American Indian story

1. There is a well known Dakota teaching story called “The Great Wolf and Little Mouse
Sister” in which a tiny, insignificant mouse feels compassion for a great wolf that has
lost his eyes because of his greed, arrogance and foolishness (another story tells
how he was tricked out of them by four weasels and that they were able to trick him
because he was already blind in his heart).
As the story opens, the wolf is howling, crying, and flailing the ground in
despair. Now he is blind. How can he hunt? How will he survive? The little mouse
should have had the good sense to stay away, for after all, she was nothing more
than a small bite of food to a wolf. Anyway, what could she possibly do to help? And
yet something called her, and she bravely approached the wolf with curiosity and
compassion in her heart.

2. Sir William Jardine's Naturalist Library
We live in a world in which many of the great wolves of power have lost their
eyes. And because they lead nations and powerful organizations, their blindness
plunges many others beside themselves into darkness. When these powerful self-
centered beasts become desperate and afraid, or are totally absorbed in self-interest,
they often hurt vulnerable people within their reach. Sometimes they do it intention-
ally, in order to deflect opposition to themselves onto a convenient scapegoat. Other
times, they simply roll over little people without really even consciously realizing what
they are doing. When the great wolves are blind, we are all in danger.
A welcome for Governor-General Lord Lorne, Rat Portage, 30 July 1881. Sketch by Sidney Hall, London Graphic, 22 October 1881, page 428

3. Well, our story goes on to tell how the little mouse felt great compassion for the
wounded wolf, once so noble and proud and strong. She marched right up to where he
was laying with his face on the ground and she stood before him. “Great Wolf, why are
you crying?” she said. “Because I lost my eyes and now I cannot see,” answered the
wolf. “Don’t cry,” she said “I will help you.” “You?” he said, “What can you do? You’re
just a little mouse.” “My mother taught me always to give my very best,” she said, “I
will give you my eyes.” And before the wolf could even respond, she popped out her
eyes, and placed them gently in the sockets where the wolf’s eyes had been. And sud-
denly, he leapt into the air, and whooped and howled and danced for joy. “I can see,”
he said. “I can see.”
First_Nations_Basket_Makers_c.1870.jpg

4. Remember the little mouse who gave her eyes to the wolf? Well, the story goes on that
she just stood there, listening to the wolf as he whooped and danced around the
meadow. But now she was blind, and it gradually dawned on her that she had done a
very, very foolish thing. She waited, her little brow furled in worry and fear, fully expect-
ing the wolf to discover her, and to eat her like a kernel of popcorn. She had given her
eyes because her heart prompted her to do so. She had listened to the voice of
spirit. But now she was exposed, helpless, and vulnerable.
To her surprise, the wolf quite suddenly stopped his celebration and walked quietly over
to where she stood in the grass. For a long time he said nothing; and she waited in
fear. Then he bent down and said in a very gentle voice. “Little Sister, how could you do
such a thing for me? Now you are blind.” All she could say was “My heart told me to do
it.”
Kane_Assiniboine_hunting_buffalo.jpg

5. And then the wolf wept the weeping of regret, loss, and shame. He wept a long time,
and the little mouse could only wait and be with him while he wept. And when his heart
had been washed clean of the anger, fear, pride, and selfishness that had for so long
covered up his true nature as a noble being, he stopped weeping, and after a time he
said, “Little Sister, do you remember the old teaching about a Sacred Lake high up in the
mountains?” “Yes,” she said, suddenly filled with hope. My grandmother told me that
whoever prays on its shores and drinks of its waters will be healed of any infirmity. But
do you think it really exists? Maybe it’s just an old story.”
Lucy_telles_Paiute_in_Yosemite.jp
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6. The Great Wolf was quiet a moment, and then he said, “Little Sister, if a tiny mouse can
make a blind wolf see, maybe there is such a thing as a Sacred Lake. We will look for it
together.” And so the Great Wolf lowered himself to the ground, and invited his Little
Mouse Sister to climb up on his back; and together they set out on a long, long jour-
ney.She was blind and yet somehow there was greatness within her. She had made the
Great Wolf see, and she brought him to his knees, with tears in his eyes, ready to dedi-
cate himself to helping her find the Sacred Lake.

7. Chief Bone Necklace an Oglala Lakota from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (1899)
“
The two of them traveled a long time, and met many interesting characters along the
way. There was owl, who thought their search was a foolish waste of time. He was sure
the idea of some “sacred lake” that could bring healing and renewal was nothing but su-
perstition. There was coyote, who sensed something of value in the little mouse, and
hoping to gain something for himself, tried to poison her relationship with the wolf with
mistrust and lies. There were the otters, for whom comfort and enjoyment were rea-
sons enough to look no further in life, and to avoid difficult challenges. And all of these
for their own reasons, tried to persuade the travelers to change their goals or to give up
their journey all together. But the little mouse and the Great Wolf were friends now,
and they did not give up. They traveled on, believing deep in their hearts that they
would find what they were looking for.

8. The Great Wolf and his Little Mouse Sister climbed high into the mountains, and one
day, quite unexpectedly, they came upon the most beautiful lake they had ever seen
burning brilliant turquoise in the morning sun, and they knew they had found what they
were looking for.
The Wolf began to describe the beauty of the scene to his Sister, but she interrupted
him. “I can see it with my heart,” she said. They fell silent. Then the wolf took out to-
bacco and prayed to the Four Directions thanking the Creator for bringing them to their
goal, and asking the Creator to bless and protect the Little Mouse whom he loved.
“Little Sister,” he said to her, “we have found the Sacred Lake. What shall we do
now?” “I cannot thank you enough, she said, but now I must ask of you a difficult
thing. Leave me. The rest I must do myself.”
Allen William Seaby (1867-1953)

9. “
And so the wolf placed his Little Sister gently at the water’s edge, kissed her good-bye,
and set out down the mountain.
The little mouse felt strangely at peace, and yet she could not imagine what to do
next. Suddenly, a voice boomed from the sky. “Little Mouse, jump and reach for the
heavens.” So she jumped. “Jump higher,” said the voice. So she jumped
again. “Jump still higher,” the voice commanded. And she jumped again still
higher. “Little Mouse, jump as if life depended on it. Jump as you have never jumped
before. Jump and touch the sky.” And she jumped like she had never jumped before,
and she felt herself soaring, floating dizzily, flying and swooping, and she could see a
great distance. The sun poured yellow warmth upon the land.
Hileman, T. J.

10. “
The Sacred Lake below shone like a jewel. And she could see her Wolf Brother far
below, making his way down the mountain. And she heard the voice again but now
like a whisper within her.
You have given much, Little Sister, and you have traveled far. Because you have
given your very best to help another life, and because you have continued on your
journey to find the Sacred Lake, and because you have asked of me a healing, and I
have heard you, for now and forever more, you have become the Sacred Eagle and
when the people see you, they will remember me, and you will guide them.