Old Indian Legends · Chapter
Dance in a Buffalo Skull explained
On a dark prairie night, field mice hold a joyful feast and dance inside an old buffalo skull, unaware of a pair of fiery eyes approaching from the river bottom.
What happens
On a dark prairie night, field mice hold a joyful feast and dance inside an old buffalo skull, unaware of a pair of fiery eyes approaching from the river bottom. The eyes eventually slide into the skull's eye sockets, startling the mice, who flee into the darkness, crying out about a cat.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and the Spirit World
The chapter depicts the prairie night, animal behaviors, and the eerie approach of a predator, blending natural observation with a sense of spiritual or supernatural presence.
Trickery and Consequence
The mice's obliviousness to danger and the cat's stealthy approach illustrate a trickster-like dynamic, where unawareness leads to a sudden, fearful consequence.
Characters to notice
- The Grasshopper
Not directly present; the chapter focuses on field mice and a cat, but no canonical characters appear.
Key passages
“It was night upon the prairie. Overhead the stars were twinkling bright their red and yellow lights. The moon was young.”
The prairie was dark, with stars shining in red and yellow, and a thin crescent moon low in the sky.
Sets the nocturnal scene for the story.
“There in a huge old buffalo skull was a gay feast and dance! Tiny little field mice were singing and dancing in a circle to the boom-boom of a wee, wee drum.”
Inside a large, aged buffalo skull, small field mice celebrated with a lively feast and dance, circling to the beat of a tiny drum.
Describes the mice's joyful gathering within the skull.
“All of a sudden they slide into the eye-sockets of the old skull. “Spirit of the buffalo!” squeaked a frightened mouse as he jumped out from a hole in the back part of the skull. “A cat! a cat!” cried other mice as they scrambled out of holes both large and snug.”
Suddenly, the glowing eyes entered the skull's sockets, causing a mouse to cry out in fear, and the others to flee through various openings, shouting about a cat.
Climactic moment of danger and escape.