THE ISLAND
White Eagle was a young Iroquois boy. His favorite friend was Shining Star, a young Indian girl from his tribe. The small village in which they lived stood on the shore of a large and beautiful lake that could become very dangerous in a sudden storm.
Scattered in the lake were many small islands. When parents were sure that their children could handle the tribe’s canoes safely in the lake, they allowed them to explore these islands. A favorite sport of White Eagle and Shining Star was to paddle to one of these islands to search for berries and other wild fruit.
One sunny summer day, White Eagle and Shining Star decided to take a canoe trip to one of the islands farthest from their village. As far as White Eagle knew, the island they planned to visit was at the other end of the long lake. Excitedly, the two children went down to the shore and set out on their adventure across the calm, blue lake. They enjoyed paddling in the sun because its beams seemed to warm them to their hearts.
They had been paddling gaily and laughing a great deal for some time when Shining Star suddenly turned to White Eagle with an unhappy look on her pretty face.
“White Eagle,” she said sadly, “I am getting tired. I think we should visit one of the islands nearer home. I don’t think I can help you paddle all the way across this great lake and back again.”
“Very well,” said White Eagle kindly, “there is an island over there that we have never visited before. We will go ashore there and hunt for berries.”
Without saying any more, the children turned their canoe and headed for the island about one hundred paces away. Soon their canoe was scraping bottom on a sand bar that seemed to lead from the island into the water. Stepping from the canoe, White Eagle steadied it while Shining Star stepped ashore. Finally, he pulled the canoe up onto the shore so that it would not be carried away from the island into the lake and leave them stranded. Then, hand in hand, the children began to explore.
Now these islands were not small and, if one were not careful, he could really get lost for a little while. So the children were careful to mark their trail with broken branches as they went. In their eagerness to explore this island they forgot what they had actually come for.
“We have never been on this island before,” said White Eagle. “At least, I don’t remember having been on it before now.”