running down the trunk.”
Eh Speak winced, running his eye over the three of them, looking for more permanent damage other than torn and soaking clothing.
“Ta Laf wanted the honey -“ Eh Quest started to explain.
“For Ta Heal!” Ta Laf interrupted.
“And wanted me to get it.” He shot her a deadly look. “’Just climb the tree and slice it open’ she said. I said ‘are you trying to be funny’, and she started to climb the tree herself, and Ta Sim followed her!”
Eh Speak put a hand over his mouth and said, “hum.”
“I couldn’t let them do that, of course. So I followed them.”
“Of course,” Eh Speak said softly.
“But the tree limb might have been too thin for three,” Ta Laf admitted quietly.
“And the hive, don’t forget,” Ta Sim reminded. “It was heavy with honey.”
“And the hive,” agreed Ta Laf, looking down at the mud and scratches on her legs.
“Well, I tried to grab Ta Laf and drag her back,” Eh Quest continued. “Only she wiggled away, farther out on the limb.”
Eh Speak made a strangling sound.
“And then the limb just kind of snapped.” Ta Sim jumped into the story, “but it didn’t fall, exactly. It only fell to the next lower branch.”
“And kind of squashed the hive in-between.” Ta Laf said.
“The bees didn’t like that,” Eh Quest rubbed his nose. “They started flying around, trying to see what happened, I guess.”
“A bee landed on my hand,” Ta Sim’s eyes grew large, remembering it. “So I let go of the branch and started to fall, but my tunic snagged on something.”
“No, that was me,” Eh Quest said. “I grabbed you by your tunic. But the stitching split and Ta Sim fell into the stinging nettles under the tree. Then Ta Laf punched me!”
“Well, you let her go!” Ta Laf defended herself, hands on hips.
“You didn’t need to punch me!” Eh Quest turned and yelled in her face. “I didn’t let go because I wanted to!”
“By then, the bees had found us, so we jumped down.” Ta Laf turned her nose in the air and turned her back on her brother.
Ta Sim snorted in agreement. “Then we startled the bear.”
“Bear?” Eh Speak’s voice was thin.
“It stood up and roared!” Ta Sim’s eyes were still large. She put her hands up in the shape of claws, to show him how it looked.
“The bear was after the honey too. But it was all right,” Eh Quest hastened to reassure the speaker, whose face was turning red. “The sabre toothed cat pounced on his back and the bear was distracted - but the bees were still following -“
“So we ran some more.” Ta Laf interjected. “We were doing all right until the cliff crumbled under Ta Sim’s feet. Are you all right, Eh Speak?” The old man had abruptly sat down. He waved a shaking hand in a ‘continue’ motion.
“We landed in the river.”
Eh Speak’s back straightened in a rush, they could hear the bones crack. “You don’t know how to swim.”
“No, but there was a tree in the water and we grabbed it. And the bees couldn’t find us!” Eh Quest said happily.
“But the log turned out to have feet and it was swimming the wrong way.” Ta Laf reminded her brother.
“And teeth!” Ta Sim supplied that information.
Eh Speak made a gargling noise. “Oh, no, Eh Speak, more like GRAAW!” Ta Sim said helpfully.
“We let go of the alligator as soon as our feet touched the ground. And it ignored us and went for the pack of hyena’s that were at the edge. Eh Speak, are you sure you’re all right?” The three of them waited for him to reply, but his mouth only opened and closed without sound.
Eh Quest snorted, and continued. “Then this heron got startled and flew into Ta Laf, knocking her over into the river again, so I dove back into to get her -“
“I helped!” Ta Sim jumped in, very much as she had earlier into the river.
“Not much!” Eh Quest was getting tired of being interrupted. “I had to grab both of them. We were able to stay floating, but the current had us.” He paused, watching Eh Speak. “Eh Speak, perhaps a drink of water will help? You don’t look so good.”
Eh Speak’s face was very red, and he was being held by several of the adults, who were laughing at him struggling to get away. “But it’s all right! We were slammed into the rocks at the top of the waterfall, and able to climb up and walk across them to .... Eh Speak? Ta Heal, are people supposed to foam like that?”
