Why is the Raven black?

Great Spirit decided it was time to give the winged (the birds) their colors. Before this time all of the birds were gray. Their feathers did not carry the beautiful colors they do today. Great Spirit told all of the winged to gather at a special lake which was hidden high in the mountains. All of the winged flew to this magical body of water. Great Spirit told them to dive into the water and they would emerge with beautiful colors in their feathers. Brave little Hummingbird dove in first. He didn't stay long but when he came out he was a beautiful green and had ruby on his throat. Jaybird was next. He stayed a little longer than Hummingbird had. When he emerged he was a bright blue and had a white throat. He wore a black necklace low on his neck. Wren splashed into the depths. When he got out of the water he was brown with a golden chest. Cardinal flew into the lake. He stayed in a bit longer than the others. When Cardinal broke the surface he was bright red and beautiful. Bluebird splashed into the water and stayed for a while. He came up blue with his beautiful red breast. Indigo Bunting dived in. He stayed linger than any of the previous birds. He came up such a beautiful blue that the other birds gasped at his gorgeous color. 

 

 Raven had been watching all of this. He was aware that the longer the birds stayed under the water the more beautiful they were when they emerged and Raven wanted to be the most beautiful of all of the winged.. Raven filed his lungs with air until his chest swelled up much larger than it usually was. He dove into the lake and swam deep into the depths. Raven grabbed a large rock and held onto it so he would not use up his air too quickly. He stayed under water so long that all of the other birds became worried that he would drown. Kingfisher dove into the lake and looked for Raven but could not find him. Kingfisher emerged a pretty blue gray color. Still Raven did not come up. The winged were just about to ask the fishes to help them find Raven when Raven finally broke the surface. He thought he would have the most beautiful colors of all of the winged but he was wrong. Raven had absorbed all of the colors and far too much of them at that. He was as black as a piece of coal and was just as shiny. Though Raven was not happy with his color he had brought something special out of the deep waters of the lake. He had been submerged for a very long time. When he did this Raven had found the opening between this world and the world of Spirit, which lies under the waters of the Earth Mother. Raven brought the secrets of Magic to the surface world. He brought the ability to shape shift and to work magic for healing and to do good for the entire world. This was many years ago and Raven is still black, and he still carries strong Medicine. From the Internet without creditation.