Standing Deer and the Rock People
Paul J. Hinsberger
On an early morning in early Summer, Standing Deer went to see his teacher, Grey Fox. Grey Fox was the Medicine Man who had tested and accepted Standing Deer as his apprentice a few months earlier. Grey Fox lived near the river and was putting together some Medicine for one of the elders when Standing Deer approached.
Standing Deer stepped forward and handed a gift of tobacco to his teacher. The old man took it, nodded with a well aged grunt and set the gift aside. He returned to his work; “I'll be done in a moment.”
Standing Deer took a step back and watched his teachers skilled hands blend herbs and then he whispered something into them. The Medicine Man then brought the bundle to his lips and blew upon it, and then chanted a song with words so old that Standing Deer had no idea what they meant. He did, however, feel their Power course through him, much like that of the river after a thunderstorm.