When he came to, Paints-With-Words spoke calmly, “Falcon, your leg is
broken in two places. It will hurt, but I must set the bones and
sew your wound. Mother Earth has provided the medicines, and the
Great Spirit will strengthen you. You are very brave, and you can
endure this; I trust that you can.”
Falcon felt like he may vomit. Paints had always been kind to him,
but she had never told him he was very brave.
“I’m sorry, Paints; I shouldn’t have climbed so high.”
“You made a grave mistake, Falcon, and you will pay for it. This
injury will hinder you for a long time. The pain and inconvenience
will teach you many lessons. We all make choices, but unwise ones
cost us, spiritually and physically. They can cost us our lives.
If you had lost much more blood, this mistake would have taken your
life. No choice is independent from us; all attach to our spirits
and to our bodies. They become threads of the fabric of our being;
they weave within us and define us. Our wise decisions enrich us.
Our unwise decisions subtract from our freedom by imprisoning our
spirits and by weakening our bodies. Understand this, and you will
learn a valuable lesson. Your heart was pure when you made this
choice. You were trying to honor our elders and us. I do not condone
what you did, because the risks were too great, but I am very proud
of the reason you made this unwise choice.”
He could not believe it. He was not in trouble? He was very brave,
and she was very proud?
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