Flat Pipe and the Arapaho Creation
In the beginning, there was nothing but water covering everything. A man carrying a Flat Pipe walked on the water for six days, weeping and fasting, searching for a safe place to rest his pipe. On the seventh day, he called to the four directions and summoned seven cottonwood trees and all the creatures. One by one, various animals dove into the water to bring up mud—Grebe, waterfowls, Kingfisher, Otter, Beaver, Coot, Garter Snake, Black Snake, ducks, goose, crane—all failed. On the seventh dive, Turtle and the Man (who transformed his Flat Pipe into a Red-headed Duck) succeeded in bringing up