany them back to the star country and worked hard to collect a specimen from every creature of his land.
The star people were delighted with the gifts that Algon had brought. Enthralled, the star people rummaged through the curious relics and chose their desired pieces. They transformed into the embodiment of the specimen the relics had once represented. Those who chose a tail or a claw transformed into the animal it once belonged to. Those who chose wings of birds became birds themselves. Algon and his wife and son chose the feathers of a white falcon and flew down to live by the prairies where their remnants can still be seen.
THE END
This is my adapted version of the myth as told by Lewis Spence in his book 'Myth's of the North American Indians'.
