Why the Robin Has a Red Breast? Inuit legend

Far away there is a land with snow on the ground all the time. The people of that land live in houses made of snow called igloo. They dress in furs all the time. And even with their furs and houses, they still need fire to keep them warm and to make some food.

In one of those igloo houses lived a father with his son. The father would always tell his son “Remember never let the fire die.” The father always made sure that there was plenty of wood to make fire. The father was a good hunter. So the animals would always run away from him as fast as they could.

There was a white bear, who didn’t like the father. The bear knew how important the fire was to the family. So he decided to wait for the right time and put an end to the fire.

One day, the father got sick. He wasn’t able to go hunting or to take turns with his son to keep the fire going. The boy tried staying awake for as long as he could. But one night he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer and he fell asleep.

The white bear saw his chance. He approached the fire and stomped on it with his paws till the fire was gone. “Now will see how you make your meat without fire” said angry bear and left.

Without fire it was getting cold very fast. The frost was starting to gather around boy’s bed. But he was so tired that even coldness wasn’t bothering him. He was still in deep sleep.

The boy had a very tiny special friend. It was a bird, whom he fed and sheltered during blizzards. Now it was bird’s turn to help the boy. The bird got there just in time, when bear was leaving. The bird scratched with his tiny claws among the ashes looking for a spark that would ignite the fire. “Ah, here it is” said excited bird and started fanning with his wings quickly to bring the fire to life. The bird flapped so much that the fire began to spread from one stick to another. “Oh, no, my chest is on fire” yelled bird and flew away from the fire.

Meanwhile the boy woke up and saw the fire almost gone. “Oh, no” he rushed to get more wood. Then he saw his father turning on the bed. This made the boy very happy, he rescued the fire and his father was gaining his strength back. “What a wonderful morning” thought the boy.

One day, the bird visited the boy. The boy was very happy to see his friend. He was saving some crumbs for the bird. But then he was startled to see that his tiny friend had a red chest. “What happened to you” asked boy. The bird only smiled and thought “It’s a secret.” Only I and you know it.