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
“When Meadowlark and his wife hopped over there in a hurry, they could
hardly believe it. ‘See how our Falling Star has grown!’ the wife
cried, flapping her wings. ‘He is nearly twice as big as he was!’ cried
the husband, flapping his wings. Then they were so happy that they
raised their heads and sang--like two little waters falling together
into a quiet pool. And the young day was still to listen. You can hear
them yet, if you listen in the still morning.
“Then Meadowlark said to his wife, ‘Woman, this baby is getting too big
to live on worms and seeds. Already he can crawl, and tomorrow maybe he
will walk. I heard Grandmother Magpie say once that two-leggeds without
wings like to eat bison and are always hunting them. So I think I will
go hunting today.’ And that is what he did.
“The day was young when he started. He hunted and hunted, and the sun
was above him. He hunted and hunted, and he saw many bison, many, many;
but they were very big and he had no bow and arrows, so he went on
hunting. The sun was halfway down, and still he was hunting. Then all
at once he saw a dead bison calf, and wolves and crows feasting there.
So he thought, ‘I am small. If I can sneak in there where they are
feasting, maybe nobody will notice me and I can get some bison meat for
the baby.’
“So he sneaked through the grass, making himself even smaller than
before, until he was right in among the feasters with their bloody
beaks and muzzles. He was afraid, but he had to feed the baby. The
wolves were snarling and snapping at each other while they ate, and the
crows were quarreling because they all wanted the pieces of meat the
others had. While they were doing this, Meadowlark sneaked between the
legs of the wolves until he was inside the dead calf that the wolves
had torn open. And right in front of him was a big fat liver!”
“_Washtay!_” exclaimed No Water and Moves Walking. “_Washtay!_”
“Meadowlark had to hurry, because the crows might notice him in there
and kill him. So he pecked and pecked as hard and fast as he could;
and in a little while he had cut off a big chunk of fat liver. But how
was he going to get out of there with the liver? He was thinking about
this, and then all at once he could hear the wolves fighting harder
than ever outside, and the crows flying about with whistling wings and
loud battle cries. He peeked outside, and all the wolves were snarling
and yelping and snapping and rolling over each other. Some of them were
trying to run away with the calf’s entrails, and the others wanted them
too. So there was a big fight, and I think the crows were cheering the
four-leggeds. Maybe if they all killed each other, the crows would
have more meat for themselves, and that is why they were cheering.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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