THE MOON OF THE TREES

(From a story by Louis Lamour, with my apologies to the Lamour family for this abridged version)

Their fire was small and they huddled close. "We must go now," said the Boy, "There is no more wood for burning. Our crops were thin and when the snows come, the wild ones will come again and will kill us." "Where will we go?" the Small Sister asked, for drought was everywhere and with no better place they knew of, would it not be better to stay here and die?

The Old One stirred and mumbled, "In my sleep I saw them, strange men sitting on beasts." "He is old and his mind wanders," said the Mother. "Strange men with robes that shine," continued Old One. "How many men?" Boy asked, wondering if they would be dangerous. "Three, no more," Old One said, "sitting on beasts." Ramblings of an old man, they all thought.

They soon must leave or die, and it was better to die while doing than sitting. There was no more food - even the rats had gone. "When light comes, we shall go," said Boy. "What of the Old One? He is weak." said Small Sister. "They followed the path, where there was no path, a path of light," said Old One. "He will come with us," said Boy.

On the third day walking they ran out of water, so Boy dug for water in the sand. They ate of the corn they carried, but not all, for some would be seed for planting if they found a new home. Snow in the night gave them more water and the next day they kept walking. 

Here and there seeds could be found to eat. "Where do we go?" Small Sister asked. Boy did not know where and he was afraid. On the ninth day they ate the last of the corn except the seed. Boy snared a squirrel and a lizard, and Mother dug roots by a spring. They had left their home forever, the last of their kind who would later be called Anasazzi.

They plodded on and the cold grew. It snowed and did not melt, and Old One lagged farther behind, taking longer each day to reach the evening fire. Boy hardly looked at their eyes now, for he had nothing to promise them. "They followed a path of light," Old One muttered as he drew his worn blanket about his thin shoulders. "It is the moon of the trees on the snow."

"We have seen no path, Old One" "The path was light because they heard and they believed." said Old One. "Heard what? Believed what?" asked Boy. "I do not know, only that they believed," said Old one. "I believe we are lost," said Small Sister. Mother looked at the boy. He was now the man, but only a small man, and alone. "In the morning we will go on," Boy said.

Old One arose. "Come," he said and Boy followed. "There!" he pointed, "There lies the path." "I see no path," said Boy, "only a star." "The star is the path if you believe," said Old One. He went back to the fire and left Boy alone in the dark. The others had trusted him, but he had found nothing. They had faith and he had none. He had led them into a wilderness, and for what? There was no place for planting, little food and water, no fuel.

Old One said they followed a star, thought Boy, so he would follow a star, one still bright in the morning light. When morning came, they made ready to leave, but Old One would not move. "It is enough. I can go no farther," he said. "But you will come," said Boy, "You taught me to have faith, and now you must have it." And so they moved on, day following day and night following night and Boy following a star.

Soon Small Sister and Mother said, "We can go no farther," so Boy put them in a place of cottonwood trees where there was a water seep and branches for fuel. He snared a small animal and cooked it for them. When light came he shouldered his pack and left them, but out of their sight he sat down and put his head in his hands. He had failed them. Old One's medicine had failed. Where would they go?

As he walked on, his head was filled with dark thoughts and soon he tripped and fell. And there before him on the ground were the tracks of a deer and a raccoon. Deer would give them food and clothing. Raccoon liked water. Not in two moons had he seen animal tracks! He followed the tracks into a small valley and found a pool of water. He drank deeply and went quickly back to the others. He brought them to the place and said, "This is our home. We will stop here." 

Boy killed a deer and as they ate, he asked, "Old One, the men who sat upon the beasts in your dream, what did they find following the star?" "A cave that smelled of animals where a baby lay on dry grass. The father and mother were there and other men wearing skins." "And the shining ones who sat on the beasts? What of them?" asked Boy."They knelt before the baby and gave it gifts."

            "It is a strange dream," said Boy. "At another time I will listen to it again."