Storytime
presented by shapcano*
Dinner was good. Real good. In fact, I think it was the best tasting food I ever had. (I'm not exactly sure what it was, but man-o-man was it tasty.) And the Beer? Those suds were incredible!
Ok, ok, so maybe the sweat lodge ceremony had something to do with my new appreciation for the wonder of the world, but hey, that's what I felt.
The boss was sort of distant throughout the meal. Not distant like the past few days, you understand, but more I've-got-a-lot-on-my-mind distant. He was, oh hell, he was pensive or pre-occupied rather than in another dimension. I took this as a hopeful sign.
Eventually the conversation among the people died down except for some excited giggles among the youngest. A tall, lanky fellow stood up and moved towards the campfire as an expectant hush fell over the camp.
"It is the time for tales" he said. "This night there shall be three".
An excited murmur swept through the audience like a ghostly breeze, disappearing almost as soon as it was percieved.
"First to honor the Great Spirit, we remember who we are with the story of the Sacred Tabacco" Amongst the nods of approval he contunued "To honor Strong Hands Travels it will be Why the North Star Stands still. and for Touched by Spirits it will be the Jumping Mouse," at which one pair of tiny hands clapped until shushed by his big sister. Smiling at the byplay in the audience the storyteller became very serious as he announced, " These are from the heart of the people."
A long time ago Indians roamed the West like the buffalo, one family scattered and returned by change. long time ago the There were no separate tribes.
One of the Indians was a woman of powerful beauty. She gave birth to twin sons, but she did not know who their father was. The beautiful woman sang her sons to sleep with a heartbreaking lullaby, and everyone who heard it took pity on her. Finally, the Earth agreed to claim the first son, and the stars took the second son as one of their own. From then on, the people called them Child of Earth and Child of Stars.
When the boys were near manhood, they began to behave a little differently from their friends. Child of Earth stopped following the buffalo everywhere and began to stay close beneath the willows of his home, searching for pretty rocks and carefully observing the slow growth of the plants. Child of Stars also grew lax in his hunting, but rather then staying at home he began to wander far beyond the buffalo. He slept during the days so that at night he could watch the travels of his star family.
One day Child of Stars' wanderings brought him to the foot of the highest mountain. No one had climbed it before, but Child of Stars started the slow climb upward without hesitating. Somewhere near the sky, Child of Stars fainted. A shining silver man appeared to him.
The man was a star. He told Child of Stars that he was his father but that he spent his life traveling far beyond the earth, and he said he would not pass near the mountain again in his son's lifetime.
"And so to show my love and concern for you, my son, I will give you a gift of great strength and colors of the sunset. Keep this plant with you wherever you wander, and in the springtime plant it everywhere you go. Tend the scarred beds, and harvest them when they are tall." With these words, the star plunged his hands into his own silver chest. When he pulled them out again, they were full of tobacco.
He told Child of Stars that tobacco would make everyone in their family strong and free. To share the tobacco and its power, people must be adopted into Child of Stars's family. Child of Stars listened carefully, but he was too overwhelmed to speak. he nodded his head gratefully, and his father burst away from him, back to the sky.
When Child of Stars came down from the mountains, he found his brother Child of Earth, and offered to adopt him and share the tobacco.
Child of Earth laughed, and said, "Brother, you don't need to climb mountains to have visions. While you were gone, I met my father earth and he taught me some secrets of my own. Your family may become powerful wanderers, but mine is going to become a family of peaceful farmers. We will grow everything except tobacco and you will grow nothing more."
"I don't want to grow anything more," said Child of Stars, "I will follow the buffalo, and be strong as an eagle, and as free as wind."
Child of Earth smiled. "I will be strong as rock, my brother," he said "and steady as sunrise. But no matter how different our families become, we will never quarrel. Your father has given you tobacco, and mine has given me the way of the Medicine Pipe. When we smoke together, your plant with my pipe, our fathers will give us peace and colors of the sunset."
