Dances to the Stars

by Michael Saunders

Cougar and his little brother, Swimmer, met their friends at the ball field.  The young boys loved the summer time because it gave them many opportunities to play the ball game.  The game was a national pastime for the people and the young boys learned to play it from an early age.  Cougar and his friends played as often as they could and the young men of the village recognized Cougar as an outstanding player.

The boys would gather at their corner of the field after breakfast each morning and play until late in the afternoon.  Today would be no different.  The boys chose sides.  Cougar's little brother had to always be on his team, since he was the youngest and not a very good player. Cougar was the best player of the group. Cougar didn't mind so much.  He liked his little brother and he could see that he tried hard each time he played the game.

Each boy had his own set of sticks to play the game. The boys had each made their own.  Cougar had helped Swimmer make his sticks earlier that summer.  Each stick was as long as the boy's arm.  On the end of each stick was a cup for catching and throwing the ball.  The sticks were made of oak and were strapped with deer hide.  The ball was made from deer hide as well.  It was wrapped tight and measured about six inches in circumference. None of the boys wore any protective gear, not even Swimmer.

The boys ran up and down the field, passing the ball back and forth. Each team tried to pass the ball across the other's goal. They had been playing most of the day and now the sun was beginning to go down. Cougar had heard his mother calling for him and Swimmer to come home, but like most days, he ignored her call. Before long the other boys could hear their mothers as well, and like Cougar and Swimmer, they chose to go on playing the game.

They continued to play until it was too dark to see the ball. It was Cougar, who at last called the game over. The boys all gathered in the center of the field and talked about continuing the game the next day. They agreed to meet shortly after breakfast. Each boy ran off in different directions, toward his home. Cougar and Swimmer walked side by side, carrying their sticks over their shoulders. They soon approached their home and Swimmer noticed his uncle, Red Clay, sitting beside the door of their house, talking to their father. Swimmer was excited to see his uncle and he ran toward him.

"My uncle, my uncle," he yelled. "It is good to see you." He stopped short and stood still, surprised that his uncle said nothing. Soon Cougar joined him and said a brief hello to his uncle and father.

"My nephews," Red Clay spoke in a stern voice. "Where have you been and why haven't you answered your mother's call?"

Both boys hung their heads. Cougar spoke. "We've been playing ball," he said.

"All summer long it is the same. You play ball and ignore your mother."

"Uncle, we're sorry," Cougar started to say, but his uncle cut short his excuses.

"You show disrespect." Red Clay said.

The boys's father, Running Deer, said nothing, as it was not his place to scold his children.

"Your mother has worried long enough about you boys," Red Clay continued. "Now, she has called me to talk to you. Tonight you will go to bed hungry, for the food that your mother prepared for you and your father is gone. I have eaten the last of it. Tomorrow, you will stay home and work around your house with your mother. I do not want to have to talk to you again about this. Playing ball is a good thing, but you cannot ignore your family. There is more to living with the people than playing ball. Do my nephews understand what I am saying?" Red Clay asked.

"Yes, my uncle," Swimmer said, his head still hung.

"Yes, uncle," said Cougar. "We are sorry."

"Go and tell your mother you are sorry and then go to bed. Maybe a night's sleep with an empty stomach will teach you a lesson."

The boys walked slowly inside, leaving the two older men to talk. The boys told their mother that they were sorry. She in turn ignored them and went outside to check on the men. The boys looked at each other and without saying another word climbed into their beds.

The next morning as soon as the sun began to shine into their faces, the boys climbed out of bed. They saw their mother fixing food for breakfast. They each gave her a hug and grabbed some of the food. Without thinking or saying anything else, both boys picked up their ball sticks and ran from the house. They could hear their mother shout after them, but both boys ignored her call and ran as fast as they could to the ball field.

Their mother was furious. She wiped her hands and went to her brother's house to talk to him about her boys and their behavior. Yellow Corn Woman did not know what else to do. She talked to Red Clay for a long time about the boys. Red Clay told her to go and see the mothers of the other boys and come up with a joint solution to solve the problem.

All that day the boys played their ball game and their mothers talked about what could be done. That night when the boys returned home, none of them found food on their tables to eat. Cougar and Swimmer found their uncle waiting for them again.

"I cannot believe what my sister has told me," Red Clay said as the boys approached. "I have decided that you both must be taught a lesson."

The two boys looked at one another and then back at their uncle.

"Tonight, you must give me your ball sticks. It has been decided that I will keep them until you have proven that you are responsible enough to get them back."

Neither boy protested, even though they wanted to. Swimmer handed his sticks to his uncle and went inside. Cougar did the same.

When Cougar got to bed, he could hear his little brother crying. It was hard for Cougar to sleep that night. He was angry with what his mother and uncle had done, even though he knew that his own actions had been wrong. It was a long time before he fell asleep.

The next morning he woke early and slipped out of bed. He shook Swimmer and put his hand over the younger boy's mouth.

