Canku Ota

(Many Paths)

An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America

June 1, 2002 - Issue 62

Thunderhawk's Strange Encounter

Thunderhawk enjoyed his life, but as time wore on, he began to get lonely. He was a huge, beautiful hawk. His abilities were unmatched, and all other hawks stayed far from him out of fear. He enjoyed protecting the young creatures of happy valley and kept a constant vigil on their behalf. However sometimes he would feel very lonely. During these times he would reflect back on the time when Running Deer had given him such a wonderful gift. That gift was the gift of love and caring. Love is a powerful gift that Mother Nature bestows on all creatures. The creatures have the ability to use the power of love for good as that is its intent. However, love can have some surprising effects on creatures. Even great and powerful creatures can have their lives dramatically changed by love. Until now, the only love that Thunderhawk had known was the unconditional love that was bestowed upon him by Running Deer.

One day while Thunderhawk was remembering the experiences of his life he noticed a hawk intruding into what everyone clearly knew was his territory. All of Mother Natures creatures are territorial. At first Thunderhawk was angry. He thought, "Who is this? How dare this hawk come into my territory! I'm going to teach this foolish bird a lesson!”

As the giant hawk took off and began to fly menacingly toward the intruder, he noticed that the other hawk was quite different than he was. Not only was it different, but it was an extraordinarily beautiful bird. Thunderhawk began to have unusual feelings that he was unfamiliar with.

The intruder called out ever so sweetly to him, "Screee ... screee ... screee!". Thunderhawk was suddenly uncertain of himself, or how exactly to respond. Who was this bird? What did it want? Why was it being so nice?", he wondered. Didn't it know who he was? Didn't it know that he might just "tear it apart" for intruding into his territory?

Thunderhawk was stunned by the mysterious hawk’s beauty. This was all very confusing to him. He wondered why he wasn't attacking the intruder ... scaring it off? How come he wasn't even responding? How come he was feeling so nervous? Suddenly, the intruder gave him a sweet call and turned and flew away.

Now the great Thunderhawk was really confused. Now he didn't want it to leave! Didn't it know who he was? Who did that bird think it was? He hadn't told given it permission to leave! But, it did leave. Thunderhawk was stunned. What had just happened to him? What were those feelings he had just experienced?

Thunderhawk flew into his favorite tree to think for a minute. He was actually shaking and confused. What was wrong with him? As the next few days passed, the great redtail couldn't stop thinking about that mysterious hawk. Who was it? Where was it from? Would he ever see it again?

For the moment Thunderhawk’s thoughts were no longer on his little friends in happy valley. He was in a state of confusion about the mysterious visitor. As a month passed without even as much as a sighting of the mysterious hawk, Thunderhawk began to expand his hunting territory. He told himself that the only reason that he was doing this was because, "He needed to expand his horizons!". As he began to "expand his horizons", he made other male hawks nervous. Now he was clearly intruding into their territory, but they knew that to cross him would be futile. They just steered clear of him.

One day, he found another redtail male enjoying a meal. Thunderhawk caught the bird by surprise. All creatures in happy valley were very aware of Thunderhawk. The bird knew that it couldn't get away, so it just waited for the giant hawk to make it's next move. To the smaller hawks surprise, the legendary Thunderhawk actually spoke to him. "Hello brother hawk.", said Thunderhawk to the nervous redtail. The nervous bird thought to himself "Brother hawk? This, the legendary warrior Thunderhawk says to me, while intruding into my territory? This from the hawk that all fear? This from the hawk that has been so aggressive to other hawks for crossing him?”

Meekly, the smaller hawk replied, "Ah ... hello sir.". Thunderhawk was noticeably pleased with the smaller hawks respect. "Brother hawk, I have been expanding my territory lately and have noticed a certain ... well ... a certain mysterious hawk ... ." The smaller hawk now was beginning to understand Thunderhawks mild manner in approaching him.

“Well ... a certain attractive hawk ... I mean, I'm not really all that interested, but I ... well ... I guess I'm just curious as to who it is.", continued Thunderhawk. "Sir", replied the smaller hawk. "I may know who you are referring to.".

"Well who is she?", demanded the large hawk. "I mean, could you please tell me who it is ... Brother hawk? I would be very pleased that you helped me out.", The smaller hawk said, "The hawk that you refer to is a female and her name is Blaze. She is by far the most beautiful hawk that anyone has ever seen. In addition to her beautiful red tail, she has beautiful red feathers on the back of her neck and head. All of the male hawks are interested in her, but she simply ignores them all “, replied the smaller hawk. "Brother hawk, where might I find this hawk named Blaze?", inquired Thunderhawk. "Well sir, I saw her earlier this morning over in Miller's cove.", replied the smaller hawk. "Thank you brother hawk. By the way, what is your name?", asked Thunderhawk. "My name is Wyatt sir, and I am very happy that I could be of assistance."

