Why the Skunk Has No Friends

Last week, I had the amazing opportunity to speak to a 2nd grade class all the way in South Carolina via Google Duo. (What an amazing age we live in.) It was a lot of fun and the kids were awesome. They asked some really intelligent questions and they actually stumped me a couple of times. I do think that in this day and age, we as adults, tend to underestimate the critical thinking abilities of the young. 

However, the Native American storytellers of old understood that even the very young could process important life lessons via parables and short stories. As a sort of experiment, I shared the short story, "Why the Skunk Has No Friends". At the end of the tale, I asked the class what the lesson of the story was and every student in the class raised their hands to answer. Today I thought that I would share this story with you. Hope you guys enjoy.

Why The Skunk Has No Friends

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In the beginning of time, the Creator gifted his new creations with endowments that would best suit their needs. To some of his creations he gave hard scales so that they could not be easily harmed. To others he gave the gift of flight so that they could escape from harm’s way. To others still he gave warm fur so that they would be safe from winter’s deathly chill.

When the Creator first created Skunk, he gave Skunk fur as black as midnight. With this camouflage, Skunk could not be seen in the dark and he would be safe from other dangerous animals. Yet the Skunk was not satisfied. He said to the Creator, “Great Spirit, I am thankful for all that you have given me, but I fear that it is not enough to keep me safe. Please give me sharp teeth like Brother Wolf so that I may better protect myself.”

The Creator merely smiled and granted the little Skunk’s wish. The Skunk now had razor sharp teeth! With his fur of midnight and sharp teeth, the Skunk soon became a fearsome creature of the night that other animals were afraid of. For a while, the Skunk was happy.

But it wasn’t long before he approached the Creator again and said, “Great Spirit, I am thankful for all that you have given me, but I fear that it is not enough to keep me safe. Please give me sharp claws like Brother Bear so that I may better protect myself.”

​This time the Creator had a stern look upon his face but, nevertheless, he granted the little Skunk’s wish. The Skunk now had razor sharp claws! The Skunk truly became a terror of the night and even Brother Bear and Brother Wolf avoided the Skunk’s terrible temper. For a short space of time, the Skunk was happy.

Eventually he grew discontent with his gifts and he sought out the Creator. As before, the Skunk approached the Creator and said, “Great Spirit, I am thankful for all that you have given me, but I fear that it is not enough to keep me safe. Please give me something so grand, so terrible, that all will run away from me in fear.”

The Creator looked down upon the ungrateful Skunk in anger. He decided that he would grant the Skunk’s request but he would also teach the Skunk a lesson in humility. The Creator gave the Skunk a frightful and terrible smell. The smell was so terrible that all animals ran away from Skunk, even his friends. For good measure, the Creator also placed two white stripes down the Skunk’s back so that he could not sneak upon his fellow animals at night. To this day, Skunk still walks the green forests all alone.