There was a girl who loved animals.
They came to her in dreams and told her secrets.
They crossed her path as she traveled.
She knew their tracks, their calls, their smells.
One winter day when the girl was walking in the woods she saw a story in the snow. First there were the tracks of a doe and following the deer were the tracks of two men. The deer was bleeding, for the hunters had shot her. Then there was more blood where they shot her again. She was badly wounded, but the tracks showed that she stumbled on. The men ran after her, wounding her again, but not killing her. The girl followed the deer’s tracks and blood as far as she could until they were lost in a dense thicket. The men’s tracks turned back toward a road.
The girl stood in the tracks and cried out four long, mournful screams. She was filled with anger toward the men who wounded the doe and left her to die in agony. She sat down in the snow and wept. Her tears spent, she fell asleep under an old pine tree. Then she began to dream...
In the dream a great Raven came to her and asked her why she was crying. So the girl told him about the men who had wounded the deer.
“I can help you,” said the Raven.
“How?” the girl asked.
“I know magic,” the Raven answered. “I can give you the power to become an animal yourself.”
“How will that help?” she asked.
“By becoming an animal you will know how to help those you love,” he answered.
“Then do it!” she pleaded. “Change me into an animal right now!”
“Don't be too hasty,” cautioned the Raven. “You must not take this power lightly. You will only be able to use it four times.”
“Let it be so,” said the girl.
So the Raven gave her the secret to become any animal she chose, and then he flew off.
The next day as the girl was walking through a field, she saw a farmer about to shoot a fox because he thought it might kill his chickens even though the fox had no intention of doing so. Immediately the girl changed herself into a crow and, just as the man was about to pull the trigger, she flew at him and cawed as loudly as she could. The gun went off, but the man jumped, and the bullet flew harmlessly up into the sky. The fox ran away.
On the second day as she was walking by a pond, she saw a man setting a beaver trap. He muttered that he wanted to get a lot of money for the pelt. Right away she turned herself into a porcupine and quietly climbed a nearby tree. There she watched the man set the trap and then leave. As soon as he was out of sight, she chewed through a branch which fell right into the trap below, springing it. Later when the man returned expecting a big, fat beaver to skin, he found only a skinny stick.
On the third day as she was walking in the woods, she saw a man trying to train dogs to hunt raccoons. But one of them only wanted to play because it was too young to know better. The man became more and more annoyed when the dog would not obey his commands. Finally he tied the dog to a tree and kicked him. The young pup yelped in surprise and pain, but the man ignored him and got back to work with his other dogs. As soon as he was occupied, the girl turned herself into a mouse and gnawed through the rope that held the dog. The pup happily ran away unnoticed.
But on the fourth day, while she was walking in the deep forest, she saw the most terrible thing. Two men were tramping loudly through the woods toward a small clearing where several deer had been feeding peacefully. On the other side of the clearing were two more men with guns. The men on one side drove the deer toward the men on the other side. The deer had no chance. All of them would be killed or wounded in the massacre. Quickly the girl turned herself into a great white stallion. She ran snorting and whinnying through the group of deer, scattering them into the safety of the forest.
Then she charged at the men. They were so frightened at seeing this huge horse in the middle of the forest that they dropped their guns and ran for their lives as if they had seen a ghost. They ran and ran until they were hopelessly lost and had to spend many cold days and nights in the forest without food or shelter. Finally they fell into a deep sleep. Seeing this the girl began to feel sorry for them after all, but just then the Raven flew by.
“You weren’t thinking of helping them?” he croaked at her. “They haven’t learned their lesson yet.”
“You are right, Raven,” she replied. “So what do you suggest?”
The Raven whispered something in her ear and disappeared.
So the girl stood before the sleeping men and called out the words the Raven had told her which woke them up suddenly. They were very surprised to see the girl there. But when they looked at each other they were horribly shocked to see that they were no longer men!
One was a fox.
One was a beaver.
One was a dog.
One was a deer.
At that moment the girl herself woke with a start and was amazed to see that she was holding a beautiful, blue-black feather--a feather from Raven, the most clever and magical of all the the birds.
