hmmm... interesting, Jacob!

Reminds me of another story -- read this many years ago in college, I think, in a Victorian-era collection of "Indian Tales"... it was a university library book, so I don't have the source in front of me, but:

Once, when the world was new, humanity started flexing its muscles with all the tools it could make, and the crops it could plant, and started disrupting the balance of nature. All the animals got together to have a conference about what they could do about to control these wild humans. The mosquitos volunteered to curb the human population by biting them, and spreading disease, and all the animals agreed.

Soon humans were falling, well, if you'll forgive a turn of phrase, like flies, and suffering horribly in the process, with fevers and other nastiness. The plant beings were horrified at this, and agreed that while the crimes of humans had indeed been bad, the mosquitos were abusing their power. So they decided to make medicines in their leaves and roots, so that humans would have a fighting chance.

The thing I remember most is the commentary at the end from the 19th century editor: that isn't that a silly superstition the pagans had, to think that little mosquitos could be the source of disease? (!)

Heh, heh...