Chulyin Qeshqa N'uyi Ghegh Nu'ighetneq

By Albert Wassillie
Transcribed by James Kari

ts'ił łu qeshqa t'anch'q'u yiquynizeni yani łu qilan
there once lived a very rich man. he wanted everything

vetsa'a łu qilan
he had a nice daughter

ki q'ut'un idi'eła qeshqa gun łu n'uyi ghin ki q'u yiquyinizen
one day, the rich man wanted the sun, and so he got it some how, and took it away

ch'q'u n'uyi ghini łu yighetneq ex ch'q'u t'anch' gheli q'u qeveł nughiłghatl'
this caused darkness every where

chulyin gini hdi łu t'anch'q'u k'nunettuh, k'idnaghilt'ik, ch'duynighulzen
at the time of this story, Raven was everything eng he was the creator
he was the gentleman, the thief, the crook, and also the murderer

yi'uh nugheł'eshi t'anch' łu q'u qeyełni, "N'uyi ghini nu'inlkit t'anch'q'u tsahyushitihlił," qeyeł ni łu
so all the animals came to him to tell him to go and return the sun eng when Raven heard their plea, he said to them, "I will get the sun back, but first of all, you must make payments to me with your best food"

"t'anch'q'u yagheli k'qat' navegh qilani eł hyunch'tulił yughuda ni'uyi ghin" nu'inlkit
"we will give you our best food. so go and return the sun," they said to him

q'ut'unteh ghu itch'q'u qeshqa vetsa'a gunen minłni iqu nugheyił
Raven knew that the rich man's daughter carries water from a certain well

chulyin gini qit'ayitni
so the next morning, he hid by the well

qut'un idi eła minłni q'a k'dnal'in
in a little while, he saw the girl coming

qeshqa vetsa'a yeh ch'aniyu hnuyu, "tuyiga ghełaha," ni łu
he said to himself, "let me turn into a fingerling"

ch'q'u tuyiga izdlan
immediately, he turned into a tiny fingerling, and he jumped into the well

minłni q'a hq'a tugheltlet
when the girl arrived at the well, she dipped her cup in the water

qeshqa vetsa'a gun tak'iłggat hnuyu yegh daghilagh
the little fingerling swam right into the cup eng the girl drank the water

ch'u qeshga vetsa'a gun yeł titalch'aq' tuyiga eł titalch'aq' ch'a ench'u qit'aynizen
she did not know she swallowed the little fish

qu'uyehdi kiłgguya ch'q'aynigen vech' tazyu
then she became pregnant

q'uyehdi qeshqa vetsa'a gun kił gguya vegguya qizdlan
the girl gave birth to a little boy

t'inaghiłye ch'q'u ughasht'a łuhqitghazhchet
this little boy grew up very fast eng in no time at all, he started to crawl around

qeshqa gun yinch'q'aynigen gun vuteydił'a
the rich man was really fond of him

n'uyi ghin łu tsidiq' łu nughik'et'
the rich man had the sun hanging in a room

kił gguya gunen łu yeq'a chegh hnuyu qeshqa gun łu, t'etni, "yada dughu t'eyiłniyi?" qełni łu
one day, the little boy kept crying for something eng the rich man asked the people, "what is the boy crying for? what does he want?"

"n'uyi ghin shughu yeq'a cheghi," qeyełni łu.
"oh," they told him, "he is crying for the sun"

"ent'i velaq'ay dehchidi," qłni łu
the rich man said, "well, if that is what he wants, let him play with it"

q'uyehdi qeylaq'a qeydghichet
so they took the sun and gave it to the little boy

hnuyu uch'en tiyiniłvits'
the first thing the boy did was to roll the sun outside the house

ch'q'u yeł chil'ul
and he played with it

hnuyu chulyin nuhuk'dghshchet
all this time, of course, Raven was the little boy eng when he rolled the sun out, he changed himself into a raven

ch'q'u n'uyi gini yeł nudnilen ex yudeq gheli yeł nidnalen
then he flew up as high he could, and he threw the sun way up high

ch'łuq'u yuyanch' yeł qitsadghiłen ex yudeq ninudalen
and the sun was back up there again

chulyin gini łu t'etni ex "hnu'ighiljaxa," ni łu q'uyehdi n'uyi ghin hnu'i jay
he said to it "shine away sun" eng from then on the sun once again started to shine once more