Child of Earth brought forward a beautiful pipe made from the rock and willow of his home. Child of Stars filled it with tobacco from the heart of the star, and the brothers smoked together.
When Child of Stars left, some of the people went with him, hoping to be adopted into his family. Even before they learned the secrets of tobacco, the people who followed Child of Stars took a name, and called themselves the Crow.
The ones who stayed with Child of Earth to learn to farm were called after the willows of their home, Hidatsa.
And so the people were divided into tribes, but the power of tobacco and the pipe kept them from becoming enemies.
After the applause died down the storyteller continued-
Long, long ago, when the world was young, the People of the Sky were so restless and travelled so much that they made trails in the heavens. Now, if we watch the sky all through the night, we can see which way they go.
But one star does not travel. That is the North Star. He cannot travel. He cannot move. When he was on the earth long, long ago, he was known as Na-gah, the mountain sheep, the son of Shinoh. He was brave, daring, sure-footed, and courageous. His father was so proud of him and loved him so much that he put large earrings on the sides of his head and made him look dignified, important, and commanding.
Every day, Na-gah was climbing, climbing, climbing. He hunted for the roughest and the highest mountains, climbed them, lived among them, and was happy. Once in the very long ago, he found a very high peak. Its sides were steep and smooth, and its sharp peak reached up into the clouds. Na-gah looked up and said, "I wonder what is up there. I will climb to the very highest point."
Around and around the mountain he travelled, looking for a trail. But he could find no trail. There was nothing but sheer cliffs all the way around. This was the first mountain Na-gah had ever seen that he could not climb.
He wondered and wondered what he should do. He felt sure that his father would feel ashamed of him if he knew that there was a mountain that his son could not climb. Na-gah determined that he would find a way up to its top. His father would be proud to see him standing on the top of such a peak.
Again and again he walked around the mountain, stopping now and then to peer up the steep cliff, hoping to see a crevice on which he could find footing. Again and again, he went up as far as he could, but always had to turn around and come down. At last he found a big crack in a rock that went down, not up. Down he went into it and soon found a hole that turned upward. His heart was made glad. Up and up he climbed.
Soon it became so dark that he could not see, and the cave was full of loose rocks that slipped under his feet and rolled down. Soon he heard a big, fearsome noise coming up through the shaft at the same time the rolling rocks were dashed to pieces at the bottom. In the darkness he slipped often and skinned his knees. His courage and determination began to fail. He had never before seen a place so dark and dangerous. He was afraid, and he was also very tired.
"I will go back and look again for a better place to climb," he said to himself. "I am not afraid out on the open cliffs, but this dark hole fills me with fear. I'm scared! I want to get out of here!"
But when Na-gah turned to go down, he found that the rolling rocks had closed the cave below him. He could not get down. He saw only one thing now that he could do: He must go on climbing until he came out somewhere.
After a long climb, he saw a little light, and he knew that he was coming out of the hole. "Now I am happy," he said aloud. "I am glad that I really came up through that dark hole."
Looking around him, he became almost breathless, for he found that he was on the top of a very high peak! There was scarcely room for him to turn around, and looking down from this height made him dizzy. He saw great cliffs below him, in every direction, and saw only a small place in which he could move. Nowhere on the outside could he get down, and the cave was closed on the inside..,
"Here I must stay until I die," he said. "But I have climbed my mountain! I have climbed my mountain at last!
He ate a little grass and drank a little water that he found in the holes in the rocks. Then he felt better. He was higher than any mountain he could see and he could look down on the earth, far below him.
About this time, his father was out walking over the sky. He looked everywhere for his son, but could not find him. He called loudly, "Na-gah! Na-gah!" And his son answered him from the top of the highest cliffs. When Shinoh saw him there, he felt sorrowful, to himself, "My brave son can never come down. Always he must stay on the top of the highest mountain. He can travel and climb no more.
"I will not let my brave son die. I will turn him into a star, and he can stand there and shine where everyone can see him. He shall be a guide mark for all the living things on the earth or in the sky."
