Stilliquamish River, near Verlot.
I think it may be safely said that
the wind signifies change, does it not? For certainly, it changes all it
touches, for good or ill. The wind may also appear inquisitive.
Then, what’s to be said of the river? Manifestation? Appearing? Life hurtling by, and yet, always the same, depending on the time of year, more or less. A matter to ponder, surely.
One day in the summer of a year in the great forest, Twigg and Cherry went to the river to play in the water. Twigg was a good swimmer, as his people tend to be. Cherry was a pretty good swimmer too, but she mostly flitted over the surface, dipping her toes in the water for fun. They could often be found there.
The river was at a lowish point. Rocks that were often underwater were showing their heads above the surface. The flow was a little less hectic than during runoff in the spring. The river seemed to be dreaming almost. Sometimes a creature would come carefully to the shallow pools near the bank for a long drink of water and then steal back into the cover of the forest.
Something upstream caught Cherry’s attention. She went up higher to get a better look. Whatever it was floated on the surface and was coming toward them at the speed of the water.
“Twigg,” Cherry called out, “Something is coming down the river to us!”
“Can you see what it is?” he said.
“It’s not a log or a bush. I can’t tell yet,” said Cherry. “It will be here soon.”
Twigg waded out into deeper water and stood waiting. Cherry waited aloft.
“It’s a basket!” she called.
And so it was. It turned around a few times as it floated downriver. It was round and about the size of an old fashioned bushel basket, perhaps a little bigger.
Twigg waited until it got to him and then he plucked it out of the water and headed to shore to see what it was that he had caught. Cherry followed right behind.
He set it down and they looked at it together. It was almost like a tiny boat made of tightly woven green sapling twigs. Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to make it, for it seemed to be waterproof. There was something moving a little inside the tiny basket boat.
To their utter astonishment, it was a tiny new infant of their own people. This infant was silent, looking at them gazing in at it, with alert brown eyes. They could see that underneath this child there was a thick layer of clay mixed with moss, with more moss placed under the child. There was no bedding over him. He only had his own hair and the sunlight to keep him warm. Yes, the basket seemed to be waterproof, but it couldn’t have remained that way forever.
“Take him to Mama,” said Cherry. Twigg nodded silently, staring at the baby in the basket.
It was a hurried, solemn pair who headed back toward home. Twigg carried the basket on his right shoulder as a man carries any oddly shaped awkward thing, and Cherry drifted along beside him.
They found Ramona deep in conversation with Constance, of Constance and Ferdie. Ferdie and Ralph had gone somewhere to do something or other which might involve hunting.
“Mama, look!” said Cherry as her brother approached with the basket boat. “There was a baby in a basket on the river! We caught it before it went away down the river!”
Ramona and Constance looked at each other in shock and jumped up. Twigg set the basket down before them and the baby began to weep and cry out. Perhaps he sensed that mothers were near. Perhaps he was very hungry.
Ramona picked the little one out of the basket. She examined him all over. Saw that he was well, but maybe a little thin and we would say dehydrated. She held him close, and she cried for him. He was a little messy but that didn’t matter.
“Twigg, honey, take the bucket back to the river and get me a bucket of water,” she said.
Constance wanted to hold him too. Now, Constance had an infant of her own on her lap. This child had just been nursing, so it was a simple matter to put the new one to the other breast. So, Constance did that day save the little stranger’s life.
But she said, “I can’t take him home with me. The twins are with my mother and now I have this new one. What shall we do, Ramona?”
The mothers put their heads together to consider what they might do.
Twigg came back with the water and Ramona washed the little guy. Then she wrapped him in Twigg’s old baby blanket, holding him until he went to sleep. They waited to show him to Ralph and Ferdie.
A couple of hours later, Ralph and Ferdie and Bob and Berry appeared with a deer, and a lot of loud boisterous talking. The story was told to them, the boat was examined and admired, and the baby was passed around to Ralph and Ferdie to hold as he slept.
“What can we do with him,” said Ramona. “He needs a mother and a home.”