"Come, my brother. Follow me to the ball field."

Swimmer got out of bed and slipped outside with his brother.

"What are we going to do at the ball field?" Swimmer asked.

"First we are going to go and get the other boys. I know that our mother has talked to theirs. All of us have lost our sticks."

"Are you sure?" Swimmer asked.

"Yes," was all that Cougar said.

It did not take the two boys long to gather the others. Cougar had been right. All the boys found one of their uncles waiting for them last night, and each boy was forced to give up their sticks. They sat in a circle in the middle of the field and talked about what they would do.

Cougar listened to each boy before he spoke. "I thought long last night about what has happened," he began. "Our mothers have shown contempt for us and I do not believe that we are truly loved by them."

The other boys nodded their agreement, though none of them, including Cougar, really felt that this was true.

"We shall pray to the Great Holy One in the sky to take us to where we are truly loved." Cougar continued, "Then we will dance, here in the field, until the Creator answers our prayers."

Each boy agreed and together they began to pray. Afterward, the boys began to dance in a circle. They sang their prayers as they danced. Before long some of the older boys came to the field and saw what was going down. At first they just watched, but after a while one of the older boys felt what he was watching was serious. He ran to Yellow Corn Woman's house and told her what was happening.

Yellow Corn Woman quickly ran to the homes of the other boys and explained the situation. After a short time, the women and their brothers walked to the ball field. When they arrived, they found most of the people from the village there. They saw their sons dancing and singing in the field. The mothers shouted to their sons, but the boys ignored them and continued to dance.

Soon the sun began to set. The entire village was now standing around the ball field, watching the boys dance. The mothers of the boys pleaded with them to stop and come home but the boys refused to stop.

Finally, Yellow Corn Woman stepped forward and grabbed Swimmer by the arm. "Swimmer, Cougar, come home with me this instant," she said. Her voice revealed more concern than anger.

Swimmer pulled his arm away and shouted loud enough for the entire village to hear. "No, leave us, Mother."

Yellow Corn Woman was startled by her youngest son's reaction. She stepped back a few paces.

Someone in the crowd of people gasped and said, "Look at them."

Yellow Corn Woman looked around, trying to see what the commotion was about. When she returned her gaze to the dancing boys, she covered her mouth to keep from screaming. The boys were no longer dancing on the ground. They were all in the air. They continued to dance in a circle, and the song grew louder and stronger. The mother of two of the boys stepped forward and pleaded with her sons to come home.

Yellow Corn Woman called out the names of her two sons, but it was apparent that the boys were no longer aware of the people watching them. They started to rise higher and higher into the air.

Yellow Corn Woman jumped into the air, trying to grab Cougar by the feet, but he was already too high to reach. She jumped a second time, this time trying to grab Swimmer. Her hands found his feet and she held on tight. She pulled him to the ground with such force that when he hit the ground he disappeared beneath it. Yellow Corn Woman lay on the ground. On her hands and knees, she moaned in horror and agony. "Swimmer! Cougar! Come back!"

Darkness had fallen by now and the seven remaining boys were lifted higher and higher into the night sky. The people watched in amazement as the boys rose higher and higher. Before long, the boys began to turn into bright shining lights, and they were soon so high that their forms could no longer be seen. After a short while, the boys began to shine brightly in a part of the night sky where no stars had been seen before.

The people watched for a long time in amazement. The seven boys were now a constellation. The people talked among themselves. Some were saying that it appeared the new stars were still dancing. Others couldn't tell.

"We have relatives among the stars!" Red Clay shouted his arms outstretched to the sky. He went to Yellow Corn Woman and lifted her from the ground. "My sister, it is time to go home." He put his arm around her shoulder and guided the sobbing woman back to her home. He stayed with her all that night and the next day.

Late the next afternoon, he went with her back to the ball field. When they arrived, a crowd was already forming. There was much talk and pointing at something in the field. Red Clay and Yellow Corn Woman pushed their way through the crowd and stood at the front of the group of people. Yellow Corn Woman gasped.

There, at the spot where Swimmer had disappeared into the ground, stood a small cedar tree. It was no more than three feet tall, about the same size as Swimmer. And if you listened closely you could hear it sing, sing the song that the boys had sung the night before.

That night the people gathered and stared at the night sky. Many pointed to where the seven stars shone in the night sky. Songs were sung to their relatives among the stars. And to this day, the people still tell the story of the boys who danced themselves to the stars.

The End

Dances to the Stars; 2003 by Michael Saunders

Michael Saunders is a mixed blood, American Indian, (the term he prefers) of Cherokee and Ottawa descent. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota and taught American Indian Studies at the university. He currently lives and writes in the mountains of east Tennessee. "Dances to the Stars" is his second story for publication. His first story, "The Sickness," appeared in the Autumn 2002 issue of The Copperfield Review, a journal for those who read and write historical fiction.

"Dances to the Stars" was inspired by stories his grandparents told to him when he was a child.

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