Week 10 Storytelling: How Fire Was Stolen from the Pine Trees

I feel so guilty. It's so cold outside and here I am safe and warm by the fire. There are animals out there who are freezing and even dying because they don't have the secret of fire. No one has the secret of fire except for us. We won't even share it with other trees who aren't Pine Trees. My father, leader of the Pine Trees and the tallest of them all, had just called a council of all the trees to discuss our secret. Some of the other Pine Trees wanted to help the other animals since this is the coldest winter we've ever had, but my father says no. He wants to remind everyone in our community that sharing our secret is not an option because it has been ours for many generations and our ancestors entrusted us to guard the secret with our lives. They wanted us to live on in history as the only ones who ever knew how to make fire.

 (The council of the great Pine Trees in the dreadful winter)

So I feel guilty. I have been sitting near this fire for two hours now, listening to the conversation of all the Pine Trees in our great council and trying not think of the miserable animals that we are selfishly hurting with our secret. As I look across the meeting of all the tall Pines stretching to the sky as they listen, a small flash of color catches my eye at the edge of the circle of trees near the bank. I squint and peer closer to tell what the strange object is when I realize it's a small, furry animal hiding underneath a log and staring at the fire. There are guards stationed all around our encampment so I don't know how such a creature managed to hide from all of the trees and I am certain I'm the only one who's noticed it. The glow from the fire glimmers in its eyes and I can see that it is hurting, cold, and starving, staring desperately at the fire.

 (The fire that the Pine Trees gathered around and kept secret)

Upon closer inspection, I realize it it's a beaver lying in wait and before I can do anything, it pounces toward the fire. It grabs one of the small coals from the fire and runs off, quickly weaving between the Pines who stare in astonishment at what is occurring before their eyes. No one moves for a minute and then I jump to my feet to run after the beaver so that I can direct it out of our encampment and help it return home safely. Being the smallest of the Pine Trees, I am also the fastest as I chase after the beaver and I quickly create distance between the other Pines and myself. I quickly catch up to it and gesture for it to follow me. I lead it through the winding trail through our encampment, veering sharply left and right every few feet, until we reach the edge of the forest and the beginning of the flat plains of land where I can no longer lead.

(The brave Beaver who stole the fire from the Pine Trees)

It continues running but looks back at me with a grateful look in its eyes and the coal still wedged firmly in its large teeth. I sigh with relief and smile that it made it safely away until I hear the pounding of the pursuit of the angry Pines behind me before they swiftly pass me. They follow the beaver but it is much farther ahead of them and I know it will escape. But my smile quickly fades as I feel a tap on my shoulder and I turn around to see my father disapprovingly shaking his head at me. He turns and motions to me to follow him back to the fire of the council where he will certainly discipline and chastise me. I can handle whatever my father says as long as I made a difference by helping, though I know he'll remind me of our ancestors and our many years of tradition that I just ruined. I don't care. I look back one time at the beaver far off in the distance and smile, knowing that I truly helped make a difference and that the secret of fire will soon help many others.

Bibliography:
Pacific Northwest Unit is an anthology (by Judson) of stories from a variety of tribes such as the Klamath, Kwakiutl, Shasta, and Nez Perce. 

Author's Note: 
In the original source story, it tells of how the beaver stole the fire from the Pine Trees at their great council meeting and ran far to bring it back to the animals, all the while the Pine Trees were chasing after it. The trees followed in pursuit and stopped at random places across the river when they were tired, thus there are trees along the Big Snake River. I wanted to tell the story from the point of view of one of the Pine Trees because it drove me crazy that they were so selfish to keep the secret of fire from everyone else during the coldest winter. So I created a character, the narrator, that felt bad and wanted to help in some way and told of its interaction with and assistance to the beaver. I imagined these trees as moving around like Ents from Lord of the Rings but I could not find any images of them to include in this story. However, that it how I hope the Pines are perceived by readers as they were roaming the earth before there were humans. This was difficult for me to write in the present tense but I wanted to challenge myself and had fun writing it.