The Healing Waters - Part Two

In his dream the Warrior dreamed of his wife. She looked pale and

then he heard her singing a song of wonderful melody. He also

heard a waterfall nearby in his dream. The water seemed to be

talking to him. “Find me warrior and then you find me your wife

will live.  Because I am the Healing Waters!” 

The Warrior woke up from a deep sleep in the morning. 

The fox led him to a short distance through the forest on the

branch of the tree. 

There the warrior heard a bird singing a song. It was the same

song that his wife had sung in the dream. 

The Warrior knew that this was the bird that the old woman in the

forest had talked about.

An instant later he heard the sound of the waterfall. 

But though he searched for the waters everywhere he could not

find it.

Dejected, he went back. 

The fox smilingly shook its head. “You must seek it and you

cannot give up. It will not come to you until you search.” 

So he searched again and this time he thought he heard a voice

from under his feet. 

“Release us,” the voice said. “Set us free and you and your wife

will be saved.” 

So the Warrior picked up a sharp stick and dug through the Earth. 

He had not dug far enough when a spring gushed forth and boiled

upwards carrying to the world its healing powers. 

That was when the young warrior knew that he had found the

cure for his ills. He jumped into the spring and bathed himself in

the water and all his tiredness left him and he felt strong again. 

Then the young man moulded a large pot from the soft earth. He

baked the pot on fire until it was hard. 

The fox then nodded at the man. “I will leave you here. Your

kindness has been rewarded and you will not need me anymore.

Because you have found the healing waters.”

With this, the fox disappeared as quickly as it had come. 

The young man filled his clay pot with water and went back to

his home running through the forest with the speed of the wind

because of his new strength. 

When he reached the native village the people met him with sad

faces because the plague was still raging there. 

But he went home and he forced some of the healing waters

between his wife's parched lips. 

After that, she fell into a deep sleep and when she woke up she

was well again. 

With the help of the healing waters, he cured all the people in the

village and there was no more sickness. 

Thus the healing waters came on earth, bearing health and

happiness accompanied by the songs of birds.

Adapted from Native Candian Folk Tales