The great and powerful hawk took off and headed straight for Miller's cove. The smaller hawk was stunned to watch the enormous hawk take to the air. What an awesome sight he thought quietly to himself. He was also quite pleased that Thunderhawk had not been aggressive toward him.

Now Thunderhawk was on a mission. He was going to find this mysterious hawk and have a little talk with her. He would explain to her who was in charge, and that when hawks enter his domain, they speak only when spoken to, and they leave only when he says so! In other words, they do whatever Thunderhawk says!

The more the great hawk thought about it, the angrier he got and the faster he flew! He couldn't wait to get this off of his mind! Then, suddenly he saw her. Blaze was sitting high in a red oak tree at the edge of a field. She was obviously hunting. As he approached her, he did so in his most menacing manner. He let out a very aggressive "Screee ... screee..screee!". The female hawk acted as though she didn't even know that he was there. She just went on scanning the field for a small animal, or bird to take. This really annoyed Thunderhawk. He landed right next to her in the tree, anxious to tell her how he felt! Again, she just ignored him.

As he looked at her, he began to see her extraordinary beauty. Suddenly, his knees started to get weak and his anger began to melt into confusion. As he sat there gawking at her, she slowly turned her beautiful head toward him. Thunderhawk was mesmerized by her beautiful eyes. He was now very nervous and unable to speak. Suddenly, she said, "Oh, hello.".

Thunderhawk's mouth fell open and sort of just moved up and down with no sound coming out. His mouth had become very dry and he was unable to speak. She said in an annoyed manner, "I said hello.., or are you just going to sit there ignoring me?". Thunderhawk was simply unable to speak. She was so beautiful. Her voice, her eyes, her beak, her features, her feathers, everything about her was gorgeous. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he speak? "Well anyway, my name is Blaze, what's yours?", she asked.

This brought Thunderhawk back to his senses. How could she possibly not know who he was? He blurted out, "Well, my name is Thunderhawk.", in a most indignant manner. Blaze replied, "Well hello Blunderhawk." “Blunderhawk? Blunderhawk? I didn't say Blunderhawk ... I said Thunderhawk!", replied the huge raptor in an aggravated manner. "Oh, I'm sorry.", said Blaze. "I simply misunderstood you. Don't get mad, you silly bird!", she replied. "Well, I guess ... no ... well ... I don't know ... I guess it's alright. I just thought that you would know who I was." he said. "Well, why would I know who you are?", she asked in her own indignant manner. "Well ... I guess because everyone in happy valley knows who I am.", said Thunderhawk. "Well ... guess again. I wouldn't know you from any other hawk in the valley!", said Blaze. "To me, you're just another hawk." "Blaze", said to the powerful hawk.

"I came here to explain to you about my territory, and the proper way in which to enter ... ", suddenly Thunderhawk was interrupted. "You know what ... you should probably listen for a moment yourself.", she said. "I go wherever I please, whenever I please and not you or any other creature on Mother Natures earth can change that!", replied Blaze. "So, if you’re finished, you can leave now." Then she turned away to seemingly begin hunting again.

Thunderhawk didn't quite know how to respond, so he simply flew away. As he flew away, Blaze turned to look at how truly impressive this huge hawk was. She really did like him, but she was no easy prize. No hawk had ever impressed her in the least. However, this hawk seemed to be quite interesting!

As the next few days passed, Blaze found herself thinking about the majestic hawk that she had just met. She generally enjoyed teasing male hawks, much as she had done two months ago to Thunderhawk when she flew through his territory. However, this was different. She was having feelings that she had never felt before. Blaze found her thinking more and more about Thunderhawk.

"Maybe I shouldn't have been so aggressive with him.", she thought. "Maybe I should have ... well ... I guess that I'll just have to pay him a surprise visit!" she concluded.

Thunderhawk could not stop thinking about Blaze. He was wondering what to do about these strange new feelings. One minute he would be really angry at the way she acted toward him, and the next minute he would be thinking about her beauty and the soft way in which she first had spoken to him. It was all very confusing!

One beautiful day, the two hawks felt a sudden urge to travel to see each other. It was as though Mother Nature had fired a love arrow into each bird at exactly the same moment! Blaze decided that she would fly from Miller's cove into happy valley around 8:00am. Thunderhawk decided that he would fly over to Miller's cove from happy valley at the exactly the same moment.

As Thunderhawk began the journey from happy valley, his mind began to remember how beautiful Blaze was ... and in turn ... Blaze began her journey, remembering how impressive Thunderhawk had looked when he was flying away after their brief encounter in Miller's cove. She had never seen such a majestic and handsome hawk before!

