|
Many years ago in the mountains of the southwest there was an Apache village located in the midst of a large pinon pine forest. One bright afternoon a group of young boys gathered in the trees outside the village and discussed their dreams of the future. One of them said that he would be a powerful warrior and if he is killed in battle his spirit will return as a great eagle. Another stated that he will be a mighty hunter and his spirit will return as a fierce hunting hawk. A small boy called Little Fox began to tell the others about what his grandfather had taught him. "My grandfather told me that if you look in the forest, you seldom see an eagle or hawk but you will always see many ravens because they are the spirits of the common people." He went on to say "Only the greatest of chiefs or hunters will return as an eagle or hawk; but it is the ravens who keep the forest clean and free from mice and pesty bugs just as the many common people do the work around the village, weaving, making pottery and bows and knives, building lodges, and growing gardens." The other boys began to laugh at Little Fox saying "Your grandfather is old and forgetful and he cannot even remember our names, how can he tell such tales ?" and then off they ran to other youthful enterprises. Little Fox decided to go ask his grandfather again about the spirits of the birds in the sky. Grandfather lived in a small hut on the edge of the village and was sitting outside getting ready to cook a rabbit he had trapped in a snare earlier in the day. Little Fox arrived running and panting "grandfather, grandfather, the other boys laughed when I told them about the ravens." "Let them laugh" he replied "they will learn for themselves some day how the Great Spirit decides who shall be an eagle and who shall be a raven. Now run back to your mother and tell her you will be eating with me this evening, this rabbit will be cooked before the sun hides for the day ." Little Fox returned quickly and spent the evening with his grandfather as he had done many times before, listening to exciting tales of savage battles, fierce hunts, and how the earth began. The next day Little Fox came upon one of his young friends who once again poked fun at Little Fox's grandfather. Little Fox simply replied "you will see the truth yourself someday and it will come from the sky." As the months passed grandfather was slowly becoming older and weaker; until one morning Little Fox overheard his mother and father talking about how during the night time grandfather had gone to the Great Spirit. Greatly saddened by this news, Little Fox walked down to his grandfather's hut. His heart was heavy with grief while tears fell from his eyes but as he got closer to grandfather's home he knew this was the way of life that he had been taught. Suddenly he looked up as if someone in the sky had called him and saw a shiny black raven, the bird swooped down toward him, circled around him several times and disappeared into the trees. "It is grandfather" he told himself in happy silence, "he will always be near, all his tales were true, I must run home to tell father and mother." As he hurried home one of the older boys stopped him and asked, "where is your grandfather now Little Fox, flying with the eagles ? Ha ha ha." Little Fox just said, "look to the sky for the truth." Suddenly from out of nowhere a great black raven appeared and this time dropped a sharp edged stone right on top of the other youth's head. "Owowow" he cried, "who did that ?" "A raven" Little Fox softly replied, "a wise old raven." © |