Ūliske — Obscure Fairy Tales

Many years ago was told the story of Ūliske. She was the daughter of a great chief renowned for her grand beauty. The woman was so gorgeous, men were always trying to obtain her hand in marriage. Still, she refused to take a husband, saying no man would be good to her.

Every year around the same time, Ūliske had a peculiar habit. She would leave her tribe for a few days and go somewhere no one knew. Some tried to stop or restrain her when the time came to prevent her from going, but she always found a way to go no matter what.

After many years, she ended up taking a husband. When the season came, she left again. Eager to be with her, the man asked if he could join her. She accepted and brought him along. When she came back alone, she told her peers her husband had perished during the trip.

In the following years, Ūliske took a second husband, who also disappeared. Then, she took a third and a fourth, whose fates mirrored those of her previous spouses. Finally, she took a fifth husband. His name was Ū-el-ŭm-bek, meaning “the handsome, the brave.”

On her yearly trip, Ū-el-ŭm-bek followed Ūliske as his predecessors had done. Suspicious of the pattern of disappearing spouses, he vowed to elucidate the mystery.

The couple rode their canoe to a small piece of land coming onto the water of a giant lake. They set out to stay the wigwam built on it for the next few days. As Ūliske started preparing dinner, Ū-el-ŭm-bek left the wigwam, lying he needed to take care of some private matters outside.

Instead, he walked around the piece of land sticking out onto the lake, followed a beaten path and hid in the bushes. From his point of view, he could very well see his wife exiting the wigwam. She walked to the shore, undressed fully and entered the lake until the water covered her hips. Then, she started chanting loudly and beating the water with a wooden stick.

After a few moments, the water started to boil. A thin stream of liquid coiled in around itself before falling back down, revealing a loathly worm. The latter, which Ū-el-ŭm-bek recognized as Wi-will-mekq’, swam ashore where Ūliske was standing in the water. The creature surrounded the woman’s body with its scaly folds in a disturbing, yet seemingly loving embrace.

Watching from the bushes, Ū-el-ŭm-bek realized the worm must have cast a spell on Ūliske. She must see the creature as a beautiful young hero and not perceive its true form.

The man knew the worm had been the reason for the disappearance of the four previous husbands of Ūliske. Ū-el-ŭm-bek chewed a magic root and ran towards the canoe as the creature went back underwater. He tried to call Ūliske so she could leave with him, but the woman refused, stating she wanted to remain with her lover. The husband decided to ride the canoe home anyways, leaving her to her fate.

When Ū-el-ŭm-bek rejoined his tribe, he shared the whole story with his peers and even the great chief, Ūliske’s father, told him he had done well.

No one ever heard from Ūliske again, but her husband could guess her failure to provide another victim to Wi-will-mekq’ must have turned her into its next one.

The serie Obscure Fairy Tales encompasses an array of tales, myths and legends from around the world. To read more, visit this page dedicated to fiction writing.