Little Bear declined the offers of help from the boys surrounding the horses. He rode slowly towards the corral. When he was near it, he hesitated for some time. Finally he made up his mind. He jumped from his horse, tied the halter rope up, and turned the horse into the corral. He did the same with Great Bear’s horse, the two that had belonged to the Crow and the four they had captured from the Pawnees. When he came to the Sioux horses he and Grandfather had taken from the Crow, he removed the halter from each before he put it in the corral. He carried the halters back to Great Bear’s tepee.
When Little Bear entered the tepee, Great Bear was gone.
“The warriors have called him to the council to tell of our adventure,” Little Bear thought to himself.
He stretched out on the buffalo robes to rest. His head had hardly touched the soft fur when a young warrior stuck his head inside the tepee.
“You are wanted at the council tent,” the warrior announced.
Little Bear scrambled excitedly to his feet. This was indeed a great honor. He wrapped a bright blanket around his shoulders and picked up the halters. He hid the halters under the blanket so that no one could see them.
At the council wigwam, the young warrior held the flap aside and politely waited for Little Bear to enter. Little Bear’s heart skipped a beat when Rain-Maker waved him to a place of honor beside Great Bear in the council circle.
There was a brief silence as Little Bear settled down beside his grandfather. At a signal from Rain-Maker, Great Bear got to his feet.
“It was a good raiding party.” Great Bear spoke slowly. “It is unseemly for a grandfather to boast of his grandson, yet often, when I would have turned back, like a true Sioux, Little Bear urged me to go on. Much of what we have done, we have done because he wouldn’t give up. He suggested the generous present for the widow. He will tell you of presents we plan for our friends.”