Thunderhawk was feeling sort of dazed and confused. The feelings that he was now feeling were hard to understand. Sometimes he felt wonderful ... just thinking about Blaze's beauty ... and yet at other times ... he felt really sad and found himself feeling very agitated ... wanting to see her again! This trip was very important to him! He MUST tell Blaze exactly how he felt about her!

Then ... suddenly ... Thunderhawk began to get very nervous! "Maybe I should just go back home!" He thought to himself. He began to fly very erratically. He was even getting dizzy! He knew that he must land immediately in order to regain his composure.

It so happened that the O’Malley children were out on one their mouse adventures that morning. Fiona looked up toward the sky just as Thunderhawk began to fly erratically. She warned her brothers and sisters to look up at the great bird. While on guard, they couldn’t help but laugh at the great birds strange behavior! Paddy said, “What’s wrong with Thunderhawk, Fiona?” Fiona said, I don’t know Paddy. I’ve never seen such strange behavior by a bird before!”

As the O’Malley’s looked on, Thunderhawk saw a beautiful, large red oak tree and decided to land for a few minutes to get himself back into focus. He was so flustered that he actually stumbled as he landed and almost fell off the branch!

The O’Malley’s laughed out loud! Thunderhawk looked around in hopes that no one had seen his embarrassing landing. The great and mighty Thunderhawk wouldn't want anyone to see that landing! The coast looked clear. Thunderhawk took a verrrrry deep breath and slowly let out a long sigh. He thought to himself, "I'll just rest here for a few minutes ... and then go on to Miller's cove".

Meanwhile ... Blaze was experiencing some unstable feelings of her own! She had always been able to tease the male hawks and then just laugh at them as they blundered around ... trying in vain to impress her. But this time ... she was feeling very confused. Just like Thunderhawk ... she was feeling very emotional. Sometimes silly and giddy thinking about Thunderhawk ... and yet at other times ... she was feeling strange and upset ... as though she just HAD to see him right then and there!

As she flew towards happy valley, she too began to feel dizzy from all the different emotions that were wracking her brain! Blaze decided to land for a few minutes in order to calm herself down. She spotted a huge red oak tree and decided to land there for a few minutes to kind of "clear her head".

Thunderhawk's mind was miles away from where he was resting. He just couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful Blaze was. As he dreamed about her, he decided to carve her name with his powerful beak into the trunk of the great red oak tree that he was resting in. He thought, "no one will ever know that I have done this ... except me!" He was really proud of his idea. As he began to carve her name into the tree trunk ... his mind began to wander ... and he began to dream about her again. He thought about how wonderful it would be if she could only be his mate!

As he began to carve her name with his beak the O’Malley children became even more curious. Baby Shannon said, “What’s he doing?” Fiona had no idea and just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head back and forth in a confused non-verbal reply. The children looked on with great curiousity.

As Thunderhawk dreamed about Blaze ... she was also dreaming about him. As she landed in the huge read oak tree, she wasn't paying attention, as her mind was dreaming about Thunderhawk and she actually crashed into the trunk of the tree! She quickly looked around to make sure that no one had seen her embarrassing landing! The coast looked clear and she was very thankful that her landing had not been seen by anyone else.

As she began to get comfortable ... her mind started racing. She started thinking about Thunderhawk and how proud she would be to be mated with the majestic, powerful hawk. As her mind drifted ... she thought that it would be a great idea to carve Thunderhawk's name into the trunk of this great red oak tree as a symbol of her thoughts of him. As she began carving his name, with a big heart around it ... her mind wandered off ... into a deep, wonderful daydream about Thunderhawk and how wonderful life might be for the two of them!

Thunderhawk, his brain off in a deep daze about Blaze, became aware of an odd sound on the other side of the great red oak tree that he had landed in. Suddenly he snapped out of his glorious daze and came to full attention. Thunderhawk became deathly still and began to listen intently with his head turning from side to side. What was that sound? It sounded sort of familiar. It sounded like a beak scratching against the other side of the tree trunk!

Thunderhawk took on a menacing look and suddenly hurled himself into the air and straight around the trunk of the great red oak towards the sound he had heard. He would teach the bird a serious lesson. This poor bird would pay dearly for entering the territory of Thunderhawk! Thunderhawk suddenly let out a blood curdling screech as he rounded the tree to let the unknown bird know that he was going to severely punish it.

The O’Malley children looked on with their mouths wide and eyes wide open in fear. Thunderhawk looked very scary!

As he rounded the tree ... suddenly he saw ... BLAZE! Blaze was startled by Thunderhawk’s action and they both panicked. Poor Blaze fell off of her branch and was lucky enough to catch herself on the next branch down. Thunderhawk tried to change course too quickly and crashed into the tree trunk and fell right on top of Blaze!

