The Raven in Alaska was no ordinary bird.
He had remarkable powers and could change
into whatever form he wished. He could
change from a bird to a man, and could
not only fly and walk, but could swim
underwater as fast as any fish.

One day, Raven took the form of a little,
bent over old man to walk through a
forest. He wore a long white beard and
walked slowly.

After a while, Raven felt hungry. As he
thought about this, he came to the edge
of the forest near a village on the
beach. There, many people were fishing
for halibut.  In a flash, Raven thought
of a scheme. He dived into the sea and
swam to the spot where the fishermen
dangled their hooks. Raven gobbled
their bait, swimming from one hook to
another. Each time Raven stole bait,
the fishermen felt a tug on their lines.
When the lines were pulled in, there was
neither fish nor bait.

But Raven worked his trick once too
often. When Houskana, an expert fisherman,
felt a tug, he jerked his line quickly,
hooking something heavy. Raven's jaw
had caught on the hook! While Houskana
tugged on his line, Raven pulled in the
opposite direction. Then Raven grabbed
hold of some rocks at the bottom of the
sea and called, "O rocks, please help
me!" But the rocks paid no attention.

Because of his great pain, Raven said
to his jaw, "Break off, O jaw, for I
am too tired." His jaw obeyed, and it
broke off.   

  Houskana pulled in his line immediately.
On his hook was a man's jaw with a long
white beard ! It looked horrible enough
to scare anyone. Houskana and the other
fishermen were very frightened, because
they thought the jaw might belong to
some evil spirit. They picked up their
feet and ran as fast as they could to
the chief's house.

Raven came out of the water and
followed the fishermen. Though he was
in great pain for lack of his jaw, no
one noticed anything wrong because he
covered the lower part of his face
with his blanket.

    The chief and the people examined the
jaw that was hanging on the halibut
hook. It was handed from one to another,
and finally to Raven who said, "Oh,
this is a wonder to behold!" as he
threw back his blanket and replaced his
jaw.

Raven performed his magic so quickly
that no one had time to see what was
happening. As soon as Raven's jaw was
firmly in place again, he turned himself
into a bird and flew out through the
smoke hole of the chief's house. Only
then did the people begin to realize
it was the trickster Raven who had
stolen their bait and been hooked on
Houskana's fishing line.

    On the totem pole, Raven was carved,
not as the old man, but as himself
without his beak, a reminder of how the
old man lost his jaw.