They came to her in dreams and told her secrets.
They crossed her path as she traveled.
She knew their tracks, their calls, their smells.
One winter day when the girl was walking in the woods she saw a story in the snow. First there were the tracks of a doe and following the deer were the tracks of two men. The deer was bleeding, for the hunters had shot her. Then there was more blood where they shot her again. She was badly wounded, but the tracks showed that she stumbled on. The men ran after her, wounding her again, but not killing her. The girl followed the deer’s tracks and blood as far as she could until they were lost in a dense thicket. The men’s tracks turned back toward a road.
The girl stood in the tracks and cried out four long, mournful screams. She was filled with anger toward the men who wounded the doe and left her to die in agony. She sat down in the snow and wept. Her tears spent, she fell asleep under an old pine tree. Then she began to dream...
In the dream a great Raven came to her and asked her why she was crying. So the girl told him about the men who had wounded the deer.
“I can help you,” said the Raven.
“How?” the girl asked.
“I know magic,” the Raven answered. “I can give you the power to become an animal yourself.”
“How will that help?” she asked.
“By becoming an animal you will know how to help those you love,” he answered.
“Then do it!” she pleaded. “Change me into an animal right now!”
“Don't be too hasty,” cautioned the Raven. “You must not take this power lightly. You will only be able to use it four times.”
“Let it be so,” said the girl.
So the Raven gave her the secret to become any animal she chose, and then he flew off.
The next day as the girl was walking through a field, she saw a farmer about to shoot a fox because he thought it might kill his chickens even though the fox had no intention of doing so. Immediately the girl changed herself into a crow and, just as the man was about to pull the trigger, she flew at him and cawed as loudly as she could. The gun went off, but the man jumped, and the bullet flew harmlessly up into the sky. The fox ran away.
On the second day as she was walking by a pond, she saw a man setting a beaver trap. He muttered that he wanted to get a lot of money for the pelt. Right away she turned herself into a porcupine and quietly climbed a nearby tree. There she watched the man set the trap and then leave. As soon as he was out of sight, she chewed through a branch which fell right into the trap below, springing it. Later when the man returned expecting a big, fat beaver to skin, he found only a skinny stick.
On the third day as she was walking in the woods, she saw a man trying to train dogs to hunt raccoons. But one of them only wanted to play because it was too young to know better. The man became more and more annoyed when the dog would not obey his commands. Finally he tied the dog to a tree and kicked him. The young pup yelped in surprise and pain, but the man ignored him and got back to work with his other dogs. As soon as he was occupied, the girl turned herself into a mouse and gnawed through the rope that held the dog. The pup happily ran away unnoticed.
But on the fourth day, while she was walking in the deep forest, she saw the most terrible thing. Two men were tramping loudly through the woods toward a small clearing where several deer had been feeding peacefully. On the other side of the clearing were two more men with guns. The men on one side drove the deer toward the men on the other side. The deer had no chance. All of them would be killed or wounded in the massacre. Quickly the girl turned herself into a great white stallion. She ran snorting and whinnying through the group of deer, scattering them into the safety of the forest.
Then she charged at the men. They were so frightened at seeing this huge horse in the middle of the forest that they dropped their guns and ran for their lives as if they had seen a ghost. They ran and ran until they were hopelessly lost and had to spend many cold days and nights in the forest without food or shelter. Finally they fell into a deep sleep. Seeing this the girl began to feel sorry for them after all, but just then the Raven flew by.
“You weren’t thinking of helping them?” he croaked at her. “They haven’t learned their lesson yet.”
“You are right, Raven,” she replied. “So what do you suggest?”
The Raven whispered something in her ear and disappeared.
So the girl stood before the sleeping men and called out the words the Raven had told her which woke them up suddenly. They were very surprised to see the girl there. But when they looked at each other they were horribly shocked to see that they were no longer men!
One was a fox.
One was a beaver.
One was a dog.
One was a deer.
At that moment the girl herself woke with a start and was amazed to see that she was holding a beautiful, blue-black feather--a feather from Raven, the most clever and magical of all the the birds.
©2015 Bonnie Bishop all rights reserved