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she told him.  She s the gentlest, calmest thing on four legs. She s also trained to stick
closely to whichever other horse she s with. I promise, Dash, one thing I don t do is ride
alone. I m not unaware of my limitations. The little gray mare wasn t even spooked by
Silver running alongside.
Dash snorted.  I wasn t worried about you. Since she knew his lie was intended
kindly, she let it go.  I m worried about that. She knew he was pointing at the third
horse on a lead rope behind them with a large plastic animal carrier mounted to its
saddle.
From inside the carrier, the eagle gave a short squawk, as if responding to Dash s
concern. Carmen laughed.  She s fine too, worrywart. She ll be even better when we
release her. They were riding up to the hilltop where Dash had found the eagle. She
was fully recovered now, and it was always better to let wild creatures go as close as
possible to the place where they d been found. Since it was Sunday, and Dash took
weekends off from all but the most pressing ranch duties, Carmen had recruited him to
go with her instead of her grandfather.  I m sure her mate will be happy to have her
home.
 I ll bet, Dash agreed.  Especially if they have young.
50
Eagle s Redemption
Carmen had explained to him that both male and female parents would normally
take turns feeding any babies and protecting their nest. With the female missing, the
male would have been doing double-duty as well as leaving the nest unprotected while
he hunted. While Dash didn t know much about Texas wildlife, he was interested and a
quick learner. She was having fun teaching him as they got to know one another.
They d spent the last nights together, but this was the first time they d actually left her
property almost like a date.
 I just hope we don t run into whatever idiot shot her in the first place, Dash
continued.  Why on earth would anybody do that?
 Well, a lot of farmers worry about them hunting chickens or young livestock,
Carmen replied.  Though they d much rather fish. Some people just get freaked out by
other predators. Honestly, it never made much sense to me either.
 Any stories about eagles in one of your books?
 Eagles are very important in Cherokee culture, but they re mainly war totems, and
since my books are for kids, I haven t written one specifically about eagles. I do have
one that features A-wo-ha-li, or Eagle, along with lots of other birds, reptiles and
mammals. The tale had been a favorite of her great-grandmother s and retelling it
always gave her a warm rush of memory.
 Tell me, he said, his voice a silky caress that was almost as warm as the Texas
sun.
 Okay. It s about a ball game, she began, speaking just loudly enough to be heard
over the steady beat of their horses hooves.  The animals the four-legged ones
challenged the birds to a game. Bear was the captain of their team, big and tough, and
ready to take out anyone who got in his way. They also had Terrapin, whose sturdy
shell would keep him safe if he got the ball, no one would be able to get it away from
him and Deer, who could outrun everyone else. All through the dance before the
game they bragged about their certain victory.
51
Cindy Spencer Pape
 Eagle was the captain of the bird team, and though he had Hawk and other strong
fliers on his side, he was starting to get nervous. While they were getting ready for the
game, two tiny animals, as small as mice, came running up the trunk where Eagle and
Hawk were perched and asked if they could join in the game.
 Since they had four legs, Eagle asked them why they didn t join the team down on
the ground. The little mammals said they had, but Bear, Terrapin and Deer had just
laughed and sent them away. Eagle thought this was unfair, but he knew he couldn t let
them join his team unless they could fly. Finally, one of the birds came up with an idea.
They would make wings for their little friends. Using the skin from a drum and some
cane splints, they made a set of wings and gave them to one of the animals, which is
how Bat came to be. There wasn t enough skin, though, to make wings for the other.
 Then someone thought of stretching the animal s own skin, to make sort-of wings.
Two birds on each side used their strong beaks to stretch and stretch the skin between
the little animal s front and back legs until it had flaps, enabling it to soar and glide,
creating Flying Squirrel.
 When the game started, Flying Squirrel swooped in and grabbed the ball then
carried it to a tree where he threw it to the other birds. They kept it in the air for a very
long time, not even giving the four-legged animals a chance to get it back. When it did
finally drop, Martin dove in to catch it before Bear could get there. He darted and
dodged, avoiding all the other animals until he could throw it to the pole and win the
game for the birds. As a thank-you, the other birds gave Martin a beautiful gourd for
his nest, and that s where he still likes to live today.
Dash remained silent for several minutes after Carmen stopped talking. Finally she [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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