The Privilege of Naming the Children

The privilege of naming all the children of the tribe always fell to the chief.

One day a small Indian boy asked him how he chose the names for all the children.

“Well, my son,” the chief replied, “When I step out of my tepee, I name each child after the first thing I see.

“For instance, when a child is born and I step out of my tepee and see a pale moon rising, I say – you shall be called, Pale-Moon-Rising.”

“And when a child is born and I step out of my tepee and see a hawk flying over, I say – you shall be called, Hawk-Flying-Over.”

“So why do you ask, Big-Dog Pooping?”