Humming Bird Lore - Cherokee In a Cherokee story, a medicine man turned himself into a hummingbird to retrieve lost tobacco plants. In another Cherokee story, a woman is courted by both a hummingbird and a crane. She first chooses the hummingbird for his good looks, but the crane convinces here that there should be a race around the world with the winner having her hand in marriage. She agrees, thinking the hummingbird is bound to win because he flies so fast. What she fails to take into account is that Crane can fly all night long, while Hummingbird is able to fly only during the day. Crane wins, but she reneges on her promise, because he is so ugly. The Creek Indians have a similar story. In this version Crane wins because he flies in a straight line, while Hummingbird zigzags.