Ralph thought for a moment, and then said, “Benny and Lily have a new one. She could be a mother to this one too. I believe that is the best answer for him. Twigg and I will take him, in his basket to them. I am beyond sure that Lily and Benny will welcome a new son.”
So, the king of the forest, with his own son beside him, gathered up the basket with the baby tucked inside. Since time must not be wasted, Ralph gave Twigg the basket and went into the cave to the high shelf where he kept the Portable Portal. He brought it out and activated it by shaking it until it hung in the air like a golden circle.
Ralph took the basket back from Twigg and they stepped inside the circumference of the circle. The last thing Ramona and everyone saw was Twigg’s hand grabbing the portal and pulling it into itself.
Ramona cried a little more, because she had loved the baby instantly and he was gone.
By that mysterious method, Ralph, Twigg, and baby appeared near Concrete, WA and Rasar Park. There was a little hike outside of town to Benny and Lily’s house made of living saplings and berry vines.
When they got there a pleasant smelling smoke greeted them from the open door.
“Benny,” called Ralph. “I want to talk to you and Lily!”
So, Benny and Lily, with her baby in her arms tumbled out to meet Ralph and Twigg and the baby. Soon the story was told and the question of the baby in the basket boat was put to them.
Exactly as Ralph had thought, Benny and Lily were eager to have a second son to grow up together with their own.
“I wonder why he was put in boat in the river,” mused Lily. “It’s very sad, but in a way it’s wonderful too. He was sent out from some terrible situation, but through the cleverness of his mother and father, he has been allowed to live.”
“Sometimes we don’t get to know,” said Ralph. “But someday, you’ll be able to tell him how the river brought him to Twigg and Cherry, and Ramona and Constance saved his life, and how we brought him to you. It will be a great story!”
“By the way, any idea what his name will be yet,” asked Ralph.
“I think we’ll call him River,” said Benny. “I just can’t think of a better name for him.”
“I can’t either,” said Lily, with both babies in her arms.
“You know, I think that’s perfect. I can’t wait to tell Ramona. She misses the little guy, and she hardly met him,” said Ralph.
Ralph and Twigg had a nice dinner with Benny’s family and then they went home the same way they had gotten there to report on the grand success of their mission.
Then, what’s to be said of the river? Manifestation? Appearing? Life hurtling by, and yet, always the same, depending on the time of year, more or less. A matter to ponder, surely.
One day in the summer of a year in the great forest, Twigg and Cherry went to the river to play in the water. Twigg was a good swimmer, as his people tend to be. Cherry was a pretty good swimmer too, but she mostly flitted over the surface, dipping her toes in the water for fun. They could often be found there.
The river was at a lowish point. Rocks that were often underwater were showing their heads above the surface. The flow was a little less hectic than during runoff in the spring. The river seemed to be dreaming almost. Sometimes a creature would come carefully to the shallow pools near the bank for a long drink of water and then steal back into the cover of the forest.
Something upstream caught Cherry’s attention. She went up higher to get a better look. Whatever it was floated on the surface and was coming toward them at the speed of the water.
“Twigg,” Cherry called out, “Something is coming down the river to us!”
“Can you see what it is?” he said.
“It’s not a log or a bush. I can’t tell yet,” said Cherry. “It will be here soon.”
Twigg waded out into deeper water and stood waiting. Cherry waited aloft.
“It’s a basket!” she called.
And so it was. It turned around a few times as it floated downriver. It was round and about the size of an old fashioned bushel basket, perhaps a little bigger.
Twigg waited until it got to him and then he plucked it out of the water and headed to shore to see what it was that he had caught. Cherry followed right behind.
He set it down and they looked at it together. It was almost like a tiny boat made of tightly woven green sapling twigs. Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to make it, for it seemed to be waterproof. There was something moving a little inside the tiny basket boat.
To their utter astonishment, it was a tiny new infant of their own people. This infant was silent, looking at them gazing in at it, with alert brown eyes. They could see that underneath this child there was a thick layer of clay mixed with moss, with more moss placed under the child. There was no bedding over him. He only had his own hair and the sunlight to keep him warm. Yes, the basket seemed to be waterproof, but it couldn’t have remained that way forever.
