Thursday, December 21, 2017

Part 9 - Bertha Digby restores the woods.


There are those among us that love Mother Earth and help heal hurts of FIRE. Because of a squirrel, Bertha Digby with her enthusiasm and the animals’ as her helpers, the destroyed woods grew into a forest mightier than the burnt woods.

To this day, Bertha Digby's great, great, grand children guard the trees, bushes, and flowers while directing the visiting humans to walk on the paths and keep campfires in pits. I respect great, great, grandmother's Bertha Digby's work who saved the woods for all of us: the animals and the humans. My hope is that today we respect the wild woods and the animals and help to preserve them from human predators, who are as greedy as FIRE.

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BEWARE of FIRE!

I prepared these last stories before FIRE raged in our Northern California that destroyed 7,000 homes and business and ravaged thousand and thousand of areas forests. My daughter and her family and many of our relatives lived in this area; their homes were spared many of their friend's homes burnt. Animals were not spared as the FIRE roared and eat. About 26 years ago in the East Bay Area of San Francisco, a ravaging FIRE came four blocks from our home. Many of my friends lost years of memories and all they had.

Now, FIRE is ravaging the Los Angeles area; their losses are incredible.

This folktale is to honor all animals or humans who restore our FORESTS, others destroy by one means or other. FIRE is the worst of predators eating everything, humans are second.

Bertha Digby was published as 'Saving the Woods' pages 67 - 69, in an anthology published by the 4th Street Studio's Saturday Salons, The Livermore Wine Country Literary Harvest, © 2006.


Read 'Bertha Digby restores the woods.' on Wattpad.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Part 8 - FIRE eats everything.

The Hunters stole their FIRE. The one who stole FIRE showed the other hunters how to hold their sticks, far enough away so the flames wouldn't devour the flesh, close enough so FIRE feasted only on the juices that dripped from the yams, squash, and fish.

With each drop of juice that fell into FIRE, the hunters watched flames flare and heard the sizzling greed of FIRE's appetite.

The children placed their emptied cooking sticks into FIRE and the ends burnt into a glowing embers. They danced turning around swinging the sticks back-and-forth. The gleaming ends burst into flames. Seeing the dancing and hearing laughter, Lord Wind thought he might help with the fun.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Part 7 - The Monkeys show FIRE to a Hunter.




Grandma Spider explained and showed her cousins how the Sky People contained FIRE. "Dig a hole in the earth for a pit. Sit stones around this hole for a hearth and fill with wood to feed FIRE.” She placed the spark of light on the wood. "Trees hold FIRE which will burn and make warm light. Always thank the trees that give FIRE.” 

Only the Monkeys took the offering back to their jungle. The Monkeys sat around the light and heat and held sticks with yams within the reaching flickers of FIRE. A lost Hunter smelled the sweetness of the cooking yams and saw FIRE. Moving towards the Monkeys, he felt the heat, the warmth of the dancing light. Hunter desired FIRE’s powers.