by D. J. Holmes
Blue Cloud finds his sons, “What dance would you boys like to dance tomorrow night?”
“The Eagle Dance, the Eagle Dance,” they both repeat over and over again.
“Maybe we could get some of our other brothers to dance with us. Would you like that?”
“That sounds like a great idea, Father,” Running Deer answers smiling from ear to ear.
“Are you going to ask grandfather to dance with us?” a concerned Gray Wolf asks.
“Yes, I thought that I would,” Blue Cloud respectively states.
“But what if he scares everyone, Father?”
Blue Cloud pats Gray Wolf’s head. “I’ll talk to him about all of that noise.”
“Thank you Father,” Gray Wolf says with a sigh.
“I was afraid of that also, Father,” Running Deer sighs. “Thank you.”
Returning to Snow Flower to tell her of the dance they had chosen, he begins to laugh as he talks, “They were all excited when I asked them if I should ask some of our other brothers to dance with us. Then Gray Wolf, well, actually both of them, were afraid that if their Grandfather were dancing with us, that he might scare them with his noise.”
“Blue Cloud, stop laughing, you’ve got to talk to your sons about thunder, and let them know of the Thunder God, making sure that they know that it’s not Chief Joseph, their grandfather, that makes the noise,” Snow Flower, says very concerned. “He is our Chief and they need to respect him, not to be afraid of him.”
“I know, I know, woman. Give me a few days and I’ll sit down with them and explain everything,” Blue Cloud respectfully assures his wife.