as told by Grandfather Bear
Long, long ago and just yesterday there was great trouble in the land of my people. Many of the Bear Clan were being killed by Crooked Hunter. It reached such a point that all of my brothers and sisters were living in fear for their lives. Every day brought new tales of how Crooked Hunter had killed this one or that one. Being the Elder, it was up to me to see that the massacre was stopped, so I called a council of the clan—or what was left of it.
“You must all leave this land for your own safety,” I said.
“But this is our home! Our land is beautiful, full of berries, fish, and honey! Our dens are here! How can we leave? Where will we go?” my relations cried.
“You must go to the other side of the mountain until I have dealt with Crooked Hunter. He cannot reach you there.”
“Will we be able to come back?” my sister spoke for the others.
“That remains to be seen. It all depends...” I replied sadly.
So one by one my sisters and brothers, my cousins, and my children took leave of me, wishing me good fortune with many tears. And one by one they moved down the trail through the forest to the other side of the mountain.
After everyone was gone, I sat down on a stump with my head in my paws. It was up to me to deal with Crooked Hunter and make the land safe for the clan to return. But what could I do?
The very next day as I was wandering along trying to devise a plan, I came face to face with Crooked Hunter himself.
“Ah, at last, a bear!” he cried as he shot at me.
I dodged and he missed.
Quickly I smacked him with my great paw, and I could have killed him then and there, but I wanted to know why he was out to destroy the whole Bear Clan. Besides we are of a peaceful nature and would rather avoid violence. Perhaps I could reason with him...
“Why do you torment my people?” I asked as he lay still dazed against a tree.
He shook his head and glared angrily at me.
“Tell me, Crooked Hunter, are your people hungry? Do you kill my people for food?” I asked.
“Hungry? No, of course not! We have more than enough food, and our larders are full of stores for the winter,” he exclaimed.
“Then perhaps your people are cold. Do they need our fur for warm coats for the coming winter?” I asked again.
“Cold? Ha, never! My people have all the finest and warmest clothes they could want. Not only that, but our closets are full of many clothes,” he replied disdainfully.
“Well, then—”I thought for a moment. “Are your people sick? Are they in need of our medicine?”
“Sick? What a fool you are. My people are just fine. And anyhow our cabinets are full of medicines if we should need them,” he exclaimed.
“Then why do you continue to kill my people?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t have to have a reason. I don’t need to explain anything to you! I am a man, and you—you’re nothing but a bear!” he shouted at me.
The way he said nothing but a bear made my blood run cold.
Suddenly he grabbed for his weapon, but I was gone in an instant disappearing before his eyes into the forest.
I wandered for a long time until I came to my thinking place. There a great cedar grew beside a stream. A small waterfall splashed, and the birds twittered in the trees above my head. It was very peaceful, but even there I could not get the angry face and disdainful voice of Crooked Hunter out of my mind.
As I sat there trying to think what to do, I heard a loud quork above me.
I looked to see Raven land on a branch in front of me.
“Ah, my friend,” she said. “You look troubled.”
“So I am, Raven.” And I told her about Crooked Hunter: how he was killing all of my clan, how I had sent them to the other side of the mountain, and how Crooked Hunter seemed to be killing us for no reason.
“Perhaps I could help,” she offered.
“Yes, I could really use some of your advice right now,” I agreed.
So Raven and I talked for a good long while. And at last, by the time the sun set, we had a plan. She flew off, and I fell into a deep and much-needed sleep.
Now there is something I must tell you about Raven. She knows magic—and she is not afraid to use it. Furthermore, she has many disguises. She is what we in the Bear Clan call a balance bringer. That is, she knows when things are not right and how to change them. She is a good friend and a good teacher, but I would never want to make her angry. And, mind you, just then Raven was very angry at Crooked Hunter and his people because of what he was doing to us.
Some time passed—a moon cycle perhaps—before I saw Crooked Hunter again, and when I did he looked a lot thinner and a little tired. He shot at me but missed. As I ran off, I could hear him curse me. Then I was surprised (and not surprised) to hear him yell.
“My people are hungry—I will kill you yet! You can’t escape from me for long!”
Even though he was not as strong or quick as before, I could hear he had lost none of his arrogance. But his people were hungry now—Raven’s magic was at work.
A few weeks later I came upon him again. This time he was thinner still, and I could not help but notice that he wasn’t wearing any clothes. Again he cursed as his shot missed me.
“My people are cold. I must kill you! I will get you next time!” he shouted after me, but his voice was weaker than before.
