THE SWINNING DUCK STARS
CAKIRA WOKE BEFORE dawn, slipped on her winter garments and moccasins, and left the lodge as quietly as she could. Her mother and younger twin sisters slept under warm buffalo hides.
Her breath, like small clouds, sailed out of her mouth and nose as she walked through the Pawnee village. The ground felt hard underfoot. When she reached the edge of the settlement, the prairie spread out before her. It was quiet on this frosty morning. Not a bird sang, not a dog barked, not a horse whinnied.
Cakira rubbed her cold hands together and stamped her feet. A priest of her tribe had told her about the stars. Two stars that would arise in the dawn. When they appeared, the earth would come alive! The rivers
