Kunsulya Nda'ich' Dek'una Vegh Qizdlan

By Albert Wassillie
Transcribed by James Kari

nanutset łu yi'uh nugheł'eshi, nunudełi, ggih nihdi t'anch' gheli q'u qut'ana ghila ha qenadulghuzh łu
long ago all the animals, birds, and insects were just like human beings, and they all talked

kunsulya gini łu, "yada tsa shk'una ghela,'- niłu.
during that time, the woodpecker was undecided as to the kind of food he would eat permanently

hch'aniyu ch'q'u yi'uh nugheł'eshi, nunudełi, ggih nihdi
he started to go to all the animals and the birds and asked them about their food eng he wanted to taste each animal's and each bird's food

t'anch' gheli q'u hteh nugheyuł ch'q'u, "nhk'una adghełnexni," qełni łu
the animals allowed him to taste their food

t'anch' gheli q'u hteh qaniyu ch'q'u t'anch' gheli q'u hk'una adghiłnik
he was not satisfied, however, with all the samples of food he tried

hq'u t'anch'q'u veł qil
he was very disgusted with them

q'u iyehdi huł dedni, "ghelqadi nih shegh qizdlan dayan yagheli idahdi k'tghelqat," ni łu
he said to himself, "I had better find some permanent food source soon so I can eat!"

yeh łuq'u hch'aniyu nugheyuł ch'q'u iy ninat'ech'na łu gheniyu
as he was walking along one day, he came to a group of people

idi eła kadałtin qednun łu
the people were drinking blood eng he stopped by them and asked them what they were drinking

"yada dughu ehtnuni?" qełni łu
they told him, "we are eating. this is our food"

ent'i nak'una shugu ch'elqadi," qeyełni łu ex "nhk'una' adghełnexni," qełni
the woodpecker asked them, "can I try some of your food?"

"aa', yagheli"
they answered him, "yes, of course!"

q'uyehdi kadałin qeyghuniqun łu
they gave him some blood to drink

yadenłnex, "aa! Dnaghelqenl Dnaghilqen ghelil" qełni łu
the woodpecker tasted it. "Oh, how delicious! Oh, how very delicious! it's really good!" he shouted

"ndaha qech' k'un hgh veqełax?" qełni łu
"where do you get this food from?" he asked them

yina qut'ana guna hdi naldałi dnayi qilan
apparently, this particular group of people were mosquito people

"nt'i ch'valach' navegh qełaxi shi," qeyełni łu
so they said to him, "Oh, we get this food from trees!"

"Chin'an gheli," qełni łu
the woodpecker said to them, "thank you for the food!"

q'uyehdi hk'uch' yeh hch'aniyu ch'q'u ch'vala qada'iyi łu dałggech'
then he went to the nearest tree and started pecking on it

yedełggech' idi eła ggih cheh łu viq' dnaghelt'a, ts'iłq'i łu adełnexi eła
instead of finding blood, he pecked out a big fat worm

kadałin yich'a łuq'u dghelqen
he ate it eng the worm tasted even better than the blood

"di," ni łu" ex shk'una ghelałi ghegh qinelyu shit!" ni łu
"ah," he said, "l have found my food at last!"

q'uyehdi yiealqet' yilqat ch'q'u shunaltek
then he started to peck away and easily ate enough worms to fill him up

naldałi dnayi ghuna qut'anach' navegh qełaxi shi qeyeł dghini dahdi
he had found his daily food

kunsulya ch'enelged ha t'ech' tut'ał

kunsulya ntałggech' da neł yagheli du?
how would you like to have a woodpecker pecking on you?