[44]

Thunder Horse needed Black Shawl often in the first few days.  She came over several times a day to tend to Stands whose body was still healing from her ordeal.  From Black Shawl, he also learned to cook the same hearty stew that Stands had been fond of making.  It was the one thing that he could manage to get her to swallow.  In the evening, ( Read more... )

[33]

Over the next few months, Dove and Stands became close friends.  Every day, after Thunder Horse left to do his regular work, Dove would come to help Stands with her chores together.  Stands enjoyed the companionship of another woman, even though Dove was five years younger.  The two women spent a lot of time each day with Black Shawl and her ( Read more... )

[26]

Ten Bears announced in mid-March that they would move the camp.  The last snowfall had been almost a month passed, and the snow that had been on the ground melted more each day until it was almost gone.  The night before the big move, Stands was trying to get comfortable in her pallet on the ground, but it was not easy.  She dreaded the job of ( Read more... )

[21]

The days passed slowly as Thunder Horse and Stands With a Fist began to build a life together.  They were happy working by day, and loving each other by night.  The rest of the village shared in their good fortune.  Food was plentiful and their store houses were full.  Relationships with neighboring tribes were sometimes strained, but not ( Read more... )

[19]

A sleepy Stands protested as she was suddenly thrust out into the cold.  Goosebumps sprung up all over her skin instantly.  She grabbed for the blanket, but her husband held onto it tightly.  She punched at his shoulder.

“You’re stealing all the covers and the fire’s gone out!”  She growled.
“I put the last of the wood on last night.  There is a ( Read more... )

[13]

The rain fell hard for three days.  Stands longed to see Thunder Horse, but Black Shawl and the children kept her busy inside.  When she had returned from the woods with Thunder Horse that afternoon, Black Shawl presented her with a calfskin, bleached white.  Together they worked on making her wedding costume which consisted of a long tunic, ( Read more... )

[11]

Black Shawl and Kicking Bird looked up when Stands walked into the lodge. She was out of breath and practically glowing, with a big smile on her face, that she immediately tried to hide. She wasn’t fast enough.  Black Shawl and Kicking Bird exchanged a look of confusion as she joined them around the fire.

"I didn't think that you would make it ( Read more... )