No Name Brother of the Bears

Inspired by The Boy who lived with the Bears, written by Joseph Bruchac, located in The Boy who lived with the Bears and other Iroquois stories.

Many moons ago a boy named No Name lived in a village of people called the Haudenosaunee

Orphaned young he lived with uncle of cruel who treated him as nothing

Resented and hated by his uncle who feed him little as sparrow and clothes of thin rages of near naught was his reward for being good. Poor No Name was respect of respect for all and ever was his heart troubled for he worked harder harder for love to be given to him

Uneasy he went went with his uncle of hunt hunt in area of unknown and told to flush out prey from cave of small as he went in further a boulder blocked passage to freedom

Cries of sorrow and tears of bitter trailed down cheeks as he realized his uncle betrayed him and left him to reside within and die

Singing a song of friendship he curled his arms around shoulders of thin and rocked sad

Hearing an echo of his song returned he song and they sang until the rock rolled away

Crawling free of the cave he saw many people of people the spirit of true gave the brave bears, the deers of fleet, the foxes of sly, the wolves of love, the beavers of build, the muskrats of travel far, the squirrels of trickery, the wood chucks of chisel, the chipmunks of wood chips and the moles of small compassion and friendship to help him and became his family’s love

All of the people of people offered him home of home to keep him safe happy accepting offer of old mother bear he decided to be a bear

Two years passed quick swift and they dwelled long amiable being cautious of hunters of hunters Heavy Foot, Flapping Jars, Bumps into Trees, Falls in the Lake, Two Legs and Four Legs creeping following close far
Hiding in the log was they Mother Bear, two bear cubs and the boy for hunters of persistent with smoke to flush them out of the log blowing fierce

Remembering belatedly that he was a Two Legs he called stop stop stop don’t hurt us this is my family

Crawling from the log the boy looked at the Two Legs and to his surprise it was his uncle who left him years ago in the cave with boulder

Pleading forgiveness he explained he didn’t know why he left him but when he came back he was gone and he thought he was consumed whole by animals many

The boy said no I was adopted and cared for by Mother Bear and her two cubs and now we all become one family and live together long with much love in our heart for us all for each one great

By

Felicia McCaw