Grandmother
was in her lodge praying, but her concentration was disturbed by
a squabble outside. Crow and Bluejay were having an argument
about which tree belonged to who.
"Caaaw-caaaw," screamed Crow. "Kaaack-kack,"
yelled Bluejay. They were both speaking at once, and could not
hear each other's point of view.
Grandmother was getting upset by the two
squawking birds, and asked Creator to quiet them. Creator let
Grandmother know that she should go out and speak with the birds
herself. Creator knew that a great gift was coming to the people
and Grandmother would be part of it.
When she couldn’t get the attention of the
screaming Crow or yelling Bluejay, she called upon Eagle,
perched on the top of a nearby tree. "Brother Eagle, can you
chase off this noisy pair?” asked Grandmother. With a mighty
flap of his wings, Eagle leaped from the limb and glided towards
the noisy pair. He called a warning as he came close, but they
were so busy fighting they did not hear, so Eagle yelled louder.
"Caaaw-caaaw," Crow screamed, so surprised
he nearly fell off his perch. "Kaaack-kack," yelled Bluejay as
his wings flapped up a storm. Suddenly they both felt Eagle’s
sacred wing, and saw a feather fall! Oh my, what had they done?
Crow swooped down and caught the feather
before it landed on Mother Earth. As he returned he heard, "Oh
brother Eagle we did not hear you so near. I am truly sorry for
the injury I have caused you."
Crow was surprised to hear such honourable
words from his rival. He held Eagle’s feather in one claw and
spoke with dignity, "I have done many naughty things, brother
Eagle, but I think this may be the worst. I too am very sorry.”
Bluejay was also shocked to hear Crow speak
such wise words. Crow passed the feather to Bluejay to give it
back to Eagle. They both knew that this mistake would not have
happened if they had not been fighting.
Bluejay said, "I am ashamed, brother Eagle,
that my loud talk and harsh words were more important to me than
solving our problem." He looked to Crow for a sign of
understanding. Crow took the feather back from Bluejay and said,
"We not only tore from your wing a sacred feather, but also
disturbed Grandmother in ceremony. We ask for your forgiveness."
Eagle watched all this with wise eyes, the
lesson of listening had been learned by his little brothers. He
saw understanding in Grandmother’s eyes also. Eagle told Crow,
"Give my feather to Grandmother, She can dress it with beads and
leather to make it beautiful. She will keep it in her lodge to
teach others the lesson you learned today."
Eagle then turned to Grandmother, “You have
seen its power, Grandmother. Tell all the people that when they
come together at any gathering where ears might be shut, to
bring out the feather and let only the holder speak. This will
be done in an honourable manner, letting everyone have their
say. The feather will be known as the Talking Feather."
As Eagle spoke, Crow brought the feather to
Grandmother. She was very honoured to have learned this lesson
and she took the feather to her lodge. From that day on, the
story of the Talking Feather has been shared.
|