And so Na-gah became a star that every living thing can see. It is the only star that will always be found at the same place. Always he stands still. Directions are set by him. Travellers, looking up at him, can always find their way. He does not move around as the other stars do, and so he is called "the Fixed Star." And because he is in the true north all the time, our people call him Qui-am-i Wintook Poot-see. These words mean "the North Star."
Besides Na-gah, other mountain sheep are in the sky. They are called "Big Dipper" and "Little Dipper." They too have found the great mountain and have been challenged by it. They have seen Na- gah standing on its top, and they want to go on up to him.
Shinoh, the father of North Star, turned them into stars, and you may see them in the sky at the foot of the big mountain. Always they are travelling. They go around and around the mountain, seeking the trail that leads upward to Na-gah, who stands on the top. He is still the North Star.
With every eye in the camp squarely on me I buried my attention in the fascinating beer can I was holding and willed the storyteller to start his next tale. Several eternities later he said-
Once there was a Mouse.
He was a busy mouse, searching everywhere, touching his whiskers to the grass, and looking. He was busy as all mice are, busy with mice things. But once in a while he would hear an odd sound. He would lift his head, squinting hard to see, his whiskers wiggling in the air, and he would wonder. One day he scurried up to a fellow mouse and asked him, "Do you hear a roaring in your ears, my Brother?"
"No, no," answered the other mouse, not lifting his busy nose from the ground. "I hear nothing. I am busy now. Talk to me later."
He asked another mouse the same question and the mouse looked at him strangely. "Are you foolish in your head? What sound?" he asked and slipped into a hole in a fallen cottonwood tree.
The little mouse shrugged his whiskers and busied himself again, determined to forget the whole matter. But there was that roaring again. It was faint, very faint, but it was there! One day, he decided to investigate the sound just a little. Leaving the other busy mice, he scurried a little way away and listened again. There it was! He was listening hard when suddenly, someone said Hello.
"Hello, little Brother," the voice said, and Mouse almost jumped right out of his skin. He arched his back and tail and was about to run.
"Hello," again said the voice. "It is I, Brother Raccoon." And sure enough, it was! "What are you doing here all by yourself, little brother?" asked the Raccoon. The Mouse blushed, and put his nose almost to the ground. "I hear a roaring in my ears and I am investigating it," he answered timidly.
"A roaring in your ears?" replied the Raccoon as he sat down with him. "What you hear, little brother , is the River."
"The River?" Mouse asked curiously. "What is a river?"
"Walk with me and I will show you the river," Raccoon said.
Little Mouse was terribly afraid, but he was determined to find out once and for all about the roaring. "I can return to my work," he thought, "after this thing is settled, and possibly this thing may aid me in all my busy examining and collecting. And my brothers all said it was nothing. I will show them. I will ask Raccoon to return with me and I will have proof."
"All right Raccoon, my Brother," said Mouse. "Lead on to the River. I will walk with you."
Little Mouse walked with Raccoon. His little heart was pounding in his breast. The Raccoon was taking him upon strange paths and little Mouse smelled the scent of many things that had gone by his way. Many times he became so frightened he almost turned back. Finally, they came to the river! It was huge and breathtaking, Deep and clear in places, and murky in others. Little Mouse was unable to see across it because it was so great. It roared, sang, cried, and thundered on its course. Little Mouse saw great and little pieces of the world carried along on its surface.
"It is powerful!" little Mouse said, fumbling for words.
It is a great thing," answered the Raccoon, "But here, let me introduce you to a friend."
In a Smoother, Shallower Place was a Lily Pad, Bright and Green. Sitting upon it was a Frog, almost as Green as the Pad it sat on. The Frog's White Belly stood out Clearly.
"Hello, little Brother," said the Frog.
"Welcome to the River."
"I must Leave you Now," cut in Raccoon, "but do not Fear, little Brother, for Frog will Care for you Now." And Raccoon Left, Looking along the River Bank for Food that he might Wash and Eat.
Little Mouse Approached the Water and Looked into it. He saw a Frightened Mouse Reflected there.
