Canku Ota - November 29, 2003 - Thunderhawk – The Curse of the Robin Redbeast

Paden began to feel very strange. He felt a sudden shock to his body and then he felt as though he was falling and falling and falling. He tried to scream out loud but no sound came out of his mouth. Then he thought that he heard voices. First from above him he heard a voice that sounded like Tanasi, but the voice was jumbled up and he couldn’t understand what it was saying. Then he thought he heard jumbled up voices below him as well. Those voices sounded like Pat and Penny but he couldn’t understand any of their words either.

As this was happening to Paden, suddenly what felt like a huge wind began blowing from above him and it felt like it was causing him to fall faster. He was really scared and didn’t know what to do. Then it felt like someone was squeezing his left paw, but there was only darkness and he couldn’t see who or what was doing that. Then suddenly his other paw felt as though something or someone was squeezing it as well.

As all of this strange activity was going on, Paden suddenly felt like he hit something very hard and he knew that he had stopped falling. As he felt himself hit what must have been the bottom of something a sharp pain shot all throughout his little body and it hurt badly! He screamed out in pain and this time sound did come out of his mouth.

As he screamed and groaned he heard a familiar soothing voice right next to his left ear and a gentle squeeze of his little left paw. It was Penny! He could hear her for sure. This didn’t seem like any dream anymore now. It seemed very real. The he heard a voice to his right and it was Pat! He felt so excited, but there was so much pain in his body.

Paden was trying to figure out what was real and what wasn’t. He decided to give a gentle squeeze back with his left paw to Penny to see if anything else happened. As he gently squeezed back Penny let out a shout of Joy! Paden could hear her scream out, “Pat! Paden just squeezed my paw after I squeezed his!” He could tell that Penny was really excited.

Now Paden felt another squeeze to his right paw. Paden squeezed back and heard Pat yell out to let Penny know that he also had felt Paden’ squeeze! Paden was so tired and his body hurt so much, but he wanted to reach out and hug Pat and Penny. As he tried to move his body, nothing happened. This was scary to him. Then he tried to talk to Pat and Penny and again, no sound came out of his little mouth.

Suddenly he felt a warm body holding him tightly. It was Penny and she was softly sobbing, rocking him gently back and forth and telling little Paden how much she loved him and how worried she had been about him. The she began to thank the Great Creator for having mercy on her precious little Paden and letting him remain with them in the physical world. Then she began to sing one of Paden favorite old Irish Lullaby’s and that made him feel more relaxed and comforted. Then he slowly drifted off into a restful sleep.

As Paden drifted off to sleep, Pat and Penny were sure that he made it through the worst part of whatever had been wrong with him. A smile crept across Paden’s face and he began to snore very loudly. Pat and Penny smiled at each other as they listened to the little mouse snoring like a bull moose.

Finally Penny laid Paden back down and they got up and walked outside. There were lots of their friends and relatives waiting for news about the little guy and they were all so thrilled that Paden seemed to be getting better at long last.

Michayla and Paddy were happy but nervous. They had been afraid that Paden was going to die and they would have felt guilty about not having told the truth about him. But now they were afraid because when Paden did finally start getting up out of his bed, they would be faced with the fact that Paden would get punished for their lies and they knew he would tell everyone that they had been lying.

Michayla and Paddy sneaked off to discuss the problem. They went to a spot where they were sure that no one would overhear their dishonest conversation. They ended up near the sacred spot where loved ones were prepared for their journey from the physical world to the spirit world. The two little mice went behind a big oak tree and sat down to talk.

Michayla spoke first. She said, “Paddy, we are going to get into really big trouble. What are we going to do?” Paddy thought for a minute and said, “I think that we should just stick to our story and let whatever comes of it be something that was meant to be.” Michayla said, “I don’t agree. Poor little Paden. If we hadn’t lied about him in the first place, this whole thing would have never happened to him and he would never have suffered like this. We lied about what had happened and we blamed Paden. He doesn’t even know about the severe punishment that awaits him that the elders decreed for something that he never even did!”

Paddy thought for a minute and then said, “I know Michayla, but if we say something now, we will get in even bigger trouble!” Just as he finished that sentence the two little mice both gasped loudly as Owaso walked around from the other side of the tree. They were afraid that he had overheard their conversation and their little eyes both began to fill with tears.

Owaso looked deeply into Paddy’s eyes and then looked deeply into Michayla’s eyes. There were no words for a long time and he looked angry. As this was happening the two little mice both knew in their hearts that Owaso had indeed heard what they had been saying.

Owaso finally spoke, saying, “You little mice have done something that is very bad. What you have done is not okay in any way shape or form. Even if Paddy had not nearly died…which he did nearly die…it would still be so wrong for you to make up lies about another mouse like that. The punishment that the elders passed down for Paden will be mild compared to what they will pass on to you two for something as hateful as this. If I were you, I would make some tough decisions right now to let everyone know that you have lied and that even when judgment and punishment were passed down for Paden you still remained silent with those lies burning in your hearts.”

Michalya fell on the ground and started crying as hard as she had ever cried in her life. The pain of the dishonesty was great in her heart. Then Paddy did the same thing. It seemed as though Owaso, the great medicine mouse had not only made the point that what they had done had been a terrible thing, but that he had forced their hearts to feel the pain of their bitter lies. It felt like someone had punched them in the stomach as hard as they could as their little minds were flooded with the sickening feelings of how badly they had hurt little Paden through their wicked lies.

Finally Michayla blurted out, “Tell me what to do Owaso! I will do anything to take this pain from my heart and to make things better for poor little Paden!” As she finished speaking Owaso glared at Paddy to see if he had anything to say as well. It took a few minutes but then Paddy looked up at Owaso and saw that he was staring directly him. He cried even harder but finally said, “Me too Owaso. I am so very sorry. What can I do to make this right?”

Owaso said, “There are many ways that evil can do damage to the Great Creator’s beloved creatures, but lies are among the worst. Lies can never be used for any good. They are used to destroy. Sometimes they may seem like just a little thing, but the damage that they can do is terrible. What you have done is very bad. I am going to call a meeting of the elders and your families and I will take you both of you before them and you will tell them all the truth about what has happened. Do you understand me?” The two little mice had stopped crying but were shaking like leaves in a huge windstorm. They nervously nodded their heads up and down and agreed to do as Owaso had asked. They knew that they would be in for big trouble, but there was no other way now. It was time to face the consequences of their actions!

Geoff Hampton is an internationally known author, speaker, motivator and business consultant. Hampton is the Executive Director for St. Mary's Health & Fitness Center in Powell, TN and is also a regular columnist for the wellness/fitness Website www.fitcommerce.com as well as Canku Ota. He can be reached by E-mail at GEOFFLHAMPTON@aol.com His national anti-obesity/diabetes campaign, The Wellness Wakeup Challenge can be reviewed at www.fitcommerce.com/wellness