Smiling Fox by Albert GrayEagle There was a young couple that had been wed for two summers. They had everything going well for them. Food was plentiful and the young husband was always fortunate in hunting. The young wife gathered berries and roots. They would sit in their lodge eating, even while all the other people counciled and prayed. They forgot about their Creator and prayed no longer or gave thanks for their good fortune. The young man's father was troubled by this, for he thought he had raised his son in a better way than the way he was living. He prepared for prayer, then cleansed himself in a good sweat, then prepared for a vision. He told his wife he would be gone as long as it took, until the Creator listened to his prayers and gave him a vision. He wanted to pray, for his son and himself, for strength that neither had. He was gone two days before he came back. His body was weak from hunger. His wife asked him about his vision. He told her they were going to be grandparents and the child will be great, for a little one, and will teach all in the village, and especially himself, the value of life. He saddened and said no more about his vision. It showed a lot of pain that he had a hard time thinking about. The vision of a child in pain and himself learning the last thing he would learn. This child would be his connection to the circle of life and he would see the pureness and energy of innocence and knowledge. The center of the medicine wheel will be where the child stands at in his moment of truth. He didn't quite understand what this meant. In the month of the hard faced moon (January), the young couple came to his lodge and gave them the good news of them becoming grandparents. The man knew his vision was going to become true. It would be a little girl conceived during the hard faced moon and born during a thunderstorm around the time of the cool moon (September). It came to pass that the cool moon came and the storm that startled the woman enough to give birth early. The new grandfather paced outside the lodge with his son, while his son spoke of how a great warrior his new son would be. He told his son of his vision of the girl child that would be great amongst her people and her name will be Smiling Fox. The young man smiled and said that would be good also. As the thunder sound was off at a distance the sound of a baby crying made them jump for joy. The young father ran inside while his father waited outside. The son brought his daughter out and told his father, "Here is your granddaughter, Smiling Fox". When the grandfather looked into her eyes he could see why creator called her this name, for her eyes smiled and danced like prairie grass in the wind. Then a sad look came unto his face as he looked into his vision. His son asked him what was wrong and, of course, he said nothing and smiled. As the child grew the more curious she got and the more she wanted to know. She was so close to her grandfather and he fed her with knowledge. They would spend their days talking. She was about four summer seasons old when she started to get ill. No one could cure her. The medicines did not help. She coughed very badly and her bones would ache so bad that she limped. She moved in back and forth motions, just like a fox does and her grandfather noticed this. Her mother and father knew she was very ill and they wondered why the creator would do this to them and why they had to listen to people talk about the child and tease her. It was very hard to take. Everything was going good for them until Smiling Fox was born. The grandfather saw his son one evening outside by the fire as the sparks went up in the air watching them disappear feeling sorry for himself. He said, "Son, what is wrong?" His son asked him, "What did I do wrong, father?" The father replied, "I think, you forgot where your spirit is, son. The path you took a while back was not a good one. Watch your daughter and learn. She is ill but, yet, here for a reason. His son stared at him and said, "I think your vision was superstitious foolishness!", and stormed into his lodge. Smiling Fox came outside, smiled and sat next to her grandfather. Just about then, one of the children's parents came out and shouted she had fry bread left over for who ever wanted it. All the children rushed at her and took it all. When Smiling Fox got there, she had to turn her away. There wasn't anymore left. Smiling Fox told her that was okay and smiled as she walked back towards her grandfather. All the kids started teasing her. They called her "walks-with-a-limp" and "slow-like-a-turtle" and all she did was look back at them and smile as they ate their fry bread. She could hardly walk anywhere. Her lungs would burn with pain. She would cough and her grandfather's eyes would fill with tears. He knew she would not live much longer and his heart grew heavy. He asked her, "Nepevomohtahe?", (are you feeling well) and she smiled and said, "Napevomohta", (I am fine) and sat down next to him. He knew she was going to start talking and asking questions because she was a very curious child. Oh, how he loved his Smiling Fox and talking with her. He stood up and walked to a tree and sat under the shade, then told her, "Nanaestse" (come here), "Hamestooestse" (sit down). She sat down and said, "I hear you and the old ones talk about our spirit and Creator. Where is our spirit, grandfather, and will it help me get better?" Her grandfather said to her, "Let me tell you a story and then you figure it out. Along time ago, our Creator created all the stars, the sun the moon, the rivers and all living things. Then our Creator created the most favorite thing he had always wanted. The human being. He made them of different colors, big and small, and all spoke different words. Then creator wanted to give the human being the greatest gift that could be given, and it was called a spirit. This spirit would live on forever, just like Creator. If a human being could find where it is no matter if the body died." Smiling Fox interrupted and asked, "Memeehe (grandfather), "Tosaa" (where)? Grandfather said, "Hekotooestse" (be quiet) "Otaha" (listen), and he continued with his story. Creator thought of where to put this gift. Creator thought and thought of many places but thought they were too easy to find and not good places to put the spirit. Creator said to himself, "I know, I will ask earth mother. She is wise and she nourishes all the earth." So Creator spoke to earth mother and said, "I decided to give the human being a spirit. Where do you think I should put this gift I am giving them? It will be a measure of good and bad, right or wrong, and who ever finds it will be deserving to live on forever." Earth mother thought a little while. "I know", she said, "Put the spirits under my earth and rock." Creator thought and