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"HOW THE DEER GOT HIS HORNS"
an Iroquois Story
Now some 7 thousand winters ago,
the animals were different than they are today.
They could talk and meet with each other,
and had their games and dances, and their sporting contests.
In that time, long, long ago, the Deer had no horns.
His head was as smooth as the doe's is today.
But he was a great runner, and was very proud of his ability.
The Rabbit was a great jumper and was also very proud of himself.
Very proud indeed.
They were always fighting about which one of them could
cover more ground in a certain amount of time.
And the other animals finally got
interested in seeing who was
actually the best between them.
They talked about it a good deal,
and finally arranged a contest
between the rabbit and the
deer, to see which one could get from the mountain
top to the
river in the
shortest time.
The other animals made a fine set of antlers as a
prize for the winner.
The Deer and the Rabbit were to start together
from the mountain
top and go through
the thickets and briars down to the river,
then turn and come to
the meadow where the others
would be waitintg.
The one who got to the meadow first was to get the
antlers and his
children would be able to
wear them forever.
On the day they had chosen, all the animals assembled and the
antlers were put
on the ground at the edge
of the meadow to mark the finish line.
When everybody was admiring the horns,
the rabbit said: "I don't
know this part of the
country,
so I want to take a look at the path I have to run on."
The other animals thought that that was acceptable, so the rabbit
went into the thickets,
but he was gone so long that at
last the other animals became
suspicious.
They sent a messenger into the bushes to look for the rabbit,
and when he found him,
the rabbit was gnawing down the bushes on
his path.
He had gnawed down many bushes and dragged them out
of the way to
give himself
a clear path to run on.
The messenger turned around quietly and went
back to where the
others were waiting,
and told them what he had seen.
When the rabbit came out of the thicket at last and announced that
he was ready
to begin the contest,
the other animals accused him of cheating.
They took the rabbit back into the thicket
and walked him around
until they
found the cleared path he had made for himself.
Then they told him that a trickster had no right
to win a contest
between honorable
people,
and awarded the horns to the Deer.
His children wear those horns to this day.
and the rabbit, because he did this cheating,
is destined to gnaw
plants down
until the end of time,
and his children do so even now.
And that is how the deer got his horns.
: : : :: the end : : : :
" WHERE MOUNTAIN LION LAY DOWN WITH DEER"
I climb the black rock mountain
stepping from day to day silently.
I smell the wind for my ancestors
pale blue leaves
crushed wild mountain smell.
Returning up the gray cliff
where I descended a thousand years ago.
Returning to faded black stone
where mountain lion lay down with deer.
It is better to stay up here
with the wind's reflection
in tall yellow flowers.
The old ones who remember me are gone
the old songs are all forgotten
and the story of my birth.
How I danced in snow-frost moonlight
distant stars to the end of the Earth,
How I swam away in freezing mountain water
narrow mossy canyon tumbling down
out of the mountain out of deep canyon stone
down the memory spilling out
into the world.
The end
MIDI:
The fabulous midi is composed by ?Elan
Michaels entitled, Bearclaw and used
with his permission. You may visit his wonderful site Elan
Michaels.
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