The Maiden with Golden Hair

"The Maiden with Golden Hair" by Julia Darrow Cowles is a charming children's story that follows the adventures of a young girl with enchanting golden hair. Set against a backdrop of whimsical landscapes, the tale weaves themes of friendship, bravery, and self-discovery as the maiden embarks on a journey filled with magical encounters and valuable life lessons. Through her experiences, she learns about the importance of inner beauty and the power of kindness, making it a delightful read for young audiences.

• Children
• Short story

								
LEELINAU stood in the door of the lodge, holding in her hand a bunch
of dandelions which had gone to seed. She blew upon them softly, and
the white-winged seeds went floating into the air.

“Shawondasee’s breath was mightier than thine,” said a voice behind
her. She turned to see her grandmother smiling upon her as she worked
upon a deer-skin moccasin.

Leelinau sat down. “Tell me of Shawondasee,” she said coaxingly. So
the grandmother told her the story of the South Wind and the
Dandelion:

Shawondasee lived far away in the South Land where it was always warm
and bright. His father, Kabeyun, the father of the winds, had given
him this part of the earth in which to dwell. The soft, warm winds of
the South were given him.

But Shawondasee was not strong, and quick, and eager, like his
brothers who governed the North Wind, and the West Wind. He was fat,
and lazy, and sluggish. He liked to take life easily, and moved
slowly, when he moved at all.

Sometimes, because he was so fat and heavy, he sighed deeply, and then
his warm breath would travel far across the land to the North, and the
people would cry, “What a balmy day! How soft and warm the air is!”

One day, as Shawondasee looked far away toward the North, he saw upon
the prairie a beautiful maiden. Her body was tall and slender. She
wore a gown of green, and her hair was a wonderful yellow, like
burnished gold.

Shawondasee looked long upon her, for never had he seen a maiden like
her before. The Indian maidens had hair of deepest black, like the
glossy feathers of the crow, and their skins were dark.

“She is fair and beautiful,” sighed Shawondasee. “I should woo her, if
she were not so far away.”

He stirred a little, and sighed, and the air grew warm, and a soft
breeze blew. The beautiful maiden on the prairie swayed in the breeze,
and her green robe fluttered.

“She is very beautiful,” cried Shawondasee. “I will send her a kiss.”
So with his softest breath he sent a kiss to the maiden of the yellow
hair, and again she bowed and swayed.

Still Shawondasee did not leave his home in the South Land to visit
the maiden. He sent soft breezes to blow upon her, and the breezes
carried sighs and kisses to her; but Shawondasee himself remained at
home. Day after day he wished that he might win the maiden with the
golden hair. Day after day he looked toward the North where she stood
and waited for his coming.

Then one morning there was a change. As Shawondasee looked out upon
the prairie he saw that the beautiful golden hair of the maiden he
loved had turned to snowy white. For once he was startled. “What have
I done?” he cried. “I have put off going to her, and now I have lost
her. Her golden beauty has changed to a beauty which is not of this
earth. It is now too late!”

Shawondasee heaved a mighty sigh as he spoke--a sigh that stirred all
the winds of the South Land--and behold! the air was filled with the
silvery white locks of the Dandelion maiden.

Far and wide they floated, and wherever one fell, there a new flower
sprang up, and it was called the Dandelion.

The old grandmother had finished her story and her moccasin at the
same time.

“And so Shawondasee never married the Dandelion maiden?” questioned
Leelinau.

“No,” answered the grandmother. “He was far too fat and lazy to win a
maiden of spirit. But then,” she added, “it was no great loss to
either. No Indian of good sense would wed a maiden with yellow hair.”
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