PRESENTATION OUTLINE
The Rough-Face Girl
by Rafe Martin
Once, long ago, there was a village on the shores of Lake Ontario.
In the village, there was great wigwam. In the wigwam there was said to live a very great, rich, powerful and handsome Invisible Being. Many women wanted to marry him, but his sister said "Only the one who can see him can marry him."
In the village lived a poor man and his three daughters. The two older daughters were cruel to the youngest daughter. They made her sit by the fire and feed the flames. Over time, the youngest daughter was covered in scars and burns, though even with these marks she remained beautiful. The sisters gave her the nickname of Rough-Face Girl.
The older sisters asked their father to give them new buckskin dresses and necklaces so they could look nice in hopes of marrying the Invisible Being. The two girls were very proud and walked haughtily through the village to the wigwam of the Invisible Being. And there, his sister was waiting.
"Why have you come?" asked the sister. "We're here to marry the Invisible Being," they answered. "If you want to marry my brother, you have to see him. Have you seen him?" The sisters lied and said yes. "What was his bow made of," asked the sister of the Invisible Being angrily.
The girls did not know the answer so they lied. The sister knew they had lied and asked them another question: "What is the runner of his sled made of?" The girls lied again. The sister yelled at them to go home, but the girls begged to see the Invisible Being and when he showed his bow and vest, the sisters could not see so they left the wigwam ashamed.
The next day, the Rough-Face girl went to her father and asked if she could have a new necklace and a new buckskin dress. She told her father "I am going to marry the Invisible Being. I see his face wherever I look." But her father had no beads, no buckskin, and no moccasins left for her, though he gave her whatever he had left.
She went to the water where she took her materials and did the best she could. As she was softening her old moccasins, the villagers made fun of her and called her names like ugly girl. The Rough-Face girl had faith though, and walked passed the villagers with her head held high.
When she came to the lakeshore, she met the sister of the Invisible Being. The sister looked Rough-Face girl in the eyes and could see into her heart. The sister knew that Rough-Face girl was a kind and gentle person.
The sister asked the Rough-Face girl if she wanted to marry her brother, that she would have to prove herself. She asked if Rough-Face girl had seen the Invisible Being. "Yes," she said. "What is his bow made of?" "Why his bow is the great curve of the rainbow."
"Ah!"exclaimed the sister. "Tell me, what is the runner of the sled made of?"
The Rough-Face girl answered "It is the Spirit Road, the Milky Way of stars that spreads across the sky!"
The sister was so excited that she brought Rough-Face girl to the great wigwam to meet the Invisible Being. Immediately, the Invisible Being told Rough-Face girl how beautiful she was despite of her scars.
The Rough-Face girl was given the finest clothes and jewelry. She was bathed in the waters of the lake. The waters of the lake erased her scars. She appeared more beautiful than ever before. She appeared in the way the Invisible Being knew her.
Then at last, the Rough-Face girl and the Invisible Being were married. They lived together in gladness and were never parted.
