by D. J. Holmes
* * *
Running Deer and Gray Wolf have learned how to walk, though sometimes they are rather unsteady. Gray Wolf has found a bird’s nest on the ground, and brings it to his mother.
Looking at his mother, Gray Wolf raises the nest in his small hands as high as he can, “Bwirdie…mmm Bwirdie”
Blue Cloud has just arrived on his horse and is tying the reins to a tree. “Blue Cloud,” Snow Flower calls. “Look at what Gray Wolf has found.”
Blue Cloud takes his son into his arms. “What have you found, Gray Wolf?”
“Bwirdie.”
“Come here, Running Deer. Look at what Gray Wolf has found.” He tells his sons, “This is a very beautiful bird’s nest. Do you see how it is a circle?”
Bending at his knees, Blue Cloud lowers closer to the ground as he draws a circle in the dirt.
“Poke your fingers in the dirt like this.” Blue Cloud pushes his fingers into the dirt to show them what to do. Tracing the imprints that Running Deer and Gray Wolf make, Blue Cloud continues, “You see, it’s a circle. It is round. It begins and ends in the same place. Push your fingers into the dirt again.”
Running Deer and Gray Wolf make several imprints in the dirt.
“What great circles you have both made. Remember my Sons, that everything is a circle. Our drums, which make the sound of our hearts, are circles. The Sun, Moon, and Mother Earth are circles.” He points to the Sun, puts his hand on the dirt, and finally puts his hand on his heart, “Our life is a circle.”
Blue Cloud continues talking and teaching his sons. But what he says is only between them, for it is the way of their tribe.
Time goes quickly, and soon the twins are three years old. Running Deer and Gray Wolf seem mature for their years. Wherever they go, they don’t walk, they run. “Father, watch to see which one of us gets to the big tree the fastest,” Running Deer says as he starts running. Gray Wolf sees that his brother has already begun the race. Moving as quickly as he can, Gray Wolf reaches the tree at the same time as his brother.
“My sons are very fast,” Blue Cloud states as his chest is pushed out. “But, I’m hungry right now. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, Father. I am very hungry,” Running Deer says between his deep breaths.
“So am I, Father,” Gray Wolf says breathing very deeply.
Blue Cloud smiles at his son’s response and says, “Let’s go to your mother and see what there is to eat.” He looks down at them. “Who do you think can get to the tipi the fastest?” He runs slowly so that his sons can stay close to him.
Snow Flower, glad to see her men, greets them with “Are you ready to eat?”
“That’s why we have come. What is there to eat, woman?” Blue Cloud loudly boasts, smiling as he teases his wife.
Quickly grabbing their food with their hands, Blue Cloud reprimands Running Deer and Gray Wolf saying, “Wait, I know that you are hungry, but we must always thank the food before we eat it,” Blue Cloud chides them.
The boys put down their venison. Their father begins, “My Brother, thank you for your sacrifice. We honor your courage.” He then makes a gesture with his index and middle fingers on his right hand, from his eye to the venison, to signify tears coming from his right eye. “My Sons, this animal is our brother. He has given his life, so that we can have life. Do you understand what I am saying?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Remember, do not waste anything that you take. Go ahead, you can eat now.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“Mother, may we have some venison?”
“Yes, my beautiful Sons.”
Blue Cloud and Snow Flower live, love and continue to teach Running Deer and Gray Wolf, the way of the tribe. Seasons quickly change, soon their sons are in their fourth year.
“Father, will you show us how to shoot a bow and arrow?” Gray Wolf asks.
“Yes, Father. We have watched you shoot your bow and arrow. We both feel that we are old enough to learn,” Running Deer adds.
“I would be glad to teach you, my Sons,” Blue Cloud responds.
As a proud father, Blue Cloud fashions two bows and several arrows for his young sons. “Here is your bow. Your mother made a quiver for each of you, and we both filled them with several arrows.”
“Come with me. I’ll teach you how to shoot them.” Proudly they go with their father to the end of the village.
“Why have we come here, Father?” Gray Wolf asks. “We want everyone to see what great warriors we are when we shoot our arrows,” Running Deer states.
“You will see why soon enough, my Sons,” he answers with a smile.
Blue Cloud begins to make a target. Not wanting to wait, both boys begin to get their arrows ready to shoot.
“Ah, wait a minute, my Sons. Let me get behind you.”
“I can get that target Father,” Running Deer proudly declares.
“Yes, Father. We’ve seen you shoot your arrow a lot further than that,” Gray Wolf proudly says.
