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Bear and Bird marry one another as a ruse. Now this happened in a time long ago, and long ago the rules were different. The Forest covered all the land, and the birds and the beasts of the Forest spoke with one another. Man had not yet crawled out from under the rocks, and so we had not yet offended the Creator and caused It to forsake us. Creator was fishing, sitting on one of It's favorite rocks, the rock that even today bears evidence of It's fundament. Bear and Bird came to It, and they requested something new. Of course long ago, new things were happening all the time. New things are still happening all the time, but in some ways they're not the same kind of new things. This, this was something that had yet to be seen on the face of the world. Bird was riding on Bear's head, and she was decked out in her finest plumage, a riot of colors; blues, greens, reds, yellows, all the colors of the rainbow, as well as the darkest of blacks and the starkest of whites. Bear was covered in his patchwork coat of fur, and it was at it's most colorful. He'd rolled in field after field of flowers, and the reds of the roses, the yellows of the daffodils, the whites of the lilies, and the purples of the camas made him look quite festive indeed. Indeed, they were wearing the colors of wedding. Bear bowed his head to Creator, and spoke in a deep growl "It is our wish to be wed for a full turning of the Seasons." At first the Creator laughed, but then, seeing that they were serious, It quickly grew grave. "You truly wish this? This is a new thing and could lead to much mischief. Did the Fox put you up to this?" "No," Bird trilled "this is our wish." "Well, I can't see what will come of it, but if it is what you wish, much good may it do you." Now, obviously word of this arrangement got around. Bird's sisters twittered to themselves about the lengths their sister would go to keep her eggs safe from her father. Father Bird had a great hunger for eggs, and every egg his daughters laid he would quickly gobble up. The Bird sisters had to hide their eggs in clever places and in clever ways, but no matter how clever they were their father always found them. Still, to wed a Bear? It was too much. Bird's mother was sad at first, because she felt like her daughter had made a match that would ensure she'd never have grandchildren. Then she thought again, and realized that given the current situation she'd never have grandchildren anyway so she may as well be happy for her daughter. Bear's father laughed so hard when he heard about it that the ground rumbled for three days. "He thinks to take a bird to wife and so avoid the conflict that must come between us. He was always the most cowardly of my sons, for the others have challenged me while I was still in my prime and have been destroyed for their trouble. Still, whatever treachery he plans I will father the cubs of the coming Spring and that is all I care about." He snorted to himself in contempt, "Thinking to win with cleverness what he cannot win with strength." When Bird's father heard about the match, he was furious. "She knows I hunger, and yet she's got a great lummox of a bear to guard her nest. She was always the most foolish of my daughters and now she's thinking to win with strength what she cannot win through cleverness." Bear's mother was happy when she heard, because his brothers were dead and she longed for him to be safe more than anything. He'd always been the weakest of her sons, and perhaps this was a way for him to win through cleverness what he could not win through strength. He couldn’t truly love a Bird could he? Bear's brothers were dead, and so they thought nothing. Bear and Bird found a spot close to a river, and Bear used his prodigious strength to knock trees over and create a space for them. They set up housekeeping, as many a couple has done since, and exactly how that arrangement worked I'll leave up to your imagination. They were happy though, and that is what matters. Now there's three endings to this story, and they're all true because things worked differently long ago. In one ending, Bird and Bear lived happily together for the rest of their lives. In another ending at the start of Spring Bird built a nest and laid some eggs. Bear guarded the eggs and frustrated every attempt by Father Crow to eat them. The eggs hatched and after a season Bird had a small family. That family helped Bear when he went to fight his father, and after a fierce battle Bear defeated his father and went on to have many children of his own. That is why to this day Bird and Bear are friends, with Bird calling out to Bear when there is meat nearby. That is also why you must be wary of Bird, for when you hear her call you can be certain Bear is nearby. In a different ending, Bear helped Bird build the nest, and the egg Bird laid was enormous. When the egg hatched Palxockinyaka was born. Later, after many adventures and much time, he would adopt our tribe. That is a story for a different time though.
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Jul 19, 2016 16:24
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 11:21 |
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