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Choluteca
Children
Leslie's Solo Ride
The Snow Pony
The
Snow Pony
by Marsha Hubler
"It's my rabbit!" Saguui shouted.
"It's mine!" Waya yelled back. "My arrow found its way into the body!"
Saguui's eyes flared with anger. "Mine hit first. Look, a hole through the neck! Ududu, whose kill is it?"
The twin boys knelt on a clay floor in front of their grandfather, Ududu, in their Cherokee home. The old Indian sat humped over, his legs crossed on a birch log bed. Furry deerskins and a black bearskin snuggled his frail body. Crackling flames in the stone fireplace warmed the log cabin that nestled in the foothills of an Appalachian Mountain winter. Ududu coughed hard into a cloth stained with dried blood. His bony hand shook as he pulled it away from his mouth.
"Grandsons, you have yet to learn the lessons of the Bible Man from the big water coast," Ududu's voice quivered. "Your twelve years are too foolish. We Cherokee have learned from the words of God. We fight no more, against others or against ourselves." He covered his mouth as another long rattle shook his body. "Give me the kill – and a knife."
Saguui placed the limp ball of skinned meat on his grandfather's outstretched hand. Waya drew a knife from his belt and handed it to the old man.
"This is whose rabbit it is." Ududu's arms struggled to hold the carcass up by its back legs. In a jagged motion, he divided it with the razor-sharp knife. "It belongs to both. It belongs to all."
"Ududu, you are so wise." Saguui lowered his head in shame.
"Yes, Grandfather," Waya agreed. He reached for the halves of meat, handing one to his brother. "Tell us a story about the old ones, the elders, who gave you such wisdom."
"Enough for now," an old woman's soft voice spoke from behind. "He needs rest if he is to be well."
"Yes, Ulisi," Saguui said, facing his grandmother.
"Stay, grandsons," the old man said. "I still have strength."
The boys sat with their legs crossed, just like Ududu. They leaned forward, waiting for Grandfather's next words.
Waya rested his hand on the old man's knee. "Tell us, Ududu, when will you be well?"
"Ah, my grandson, the old ones tell of a healing that comes in the spring, when the last snows fall."
Saguui glanced out the window. Fluffy snowflakes swirled against a gray backdrop of naked trees. "But, Ududu, how will we know when the last snows fall?"
"Yes, Grandfather," Waya added. "How will we know? We wish you better now."
Ududu coughed into the cloth and wiped his blood stained lips. "Wish, my grandsons? More foolish talk. We Cherokee who embrace the Bible Man's God do not wish. We pray. When the last snows fall, when the Snow Pony comes, I will be well. I will be strong once again."
"The Snow Pony?" the brothers asked.
"The elders tell us to watch for the Snow Pony. He brings with him the last snows of winter. I now tell you. Watch for the Snow Pony."
"Enough," Grandmother said, stirring a kettle at the fireplace. "Ududu must rest. You two need strength for tomorrow's hunt. Bring to me your kill. Roasted meat makes potatoes and beans complete."
* * * * *
Brilliant pink lit up the morning sky as the young hunters trudged through sparkling, fresh snow a great distance from the cabin. Deerskin wraps, leggings, and boots kept them warm except for their faces that stung from the sharp March wind. Following a path through thick woods of pine, they came to a field that glistened like a white sky of stars. Beyond the field, the Applachian foothills reached toward the salmon-scaled clouds.
"I wish Ududu would be well," Saguui said, leading his brother across the field.
"We are not to wish," Waya said. "We are to pray."
"Do you believe the words of the Bible Man? Do you believe there is only one God and not many?"
"Ududu believes, and he is a wise old one. He believes, so I believe. He cannot be wrong. I also believe in the wisdom of the elders. We must watch for the Snow Pony. Then Grandfather will be better."
"I wish – no – I pray for the last snows of winter to come soon. Then Ududu will be – look!" Saguui lowered his voice to a whisper and crouched low into the snow. "There! At the foot of the hill!" Saguui prepared his bow and arrow.
