The next day, the pony waited for Little Wolf to come. His sensitive ears strained for the sound of their signal, a whistle, but no sound came. Maybe the boy is late today. He will come soon, the pony thought to himself.
The sun began to sink behind the mountain. Darkness fell around the pony like an inky blanket. With the stars as his only light, the pony kept his eyes on the ridge hoping to see Little Wolf. All day and all night the little pony waited for Little Wolf. But the boy never came.
The next morning dawned bright and
beautiful. The pony watched the sun rise. Its rays chased the darkness away, and its light shone through the smoky mist that hugged the
mountaintops. Today he will come, the pony thought to himself.
The pony was sure that soon he would be hearing
Little Wolf’s whistle. But the whistle never came. It never came that morning or the next. Still the pony waited.
Many days passed.
Each day the pony would wait for Little Wolf, but Little Wolf did not come. The little pony couldn’t
understand it. Had the boy not promised that he would never leave? Were they not brothers? A great sadness fell upon the little pony. But still he did not give up hope.
Not a day went by that the pony did not hope for Little Wolf’s return. But what the pony did not know was that Little Wolf could not come to the
clearing. Something awful had happened to him!
Just before Little Wolf was leaving to go into the mountains to see the pony, he heard his mother call out for him. Her voice sounded odd. The boy turned to see strange men in blue uniforms ride up to their house. They were
soldiers!
Two of the soldiers got off their horses. They were armed with rifles. The men came toward his mother. They began talking, but the boy could not make out what they were saying.
Little Wolf ran to his mother’s side. “Gather up your things, my son,” Little Wolf’s mother said calmly. “We are leaving.”
“Ain’t no time for that,” one of the men snapped. “Them’s orders.”
At gunpoint, the men forced Little Wolf and his mother to leave their home. They began
walking. Neither Little Wolf nor his mother knew where they were being taken. His mother tried not to show her fear, but the boy knew that she was scared. Little Wolf’s heart was filled with dread.
The boy and his mother walked a long way. Little Wolf’s mother kept him close. Occasionally, the boy would sneak a glance at the soldiers. Little Wolf looked at the men’s faces. They are all wore grim expressions. Some looked weary, as if they would rather be someplace else.
The men led Little Wolf and his mother to a
stockade.
It reminded the boy of his uncle’s horse pen! There were already many people in the
stockade. Through the crowd of people, he saw his aunt’s beautiful face. His heart soared for a brief moment, only to sink again. She was a prisoner too! His aunt rushed to them. She put her arms around his mother. The two women clung to each other.
Little Wolf looked around for his uncle. He saw him at the far end of the stockade. He and
others of his clan were huddled together in a group. They talked quietly among themselves, but the boy could hear the anger in their voices.
For months, Little Wolf, his mother, and his people were kept in the stockade.
They still didn’t know what was going to happen to them. His mother and the other women tried to take care of their families, but there wasn’t enough food to eat. Little Wolf was hungry most of the time.
The boy saw a group of younger children playing games. The elders kept a watchful eye. Little Wolf sighed. He didn’t know if he would ever feel like playing again!
One day Little Wolf overheard his uncle and the men talking. The boy noticed for the first time
how tired his uncle looked.
“I heard one of the
soldiers say that we are
leaving tomorrow,” Uncle said. “We are to journey west.”
That night, Little Wolf could not sleep. It was very cold and there were not enough blankets to go
around. Little Wolf shivered.
“You are freezing,” his mother said. “Come next to me.” His mother wrapped her warm arms around him, but still the chill remained. The cold seemed to sink deep in Little Wolf’s bones.
Little Wolf looked up at the dark, silent mountains. As on all the other nights, he thought of the pony, his brother. Would he ever see the little pony again?
Next Time:
The Trail of Tears
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