The fair, vivid sun was rising up over the village of the Shoshoni tribe. Snow had been melting off of their lofty tepees and drizzling upon the dry terrain. The Indians had yet to face another day of survival in the bitter climate. The men and women were assigned to gather different foods as directed from the chief of the tribe because rations were scarce in the winter.

A tall, young man named Long Bear arose out of his den with a long fur coat on. His long black braids glistened in the sunrise, and his warm brown eyes hungered for food. All the men in the tribe were getting prepared for the morning hunt.

“Long Bear,” one of the wise old men called out to the young warrior, “This is your first time on the hunt. Be careful of the woods, listen to your heart and the spirits will guide you.”

“Thank you.” said Long Bear. He then turned to eagerly join the group of hunters.

They carried nothing but spears as they marched into the vast woods. Everything was covered in white, and the tall pines were tightly packed together. Everyone separated from the pack, including Long Bear, to get a better opportunity in finding food. Long Bear crouched down in the snow and started hunting for a buck.

An hour had passed and the forest was completely dead. The young Indian grew tired so he sat beneath one of the tall pines and began sharpening his weapon. The sunlight peeked in through the large trees and warmed his bronze face. He closed his eyes for a second to relax and recuperate from his long walk.

Long Bear realized he dosed off after feeling a presence of a large shadow cast out the warm sun. He then opened his eyes and froze at the sight of a large grey wolf face to face with him. Bright emerald irises gazed into the Indian’s stunned eyes. Long Bear quickly grabbed for his spear, but before he could stab the creature, he paused in shock as the wolf began to speak.

“Don’t be afraid,” the wolf muttered in a comforting voice, “I am Sherah, spirit of the wolves and protector of the forest. I have come to propose a deal to you and your people.’

Long Bear put down his spear and eased the tension of his body. “Great Spirit, please tell me what you desire.”

“Our wolf clan has been struggling to find meat because of your hunters, and I know your tribe has been without meat because of our hunters.” The great wolf paused for a second, “Our tribes should hunt together, and we could track more deer quicker, and split the meat evenly. We could also watch out for one another.”

“I accept your deal with great honor, Sherah,” Long Bear answered. “I will talk to my people and I’ll have our chief, Brave Heart, meet with you tonight at the edge of the forest when the moon is bright.”

The great wolf nodded, and then scurried into the Forever Forest. Long Bear gathered up his spear and started on his journey back to his village to spread the news of the wolf spirit.

Long Bear finally reached the village to speak with their chief. The hunters from earlier had returned a long time and were becoming worried for Long Bear. When they saw Long Bear exit from the wintery woods, they gathered around him.

“Did you bring anything back? We didn’t find a single morsel of food in the woods.” one of the warriors said.

“What took you so long?” another warrior asked.

“I talked to the great wolf spirit, Sherah, and she wants to speak with Brave Heart about our clans hunting together.” Long Bear said.

“Chief Brave Heart is in his tepee.” one of the hunters said.

Long bear nodded and walked into the tribe. When he came up to the chief’s tepee he called out to him.

“Chief Brave Heart, I wish to speak with you upon important matters. I was spoken to by the great wolf spirit.” Long Bear waited for a response.

The chief quickly arose from his housing, “Sherah?” Brave Heart asked in wonder.

“Yes,” Long Bear answered, “she wants our clans to join into one big hunting team.”

“If that’s what she desires, I will talk to our warriors and hunters about it.” Brave Heart said.

Later that night Brave Heart and Long Bear led their people down to the edge of the forest to speak with Sherah and her clan of wolves. They waited by the forest until bright eyes started coming towards them. Sherah stepped out into the moon light and so did Brave Heart.

“Sherah,” Brave Heart spoke to her, “I have heard the proposition and would like to pair up with your clan to hunt.”

“Thank you.” Sherah said in a grateful tone. “Each one of my hunters will pair up with one of your hunters. From then on, we will be able to hunt any animal in the forest.”

Brave Heart nodded with respect. The five hunters from the village, including Long Bear, stepped out into the moon light. Continuing after, Sherah’s five wolf hunters jumped into the moon light as well. Each wolf picked an Indian hunter to stand side by side with. Then Sherah joined Brave Heart and as one big clan, they walked back to the Shoshoni’s village.