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Show 106 ^ . . Into the colored dusk came a large golden brown eagle. He glided across the shimmering light. The golden feathers on his head and wing tips gleamed in the sunset. He suddenly folded his wings and dove straight for the earth at a speed faster than a spear or an atlatl. His sharp silver talons ripped a small rodent from the earth. He circled into the sky again, coming to rest on the branch of a scraggly pine tree to eat his prey. Toho reached his arms to the sky again and called to the eagle, "You are the most powerful bird that flies. You are master of the skies. Your feathers carry our prayers to Father Sun." Chua knew that when his people came up into this fourth world from the underworld, they met the great eagle first. The eagle gave his permission for the Hopi people to live in the land. "Quahu," Toho continued talking to the eagle, "You told our fathers that anytime they wanted to send a message to Father Sun they could use your feather." Chua prayed along with Toho for the eagle to come. "Oh, he's beautiful, but how will we ever catch him." "We will try tomorrow," Toho said. "We must rest for the night now." A gentle breeze floated through their hair as the light faded. "Let's walk back off the bluff into the shelter of those pines," Toho said, pointing to a cluster of trees in the distance. As they made their way into the trees, they could hear gurgling water below the hill. "That means we can fill our water jar in the morning," Chua said. |