Читать книгу Woodmyth & Fable - Ernest Thompson Seton - Страница 8

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HERE were three Lords and a little Lord in the forest where Manitou made them.

The first was Mi-in-gan. He was swift as the spotted Redfin and tireless as the Kamanistiquia where it leaps from Kakabeka Rock to the boiling gorge of the Gitche Nanka. His voice was like the moan of a far looming whirlwind—not loud nor rough, but soft, and yet with a tone to freeze the stoutest heart. His weapons were twenty-four white arrows that pierced the foe, then leaped back again to their quiver; and his cunning was like that of the Wa-wa of many snows. In this was his power—in this and in his tireless feet.

The second great Lord was Mūs-wa, of mighty strength and great stature. None could equal him. When he went to war, he brandished four war-clubs and a hundred spears that always returned to his hand after throwing. His voice was like the rending of ice in the Hunger Moon. He was swiftest of them all and strongest of them all, and in his great strength he put all his trust.

The third was Mai-kwa, the silent. He was strong, but less so than Mūs-wa. He was cunning, but less so than Mi-in-gan. He carried two great clubs and had twelve white arrows which pierced and returned to the quiver.

There was yet another, a little Lord in the Forest, Wee-nusk. He was weak and small, and he knew it. He had two little axes for wood-cutting. He had no great strength, and he knew it, and knowing his weakness, he had wisdom.

Now Manitou, when he had made them and the Forest, spake thus:

“Behold, I have made you and given you the Forest to live in. Go now and live according to the law of the Forest; but remember this, ye children of Mother Earth: to all the Earth-born there comes a day of dire extremity, of peril beyond all power to save but one—the power of Mother Earth. Therefore, be ready to seek her. Keep open and clear the trail to her abode. Make plain the way in Sunshine of prosperity, for no trail opens in the hour of dreadful stress.”

But Mūs-wa trusted in his might.

He said: “I am the strongest in the Wood.” And Mi-in-gan trusted in his cunning. He said: “I am the wisest in the Wood.” And Mai-kwa said: “I am wise as fearless Mi-in-gan, and strong as fearless Mūs-wa. Why should I fear?”

Only Wee-nusk remembered the warning. He was not cunning, but he spent part of each spring and fall making plain the trail to Mother Earth. So when the Far-Killing Mystery reached the Forest, the first to go down was the strong Mūs-wa, and the second the tireless, cunning Mi-in-gan, and the third was Mai-kwa. Their strength was as a burnt grass-blade; their cunning was silly. There was no help for them, for they knew no trail of escape.

But Wee-nusk ran to Mother Earth, and the Far-Killing Mystery could in no wise do him harm.

So to-day he alone remains in the Land of the Pequot. Mūs-wa, the great Moose, is gone; Mi-in-gan, the cunning Wolf, is gone; Mai-kwa, the strong and cunning Bear, is gone.

They forgot the road to Mother Earth, and the Rifle wiped them out.

But Wee-nusk, the weak and unintelligent Woodchuck, is left, the only Lord of the Forest; for he trusts not to himself but flies for refuge to the Earth.

Moral: Get back, ye Earth-born, back to Mother Earth.