It was strange that he felt comforted by the girl’s posture, even though she was much younger than him. Sadly enough, she probably would be the one to defend him from a fight—but there were some things not even the best warrior or the best medicine man could tackle.
“Udanvti is my spirit guide,” Unatsikanogeni replied to her first question, wrapping his lanky arms around his drawn-up legs and resting his chin on his knees. He decided that, as an outsider, she wouldn’t quite know what that meant, and so he began to explain. “When wolves of the Tribe come of age, they partake in a spiritual journey and find their guides there. The guides are full of wisdom and they guide us through life, like their names say. Udanvti—that means ‘gentle’—is my guide, and she shows herself as a doe.”
There was no rambling and stammering like normal when he described the concept to the girl. He enjoyed teaching others about Tribe culture, whether they were proper outsiders or new members of AniWaya. It was his way of life, and no matter what problems he’d had as an Ayastigi, he was proud of it. He was proud of Udanvti, too, even if she wasn’t around right now—or maybe she was, listening and approving. He hoped she approved, at least.
“Stories?” the farmer echoed, glancing at her as she settled beside him. “Oh, yes, I know a few.” He frowned and thought, marking some—such as the Raven Mocker—as utterly inappropriate for the occasion. He closed his eyes in silence, almost appearing to be asleep for a moment, until he thought of one and flashed a little smile. “I do have a story—I need to think of how to translate it from my language, of course, but…” He trailed off, and thought about how to tell the tale in English, and presently began.
“In the beginning, Rabbit had a very long, very bushy tail—even longer and bushier than the tail of Fox.” Unatsi grinned, letting the girl soak up that image before he went on. “Rabbit was very proud of his tail, of course, and he boasted and bragged about how lovely it was, and he flaunted it in front of all the other animals that they might be jealous. Fox hated all the boasting, of course—who likes a braggart?—so he made a plan about how he might end the boasting altogether.
“Winter came to the world, and it got so cold that all the water turned to ice. Fox had four fish, and he carried these down to one of the frozen lakes, cut a hole in the ice, and tied the fish to his tail, and waited.
“As soon as Fox saw Rabbit hopping along, he dropped his tail in the icy water. Of course, this all looked very silly to Rabbit, who asked Fox what he was doing. Fox replied that he was fishing.
“‘With your tail?’ Rabbit asked, incredulous and shivering at the thought.
“Fox smiled and replied, ‘Of course; that is the best way to fish.’
“Rabbit still didn’t quite believe him, so he asked how long he’d been fishing, and Fox replied that it hadn’t been long. Asked if he’d caught anything yet, Fox pulled his tail out of the water—with his four fish hanging off it. He said that he planned to trade the fish in the village, and get the last tail comb left.
“Rabbit thought about it, and decided that he might catch enough fish to trade if he went at it all night. He waited and politely bade farewell to Fox when Fox pointed out that it was late and cold, and he remained behind until Fox was out of sight—at which point he dropped his tail through the ice hole into the freezing water. It was very cold, but Rabbit really wanted the tail comb, so he persevered and stayed on the frozen lake all night long.
“When morning came, Fox came back to the lake and greeted Rabbit brightly, asking how the fishing was going. His teeth chattering, Rabbit tried to answer and lift himself up—but he couldn’t move; he was frozen to the ice! He struggled and begged Fox for help, and Fox smiled helpfully, giving Rabbit one huge push. Rabbit went skidding across the lake, and he hopped up and spun around to see if there was any fish on his tail—it was stuck in the frozen water!”
Unatsikanogeni grinned broadly, inclining his head and, for the moment, forgetting about his hunger and fear of dying. “And that is why rabbits have short tails,” he concluded mischievously.
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