The Otter

The otter used to be a person who lived with his wife and two daughters in a tipi. He was a good fisherman and provided well for his family. He would go to the water and turn into an otter to fish. Whenever he came back onto shore he would turn back into a man and bring in his catch. Before he left his tent, he would always warn his wife that under no circumstances should his sleeping mat come into contact with water while he was out fishing.

One day while he was out fishing, his two daughters were running around in the tipi and they knocked a container of water over. Some of it splashed onto his sleeping mat. The otter did not return from his fishing trip and it was getting late. The wife went to look for him at the river where he fished and she looked around. She saw an otter get out of the water on the other side with a fish in its mouth which it ate, sitting on the bank. She called out to him and said: “Otter, are you my husband?” He said: “Yes, it is I. I am unable to become a man because my sleeping mat has become wet. I will have to remain an otter forever.” and he swam away.