Somehow he did not sound so proud. So I knew Raven had used her magic again.
It was beginning to snow and the wind was cold. I wondered what Crooked Hunter had said when he went back to his people again empty-handed. I decided to take my chances and sneak close to the village to see for myself what was going on. When I got there, I hid behind a huge rock near the edge of the road. Two people came stumbling by. They were very thin and naked.
“Crooked Hunter has failed us,” the first one said.
“Yes, and now everyone is getting sick. We will surely die if he doesn’t kill the bear soon,” the second one coughed.
Under the cover of night I crept closer to the house of Crooked Hunter and peeked inside. The elders of the village had come to see him. They spoke angrily to him.
“The people are hungry!”
“The people are cold!”
“Now everyone is getting sick!”
“All of our food is gone.”
“Our clothes have been stolen.”
“And now we can’t even find our medicines.”
“It is up to you to save us!”
“You have always bragged about what a great hunter you are!”
“Do you think I do not know?” Crooked Hunter replied. For the first time I heard sorrow in his voice.
“I too am hungry, cold, and sick. Now I am even too weak to hunt.” His voice broke. Was that a tear I saw glistening on his cheek?
Despite what he had done to us, I felt pity for him and his people.
Had Raven gone too far?
Just then an old woman entered the room. She was dressed all in black and had a long nose. She regarded Crooked Hunter first with one eye, then the other.
“Grandmother,” he said. “Can you help us? Can you give me medicine to strengthen me so that I can hunt again to provide for my people?”
“Ah, so you need my help?” she cackled.
“Yes, please, Grandmother,” he pleaded.
I had never heard Crooked Hunter speak with respect, and it surprised me.
“I can help you with my medicine, but first you must do something for me,” she answered.
“What is it, Grandmother?” he asked. “I will do anything you ask if you will help me.”
“My son,” she replied sternly. “You have brought this disaster on yourself and your people because of your arrogance. You have forgotten the promise of your ancestors to honor all life—to take only what is necessary—and to always give thanks. Even so I will give you medicine, and you will be strong enough to hunt the bear again, but when you meet him, you must honor him and ask permission to take his life.”
I held my breath. I knew this would not be an easy thing for Crooked Hunter to do.
“I will, Grandmother,” he promised solemnly. “I have learned the error of my ways.”
He sounded sincere.
“So be it,” said the old woman, as she handed him a small bottle which she had hidden under her cloak.
I had seen enough, and so I stole quietly back into the forest to wait for Crooked Hunter’s return.
The next day as I stood waiting in a clearing, Crooked Hunter came running up to me. He was still thin, but his face glowed and his muscles rippled as he ran. There was something new in his face too—humility.
“Grandfather,” he greeted me respectfully. “I have come to ask the forgiveness of you and your people. I have forgotten to honor you properly, and my people have suffered greatly because of it. So now I ask if you would allow me to kill you that my people would have food, clothing, and medicine.”
I was amazed and moved by the change in this young man who no longer seemed to deserve the name Crooked Hunter.
“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I will gladly give my life to you and your people for food, clothing, and medicine...”
The young man’s eyes were now full of gratitude. Then suddenly a look of embarrassed surprise came across his face.
“Grandfather,” he stammered. “I cannot kill you. I have forgotten my weapon.”
I thought: Raven’s magic again—her healing potion had its own peculiar side effects!
“Never mind,” I answered kindly. “I am old and ready to go to the Other Side. I will lay down my life. There is no need for you to kill me. But you must promise me one thing...”
“Gladly, Grandfather. What is it?” he asked.
“You and your people must never kill my people again. There is no need for it—the gift of my life is enough. You will have all you need as long as you keep this promise.”
“I promise,” the young man swore gravely.
“I have just one more thing to do before I am yours,” I said looking up.
Raven, who just happened to be flying by, dropped down to us. She looked at the young man, first with one eye, then the other.
“Thank you, Raven,” I said as the young man regarded her as someone he had seen before but could not remember where.
“Raven,” I continued, “would you go to the other side of the mountain and tell my people it is safe to return?”
“I’ll be glad to,” Raven answered and off she flew cackling.
So that is how I became Spirit.
Now I live in peace on the Other Side in a place that is even more beautiful than the cedar by the stream. And Raven, who has no trouble going from one world to the other, visits occasionally. She assures me that the young hunter and his people have kept their promise to the Bear Clan, but just in case, she keeps a little magic under her wings and a look out—first with one eye, then the other.
