"M m m m", the smell of sweet flowers filled the chilly air. I gathered armfuls of sweet lilies that glowed in the bright sunshine. The petals were soft and fuzzy. Grasshoppers trampled the dry grass and lizards scattered in all directions. On the grasshopper flat, I saw many tall cactuses and a few trees. I also discovered an owl nest on a cactus. The elf owl watched me attentively with one eye open and one eye closed. I walked quickly away with my head down because people believed seeing an owl was a bad luck.

I walked a few more steps and came to a steep slope that surrounded the mesa and a small stream of water flowed in the ravine nearby. There were two large rocks on the flat. I set my basket down on one flat rock, and took a sip from my stone water canteen. Noises from grasshoppers and other insects filled my ears. "The bugs are so annoying" I waved them away. After that, I opened a jar of food that I had filled at Black Rock Gorge. I peered inside. This stone jar held the roots and nuts. I emptied the jar and filled it with water. Then I put the stone jar over the fire that I made out of fire drill.

The water was bubbling and I added the roots and nuts. Very quickly, the soup was ready. The roots tasted like melted mint mixed with flowers. I felt all tingly with excitement and silently drank up half of the soup. The other half, I poured in an extra empty stone cup and capped it up. Taking the basket to the little stream, I washed, sanded and covered it with fresh mint leaves, using reeds for waterproof protection. I also found a huge lump of pitch, which I softened in the fire and spread a little bit of it all over my baskets so it would hold water.

I was hymning a folk tune when I heard a nearby howling. I spun around with horror. I found that a pack of wild dogs running in my direction. A small animal flashed in front of me, but I was too busy to see what it is. The dogs were very close now. I could even see their shining teeth. I was so scared and wanted to run back to the mesa, but a voice told me to stay put. My right hand reached out to the spear on my back. Forcefully, I threw my spear at an inattentive dog. It hit him on the side and went in deep. The wounded dog ran away moaning in pain. The rest of the pack stopped and watched me in horror. I went to pick up my spear and raised it over my head. The dogs backed off slowly. Then, I noticed something I had never paid attention before. The eyes of the dogs were all gazed on a baby deer, which was frozen in fright.

Desperately wanting to save the deer, I inserted an arrow into my bow and fire out the arrow onto the wild dogs. They quickly scampered away. My silent moccasins lead me to the deer. I petted the poor deer and saw it running loose up the cliff. I felt relived. Soon, the wild dogs returned. This time with their leader, a snarling gray dog with fierce yellow eyes. As soon as the dogs’ attention came to the leader, I ran as fast as I could up the clear path to a safe spot behind the cliff. Very soon, I was on top of the cliff. My heart was pounding fast. "Would they follow and attack me?" I asked myself nervously. The dogs were howling angrily under the cliff but they can not climb up.

Shaking the fears out of me, I walked back to the mesa. As I passed by the stream, I found that at the bottom of it, there were beautiful little pebbles of all different colors. The pebbles were scarce and the woman of the village would love to have on their necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. So I dived down to the bottom and scooped up handfuls of the colorful pebbles. I went quite a few times so that there were enough for all the women of the tribe. I wrapped them in mint leaves and tied them in bark string. Then I headed back to the mesa. As I walked, I admired the beautiful stones that I collected. They were in colors of dark green, pale blue, fiery red, startling orange, shiny black and misty gray.

As I sat on flat gazing the stars, I wondered how tomorrow would be. Would it be warm and welcoming or would it be cold and unhappy? Would the Great Spirit protect me another day? Did my parents miss me? I sat there, alone with my thoughts, the stream rustling beside me, the grasshoppers, hissing behind me.