said, "No, they will dig unto you and scar you up and find other things and then end up on a bad path and make you ill." She thought a little while longer and said, "What if you put the spirits under my waters. They will not easily find them there." Creator said, "No, they will there also. They will learn to swim and breath like the fish people and poison your life giving blood." Well, earth mother thought even longer and said, "I know, put the spirits on the moon. They surely won't find them there!" The Creator looked far ahead and told earth mother, "No, they will go there also. I created the human being very smart and very curious. They will go there also." "Well, I don't know then", said earth mother, "But, I think, I know who does." So Earth Mother brings Grandmother Mole out of the earth and said to the Creator, "This is the wisest creature you have created. She has no eyes but she sees all with her heart." Creator said, "Do you have a place in mind where I can put this gift Grandmother Mole?" Grandmother Mole thought about it and said, "If you want these human beings to be truly deserving of their spirits, make the easiest place you can put them. Put the spirit inside themselves. They truly won't look there, unless they truly deserve it." Creator thought for awhile and spoke, "It is done." Smiling Fox's grandfather said, "That is where the spirit is. Now that you know where it is, listen to it." Grandfather smiled at her. She got up and walked away, limping, and he knew she was thinking very hard. He thought about her, as he watched her walk away, and his heart grew very heavy. He looked into his vision and thought to himself, "Maybe my vision of Smiling Fox is wrong. Maybe it is another grandchild. This one is suffering more than my vision showed me." He found himself like the girl's parent's, feeling sorry for her. They stayed away from her because of the hurt and feeling sorry for her, yet he could not stay away from her. Oh, how he loved her so much. As he saw her sitting in front of the lodge, he didn't know he planted a seed in the child's mind. One that would make her wiser than any of them had ever seen for her age. As she got older, she could not keep up with the children anymore, so she walked with the elders as they walked slowly also. She learned more and more by doing this. She learned of the plants and herbs and she became knowledgeable of medicines and healing. Yet the more the children laughed and teased her, the more she smiled. She started seeing things differently. The older she got the wiser she was. One day, when she was about eight summers old, her grandfather and her were sitting near the edge of the crooked forest. Her grandfather thought of how close they were and he got tears in his eyes. He tells her, "I am sorry this life has been bad to you Smiling Fox", and he cried. She held him and said, "Memeehe neveeaxaame napevomohta", (Don't cry, grandfather. I am okay). She tells him to look at the trees. If they were all perfect, it would not be a beautiful forest. The same is not good for all. If some of the trees would not take the wind and snow, the others would not make it. "I like it the way things are", Smiling Fox said. The grandfather smiled at her sadly. A few days later a sickness came and no one knew what to do. All the children were getting ill. Smiling Fox went out and picked plants and roots and, along with the elders, helped cure the children. The children came and thanked her when they felt better and when fry bread was being given out, they made sure she got some first. Her grandparents and parents were becoming proud of Smiling Fox. One night a big storm bigger than anyone had ever seen was coming and Smiling Fox felt with her heart it was going to be very bad. She went out and moved the horses where they would be safe as the storm became worse. She could hardly breath as her lungs were filled with pain yet she managed to wake up all the people so they could take shelter. The winds came and knocked trees down on lodges and lightening started big fires. Many of the lodges were washed away with the rain. When the storm passed they all talked about how Smiling Fox had saved them. The courage of the young woman was great. All of the people were proud of Smiling Fox. The next evening, some of the elders got together in council. They wanted to have a name giving ceremony. The grandfather of Smiling Fox stood and told the elders of the vision he had years before. He told them not to change the child's name and that he felt honored that they felt this much for his granddaughter. He was very proud. Then a cold stir came upon him. He remembered in his vision that the child born would come with a storm and would leave this world with a storm. He walked back to Smiling Fox's lodge to check on her. His son was sitting outside by the big fire with his head in his hands and he said, "Father, the storm was bad on her. She is very ill." The grandfather looked at him and thought the worst. It was his precious Smiling Fox. He ran inside the lodge and the girl was on her death bed. He started weeping so loudly that all the others came from their lodges. Smiling Fox told her grandfather, "Memeehe neveexaame napevomohta", (Don't cry, grandfather. I am fine.) His tears were like rivers coming down a mountain in the spring. He saw Smiling Fox looking at him and then she said, "Grandfather, I have found my spirit", as her eyes closed and then she died. Grandfather ran out of the lodge and, by the fire, took his knife and cut his hair, throwing it into the fire as he was cutting it. The sparks from the fire went up into the sky and his cries with them. His son came and stood next to him and did the same as he said, "Father, all is for nothing. I know why she came." He cried, "And it all came to be of the vision you spoke. I know what you meant." Two summer's later, the grandfather grew ill himself. Many say from the loneliness of not having Smiling Fox. He was on a mountain one day and knew it was the time for his vision to be fulfilled. He was old and it was time. As he grew weak, he looked at the sun and into the crooked forest where Smiling Fox and he sat along time ago. He saw a fox running towards him, limping, and it looked as if the fox had a smile on its face. Now he himself has found his spirit. She has come to greet him and now he can be with The Spirit of Smiling Fox.   Albert Grayeagle © 24 April, 1999 The story about the placing of the soul, is a story I was told a long time ago as a child. I do not know it's origin. I believe it is of Lakota origin. I thought it would help with the story of Smiling Fox and teach us a lesson we all know. We sometimes just need to be reminded there is more to life than trying to get what we don't have. It is what we do have ourselves.         Susan McConnachie 530-926-2620