Long, long ago and just yesterday there was great trouble in the land of my people. Many of the Bear Clan were being killed by Crooked Hunter. It reached such a point that all of my brothers and sisters were living in fear for their lives. Every day brought new tales of how Crooked Hunter had killed this one or that one. Being the Elder, it was up to me to see that the massacre was stopped, so I called a council of the clan—or what was left of it.
“You must all leave this land for your own safety,” I said.
“But this is our home! Our land is beautiful, full of berries, fish, and honey! Our dens are here! How can we leave? Where will we go?” my relations cried.
“You must go to the other side of the mountain until I have dealt with Crooked Hunter. He cannot reach you there.”
“Will we be able to come back?” my sister spoke for the others.
“That remains to be seen. It all depends...” I replied sadly.
So one by one my sisters and brothers, my cousins, and my children took leave of me, wishing me good fortune with many tears. And one by one they moved down the trail through the forest to the other side of the mountain.
After everyone was gone, I sat down on a stump with my head in my paws. It was up to me to deal with Crooked Hunter and make the land safe for the clan to return. But what could I do?
The very next day as I was wandering along trying to devise a plan, I came face to face with Crooked Hunter himself.
“Ah, at last, a bear!” he cried as he shot at me.
I dodged and he missed.
Quickly I smacked him with my great paw, and I could have killed him then and there, but I wanted to know why he was out to destroy the whole Bear Clan. Besides we are of a peaceful nature and would rather avoid violence. Perhaps I could reason with him...
“Why do you torment my people?” I asked as he lay still dazed against a tree.
He shook his head and glared angrily at me.
“Tell me, Crooked Hunter, are your people hungry? Do you kill my people for food?” I asked.
“Hungry? No, of course not! We have more than enough food, and our larders are full of stores for the winter,” he exclaimed.
“Then perhaps your people are cold. Do they need our fur for warm coats for the coming winter?” I asked again.
“Cold? Ha, never! My people have all the finest and warmest clothes they could want. Not only that, but our closets are full of many clothes,” he replied disdainfully.
“Well, then—”I thought for a moment. “Are your people sick? Are they in need of our medicine?”
“Sick? What a fool you are. My people are just fine. And anyhow our cabinets are full of medicines if we should need them,” he exclaimed.
“Then why do you continue to kill my people?” I asked quietly.
“I don’t have to have a reason. I don’t need to explain anything to you! I am a man, and you—you’re nothing but a bear!” he shouted at me.
The way he said nothing but a bear made my blood run cold.
Suddenly he grabbed for his weapon, but I was gone in an instant disappearing before his eyes into the forest.
I wandered for a long time until I came to my thinking place. There a great cedar grew beside a stream. A small waterfall splashed, and the birds twittered in the trees above my head. It was very peaceful, but even there I could not get the angry face and disdainful voice of Crooked Hunter out of my mind.
As I sat there trying to think what to do, I heard a loud quork above me.
I looked to see Raven land on a branch in front of me.
“Ah, my friend,” she said. “You look troubled.”
“So I am, Raven.” And I told her about Crooked Hunter: how he was killing all of my clan, how I had sent them to the other side of the mountain, and how Crooked Hunter seemed to be killing us for no reason.
“Perhaps I could help,” she offered.
“Yes, I could really use some of your advice right now,” I agreed.
So Raven and I talked for a good long while. And at last, by the time the sun set, we had a plan. She flew off, and I fell into a deep and much-needed sleep.
Now there is something I must tell you about Raven. She knows magic—and she is not afraid to use it. Furthermore, she has many disguises. She is what we in the Bear Clan call a balance bringer. That is, she knows when things are not right and how to change them. She is a good friend and a good teacher, but I would never want to make her angry. And, mind you, just then Raven was very angry at Crooked Hunter and his people because of what he was doing to us.
Some time passed—a moon cycle perhaps—before I saw Crooked Hunter again, and when I did he looked a lot thinner and a little tired. He shot at me but missed. As I ran off, I could hear him curse me. Then I was surprised (and not surprised) to hear him yell.
“My people are hungry—I will kill you yet! You can’t escape from me for long!”
Even though he was not as strong or quick as before, I could hear he had lost none of his arrogance. But his people were hungry now—Raven’s magic was at work.
A few weeks later I came upon him again. This time he was thinner still, and I could not help but notice that he wasn’t wearing any clothes. Again he cursed as his shot missed me.
“My people are cold. I must kill you! I will get you next time!” he shouted after me, but his voice was weaker than before.
