“Thank you so much, my friend,” Keokee said to the otter. The otter lay on its back, floating in the water, and its bright intelligent eyes bored into Keokee’s. He was sure the otter knew exactly what he was saying. “I have also found a new friend, and now that we are friends, we can go on all sorts of adventures together. But you will need a name,” Keokee pondered.
After a few moments of thought, Keokee came up with a name for his newfound friend. “I will name you Soco, for the faraway place in the mountains where this river is born, which is in turn your home. It is a good name, and it suits you.” Soco seemed to understand, because he then swam right up to the edge of the bank and looked Keokee directly in the eyes for a long moment. He then flipped back into the water and disappeared from sight.
Keokee was lighthearted because he knew Soco would remember him from now on and that he and Soco would be fast friends and would go on many adventures together. He was very happy about three things: he had survived the encounter with mother bear, had completed a great adventure—alone, and he had made a new friend. But when he walked into the village, and the people saw him, many of them exclaimed aloud and started to shout and point. Many of them yelled, “Why, there’s Keokee! Here’s Keokee, everyone, he’s back!”
Uh-oh. It didn’t take Keokee too long to realize that he was in big trouble.
About that time he heard his mother, Cheoah, shout, “Keokee, where have you been! Your father and the entire council is out looking for you right now, and we have been very worried! You get inside at once, young man, and wait for your father to get back!”
Keokee knew his “adventure” was not yet over, because he now had to face his father and explain why he had been off playing all day instead of doing his chores like a good little Cherokee boy. That was almost as scary as facing the mother bear! But secretly, he was still happy, because in his mind, he had done something that no other Cherokee boy his age had ever done—gone on a great adventure alone.
It was well after dark when Keokee’s father returned. He had searched long and hard for hours before another man from the village had found him and told him that Keokee was safe and sound. Keokee could see the relief on his father’s face—relief that Keokee was safe—but he could also see that his father’s stern face was a great storm cloud of concern and mild anger, and he was a very grim father when he sat Keokee down on the earthen floor and sat facing him and very seriously and said, “Young son, you have much, much explaining to do. Tell your father where you have been today and leave nothing out.” Keokee knew he was in great trouble and figured that the best thing he could do was tell the truth.
So Keokee told him the entire story, leaving nothing out, not even the part about the angry mother bear, which Keokee was sure would scare his mother to death and make whatever punishment was coming ten times worse. Keokee finished the story by saying, “Father, I know I was very wrong to go off by myself without telling you and mother about my adventure, and I am sorry. But I wanted to go off exploring and do new exciting things, and it’s just so boring playing stupid games with the other kids in the village.” Keokee blurted out, “All they want to do is play silly games, shoot arrows at targets, and…nobody wants to have real fun!” Keokee suddenly fell silent, thinking he might have said too much, and stopped talking. A long silence fell over the cabin.
Finally, Stonega spoke. “Keokee, what you did was VERY wrong. You should have told your mother and I where you were going. Your mother was very nearly in tears, and I was very concerned about you as well. You must ALWAYS let us know where you will be from now on when you go exploring. But perhaps some of this is my fault. Keeping a strong, spirited boy cooped up in a village when he has the entire world to play in would be like putting a wild hawk in a cage. Perhaps I should have seen that. It is my responsibility to help you grow up, so from this day forth, you and I will start spending more time together learning the ways of our land, our forests, and our fellow creatures.” Keokee’s heart lifted a little when he heard this.
“Also,” Keokee’s father continued, “in a way, I am proud of you. It is obvious that you have listened to my teachings about our animal brothers and the many lessons they can give us, if we will but listen to them. You have listened well, and that may very well have saved your life this day. And your guardian spirit has guided you to your newfound friend, Soco, who brought you home when you were lost and had no idea where the village was. Truly, the Great Master of All Things brought Otter into your life to aid you and teach you. Such things are no chance encounter, my son, and I feel certain that Otter may well have been sent to save your life and to teach you. Otter has always been a spirit brother to the Cherokee people, and we never harm him or use him as food, for he is our brother and is the friend of all God’s creatures. Otter is the most playful and happy creature we know, and he never loses his way because he never leaves the water. Otter teaches us that if we stay close to rivers and streams, we will never get lost. Otter never feels anger. So Otter is a good friend to have, and you will learn many, many things good things from him, if you but listen and watch him.
“Besides,” his father said with a grin, “at least I know now that from now on, you now have a good friend who will keep you from getting lost.”
Keokee had been listening hard to his father’s words and suddenly understood what his father had said earlier in his lecture about letting telling where he would be from now on when he went exploring. So he said, “Father, does this mean that I can keep going on my adventures, and that you’re not going to punish me?”
Keokee’s father laughed, “Yes, my son, you can continue to grow up, because that is what children are supposed to do. As I have said, to interfere with that would be very wrong. We are people of the forest and the mountain, and such adventures will make you strong. But you must promise to be very careful, and you will promise me that you will always tell your mother and I when and where you are going off to play.” His father’s eyes then turned serious, and he said, “And, no, Keokee, you are going to be punished. You were wrong to sneak off alone without telling us where you were going. Your mother was very worried about you, and therefore you must do three things for me.”
“Yes, my father, I know I acted irresponsibly, and I was wrong. What must I do?”
“First, you must apologize to your mother for scaring her and causing her great worry. If you had seen the hurt in her eyes when word came you were missing, that would be punishment in itself. Remember the relief you saw in her eyes when you came home? Remember her tears?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, son, you caused your mother great pain and sorrow. You must make up for that.”
Keokee thought for a while, and asked, “How do I do that?”
His father replied with a smile and said, “Starting tomorrow, you must do your chores, and then your mother’s chores, every day, for a week. Only after you have finished your chores to my satisfaction may you and Soco go on another adventure.
“And lastly, son, remember this: Never come between a mother and her children. Our brothers and sisters in the forests have the same right to protect their little ones as we do, and many of our forest cousins will protect their children to the death, especially our cousins the bear, the mountain lion, and the wolf. You must respect them and remember that their love for their own children is as deep as our love for you, and be very careful when you see their children alone, because their mother will never be too far away. Do you understand this?”
“Yes, father,” Keokee answered meekly
“Have fun, my son, and enjoy yourself. I will try to join you on your adventures from time to time, because I too enjoy a little exploration and excitement. Besides, I was much like you when I was growing up, and sometimes I still yearn to climb the far distant mountains and follow new streams into new lands. One day we will do this together, my son. We will go to a far land where none of our people have ever gone