'A Legend of the Northland' is a poem by the American poet Phoebe Cary in the Class 9 English Beehive textbook. It narrates an old folk legend about a selfish woman who is punished by Saint Peter and transformed into a woodpecker.
Poet: Phoebe Cary (American, 19th century).
Setting: The Northland (cold northern regions — possibly Scandinavia or Canada).
Legend Type: Etiological legend (explains why woodpeckers bore into wood).
Central Figure: A selfish woman who refuses food to Saint Peter.
The poem was written by Phoebe Cary, an American poet of the 19th century.
Saint Peter was travelling and had been fasting all day. He stopped at a small woman's cottage and asked her for a piece of cake to eat.
The woman was extremely greedy. Every cake she baked seemed 'too large' to give away, so she kept making smaller ones. Finally she refused to give even the tiniest cake to Saint Peter. This selfishness enraged him.
Saint Peter transformed her into a woodpecker — a small bird that must bore into hard wood all day long to find food, suffering endlessly for her selfishness. The bird's red cap (crest) is said to represent the woman's red hair.
The poem teaches that selfishness has consequences. Material greed causes a person to lose their humanity. The story also reflects a deep respect for hospitality — turning away a hungry traveler is considered a serious moral failing.
The moral is that selfishness and greed are deeply unacceptable, especially when a person in need asks for help. Selfishness strips a person of their humanity.
The woman was transformed by Saint Peter into a woodpecker as punishment for her greed.
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