Oniare'kó:wa - The Horned Serpent
"The Girl Who Was Not Satisfied With Simple Things" is the Haudenosaunee story where I discovered the great horned serpent. In summary it is a story of a young woman who was picky when it came to choosing a husband. One day, a beautiful stranger came to her asking to be her husband and she agreed against her mother's wishes. That night they traveled to his village and she found herself becoming fearful of why she agreed to come with the strange man. When they arrived at his village she noticed the lodge she was brought to smelled of fish and the husband tried to force her to meet his people in a dress that also smelled like fish. She refused and he was disappointed and told her he needed to go away for a time but she was not to leave the lodge or fear any noises she heard or seen outside its walls. The girl thought about her home and if only she had been satisfied with simple things she would not be in this situation. Just then a great horned serpent entered the lodge, looked upon her, and left. She peeked outside the lodge and all she could see was serpents in the village. It was then she knew her husband was not a man, but a man disguised as a serpent. She knew immediately if she put on the dress she too would become a great serpent. That night she dreamt of her grandfather. He told her to leave the village immediately. He told her to run and not look back or her husband's people would stop her. When she awoke she ran from the village, the husbands cries following her, and finally emerged from over a hill. She finally looked back and realized she had climbed out of a river and behind her were many, many serpents. The thunderer, Heno, then blasted the serpents with lightning and carried the girl back to her village. Later in life she married a good hearted man and always told her grandchildren to be satisfied with simple things.
"The Girl Who Was Not Satisfied With Simple Things" is found on page 123 of Heroes & Heroines Monsters & Magic: Native American Legends & Folktales as told by Joseph Bruchac.