Kił Ch'naldaggi Veł Yagheli'en

By Albert Wassillie
Transcribed by James Kari

yigini sukdu kił ch'naldaggi veł yagheli łu
this is a story about a young man who liked to sleep

q'et' ghu vada kił k'i shtunhtuyuyi qugh q'et'ix qevtutda ghun vezhala'ina la'ah qełghił
in the old days, a father would turn his son over to the boy's maternal uncle to learn to hunt

ch'q'u qevzhala gunhdi qighishin gheli sht'a hqełdih
the maternal uncle was supposed to train his nephew well

qudi q'u huqulyexni
everyone's survival was dependent on it eng it could be very difficult and dangerous at times, but it had to be done

ki q'u idi'eła chu uqu htal'an
one day a group of people went beaver hunting

yen kił gun

vezhala gun łu,"nał tiyux k'uq'a hq'a ghiduni," yełni łu
the boy's uncle said, "come with me. you can stay by the beaver hole"

q'uyehdi yeh htazdatl' ex chu egh hnidatl'

ch'qeyghitsatl'
first they chopped a hole through the beaver's house.

ch'q'u qeychech k'i t'anch'q'u hghazdlu
then they cut off all the tunnels around the beaver pond

q'uyehdi kił gun chuqan ghu hq'aghelgguk
after this, the boy was to jump into the beaver house

ch'u ench'u k'i chu iqu hnił'an ch'u dnaldaq
but instead of watching beaver, he fell asleep

chu ghini dehyughel'an
the beavers are very clever animals

iqech' qeyeł'ix ghu ughasht'a ełnen t'uh nhdełen ha t'et'ih
when they are disturbed, they can really dig a new tunnel fast, and that was what they did

chu ench'u chihdeł'ik'
the people worked but they did not get any beaver

vezhala gun łu q'aytaset idi eł yen ki dnaldaq
his uncle checked on him and he was asleep

yaniłchet ch'q'u,"Ch'naldaggi edet q'u t'int'a," yełni.
he woke him up and said,"Don't keep sleeping."

q'uyehdi chu ghin qeyiqu nqelyah hq'u ench'u qeyislak
after some time, the men still searched for beaver but did not get any

q'uyehdi vezhala gun kił ghun q'anaytalzet
so the uncle went to check on the boy again

ghegh nu'idyu idi eła yin ki nutnaldaq
he came up to him and again the boy was fast asleep

q'uyehdi vezhala gun chik'a dendałkughi ghitsatl'
so the boy's uncle chopped some logs into pieces big enough to cover the hole while the boy was still sleeping

ch'q'u yeq' q'eydehch' yedałghel ch'q'u łach daghiłtey sht'a qeł qaninel
when he was done, he laid the logs over the hole and covered them with dirt
this was done so that the boy could not get out

qighishinsht'a tinighildaq"
the uncle said,"You can sleep well now"

chu ench'u chihdiłnil ch'q'u nuhtasdatl'
they did not kill any beaver so they went back

kił gun ts'anizit idi eła yuyeh łu qilan
the boy woke up some time later

hnił'an idi eła chu dnayi łu qilan
he found himself inside the house with a family of beavers

chu dghiłkughi gin łu vech'ahnayniłggat, "dnazildaq hnuyu dighint'ał," yełni łu
the eldest beaver spoke to him, "you have been sleeping here for sometime" jkj

"nzhala igu ht'inghiłghel shit chidghinahni"
"your uncle has imprisoned you here and left you here to die"

"dinchin k'ishi, qut'ana ehlanch' ghu naqada ench'u zelqit"
"I guess you are probably hungry, but you, human beings don't eat our food"

"nayi yi'uh ggagga ch'ilan guhdi na'elqet"
"you live on us animals for food"

"nunch'tułnał hq'u tsa nghuch'tułkeł," yełni łu
we will free you, but first of all, we must feed you"

q'uyehdi qich'a denłkughna vi'a'ina qełni łu, "nhkela dghiłchek'en chidełnah," qełni łu
the older beaver then said to his older sons, "kill one of your smaller brothers for his food"

q'uyehdi yina guna dehkela dghiłchek'in qeyiłyeł ch'u nit'uqeynazhchet
this they did eng they grabbed one of their smaller brothers and broke his back bone

"ugha veghusziłax," yełni łu
then the older beaver told the boy to skin it

q'uyehdi yeghustałan hnuyu, "chik'a t'eł'an," qełni łu
this the boy did while the older beaver told the other beavers to gather wood

yeghusłan ch'q'u
this they did

chik'a t'ehghił'an ch'q'u qeydiłq'un
the boy skinned the beaver

q'uyehdi yił'a ch'q'u yetalqet' eła chu dghiłkughi gunen łu t'eyełni, "viztin, niłghendghalyu niłkich'aghiłdełi lay.
then the other beavers helped him build a fire, and he roasted the beaver whole

vetsen nlani yan tghilqat," yełni łu
then he ate it

shihqugh k'ulqet' hnuyu chu dghiłkughi gun łu viztin nihdi ts'ił niyinilu ch'q'u veyes yinughiłdatl' ch'q'u chu dghuna ghuyiq' heyiłyuch' ch'q'u chu tanił'u yeł tak'daniłguk.
but first of all, the older beaver said to him, "do not pull any joints apart. do not break a bone. just eat the meat parts"

t'anch'q'u yuyeh hdalts'i
after the boy finished eating, the older beaver gathered the remains and put it in a skin

ench'u k'i hdit'al idi eła chu gguya gini łu ey hunugheltlet
then he tied it to the end of a stick that a beaver had eaten, and poked it down the runway

idi eła da'a dnigheldaggi q'ent'a ch'q'u vandaz'i ghin ki łu vet'uy nilnitl'
during this time, everyone was inside the beaver house

chu dghiłkughi gun łu t'eyełni,"Out'ana ehlanch' ghu chidnadeł'ix ch'q'u na'elqet ench'u daq'u nułu chidnadzeł'ik shit," yełni łu
after a while, the little beaver popped his head through the runway eng his hair was all puffed up and looked as if he just woke up from his sleep
the older beaver then told the boy, "you human beings kill us and eat us, but you cannot keep us dead forever"

"gu htl'egh hdi nzhala qadadinex htghit'ał q'uyehdi tinughanlkit," qełni
then he told one of the beavers to take the boy out, but he gave the boy this advice, "I think you better obey your uncle"

qeyighetneq ch'u," nu'u nidanilchit," qeyełni
then he told the boy, to "put your hand over your eyes," before he went down the runway

ch'q'u nu'u nidalchet hnuyu qeyeł ta'iltlet' idi eła ven at huhghilagh ch'u niqaqendaniyu
one of the beavers took hold of his hand and dove through the tunnel

ch'q'u nutasdyu
they surfaced and the boy waded ashore

qayeh nu'idyu
he started back home

qeyegh yich'adatdaq q'uyehdi qeł nuqulnek
when he arrived there, they were all surprised to see him come home

q'uyehdi duk'idli qeł dghini.
the boy told the people what happened and he apologized to them

iy htl'eghdi qev'ezhgi'a yizdlan ch'q'u qeshqa ki q'u izdlan.
after that, he became a good hunter, and he became a rich man

dach' hdi łu qidyuq
this is how it happened