Now, Brown Bear determined to follow that pathway the very next time he should see it.
One day when he was all alone, near the lake, he saw the shining path that led through the great forest. Soon he found himself in Skyland. The first person he met was the Deer.
“Why did you leave us? Why did you go to the land of Little Turtle without us? Why did you not wait for us?” he asked the Deer.
The Deer shook his antlers angrily. “What right have you to question me? No one but the Wolf may question why I came. I will kill you for your impertinence.”
The Deer arched his neck; he poised his antlered head; his eyes blazed with fury.
The Bear was not afraid. He stood up; his claws were sharp and strong; his hoarse growls sounded all over Skyland.
The battle of the Deer and the Bear shook Skyland. The animals looked up from the earth.
“Who will go? Who will go to Skyland and forbid the Deer to fight?”
“I will go,” said the Wolf. “I can run faster than anyone.” So Wolf ran along the shining pathway, and in a little while he had reached the place of the battle. Wolf made Deer stop fighting. Deer’s antlers were covered with blood, and when he shook them, great drops fell down, down through the air, and splashed against all the leaves of the forest. And the leaves became a beautiful red.
So, in the autumn, when you see the leaves turning red, you may know that it is because in the long ago, the Deer and the Bear fought a great battle in Skyland, in the land of Little Turtle who was doing her good deed.