"Who are you?" little Mouse asked the Reflection. "Are you not Afraid of being that Far out into the Great River?"
"No, answered the Frog, "I am not Afraid. I have been Given the Gift from Birth to Live both Above and Within the River. When Winter Man Comes and Freezes this Medicine, I cannot be Seen. But all the while Thunderbird Flies, I am here. To Visit me, One must Come when the World is Green. I, my Brother, am the Keeper of the Water."
Amazing!" little Mouse said at last, again Fumbling for Words."
Would you like to have some Medicine Power?" Frog asked."
"Medicine Power? Me?" asked little Mouse. "Yes, yes! If it is Possible."
"Then Crouch as Low as you Can, and then Jump as High as you are Able! You will have your Medicine!" Frog said.
Little Mouse did as he was Instructed. He Crouched as Low as he Could and Jumped. And when he did, his Eyes Saw the Sacred Mountains.
Little Mouse could hardly Believe his Eyes. But there they were! But then he Fell back to Earth, and he Landed in the River!
Little Mouse became Frightened and Scrambled back to the Bank. He was Wet and Frightened nearly to Death.
"You have Tricked me," little Mouse Screamed at the Frog!"
"Wait," said the Frog. "You are not Harmed. Do not let your Fear and Anger Blind you. What did you See?"
"I," Mouse stammered, "I Saw the Sacred Mountains!"
"And you have a New Name!" Frog said. "It is Jumping Mouse."
"Thank you. Thank you," Jumping Mouse said, and Thanked him again. "I want to Return to my People and Tell them of this thing that has Happened to me."
"Go. Go then," Frog said. "Return to your People. It is Easy to Find them. Keep the Sound of the Medicine River to the back of your Head. Go Opposite to the Sound and you will Find your Brother Mice."
Jumping Mouse Returned to the World of the Mice. But he Found Disappointment. No One would Listen to him. And because he was Wet, and had no Way of explaining it because there had been no Rain, many of the other Mice were Afraid of him. They believed he had been Spat from the Mouth of Another Animal that had Tried to Eat him. And they all Knew that if he had not been Food for the One who Wanted him, then he must also be Poison for them.
Jumping Mouse Lived again among his People, but he could not Forget his Vision of the Sacred Mountains.
The Memory Burned in the Mind and Heart of Jumping Mouse, and One Day he Went to the Edge of the Place of Mice and Looked out onto the Prairie. He looked up for Eagles. The Sky was Full of many Spots, each One an Eagle. But he was Determined to Go to the Sacred Mountains. He Gathered All of his Courage and Ran just as Fast as he Could onto the Prairie. His little Heart Pounded with Excitement and Fear.
He Ran until he Came to a stand of Sage. He was Resting and trying to Catch his Breath when he Saw an Old Mouse. The Patch of Sage Old Mouse Lived in was a Haven for Mice. Seeds and many things to be Busy with.
"Hello," said Old Mouse. "Welcome."
Jumping Mouse was Amazed. Such a Place and such a Mouse. "You are Truly a great Mouse." Jumping Mouse said with all the Respect that he could Find. "This is Truly a Wonderful Place. And the Eagles cannot See you here, either," Jumping Mouse said.
"Yes," said Old Mouse," and One can See All the Beings of the Prairie here: the Buffalo, Antelope, Rabbit, and Coyote. One can See them All from here and Know their Names."
"That is Marvelous," Jumping Mouse said. "Can you also See the River and the Great Mountains?"
"Yes and No," Old Mouse Said with Conviction. "I Know the Great River, But I am Afraid that the Great Mountains are only a Myth. Forget your Passion to See Them and Stay here with me. There is Everything you Want here, and it is a Good Place to Be."
"How can he Say such a thing?" Thought Jumping Mouse. "The Medicine of the Sacred Mountains is Nothing One can Forget."
"Thank you very much for the Meal you have Shared with me, Old Mouse, and also for sharing your Great Home," Jumping Mouse said. "But I must Seek the Mountains."