Waya stooped down and reached back to his quiver. He quickly slipped an arrow to the bow. "A large deer. A big kill! Enough for many days," he whispered.
The boys crept forward, the silence of the snow muffling their steps. Carefully they crossed the field and closed in on the beautiful strong deer. The animal pawed at the snow, searching for a blade of grass from earth's winter supply. The boys took aim and pulled back their bows when the deer jerked up its head and stared in their direction. Swiftly the arrows flew through the air, but the white tail had already sprung away into the woods.
Saguui stood, anger racing through his veins. He yanked down the deerskin hood that had hugged his head. "It was your fault, Waya. You are never quiet. You make too much noise!"
Frustration swept over Waya's face. "It was your fault, Saguui. You always go too fast. You are never patient!"
Saguui threw his bow down and raised his fists. "Today we shall see who is to blame."
Waya raised his fists in front of his brother. "Yes, today we shall see."
"Neigh-h-h!" A strange sound echoed a short distance away, from the top of the hill.
"What was that?" Saguui asked. He crouched down, looking toward the sound.
Waya dropped into the snow and looked up. The boys lay silent, searching across the brilliance of the snow.
"Neigh-h-h!" echoed once more.
"There!" Waya said. "Look! A white horse!"
The boys stood, their eyes fixed on the animal that seemed to know they were there. The horse pranced in short circles on top of the hill. His long flowing mane bounced with every move, and a wavy tail whisked with each step. The beautiful white coat glistened as the rays of the sun bounced off his sleek, smooth body.
"The Snow Pony!" Saguui yelled. "It must be the Snow Pony! He brings the last snows of winter!"
"Ududu will be well!" Waya yelled.
"Neigh-h-h!" the Snow Pony whinnied and reared in triumph. Sharp breezes blew his mane and tail in long waves of white curls. As though bidding farewell, the horse pawed the air with his front hooves then stood still on all four. He stared at the boys who stared back in mute fascination. Then like the wind, the Snow Pony charged across the top of the hill, ran toward the sky, and disappeared.
"We must hurry to Grandfather!" Waya yelled.
"Ududu! Ududu!" Saguui shouted as the boys ran to the front of their cabin.
Waya threw his bow aside and reached for the door. "The Snow Pony, Grandfather! We saw him!"
"You will be well again!" Saguui said.
The boys rushed inside where silence shrouded the room like a dark veil. Grandmother sat humped over at the foot of Ududu's bed. The old man lay perfectly still under thick layers of hides and skins.
"Ulisi, is he well?" Saguui asked.
"Please," Waya said, "we must tell him what we have seen!"
"Grandsons," the old woman's voice cracked, "your grandfather has gone."
"Gone?" Waya said.
"Where?" Saguui cried. "But we saw the Snow Pony. The great white horse has come. He brought the last snows of winter!"
"The elders said he would be well!" Waya added. "Ududu said he would be well! Did he not tell us truth?"
"Dear Brother," Saguui said, "can you not see? Ududu has told us truth. He has gone to be with the Bible Man's God. He has gone to be with his God. He has no more pain. Forever. He has gone to the wonderful land of Heaven.
* * * * *
Side Bar:
Saguui
– is Cherokee for "first"
Waya – is Cherokee for "wolf"
Ududu – is Cherokee for Grandfather
Ulisi – is Cherokee for Grandmother
Long before the white man came to America, the Cherokee lived in the Appalachian Mountain chains that stretch from Pennsylvania to Georgia. The Indians were "colonized" in the early 1800's by the new American settlers, many embracing Christianity at that time. Some owned farms, plantations, and slaves before they were moved in mass by the government to states west of the Mississippi River, primarily Oklahoma. Several bands of Indians escaped removal and remained in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. They eventually bought land there, and the government allowed them to stay. In the late 1800's, that land was also opened up to settlement by the white man.
References:
www.cherokee.org/Culture/KidsFAQ.asp
World Book Encyclopedia