The O’Malleys began to laugh nervously, as they were afraid of the great hawk, but the scene that they were witnessing was funny! Sean, Jr. whispered, “What are those hawks doing Fiona?” Fiona just said, “Shhhh! Let’s just wait and see.”

At first both birds were filled with embarrassment. Their faces flushed red. Both of their minds were racing a mile a minute! Blaze wondered how she would explain this embarrassing situation to the one that she had just been thinking so touchingly about.

On the other hand, poor Thunderhawk was mortified by his stupid blunder. After all, this was the most beautiful hawk that he could ever imagine. The one that he had been dreaming so glowingly about just minutes before. What was wrong with him, he wondered. He knew that he had just acted out her "Blunderhawk" comment of not so long ago. At first he thought about just flying away, avoiding having to face her in this embarrassing moment.

After a few uncomfortable moments of uncertainty, they both began to speak at the same time. Then they both stopped at the same time in order to allow the other one to speak. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, and then they both began to speak again ... at the same time! Now each stopped again, in order to let the other speak, but the silence was very brief and they each started talking again ... at the exact same moment! Suddenly, they both burst into uncontrollable laughter!

After a few moments of laughing, Thunderhawk spoke. He told Blaze how happy he was to see her there. He went on to tell her that he couldn't stop thinking about her, and that he was actually on his way to see her that a very moment. In fact, he had just completed carving her name on the other side of the tree with his beak.

Blaze was embarrassed at first and turned her head to the side, looked down and blushed ever so slightly. She went on to tell Thunderhawk that she had also been on her way to see him! In fact, she was in the process of carving HIS name into the great red oak tree the very moment that Thunderhawk had frightened her.

Now, Thunderhawk was embarrassed. However, this time he was not going to let the opportunity pass and he immediately began to tell Blaze how much he had missed seeing her. He went on to tell her that every day had been filled with thoughts of her. He felt that he just had to see her that day!

In the past, Blaze would have acted unmoved by a male hawk's flattery. This time was different. Thunderhawk was amazed as Blaze began to explain to him that she also found herself caught up in thoughts of him, and that she too felt that she must see him that day!

Thunderhawk could barely believe what he was hearing! Blaze ... the most beautiful hawk that anyone had ever seen ... the one who had been so indifferent to him in their earlier encounter ... was saying such wonderful things to him! It was the best moment of his life. He felt a wonderful feeling creeping over every inch of his powerful frame!

The two hawks suddenly found themselves gazing into each others eyes. The gazes were deep and filled with emotion. At that moment, they each knew that they were deeply in love with each other. Slowly, a small smile began to creep across each of their faces. Thunderhawk suddenly blurted out, "I am so glad that I got to see you today Blaze!" Blaze responded immediately with, "I’m glad that I got to see you too!"

Suddenly, each one of the birds felt tingling emotion rushing through their bodies. The feelings were exciting and wonderful. Each thought about how much their thoughts had anticipated this moment, yet each had been filled with doubts about the other having the same feelings. There could be no more exciting, wonderful feeling in the world! This was Mother Nature’s ultimate form of love. This was the matching of two creatures for lifelong companionship.

The O’Malleys continued watching with great interest. Colleen said, “Hey! They’re acting like Fiona and Matty!” Paddy said, “Hey! I think that must be Thunderhawks girlfriend! You’re right Colleen.” Fiona just said, “Shhh!”

Thunderhawk gently stepped closer to Blaze and wrapped his wings around her and ever so softly, pulled her close to his rapidly beating heart. Blaze closed her eyes and melted into Thunderhawk's embrace. She could feel his rapid heartbeat, inside his powerful chest, and he in return could feel her heart racing.

Time seemed to stand still as the two glorious birds cherished this beautiful moment in time. A soft breeze blew out of the east, and Thunderhawk's feathers softly rustled. The moment seemed like a dream, too good to be true. The two hawks just snuggled gently in the breeze, deeply, passionately embracing.

When at long last the two opened their eyes, they beheld an awesome sight, as the late afternoon sun was beginning to settle behind the beautiful cumberland mountains in the distance. The sight was absolutely breathtaking! It seemed as if this was a divinely inspired moment. It seemed as if the Great Creator had brought these two birds together and was honoring the moment with the serene beauty of that majestic sunset. The two hawks would live happily ever after, and have many wonderful experiences and adventures together.

The O’Malley chldren rushed home to spread the news about what happened with Thunderhawk. All in all, it was quite a day in happy valley!

Canku Ota is a copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry.

The "Canku Ota - A Newsletter Celebrating Native America" web site and its design is the

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 of Paul C. Barry.

All Rights Reserved.