When the tree flowered

by John G. Neihardt

“Two men were standing there,” Eagle Voice continued, speaking low and with an air of mystery. “They were men, but they were not like other men, for they made the light they lived in, and there was no shadow where they stood. This light was soft and kind, and when the two men smiled, it spread about the sisters so that they were not afraid at all. Then they saw that one man was young and one was very old. The younger one was taller than any man the girls had ever seen; but the older one was even taller. I think he stood above the other like a tree, and the light he made was that much brighter. He was old, old; but he was young too. I think he was much older than the other because he had been young so much longer. I think there are no canes where these men came from, no wrinkled skins, and no uprooted teeth, and no white hairs.

“Then the older man said to the older sister, ‘We heard you talking, and I heard you say that you would marry me; so I am here.’ Then the younger man spoke to the younger sister, and said, ‘We heard you talking, and I heard you say that you would marry me; so I am here.’ The girls could not say anything at all, but their hearts were singing in their breasts, and the two men heard. So the older man said to the older sister, ‘Put your arms about my neck, and we will go.’ And the younger man said to the younger sister, ‘Put your arms about my neck and we will go.’

“That is what the sisters did, and so they went.

“It was like eagles flying, only faster, higher than eagles fly. And all at once there was no village down below and no earth. There was only air—blue air, blue air; and nothing anywhere but two men made of light and two girls with their arms about the necks of those, flying fast and higher, very fast and very high. Then all at once there were shining villages of star people on a wide blue prairie, and from all the villages came singing as the fliers passed, for all the people there were happy. And afterwhile there was a village bigger than all the others in that wide blue country, and there the flying men of light came swooping down like eagles to their nests.

“Then the older star-man said to the older sister, ‘You are my wife now, and I have brought you home.’ And the younger star-man spoke to the younger sister, saying, ‘You are now my wife and I have brought you home.’

“The sisters did not say anything at all, but their hearts were singing. And all at once the whole hoop of the village about them was one great song, and all the bright star people came from every side, singing together as they came to welcome their great head chief and his son with their new wives. And the singing was like many happy colors in the brightness of that place.

“So there was dancing as for a great victory, and there was feasting. Four days and nights the people danced and feasted and were glad.”

The teller ceased, gazing out and upward as into wide blue air. The two silent collaborators, with their hands upon their knees, gazed also in the same direction, like children lost in wonder. Were they really only feigning for the sly fun of it, or had they for the moment lost the burden of their years?

When, at length, it seemed the tale was waiting for the dancing and the feasting to be ended yonder, No Water turned suddenly upon Eagle Voice with his grieved and anxious look. “Turnips!” he prompted in an explosive whisper. Moves Walking fixed a glaring eye upon him, and with a raised forefinger Eagle Voice deplored the interruption. “Sh-h-h-h!”

But the spell was broken, and the tale continued. “So the two sisters lived with their husbands among the bright star people, and they were happy. Then one day it was the time when the turnips are getting to be good, and there were many growing on the wide blue prairie. So the older sister said to the younger sister, ‘I think my husband would like to eat turnips, so I will go out and dig some.’ And the younger sister said, ‘I think my husband likes them too, so I will go along with you, and we will dig some.’ Then they made themselves two sharp sticks and went out to dig the turnips that were growing big and juicy on the wide blue prairie.