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Little Fox came running down the snowy hillside with his dog ahead of him. He was dressed in his winter clothes. He had his bow in one hand and a wild turkey in the other hand.
Little Fox gave his owl call to tell his mother he was coming. When he reached a round bark house near one end of the village, he told the dog to stay outside. Then he pushed open the skin that covered the doorway and walked in.
Singing Water, his mother, was at home alone. His father was away on a long hunt. Little Fox was trying to help his mother by hunting birds and small animals while his father was away. This was his first turkey.
Singing Water took the turkey and said, "My son, some day you will be a great hunter like your father. A stew is ready for our supper. But first will you get some water and firewood for the night? Then I have a surprise for you."
Little Fox put away his bow and arrows. Then he hurried to get water and wood, for he wanted to see what Singing Water had made for him.
Little Fox brought plenty of wood and water. Then he asked, "What is it, Mother ? Is it some new moccasins ? " He looked down at his old moccasins with holes at the toes.
"No, it is this deerskin bag to hang around your neck. You can now carry the stone knife your father made for you."
"I feel like a man when I can carry my own knife," said Little Fox. "I will skin all the rabbits after this."
"Watch what you sayy, Little Fox. It is harder than you think," said his mother.
"I like the winter because it is the hunter's time of year," said Little Fox.
He lay down on a mat by the fire and was quiet for a time. He was thinking of the days when he would go on long hunts, as his father did. Then he would hunt deer and bears. But he would have to sleep out under the stars and not in his warm bed in the house.
It grew dark early on that winter day, but the fire inside the house gave light enough for Little Fox and his mother.
Singing Water took some hot stew out of the cooking jar and put it into a wooden bowl. She and Little Fox sat on mats by the fire and ate the stew from the one wooden bowl. They had corn cakes too, that Singing Water had baked on the stones.
Little Fox could hear his dog sniffing outside. He called him in and gave him part of the stew. The dog wagged his tail and came close to the fire, too. They were all three warm and happy.
It was very cold outdoors. Singing Water had partly closed the smoke hole above the fire to make the house warmer.
Now and then the wind stirred the grass mats that were hung on the wall to keep out the cold. Singing Water had made the mats and the baskets too, that hung up high in the bark house.
In these baskets Singing Water kept nuts and shell beads and many things that she needed for her work. One basket was for Little Fox's own treasures. He put the tail feathers of the turkey into his basket. He would use them on his arrows.
In the bark house everything had its own place. The cooking jars and bowls were near the fire. Singing Water had made these too.
Little Fox put another stick on the fire. He could hear the icy snow blowing against the bark house,
"Mother, tell me about the Little People. Do they ever go out on a cold windy night like this?" asked Little Fox.
"No, son," said his mother. "That is why we can talk about them in the winter. They are all covered up in ice and snow." Just then the wind shook the house. The skin at the door blew wide open. "What was that ?" asked Little Fox.
Singing Water put her hand on the little bag that hung from some shell beads around her neck. "Do not be afraid," she said. "This will keep away everything bad. The medicine man gave it strong magic."
She closed the door. Then she sat down by the fire and, began to tell a story about the Little People. She told how a woman once gave help to the Little People. And after that there was always firewood at her door, because the Little People wanted to thank her.
Soon Little Fox grew sleepy. He was glad to crawl into his warm bed. It was made of poles placed in Y sticks with other poles put across them. Mats and beaver skins over the poles made the bed soft.
Singing Water went to her bed, too. Soon they were fast asleep.
The wind blew harder and harder. It shook the little bark house. Then bang, bump, bump! Something hit Little Fox on the head. He sayt up wide awake. " What was that, Mother ? " he called.
Then he saw that one of the baskets had fallen from its place, It was the basket that held the nuts. And all the nuts had fallen down and hit Little Fox -- bump, bang, bump!
Many cold days passed, and then there were some days warm like spring. Little Fox's father had been gone more than a month. Singing Water was afraid that something had happened to the hunters. She went to the wise old men of the village to ask what they thought.
The older men talked about what should be done. Should they send out young men to find the hunters? They had never been away so long before without sending back a runner. What could have happened?
Every day Little Fox climbed the highest tree on the highest hill to look for the hunting party. One day he came running and shouting into the village, "They are coming, they are coming!" he called.
At once all the people came running out of the houses.
"My father and all the other hunters are in a boat up the deep river a long, long way," Little Fox shouted. "I saw them from the tree."
Some young men pushed off in their boat to meet the hunting party. They thought the hunters might be so tired that they would like help in getting home. Little Fox could hardly wait for his father's boat.
At last the two boats came, The hunters' boat was full of skins. There were beaver, deer, bear, and fox skins -- piles and piles of them. There would be plenty of skins to make new clothes and moccasins for all.
The hunters also brought fresh deer meat and piles and piles of meat that had been dried in the sun. There would be a feast for everyone! It was the greatest hunt the village could remember.
Singing Water and others had hurried to make good fires when they first saw the men. They were ready to cook the fresh meat on the poles over the fires.
That night there was a great feast. Everyone in the village had plenty to eat.
After the feast the hunters told stories of all that they had seen and done. Little Fox and all the village were glad to have them at home.
LITTLE FOX OF THE FOREST
A Young Indian Hunter
After dark all cats are leopards.
- Zuni
When Sir Walter Raleigh introduced tobacco into England in the early 1600's, King James I wrote a booklet against it. I guess that makes King James the founding father of the "Just Say No" campaign.
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