When the tree flowered

by John G. Neihardt

“Meadowlark was so frightened that he could hardly talk, but he had to make brave, so he said, ‘No, no! Eagle did not want him. Hawk did not want him. Nobody stole him, because we are the only ones who want him. Stop crying, and let us look around.’

“So they began looking around, and all at once they were very happy again. For over yonder, not very far away, Falling Star was sitting up among some flowers that were growing there, and he was playing with the flowers and saying ‘Goo-oo’ to them.”

“Hiyay! hiyay!” applauded No Water and Moves Walking, mindful of their privilege and duty as sympathetic hearers. The tale continued:

“When Meadowlark and his wife hopped over there in a hurry, they could hardly believe it. ‘See how our Falling Star has grown!’ the wife cried, flapping her wings. ‘He is nearly twice as big as he was!’ cried the husband, flapping his wings. Then they were so happy that they raised their heads and sang—like two little waters falling together into a quiet pool. And the young day was still to listen. You can hear them yet, if you listen in the still morning.

“Then Meadowlark said to his wife, ‘Woman, this baby is getting too big to live on worms and seeds. Already he can crawl, and tomorrow maybe he will walk. I heard Grandmother Magpie say once that two-leggeds without wings like to eat bison and are always hunting them. So I think I will go hunting today.’ And that is what he did.

“The day was young when he started. He hunted and hunted, and the sun was above him. He hunted and hunted, and he saw many bison, many, many; but they were very big and he had no bow and arrows, so he went on hunting. The sun was halfway down, and still he was hunting. Then all at once he saw a dead bison calf, and wolves and crows feasting there. So he thought, ‘I am small. If I can sneak in there where they are feasting, maybe nobody will notice me and I can get some bison meat for the baby.’

“So he sneaked through the grass, making himself even smaller than before, until he was right in among the feasters with their bloody beaks and muzzles. He was afraid, but he had to feed the baby. The wolves were snarling and snapping at each other while they ate, and the crows were quarreling because they all wanted the pieces of meat the others had. While they were doing this, Meadowlark sneaked between the legs of the wolves until he was inside the dead calf that the wolves had torn open. And right in front of him was a big fat liver!”

“Washtay!” exclaimed No Water and Moves Walking. “Washtay!”

“Meadowlark had to hurry, because the crows might notice him in there and kill him. So he pecked and pecked as hard and fast as he could; and in a little while he had cut off a big chunk of fat liver. But how was he going to get out of there with the liver? He was thinking about this, and then all at once he could hear the wolves fighting harder than ever outside, and the crows flying about with whistling wings and loud battle cries. He peeked outside, and all the wolves were snarling and yelping and snapping and rolling over each other. Some of them were trying to run away with the calf’s entrails, and the others wanted them too. So there was a big fight, and I think the crows were cheering the four-leggeds. Maybe if they all killed each other, the crows would have more meat for themselves, and that is why they were cheering.

“Meadowlark thought it was a good time to sneak out of there. So he began pulling the piece of fat liver a little at a time. Nobody noticed him. He pulled it a little more. Everybody out there was fighting and yelling so hard that nobody knew Meadowlark was around. So he got a good hold on the piece of fat liver, jumped outside with it, and began flying. The liver was so heavy that he could hardly keep above the ground; but he thought about the baby and how glad his wife would be, and that made him stronger. Maybe it was good that he had to fly so low. Maybe if he had been stronger, the crows would have seen him.”