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The baby in my Swarovski crystal Blue Whale set - part of their endangered species collection. For Macro Mondays "Once Upon a Time". The Raven and the Whale , an Inuit (Eskimo) folktale:

In the very beginning of time, Raven made the world. He loved the people and the animals and was curious about them all. But although he made the world, he did not know everything there was to know.

One day, while paddling his kayak in the sea, he saw a large whale. “I wonder what it looks like inside the belly of a whale” he said. So he waited until the whale yawned, then rowed right in. He tied his kayak to one of the whale’s teeth and walked deeper into the whale’s body, following a distant drumming noise. He walked until he came to the belly of the whale.

In the center of the whale’s belly, Raven found a beautiful girl dancing, surrounded by the white bones of the whale’s ribs, which rose up around her like pillars. Strings attached to her feet and hands stretched to the heart of the whale.

Raven tossed off his wings and threw back his beak, revealing his human face. He sat mesmerized, watching the girl dance. When she danced quickly the whale soared through the water. When she danced slowly the whale floated calmly.

Enthralled by her beauty, he said, “I am Raven. I made the world. Will you come with me into the world and be my wife?” The maiden replied, “Raven, I cannot leave the whale. I am the heart and the soul of the whale. But if you want to stay here and keep me company, that would make me happy.”

Eventually, the girl danced so slowly that she stopped moving and her eyes closed. As Raven felt a cool wind from the outside world blow in the whale’s spout, he was overcome with human desire. He grabbed the girl, pulled his beak back down and covered his arms with his wings. He heard the strings snap as he flew with her out of the whale and into the sky.

As he flew, Raven heard the whale thrashing below and watched as it was tossed by the waves onto the shore. As the whale died, the girl in his arms grew smaller and smaller, then disappeared.

Raven landed on the sand beside the body of the whale, realizing for the first time that all living things have a heart and soul, and must eventually die. Overcome by great sorrow, Raven grieved for weeks. Raven’s tears were the first shed in his new world, and his song and dance of sorrow and healing were the first song and dance.

(My adaptation of one version of this folktale, found on: <a href="http://healingstory.org/raven-and-the-whale/" rel="nofollow">healingstory.org/raven-and-the-whale/</a>