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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>1,124 words<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Breaking Trail<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>By DeAnna Quietwater Noriega<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>At the edge of a clearing within the deep forest, Grandmother Spider watched as a young wolf came upon a large panther. The great cat was up wind of him and the two were both scenting the breeze seeking the same rabbit. The wolf feared for his life. The panther was probably faster and armed with vicious claws as well as sharp teeth. As the wolf backed away in fear from the great cat, one who was like a wolf and yet not sprang out from behind a tree. This creature gave several loud yips and growled in the manner of wolves. The hackles and fur along his back stood up making him appear much larger and fiercer than he actually was. The panther turned and slipped away. Two wolflike creatures were more than he wanted to encounter. The young wolf noted that this creature had many strange scents on his coat. Some of them were even frightening like fire smoke. The wolf was glad of the help dealing with the panther, but he was also puzzled.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "What are you?" he asked.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "I am called dog," answered the stranger. "My people and yours were once of the same clan but yours chose to wander the wild hills and mine made compact with the creature they call mankind."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Why did your people do that?" asked young wolf. "Why would you choose to join a pack of men?" <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Men are very clever, they can't hear, smell or hunt quite so well as do our peoples. Still their front paws can do many things ours cannot. They manage to stay warm in the coldest winter. They store food like the squirrels. They know how to kill their prey from a distance so they need not bear the marks of its teeth hooves or claws on their weak bodies. They can fashion things from what they have at hand like the very stones of the earth. They use the things they make like claws and teeth that are stronger than those the Great Spirit has granted us. This ability to make what they need is a greater gift than the maker of all has given to any other creature. If you join their tribe, they share food," answered Dog.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "A wolf pack hunts together and shares the kill according to their worth in the hunt. They share the warmth of their bodies." said the wolf. “Men are even more different from you than you are from a wolf. How strange it must be to live among creatures not of your own kind. Although wolves share the land with other animals, they are not part of our clan. Some are food and some would kill and eat us if we did not avoid them. A warm den and plenty of food are good things. Surely they are not worth the danger of living among such fearsome creatures as mankind," said the wolf. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> The greatest gift they have is love. Their clever paws know the right places to scratch or pat. To live with them is to become part of their pack. They do more than share their dens and food. They are gentle to the old, the young and the wounded or ill. There is a joy in living and working together in a strong community. Although their ears and noses don't work as well as ours do, they are wise and reward those who serve them with care and protection," replied dog. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "We of the wolf clan hunt and sing together," commented the wolf. "But no one controls our freedom to come and go as we choose. I am no one's servant. Someday when I have attained enough wisdom, I will be the leader of my pack," he said. "I do not think mankind will allow you ever to rise so high." <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "There is only one leader at a time and not all will be able to lead. There is much contentment in working together to serve the community in which we live," replied the dog. "Besides, leadership is a great responsibility. If you are unwise in your decisions, then many more may suffer the consequences of your leadership than simply yourself. If you choose to lead, you must serve the greater good of the pack."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Perhaps, but I may come and go as I choose and need only please myself," said the young wolf. "I can follow a leader if he seems to be the strongest and wisest or challenge his right to lead. I can choose to hunt alone for a time and test my skills breaking my own trail."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "It is a good thing to consider whether the one you follow is worthy of your loyalty. It is good to make wise choices about the trail you choose to take. But it is also good to work and live with others. A community is stronger than a single being. I can understand your love of freedom, but for me, I am glad to share my gifts with a strong pack. We must each choose the path that suits us best," said the dog. Each of us must break his own trail. If I do so to serve my pack of men and you do so to serve yourself or a pack of wolves, each of us still chooses the direction we go given the nature of our hearts."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Then it is wise for us to look into our hearts and see what that nature is. Only then will we truly break trail in the way that is best for each of us," responded the young wolf.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Grandmother Spider thought these two had come to a good conclusion. Only by being oneself and following where our hearts can each find the trail to follow through life. She had watched the tribe of men and was pleased with how the smaller females cared for children, and made a good place for them to live. The larger males used their strength to provide for all of the people. The people of two spirits were included for their wisdom and their talents to see both person’s value. Together, they made for a strong grouping and created a community that allowed each to find the work that best suited them individually. She thought that was why they were so strong. Each woman, man, child and those with two spirits shared the work to be done to make a strong whole. This was both wise and good.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> "Listen to your hearts and break your own trail my children," so counsels grandmother spider. "For the one who goes against his nature will never truly find inner peace and contentment and discover the road that he is meant to walk."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>