When the tree flowered : $b An authentic tale of the old Sioux worldNeihardt, John G.
History
When the tree flowered : $b An authentic tale of the old Sioux world
Neihardt, John G.
Historical fiction; Oglala Indians -- Fiction
“Two men were standing there,” Eagle Voice continued, speaking low and
with an air of mystery. “They were men, but they were not like other
men, for they made the light they lived in, and there was no shadow
where they stood. This light was soft and kind, and when the two men
smiled, it spread about the sisters so that they were not afraid at
all. Then they saw that one man was young and one was very old. The
younger one was taller than any man the girls had ever seen; but the
older one was even taller. I think he stood above the other like a
tree, and the light he made was that much brighter. He was old, old;
but he was young too. I think he was much older than the other because
he had been young so much longer. I think there are no canes where
these men came from, no wrinkled skins, and no uprooted teeth, and no
white hairs.
“Then the older man said to the older sister, ‘We heard you talking,
and I heard you say that you would marry me; so I am here.’ Then the
younger man spoke to the younger sister, and said, ‘We heard you
talking, and I heard you say that you would marry me; so I am here.’
The girls could not say anything at all, but their hearts were singing
in their breasts, and the two men heard. So the older man said to the
older sister, ‘Put your arms about my neck, and we will go.’ And the
younger man said to the younger sister, ‘Put your arms about my neck
and we will go.’
“That is what the sisters did, and so they went.
“It was like eagles flying, only faster, higher than eagles fly. And
all at once there was no village down below and no earth. There was
only air--blue air, blue air; and nothing anywhere but two men made of
light and two girls with their arms about the necks of those, flying
fast and higher, very fast and very high. Then all at once there were
shining villages of star people on a wide blue prairie, and from all
the villages came singing as the fliers passed, for all the people
there were happy. And afterwhile there was a village bigger than all
the others in that wide blue country, and there the flying men of light
came swooping down like eagles to their nests.
“Then the older star-man said to the older sister, ‘You are my wife
now, and I have brought you home.’ And the younger star-man spoke to
the younger sister, saying, ‘You are now my wife and I have brought you
home.’
“The sisters did not say anything at all, but their hearts were
singing. And all at once the whole hoop of the village about them was
one great song, and all the bright star people came from every side,
singing together as they came to welcome their great head chief and his
son with their new wives. And the singing was like many happy colors in
the brightness of that place.
“So there was dancing as for a great victory, and there was feasting.
Four days and nights the people danced and feasted and were glad.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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