"You are a Foolish Mouse to Leave, there is Danger on the Prairie! Just Look up there!" Old Mouse said, with even more Conviction. "See all those Spots! They are Eagles, and they will Catch you!"
It was hard for Jumping Mouse to Leave, but he Gathered his Determination and Rand hard Again.
The Ground was Rough. But he Arched his Tail and Ran with All his Might. He could Feel the Shadows of the Spots upon his Back as he Ran. All those Spots! Finally he Ran into a Stand of Chokecherries. Jumping Mouse could hardly Believe his Eyes. It was Cool there and very Spacious. There was Water, Cherries, and Seeds to Eat, Grasses to Gather for Nests, Holes to be Explored and many, many Other Busy Things to do. And there were a great many things to Gather.
He was Investigating his New Domain when he Heard very Heavy Breathing. He Quickly Investigated the Sound and Discovered its Source. It was a Great Mound of Hair with Black Horns. It was a Great Buffalo. Jumping Mouse could hardly Believe the Greatness of the Being he Saw Lying there before him. He was so large that Jumping Mouse could have Crawled into One of his Great Horns. "Such a Magnificent Being," Thought Jumping Mouse, and he Crept Closer.
"Hello, my Brother," said the Buffalo. "Thank you for Visiting me."
"Hello Great Being," said Jumping Mouse. "Why are you Lying here?"
"I am Sick and I am Dying" the Buffalo said.
"And my Medicine has Told me that only the Eye of a Mouse can Heal me. But little Brother, there is no such Thing as a Mouse."
Jumping Mouse was Shocked. "One of my Eyes!" he Thought. "One of my Tiny Eyes." He Scurried back into the Stand of Chokecherries. But the breathing came Harder and Slower.
"He will Die." Thought Jumping Mouse. "If I do not Give him my Eye. He is too Great a Being to Let Die."
He Went Back to where the Buffalo Lay and Spoke. "I am a Mouse." he said with a Shaky Voice. "And you, my Brother, are a Great Being. I cannot Let you Die. I have Two Eyes, so you may have One of them."
The minute he Said it, Jumping Mouse's Eye Flew Out of his Head and the Buffalo was Made Whole. The Buffalo jumped to his Feet, Shaking Jumping Mouse's Whole World.
"Thank you, my little Brother," said the Buffalo. "I Know of your Quest for the Sacred Mountains and of your Visit tot he River. You have Given me Life so that I may Give-Away to the People. I will be your Brother Forever. Run under my Belly and I will Take you right to the Foot of the Sacred Mountains, and you need not Fear the Spots. The Eagles cannot See you while you Run under Me. All they will See will be the Back of a Buffalo. I am of the Prairie and I will Fall on you if I Try to Go up the Mountains."
Little Mouse Ran under the Buffalo, Secure and Hidden from the Spots, but with only One Eye it was Frightening. The Buffalo's Great Hooves Shook the Whole World each time he took a Step. finally the Came to a Place and Buffalo Stopped.
"This is Where I must Leave you, little Brother," said the Buffalo.
"Thank you very much," said Jumping Mouse. "But you Know, it was very Frightening Running under you with only One Eye. I was Constantly in Fear of your Great Earth-Shaking Hooves."
"Your Fear was for Nothing," said Buffalo, "For my Way of Walking is the Sun Dance Way, and I Always Know where my Hooves will Fall. I now must Return to the Prairie, my Brother, You can Always Find me there."
Jumping Mouse Immediately Began to Investigate his New Surroundings. There were even more things here than in the Other Places, Busier things, and Abundance of Seeds and Other things Mice Like. In his Investigation of these things, Suddenly he Ran upon a Gray Wolf who was Sitting there doing absolutely Nothing.
"Hello, Brother Wolf," Jumping Mouse said.
The Wolf's Ears Came Alert and his Eyes Shone. "Wolf! Wolf! Yes, that is what I am, I am a Wolf!" But then his mind Dimmed again and it was not long before he Sat Quietly again, completely without Memory as to who he was. Each time Jumping Mouse Reminded him who he was, he became Excited with the News, but soon would Forget again.
