Cactus Flower ~ This is not my usual style, but I like to write totem tales on rare occasion. Time only for a cut and paste this morning. This tale is a good one to start with......


Badger was restless, having just eaten, but he still felt like hunting. He stopped to have a drink of water at the river. As he shook the water from his muzzle he noticed that the river flowed in one way only. It had always been, for him, a matter of water being there. But he suddenly wondered where the water was going. So he followed it.

The water led him under bridges, and through many places. His journey had started early in the morning. The sun was nearly overhead when he came to the beaver ponds. Beaver was nowhere in sight. "Hey, friend!", he called. But no answer came; except from Jay, who scolded the noisy intrusion. No loss, Badger thought. Beaver is a dreamer; nothing more. Always building things, killing trees, and pushing the river to and fro. Beaver did not care where the river went, as long as he could use it as he pleased. So Badger walked on.

Not far beyond the beaver dams, the river flowed into a little gorge. Giant aspens grew in that gorge; towering up along the west face of the gorge. He considered where it was that the aspens were going, but he was well aware of his limitations, and relegated that wondering to Squirrel instead. "Hey, Squirrel", he called. "Where do the trees go?". Squirrel looked down from a blue spruce and huffed, "They go nowhere, foolish Badger! Part of them is here, and part of them is there. The part that is there is where I go". Badger was puzzled, so he asked, "What are you telling me, friend? I look up and see the trees going up there". To which Squirrel replied, "That is precisely what I am telling you! If you really want a mystery, go see the cactus flower. It is up the cliff; that way". A voice at Badger's side said, "I'll go with you". He looked to find Weasel there. So they began to climb the cliff.

They found the cactus flower, after a hard climb. Chickadee was there, and greeted them with good cheer. "Welcome my four-footed friends! You see the flower here. There is only one flower. It blooms only now". Weasel nudged Badger and said "We should take it to show to our friends". Badger protested, "It should stay here, Weasel. We should not take it". But Weasel winked and assured him, "Our friends would be well pleased at our efforts".

So they took the flower to Weasel's den. Weasel put it in a safe place, and they went to find Squirrel. Squirrel went with them, back to Weasel's den, to look at the flower. But the flower was not there. "I know where it is", said Squirrel, "Follow me". Weasel growled, "Someone stole the flower". "Nonsense", Squirrel scolded, "Just follow me".

He took them up the cliff face to where the flower grew. "That is not the same flower!", Badger said. "We took that flower". But Squirrel called out to Chickadee, "Badger says they took the flower". "No, they did not. There is only one flower", Chickadee replied. At which point, Squirrel ran off into the trees. Weasel again took the flower. He and Badger walked back to the den, and again he put the flower in a safe place. Then they went to find Skunk. Skunk went with them back to the den. "This is great!", he said, "I will be able to sniff the flower! Are there bugs on it? I could use a snack!". But when they got to the den, the flower was not there.

"Somebody keeps moving the flower!", Weasel growled, as he ran in frustrated circles. "No", said Skunk, "I know where it is. Follow me!". They all walked back up to the cliff, and found the flower again, with Chickadee and Squirrel standing by. On a ledge, just above them, was Coyote's smiling face, hanging over the edge.

"You!!", cried Weasel. "You are the Trickster! It is you who moves the flower back here, when I take it home. You make me out to be a fool!!". Coyote howled with laughter, while Badger took a step away from Weasel. Badger feared that Coyote would choke from the laughter. He also sensed Weasel's rising anger; and he wanted no part of this confrontation. But Coyote finally ceased laughing and said, "No, Weasel! Next to me there is no greater fool. You have not the heart to be the fool that I am. Nor the pride. Being a fool takes the proper kind of magic. You have not that magic. Nobody moved the flower. Not you. Not me. It grows only here. It blooms only now".

"Riddles!", huffed Weasel; and he ran away. Now, it was Chickadee who laughed. Coyote joined him; howling like crazy. Badger turned his gaze from the retreating Weasel to Squirrel; who had a truly frightening look in his eyes. Badger began to speak, but got no chance to utter a word. Squirrel suddenly went from red to black; from fur to feathers. He sprouted wings, and swept them in a grand gesture that brought silence to them all. Squirrel had become Raven.

"Is there no privacy?", Raven cackled. "Once a year, I come to this place to make one flower bloom. I simply knew that nitwits would come and try to make it different. So I went to Squirrel, and Squirrel lent me his self for a while. Then sneaky Weasel gets under your skin, Badger, and you both act strange".

"I am truly sorry", said Badger. "I did not know that you were here with the flower. When Weasel and I took it, I did not know that you would be left without it. I am truly sorry". He hung his head in shame.

"Pick up your chin, Badger!!!", Raven commanded. "I was not left without the flower. No one moved the flower. I simply waited here, while the flower was not here. What do you, Badger, know of patience? Of creation? Of movement, or stealth? You are the keeper of stories. Take this story with you. Keep it with you. Tell it, when the time comes. Now, begone". Badger hesitated, but Coyote growled, so Badger moved on. Chickadee flew down and lit upon his shoulders as he walked. In the distance, they could hear Coyote and Raven laughing and singing; and they knew the flower was safe, and in good company.

When Badger and Chickadee got to the river, they found it was still there. "It is much like the flower", said Badger. They both smiled; then laughed. And laughter filled the whole canyon. Within the echoing laughter, many other flowers began to bloom. Raven never works alone.