Eh Quest smiled, thinking back on that day. He was surprised Eh Speak’s heart hadn’t stopped as they’d explained what had happened. Although now, he could see it from the adults side, and he suspected Eh Speak had been attempting to get to them to beat them raw from his fear. But he still wondered about the foam at Eh Speak’s mouth - he’d never seen that happen since that day. He laughed, surprised they had survived both the day and the Eh.
The Origin of Eh
First Man found the acorns and gave an excited hoot. Squatting beneath the branches of the oak tree, he cracked two or three at a time between massive hands. Delicately, he flicked the crushed shells from the meats before shoving the sweets in his mouth. Family members came, attracted by his hoots. First Woman carried First Boy, while First Girl followed, her arms filled with tart fruits. Together, they sat under the leafy tree and ate their fill.
Good, First Man thought. He pulled First Woman into his arms and settled back against a strong trunk. Looking up, he saw the raven in the tree above him. It seemed to be watching him. The raven looked at him from first one eye, then the other. Twisting his head, he did the same back. The raven clicked its beak at him, and he mimicked it, amused. With a loud flutter of wings, the raven flew off. First Man threw out his arms and flapped them, but he didn’t fly away.
Why? Why didn’t he fly away? He thought about this, slowly. He didn’t have wings.
Why?
Exhausted, he fell asleep.
Several sleeps later he saw another raven. The question returned to him. Why didn’t he have wings? He looked at First Woman, in the oak tree gathering nuts. She tossed them down to First Girl, who caught them and put them in a pile. None of them had wings. Why?
There was a small fresh water pond near. He moved over to it and took a drink. The water was very still and he saw another in the water. He slapped the other; enraged he was so close to his family. He jerked back when the water splashed into his face. Frowning, he leaned forward again, and again saw the other. The other was frowning too. Why? He reached up and wiped the water from his face, and the other in the water did, too. He touched the scar on his cheek, and the water other mimicked him, touching a scare on its own cheek.
That is me. This is not another.
I don’t have wings. Why?
He looked into the water and saw swimmers.
I am not a swimmer.
I am not a bird.
What am I?
He curled up near the water and slept.
When he woke, First Woman was curled against him. He saw First Boy and First Girl sleeping in the tree, draped over the limbs like a stomach filled panther. A raven also sat in the tree.
What am I?
Suddenly, the thought became terribly important. It flew around in his head, around and around, like buzzards over a kill. He stood up, trying to shake the feeling that was building in him, but it didn’t work.
What am I?
WHAT AM I?
The raven was watching him, silent.
He stretched out his arms to the raven. This is what I am.
The raven cawed agreement.
First Man pointed at the raven. You are a raven.
The raven cawed agreement.
First Man pointed at the swimmers. They are swimmers.
Again, the raven cawed.
His frown hurt his face and he raised a finger to touch it. When his finger touched his brow he knew.
r /> I am me.
I am … man.
The raven was silent.
First Man poked himself in the forehead, hard. I am me! I am man!
The raven ruffled its feathers and cawed.
First Man tried to mimic the caw, but only said, “Egh”.
The raven danced excitedly along the limb. It ducked its head and cawed.
First Man drew himself tall. Gently, he placed his finger on his forehead. “Eh,” he said, clearly.
The raven scratched its head.
“Eh!” First Man said, pointing at himself.
When the raven said nothing, First Man threw out his arms and yelled into the sky: “EH!”
“Eh,” the raven said.
First Man grunted, satisfied.
He pointed to himself and said, softly, “Eh.”
What am I?
“Eh.” I am man.
Eh Cha & the Sky Fires
“Tonight I will tell you the story of Eh Cha and the Sky Fires,” Eh Speak said, gathering the clan in with his eye.
“The Man of Many Challenges, was a mighty warrior. We have no warriors in the clan today so you may not understand what this means. It is enough to say he was very strong, agile, smart and daring. He could fight anything from a mammoth to the shadow people, and be victorious.
“Over the summers, he collected many trophies. He had everything from mammoth tusks to the claws of a new-born sabre toothed kitten. He had so much jewellery, he clanked when he walked! It was this pride that was his undoing.
“He was going on a mate exchange for his third braid, walking along a well-worn trail. There were several other hunters with him, but because of Eh Cha’s jewellery, they didn’t hear the predators that followed.
“It was a family of cave bears – a mother and two full grown cubs. One cave bear is enough when challenged by a full