“Take him to Mama,” said Cherry. Twigg nodded silently, staring at the baby in the basket.
It was a hurried, solemn pair who headed back toward home. Twigg carried the basket on his right shoulder as a man carries any oddly shaped awkward thing, and Cherry drifted along beside him.
They found Ramona deep in conversation with Constance, of Constance and Ferdie. Ferdie and Ralph had gone somewhere to do something or other which might involve hunting.
“Mama, look!” said Cherry as her brother approached with the basket boat. “There was a baby in a basket on the river! We caught it before it went away down the river!”
Ramona and Constance looked at each other in shock and jumped up. Twigg set the basket down before them and the baby began to weep and cry out. Perhaps he sensed that mothers were near. Perhaps he was very hungry.
Ramona picked the little one out of the basket. She examined him all over. Saw that he was well, but maybe a little thin and we would say dehydrated. She held him close, and she cried for him. He was a little messy but that didn’t matter.
“Twigg, honey, take the bucket back to the river and get me a bucket of water,” she said.
Constance wanted to hold him too. Now, Constance had an infant of her own on her lap. This child had just been nursing, so it was a simple matter to put the new one to the other breast. So, Constance did that day save the little stranger’s life.
But she said, “I can’t take him home with me. The twins are with my mother and now I have this new one. What shall we do, Ramona?”
The mothers put their heads together to consider what they might do.
Twigg came back with the water and Ramona washed the little guy. Then she wrapped him in Twigg’s old baby blanket, holding him until he went to sleep. They waited to show him to Ralph and Ferdie.
A couple of hours later, Ralph and Ferdie and Bob and Berry appeared with a deer, and a lot of loud boisterous talking. The story was told to them, the boat was examined and admired, and the baby was passed around to Ralph and Ferdie to hold as he slept.
“What can we do with him,” said Ramona. “He needs a mother and a home.”
Ralph thought for a moment, and then said, “Benny and Lily have a new one. She could be a mother to this one too. I believe that is the best answer for him. Twigg and I will take him, in his basket to them. I am beyond sure that Lily and Benny will welcome a new son.”
So, the king of the forest, with his own son beside him, gathered up the basket with the baby tucked inside. Since time must not be wasted, Ralph gave Twigg the basket and went into the cave to the high shelf where he kept the Portable Portal. He brought it out and activated it by shaking it until it hung in the air like a golden circle.
Ralph took the basket back from Twigg and they stepped inside the circumference of the circle. The last thing Ramona and everyone saw was Twigg’s hand grabbing the portal and pulling it into itself.
Ramona cried a little more, because she had loved the baby instantly and he was gone.
By that mysterious method, Ralph, Twigg, and baby appeared near Concrete, WA and Rasar Park. There was a little hike outside of town to Benny and Lily’s house made of living saplings and berry vines.
When they got there a pleasant smelling smoke greeted them from the open door.
“Benny,” called Ralph. “I want to talk to you and Lily!”
So, Benny and Lily, with her baby in her arms tumbled out to meet Ralph and Twigg and the baby. Soon the story was told and the question of the baby in the basket boat was put to them.
Exactly as Ralph had thought, Benny and Lily were eager to have a second son to grow up together with their own.
“I wonder why he was put in boat in the river,” mused Lily. “It’s very sad, but in a way it’s wonderful too. He was sent out from some terrible situation, but through the cleverness of his mother and father, he has been allowed to live.”
“Sometimes we don’t get to know,” said Ralph. “But someday, you’ll be able to tell him how the river brought him to Twigg and Cherry, and Ramona and Constance saved his life, and how we brought him to you. It will be a great story!”
“By the way, any idea what his name will be yet,” asked Ralph.
“I think we’ll call him River,” said Benny. “I just can’t think of a better name for him.”
“I can’t either,” said Lily, with both babies in her arms.
“You know, I think that’s perfect. I can’t wait to tell Ramona. She misses the little guy, and she hardly met him,” said Ralph.
Ralph and Twigg had a nice dinner with Benny’s family and then they went home the same way they had gotten there to report on the grand success of their mission.
🌲💚🌲
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