Secrets: The Truth is Slowly Revealed

I could hardly sleep that night, because I was eager to learn how the shaman was going to answer my question.  I was quite restless and couldn’t stop thinking about it, so it took a while before I finally drifted off to sleep.  When I did, I dreamed about different ways the shaman might answer my question. 

When I awoke the next morning, I quickly devoured my breakfast, but the others didn’t seem to be in as big a hurry to find out what the shaman was going to say.  I knew better than to pester the shaman with questions before he had finished eating, since I realized he’d merely tell me that I needed to learn patience, so I bit my tongue and bided my time.  However, I kept glancing at him the entire time as I waited until he finished his meal, because I needed to know exactly how this was accomplished.   How were we able to transition into something much larger than ourselves one minute, and then into something a lot smaller the next.  Eventually, the others finished eating, and after a brief delay, the shaman began to speak.

“This is probably as good a time as any to answer Michael’s question and explain this to all of you at the same time.  One of the measures I added to the initial ritual that I performed on both Michael and Isaac was to ask Mother Earth for her permission and her assistance in allowing them to transition into other animals.   Once she granted each of them the ability, she has continued to assist their efforts ever since, and the ability was later passed down to Jacob, his son, and Devin at birth.” 

“How does she do that?” I asked impatiently.

“When you transition, Mother Earth temporarily provides whatever you need to accomplish this goal, whether it is for you to transition into something larger than yourself or something smaller.  When you transition into animals that are smaller than yourself, Mother Earth will temporarily store the excess material until you need it again.  When you transition into something larger, she provides the extra material you require to accomplish the task.  Mother Earth also prevents each of you from experiencing excruciating pain as the bones in your body change shape, your organs grow smaller or larger, and while some disappear or new organs are added.  She also prevents you from having any discomfort as your skin adjusts and changes into the hides of the animals.”

“I think we’ve all wondered about that from time to time,” Isaac responded. 

“And since the evil skinwalkers do not have her permission to do these things, they are unable to duplicate the animals as precisely as all of you can, and they experience unbearable pain when they transition from one form to another.  They are also only able to transition into something that is the same size or larger than themselves, and they are only able to do this by eating a great deal of food and storing it up in their human form before they transition.  It is why they appear hideous and deformed and aren’t accurate copies of either the animals they transition into or their former selves.”

“Awesome!  Is it magic then, like in the Harry Potter books and movies?” Devin followed.

“No, it’s not magic.  It is merely Mother Earth lending her help to support your efforts when you are transitioning into other animals that reside within her domain.”

 

“So, it only works on creatures that live on earth and we can’t change into things like, you know space aliens.”

“That would only be possible if Mother Earth had once allowed the aliens to set foot upon this planet.”

“Do you mean she could stop them?” I asked.

“Mother Earth has her ways of doing whatever is necessary.”

“That’s very interesting, because it means it still might be possible, doesn’t it?” Devin pressed.

“Yes, I suppose it does.  Even though the Diné do not have legends that refer to ‘star people’ or ‘bird people’, there are other Native American tribes that do, so it is possible that aliens may have once visited Mother Earth.”

“Does it also mean that Bigfoot exists, since Mother Earth allowed Devin and me to change into Bigfoot when we were being attacked by the evil skinwalker?”

“That is an interesting question and I suppose I would have to answer in the affirmative, although she may have merely given you special permission to do that so you could protect yourselves.   We should, however, get back to what we were talking about before Devin and Michael helped to sidetrack us, because it is time for the rest of you to get to work.” 

“Ok, what are we going to do next?” I asked.

“I am going to have you transition into a chipmunk,” the shaman replied.  “It is very similar to the squirrels, although it is much smaller, and this will be a good test to discover how small you can get.  Do you know what a chipmunk looks like, and I do not mean a cartoon chipmunk either?”

“Yes, I’ve seen chipmunks in the woods before.”

“Good because it will help you with this task,” he stated, and then he let Gramps and Pops take over.