"Such a Great Being," thought Jumping Mouse, "but he has no Memory."
Jumping Mouse Went to the Center of his New Place and was Quiet. He Listened for a very long time to the Beating of his Heart. Then Suddenly he Made up his Mind. He Scurried back to where the Wolf Sat and he Spoke.
"Brother Wolf," Jumping Mouse said. ....
"Wolf! Wolf," said the Wolf ....
"Please Brother Wolf," said Jumping Mouse, "Please Listen to me. I Know what will Heal you. It is One of my Eyes. And I Want to Give it to you. You are a Greater Being than I. I am only a Mouse. Please Take it."
When Jumping Mouse Stopped Speaking his Eye Flew out of his Head and the Wolf was made Whole.
Tears Fell down the Cheeks of the Wolf, but his little Brother could not See them, for Now he was Blind.
"You are a Great Brother," said the Wolf, "for Now I have my Memory. But Now you are Blind. I am the Guide into the Sacred Mountains. I will Take you there. There is a Great Medicine Lake there. The most Beautiful Lake in the World. All the World is reflected there. The People, the Lodges of the People, and All the Beings of the Prairies and Skies."
"Please Take me there," Jumping Mouse said. The Wolf Guided him through the Pines to the Medicine Lake. Jumping Mouse Drank the Water from the Lake. The Wolf Described the Beauty to him.
I must Leave you here," said Wolf, "For I must Return so that I may Guide Others, but I will Remain with you as long as you Like."
Thank you, my Brother," said Jumping Mouse. "But although I am Frightened to be Alone, I Know you must Go so that you may Show Others the Way to this Place."
Jumping Mouse Sat there Trembling in Fear. It was no use Running, for he was Blind, but he Knew an Eagle would Find him Here. He Felt a Shadow on his Back and Heard the Sound that Eagles Make. He Braced himself for the Shock. And the Eagle Hit! Jumping Mouse went to Sleep.
Then he Woke Up. The surprise of being Alive was Great, but Now he could See!
Everything was Blurry, but the Colors were beautiful.
"I can See! I can See!" said Jumping Mouse over again and again.
A Blurry Shape Came toward Jumping Mouse. Jumping Mouse Squinted hard but the Shape Remained a Blur.
"Hello, Brother," a Voice said. "Do you Want some Medicine?"
"Some Medicine for me?" asked Jumping Mouse. "Yes! Yes!"
"Then Crouch down as Low as you Can," the Voice said, "and Jump as High as you Can."
Jumping Mouse did as he was Instructed. He Crouched as Low as he Could and Jumped! The Wind Caught him and Carried him Higher."
"Do not be Afraid," the Voice called to him. "Hang on to the Wind and Trust!"
Jumping Mouse did. He Closed his Eyes and Hung on to the Wind and it Carried Higher and Higher. Jumping Mouse Opened his Eyes and they were Clear, and the Higher he Went the Clearer they Became. Jumping Mouse Saw his Old Friend upon a Lily Pad on the Beautiful Medicine Lake. It was the Frog.
"You have a New Name," Called the Frog. "You are Eagle!"
* The stories on this page were blatantly lifted from the Native American Lore Index Page . What can I say? I liked the stories so much I had to include them. I even linked to StoneE's embeded .wav file. Haunting, isn't it? Ok, Ok so I'm not very nice- stealing somebody else's hard work. We can't all be heroes. I still think this stuff is cool. Special thanks to StoneE for a brilliant site.
This chapter is NOT copyright of the author. Shadowrun was a Registered Trademark of FASA Corporation until they went busto foldo. Now Wizkids LLC owns it. Or possibly FanPro. Or some other dragon owned subsidiary. Whoever holds the trademark, they didn't call and tell me it was ok to write this, and anybody who says I said that is full of it. I'm not challenging any of the rights or trademarks of anybody who own's them, whoever they are. I'm just writing stories. Or, in this case, lifting Native American Folklore from StoneE's website. Thank you for not litigating.
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