Somehow he did not sound so proud. So I knew Raven had used her magic again.
It was beginning to snow and the wind was cold. I wondered what Crooked Hunter had said when he went back to his people again empty-handed. I decided to take my chances and sneak close to the village to see for myself what was going on. When I got there, I hid behind a huge rock near the edge of the road. Two people came stumbling by. They were very thin and naked.
“Crooked Hunter has failed us,” the first one said.
“Yes, and now everyone is getting sick. We will surely die if he doesn’t kill the bear soon,” the second one coughed.
Under the cover of night I crept closer to the house of Crooked Hunter and peeked inside. The elders of the village had come to see him. They spoke angrily to him.
“The people are hungry!”
“The people are cold!”
“Now everyone is getting sick!”
“All of our food is gone.”
“Our clothes have been stolen.”
“And now we can’t even find our medicines.”
“It is up to you to save us!”
“You have always bragged about what a great hunter you are!”
“Do you think I do not know?” Crooked Hunter replied. For the first time I heard sorrow in his voice.
“I too am hungry, cold, and sick. Now I am even too weak to hunt.” His voice broke. Was that a tear I saw glistening on his cheek?
Despite what he had done to us, I felt pity for him and his people.
Had Raven gone too far?
Just then an old woman entered the room. She was dressed all in black and had a long nose. She regarded Crooked Hunter first with one eye, then the other.
“Grandmother,” he said. “Can you help us? Can you give me medicine to strengthen me so that I can hunt again to provide for my people?”
“Ah, so you need my help?” she cackled.
“Yes, please, Grandmother,” he pleaded.
I had never heard Crooked Hunter speak with respect, and it surprised me.
“I can help you with my medicine, but first you must do something for me,” she answered.
“What is it, Grandmother?” he asked. “I will do anything you ask if you will help me.”
“My son,” she replied sternly. “You have brought this disaster on yourself and your people because of your arrogance. You have forgotten the promise of your ancestors to honor all life—to take only what is necessary—and to always give thanks. Even so I will give you medicine, and you will be strong enough to hunt the bear again, but when you meet him, you must honor him and ask permission to take his life.”
I held my breath. I knew this would not be an easy thing for Crooked Hunter to do.
“I will, Grandmother,” he promised solemnly. “I have learned the error of my ways.”
He sounded sincere.
“So be it,” said the old woman, as she handed him a small bottle which she had hidden under her cloak.
I had seen enough, and so I stole quietly back into the forest to wait for Crooked Hunter’s return.
The next day as I stood waiting in a clearing, Crooked Hunter came running up to me. He was still thin, but his face glowed and his muscles rippled as he ran. There was something new in his face too—humility.
“Grandfather,” he greeted me respectfully. “I have come to ask the forgiveness of you and your people. I have forgotten to honor you properly, and my people have suffered greatly because of it. So now I ask if you would allow me to kill you that my people would have food, clothing, and medicine.”
I was amazed and moved by the change in this young man who no longer seemed to deserve the name Crooked Hunter.
“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I will gladly give my life to you and your people for food, clothing, and medicine...”
The young man’s eyes were now full of gratitude. Then suddenly a look of embarrassed surprise came across his face.
“Grandfather,” he stammered. “I cannot kill you. I have forgotten my weapon.”
I thought: Raven’s magic again—her healing potion had its own peculiar side effects!
“Never mind,” I answered kindly. “I am old and ready to go to the Other Side. I will lay down my life. There is no need for you to kill me. But you must promise me one thing...”
“Gladly, Grandfather. What is it?” he asked.
“You and your people must never kill my people again. There is no need for it—the gift of my life is enough. You will have all you need as long as you keep this promise.”
“I promise,” the young man swore gravely.
“I have just one more thing to do before I am yours,” I said looking up.
Raven, who just happened to be flying by, dropped down to us. She looked at the young man, first with one eye, then the other.
“Thank you, Raven,” I said as the young man regarded her as someone he had seen before but could not remember where.
“Raven,” I continued, “would you go to the other side of the mountain and tell my people it is safe to return?”
“I’ll be glad to,” Raven answered and off she flew cackling.
So that is how I became Spirit.
Now I live in peace on the Other Side in a place that is even more beautiful than the cedar by the stream. And Raven, who has no trouble going from one world to the other, visits occasionally. She assures me that the young hunter and his people have kept their promise to the Bear Clan, but just in case, she keeps a little magic under her wings and a look out—first with one eye, then the other.
©2015 Bonnie Bishop all rights reserved