“Just like with squirrels,” Pops began, “there are different species of chipmunks and they’re not all the same color.  The chipmunk I want you to transition into has different colored fur, but most of its fur is a yellowish-brown.  It will also have black and white stripes that extend from its head and along both sides of its body and along its tail.  It will also have white rings that encircle its eyes, as well as white around its mouth and on its belly.”

“And a chipmunk’s tail is not as long or as bushy as a squirrel’s tail,” Gramps continued, “and it has another unique feature that you may not be aware of.  A chipmunk has pouches in its cheeks that it uses to store excess food until it gets back to its nest, and then it will store the food for later use.  You might think of the pouches as built-in grocery bags.”

I chuckled.  “Does that mean chipmunks store the food so they can hibernate?”

“Chipmunks do hibernate, but not in the same way that bears do.  A chipmunk will merely sleep for a few days at a time, and then it will wake up so it can raise its body temperature to a reasonable level.  It has to do this because it doesn’t have enough surplus fat to keep it warm, like a bear does, and if it didn’t do this; it might freeze to death before the weather warmed up.  While the chipmunk is awake, it will eat some of the food it has stored up, along with taking care of other bodily functions.” 

“Do chipmunks do all of those things up in a tree?”

“No, chipmunks are ground animals and live in burrows that they dig out on their own.  They do not use other animals’ burrows.  They will also insulate their burrows with grass, leaves, and other materials to help keep them warm while they’re asleep during the winter months.”

“Ok, and are the males, females, and young chipmunks called the same things as squirrels?”

“Males and females are called bucks and does, just like the squirrels, but a chipmunk’s offspring are referred to as pups.”

“So, squirrel babies are named after a cat’s young, but chipmunk babies are named after a dog’s young.   That seems a little strange.”

“It may sound strange to you, but it is just the way it is, grasshopper,” the shaman said as he took over the conversation again.  “Now, if you do not mind, I will ask the others to transition into chipmunks so you can examine what they look like before you attempt to transition.”

While I was examining the others, the shaman cracked some walnuts open so I could see how the chipmunks used the pouches in their cheeks to store extra food.  Once I’d seen them do that, the shaman had me transition next, and as soon as I passed his rigid inspection, he had me practice storing the meat from a walnut in the pouches in my cheeks.  It was actually kind of neat and it’s too bad we don’t have pouches in our cheeks so we’d be able to store our snacks in there until we were ready to eat them.

We didn’t go outside to run around as chipmunks for a couple of reasons.  The first was that it was already dusk and the shaman was worried about our safety after what had happened while we were squirrels.  The second was explained by Gramps.

“You have to realize that chipmunks go to their burrows to sleep at sunset and they won’t leave there until sunrise.  One reason for that is they require 15 hours of sleep each day, and seeing they wouldn’t get that much sleep between sunset and sunrise, they will also take several short naps during the day.”

“How many chipmunks will live together?” I asked.

“Chipmunks are not social animals and spend most of their time alone.  They will only be with another chipmunk during the mating season, which happens twice a year.  The other time that chipmunks will be together happens after the female chipmunk gives birth.  The pups will remain with her until they are capable of living on their own, which happens when they are 4 to 6 weeks old.”

“Do chipmunks climb trees?”

“They have the ability, but they will only do it when they’re searching for food on the branches of a tree or to escape a predator.”

The shaman then allowed us to run around inside the hohrahn for a while, since we were so small and there was more than enough room for us to do it.  Devin and I also climbed the bench, just to see how well the chipmunks could do it, and since we were inside, Devin and I spent plenty of time chasing each other.  It’s when we discovered that chipmunks are quite fast and can run up to 21 mph (33.8 kph) which isn’t bad for such a small animal. 

After running around for a while, the shaman suggested we transition into our human shapes again and get dressed so we could go out for supper.  We happily agreed and did as he suggested, and then we hopped in the SUV so Gramps could take us somewhere to fill our bellies.  Once again, the shaman chose to stay behind and prepare the food that had been delivered for his use, instead of going with us. 

