Good morning. Welcome to Jo Ann’s Virtual Café 2023. Come on in and help yourself to a breakfast beverage. Let’s talk. Well, it’s finally here. It’s Spring. Joe has a story about that.
One year long ago, Little Bear was worried. According to the Great Medicine Man, Blue Smoke, Spring was supposed to come, but it hadn’t. Little Bear went to Blue Smoke and asked, “Where is the Spirit of Spring? We need the grass to grow and Mother Earth’s ground to warm so we can plant our crops to eat.”
Blue Smoke lit a small fire and made smoke with wet wood. The smoke drifted South. Blue Smoke replied, “The Spirit of Spring is still far to the South. He lives there in the Winter. Someone must go and tell him that he must come North to warm the earth and free us for The Spirit of Winter.”
Little Bear was a young brave. “I will go and find The Spirit of the South and bring him back to us.” Blue Smoke replied, “You are young, Little Bear. It is a long journey to the South to find The Spirit of Spring. We do not have time for you to travel that far.”
Little Bear replied, “I will take Little Eagle with me. We will climb the sacred mountain and ask The Great Eagle to let us ride on his back to the South to find The Spirit of Spring.”
Blue Smoke replied, “My daughter is your age. You must ask her if she wants to join you on such a dangerous journey. I will let her go with you if she comes to me.” Little Bear ran to find Little Eagle. “Little Eagle, will you join me to find The Spirit of Spring? We need the Spirit to come and save us from The Spirit of Winter.”
Little Eagle asked, “Why do you want me to go with you on such a dangerous journey? You hardly ever speak to me. Is it just that you need me to ask the Great Eagle to fly you South?”
Little Bear answered, “You are right. I should have been more friendly to you. I do not know how to talk to young women. I am brave, but not with pretty, young women. I worry that they will laugh at me. I know you are smart, strong, and have courage. I know it will take a smart woman to get The Spirit of Spring to come back to us.
You are the smartest young woman I know. You are the only one that can convince The Great Eagle to take us. I have deep respect for you and your knowledge of Nature and Medicine.” To show his respect, Little Bear bowed his head to Little Eagle.
Little Eagle was surprised that Little Bear showed her that much respect. “Because you were so truthful to me and respect me. I will go with you. We will leave for the Sacred Mountain early in the morning. Take only your medicine bag and put only things in it that you think will help us persuade The Spirit of Spring to come.” The next morning, they climbed up to the Sacred Mountain.
When they got to the top of the mountain, Little Eagle sang the sacred song of the eagles. The Great Eagle flew down from high in the sky, landing in front of them. “Why do you call to me Little Eagle?”
Little Eagle answered, “Because we need to go South and find The Spirit of Spring to come. The spirit is late. Spring needs to come for all of us to live in this Northern land to survive. Without Spring, there will be no flowers and no grain, and ice will start to cover all the rivers. You and your offspring will not have food for your new eaglets. You will be forced to leave this land forever just like us.”
Great Eagle answered, “What you say is true? But how can you persuade The Spirit of Spring to come.” Little Bear replied, “Our hearts are pure, and our Wisdom comes from our ancestors. We will persuade the Spirit to come North.” The Great Eagle spoke, “Climb on my back! We have no time to waste. Your words are true, and your hearts are pure. I know where the Spirit spends his Winters.”
The Great Eagle flew them South toward the Great Southern Sea, landing on an island at its highest peak. “I will return to get you if I see Spring coming to our Northern land. If it doesn’t, you will remain here forever.” The Great Eagle flew away.
They felt a warm wind starting to blow behind them. An old man appeared before them. “I am The Spirit of Spring. Why are you here at my home?”
Little Eagle spoke, “We are from the Northern lands. You have not come to bring Spring to us. We are asking for you to come.” The old man replied, “It is warm here and beautiful. Why should I make the long trek North?”
Little Bear answered, “Because we in the North have always waited for you to come and warm our land. The flowers come, the grass grows, and our grain grows to feed us. Without you, we will die.” The old man replied, “I am tired of wandering North each Spring.”
Little Bear and Little Eagle both reached into their medicine bags. Little Eagle pulled out a snowball she had, “It is cold and kills our plants.” Little Bear went over and plucked a beautiful flower. He took the snowball and rubbed the flower. It started to die from the cold snow.
“You see, the snow kills even the most beautiful of plants. See these seeds from my medicine bag? They will not grow without you. There is one other thing you need to think about. The Spirit of Winter likes it that you are no longer going North. He will get stronger each year and come farther South. You will get weaker each year and older until you are gone. He will have won your fight forever. There will be no place for you.”
Little Eagle spoke, “Look at your hands and look into my eyes at your reflection.” The Spirit of Spring looked at his hands that were of an old man. He looked into Little Eagle’s eyes and saw an old man.”
Little Eagle spoke, “Without you going North to restore the rebirth of the land, you will not be reborn each Spring into a young man. You will die.”
The Spirit of Spring spoke, “Your words are true, and your hearts are pure. Both of you have the Wisdom of your ancestors. I will go but I cannot take you. Only the Great Eagle can do that.” The old man turned into a warm breeze and blew North.
They watched as the migrating birds flew North behind him. The only thing that Little Bear and Little Eagle could do was hope that The Great Eagle would return.
They built a shelter near the ocean. They fished and ate the fruit. Several months passed and still no Great Eagle.
Little Eagle and Little Bear enjoyed being together. One beautiful sunset, Little Bear took her into his arms. “I love being with you. If we don’t get off this island, I am happy to be here with you.” Little Eagle replied, “You are wise to be so young. I am happy to be with someone that respects me and is kind like you. I feel the same as you.”
A few weeks later they saw a big bird in the distance. There was another big bird with several little ones flying with it. The birds landed close to them. “I see you are doing well. I couldn’t come until my family was ready. Our eaglets are big enough to fly with us now. We have come to take you home.
The Spirit of Spring has come, and your tribes and all others are safe from The Spirit of Winter.”
Two days later the Great Eagle and his family landed in the middle of Little Bear and Little Eagle’s village. The Great Chief said, “Both of you are now legends in the land of the North. We will feast tonight in your honor.” The Spirit of Spring now a young man spoke, “Because you came and persuaded me to come North, you must each year come and remind me to come North. The Great Creator commands it of you.”
Little Eagle replied, “We will do that on one condition. We must be married. It is what is in our hearts.” So, each year Little Eagle and Little Bear would travel South. In time, it took all of the Great Eagle’s family to take Little Bear and Little Eagle’s children with them.
Having said that, let’s share a breakfast beverage and a Native American Proverb.
The Proverb goes like this:
“Walk tall as the mountains; be gentle as the Spring winds; keep the warmth of Summer in your heart, and the Great Creator will always be with you.”
Thanks for coming. Enjoy your gift of today. Have a great day! We look forward to seeing you again soon!