“Nevertheless, I would like you to start out at this distance. Then, as your arrows hit their mark, we will put the target further and further away.” Blue Cloud stabilizes the target of two medium sized logs, tied together and leaned against another standing tree. He moves so he is behind his sons.
“All right, now shoot your arrows my Sons,” he says with a huge smile.
Running Deer and Gray Wolf stand like they have seen their father stand. They put the backs of the arrows into the bowstring and pull it back, just like they have seen their father do. They both look back at their father. With their stance they both seem to be saying, “See, we told you that we could do it!” Together they let go of their bowstring.
“Hey, what happened?” the boys question. Both of their arrows were lying on the ground next to their feet.
“Let’s try it again,” a determined Gray Wolf declares. “Yea,” an even more determined Running Deer agrees. Blue Cloud is behind his sons, trying to not let them see him laughing. He remembers what it was like, when he first started to learn to shoot his own bow and arrow.
As Snow Flower is bringing her washing back from the stream, Blue Cloud sees her out of the corner of his eye and motions for her to come. She walks over and puts her basket of washing down, as she stands next to her husband.
“Listen, Snow Flower,” Blue Cloud whispers with a chuckle.
“Why is my arrow pointing to the ground?” Gray Wolf says with a great deal of curiosity.
“What’s the matter Gray Wolf can’t you see where the target is?” Running Deer taunts his brother just as he pulls back his arrow to shoot. The arrow barely passes the bow and falls to the ground.
“What has happened to your strength, my Brother?” Gray Wolf returns the taunt.
Blue Cloud and Snow Flower are secretly laughing so hard at the antics of their sons as they are try to figure out how to get their arrows to hit the target. Blue Cloud finally takes a breath and tries to look serious.
“Would you like some help, my Sons?”
“Yes, Father,” they both say slowly and dejectedly with their heads down and arms to their sides.
“My Sons, do not be sad. Every great warrior starts out the same way that you have.”
They both look up at their father. “Is that right, Father?” Gray Wolf asks.
“We haven’t shamed you?” a concerned Running Deer inquires.
“My Sons, you have made me proud. Both of you have actually done a lot better than I did when I was first learning.”
“Are you telling the truth Father?”
“Yes Father, are you really telling the truth?” they both ask with questioning eyes.
Blue Cloud walks over to his sons and kneels down so that he is eye to eye with them, “Yes, my Sons. With what I have seen you do this morning, you will both become great warriors.”
He stands up and walks in between both of them and rubs their heads. Then he steps in front of them and draws a straight line from right to le
ft in the dirt.
“My Sons, put your toes up to the line that I have just drawn.” Both boys walk up to the line, look down and put their toes up to the line.
“Now, put your right foot back to where you can stand with the toes of your right foot pointed out to your right, just where it is comfortable, and then look toward me.”
“Hold your bow almost in the center with your left hand. Put your arrow in the bowstring, and let the shaft of your arrow rest next to the bow, just above your left hand. Your arrow should be at the center of the bow, on the right hand side.” Looking at his boys he says, “Good job, Running Deer.
Put your left hand just a little bit higher on your bow, Gray Wolf.”
Blue Cloud grabs his bow and arrow and shows them what he wants them to do, as he continues talking. “All Right, now lift your head and face your target. Raise your left hand, your bow arm, keeping it locked. Pull the bowstring back with your right hand until it is next to your cheek, and your index finger is almost touching the corner of your mouth. Take a breath and aim.”
Realizing where he is standing, Blue Cloud says, “Hold your stance for just a minute while I walk behind you.” And he hurries to get behind them while Snow Flower is now laughing quietly to herself.
“Release your bowstring and arrow at the same time. Don’t move your bow from your intended target until the arrow has cleared the bow.”
The boys let go of their arrow and bowstring at the same time. With both of their arrows clearing the bow, they almost hit their target.
Looking back to their Father, Blue Cloud says, “Don’t worry, it won’t be long until you hit the target. Now, there’s something else that I want to tell you. If you are hunting, you can hold your shooting pose until the arrow hits its target. But if you are in battle, your aim must be straight, and you must move quickly. Be sure to practice shooting your arrows using both of these techniques. He turns to Snow Flower and says, “Snow Flower our Sons are starting to grow up.”
“They are, my Husband. And with a father like you they will grow up to be great warriors,” she says with pride.
Blue Cloud walks over to Snow Flower and holds her hand with pride as they both continue to watch their sons shoot their arrows.
* * *
“Their sons are very skilled, Jon. Look at how quickly they learned to use their bows,” Julia said very impressed. “But, then again, Evan learns very quickly. So why wouldn’t his sons be the same way?”
“They look like him, don’t they Katherine?”
“Yes. They are so cute.”
