Thank You Mother Earth
By Donna L Martin
Little Bear could hear the women of the village as they did their morning chores. Voices raised in praise to Mother Earth for bringing them another day from the arms of Father Moon. Little Bear knew it was almost time to go on the hunt, but he lay still amongst the skins and drank in the smell of venison roasting on the spit outside the lodge. He knew he should be proud the elders finally chose him to go with the others so why did his insides tremble so?
Hearing his mother's sharp tongue urging him to hurry, Little Bear slowy crawled out of the tent to meet his breath in the frosty morning air. Joining the other braves as they prepared their horses for the hunt, Little Bear watched the elders as they chanted prayers for a swift kill and a safe return.
Before he could even gather his thoughts, the horses raced across the plains in search of Tahtanka, the great horned beast of the prairie. A good hunt would help Little Bear's people survive the many moons of the long nights when food was scarce and firewood even scarcer. He must show his mother and the elders he was a man now and could provide for the village like the other warriors.
Caught in a daydream, he was startled to hear a loud bellow behind him. Turning just in time to see the bison begin to charge in his direction, Little Bear yelled for his horse to run like the wind as he reached for his bow. "Thank you, Mother Earth, for this chance to prove I am worthy of my people," Little Bear shouted as he quickly took aim...
***Okay, it's your turn! Does Little Bear provide for his people? Or does Tahtanka defeat him? Put your creative cap on and add a sentence or add a paragraph. Continue my story or start one of your own. Join the fun and see where this picture prompt takes us!***
Beautiful song. I don't know what happens next, but I know what's for dinner.
ReplyDeleteLol, Janet, you are sooo right! ;~)
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A million conversations flew through Little Bear's mind. His elders had sat with him many times explaining that he should never hesitate if he were ever to see Tahtanka. Flashes of the long winter that plagued their tribe two years ago jumped into the foreground of his thoughts; snapshots of his mother quietly crying because she could not feed her family; the inability to keep Elder Red Crow warm during his last days occupied his thoughts. Most of all, Little Bear could see his father's eyes looking into his while he passed on his bow and arrow: "Little Bear, you are a man now." That's what his father had said. He knew he could not disappoint those who counted on him.
ReplyDeleteBut fear held him frozen as the past blinded him. He felt Tahtanka before he realized his mind had traveled elsewhere. The great Bison had rammed him and he flew through the air landing hard on the red dirt. Little Bear tried to move but the pain in his right hip left his leg lifeless - an unwilling participant in this pursuit of manhood. The Bison began snorting and stamping it's feet staring directly at it’s prey. The Elders had warned him about hesitation during the hunt and now he would be paying the price for it with his life. Little Bear knew that this was a bull by the triangular, large shape of his head and the thick forehead fur. He also knew this Bull could charge at 30 miles per hour. Little Bear drew back his arrow flinching from a sharp pain in his right shoulder. Taking careful aim, he released the arrow and hit his target between the eyes. Tahtanka released a horrible sound but the wound only seemed to add to the beast's anger. Just as the great Tahtanka began to charge, a mass of grey fur attacked the 3,000 pound animal rolling it away from Little Bear. For what seemed forever, horrible sounds erupted but Little Bear was unable to see clearly due to the dust, spit, fur and blood that clouded Little Bear's eyes.....or were those tears of paralyzing fear? Somehow the young Indian boy managed to scoot away and when the dust cleared, before him stood a lone wolf. The same wolf he had seen many times during the food gathering he did with his mother as a young boy. The same wolf who stood off in the distance during tribal ceremonies. The same wolf that wandered through camp the day Elder Red Hawk died.
Tahtanka lay lifeless with the lone arrow still stuck between his eyes. Making eye contact with Little Bear, the wolf turned and ambled off injured into the woods. The Elders, having heard all the noise, came seconds later on horseback.
Little Bear, still in a state of shock, looked up to find his father taping his broken leg and staring at him with a look in his eyes he had never seen. "You are very brave, my son," his father quietly said. All the male tribe members began assembling the makeshift stretcher they could place on one of the horses. They stopped together and thanked Little Bear and all shared the same look his father gave him.
It was then that Little Bear realized what pride and respect looked like.
Hi Patti! I wondered if you would chime in on this one...;~)...great addition as always!
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and fired the arrow, it missed. He didn't have time to reload another arrow so as the bison came close to gore his horse Little Bear jumped on the bison's back held the hair with one hand while he stabbed the neck until the bison fell. It was a long and hard ride but he had accomplished his first kill. He was now a man in his tribe.
ReplyDeleteHi Gladys! I'm glad you tried your hand at adding to this flash fiction story...great job!
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and a spear flew through the air killing the bison and hitting a trunk far away. Big Robin, on the horse Takawahuh, galloped up. Big Robin, around 5'11", dismounted. He would've been about a foot shorter than the bison. He looked down at Little Bear, a good 7 inch difference. It was hard to tell they were the same age.
ReplyDelete"Ha! Too scared to kill the itsy bitsy Tahtanka, eh, Little SCAREDY CUB? Or, were you just thinking about Rose Water? You better not've, 'cuz she's mine, y'know!" Big Robin sneered. Little Bear shook his head furiously, though he was angry at the bigger man. He was so angry he didn't see the fist coming...
Oh, oh...fight out on the range! Lol...nice going, Erik!
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heeheehee! I love fight scenes, so I had to put one in! :)
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