When we finished eating and returned to the hohrahn, I was eager to learn what else we were going to do. 

“What’s next?” I asked the shaman in anticipation. 

“Nothing tonight, since it is already quite late.”

“Then what are we going to do tomorrow?”

“I have chosen a couple of animals for you to learn to transition into, and they may give you a challenge while duplicating their bodies, because they both have some unique features.”

“Ok.  Which animals are those?”

“Patience, grasshopper, and I will tell you that after we eat breakfast in the morning.” 

He knew his answer would frustrate me, but that may have been what he intended, because he kept telling me I needed to learn patience.  Devin was curious as well, but not as much as I was.  Instead, I went over to the chest and retrieved my blankets so I could spread one out on the ground, and then Devin slept with me and we used the other two blankets to cover ourselves with.

After breakfast, I asked the shaman which animals we were going to work on today.”

“As I mentioned last night, I chose the next two animals to see if you will be able to duplicate their unique characteristics.  Even though you have done fairly well with transitioning into the various animals that we have worked on so far, I believe you will find the next two animals to be more of a challenge.  For that reason, I have set aside three days for you to master them, rather than the shorter periods of time we have used over the past few days.  The first of these animals will be the beaver.”

“Isn’t the beaver just another rodent?”

“Yes, it is, but they are unique when compared with other rodents.”  The shaman then allowed Pops to take over the conversation. 

“First of all, they are the largest of all the rodents in North America and will grow to be between 3 to 4 feet (91-122 cm) in length, including their tail.  They will also weigh between 40 to 70 pounds (17-32 kg), so they’re about as big as a medium size dog.”

“So, what makes them so difficult to transition into?”

“There are some areas of their bodies that are quite unique, starting with their tails.  They are not only wider and flatter than the tails of other rodents, but they’re also covered in scales.  I suspect you’re more familiar with rodents that have round, slender, hairless tails, like rats and mice.  The beaver’s tail also isn’t like the bushy tails you find on a chipmunk or squirrel either, so you might find it a challenge to get its tail correct.  Not only that, but beavers also have webbed feet and thicker fur, and the combination of those three features help the beaver when it swims.” 

“Wait!  How does its fur help it swim?”

“It’s because there are more hairs per square inch than on any other rodent and this helps to keep them both warm and dry.  Their coat is made up of different types of hairs, starting with an under-layer of warm, downy hairs, and then there is a longer, thicker outer layer that is comprised of slick, water-resistant hairs.  This two-layer fur coat is what helps to keep the beaver both warm and dry, thus making it possible for them to swim in partly frozen ponds during the middle of winter.”

“Ok, I think I get it now.  I also know that beavers have large teeth which help them chew down small trees that they’ll use when building their dams, but do they also live in the dam and do they actually eat the wood?”

“Unfortunately, you probably won’t be able to practice any of those skills while you’re here, but when a beaver builds a dam, it will create a pond behind the dam where it will build its lodge so it will be safe.  Its family will live in the lodge, which will have multiple underwater entrances and exits.  It does this because it’s a good swimmer and having the entrances and exits underwater prevents most predators from getting to them when they’re inside.  As for your other question, beavers eat certain parts of the tree, such as the bark and the softer layers that lie underneath the bark, but it doesn’t eat the entire tree.  They’ll also store caches of branches and twigs underwater outside of the lodge that they’ll use as a food source during the winter.”

“Do they eat anything else?”

“Yes, and beavers are strictly vegetarians, so they’ll eat things such as fresh leaves, water plants, and softer vegetation and fruits.  What they eat will depend on the season and the availability of those items, as well as which part of the country where they happen to live.”

“Are the lodges just built using twigs and branches?”

“No.  In addition to the twigs and branches, beavers also use small trees, rocks, and mud in the construction of their lodges.”

“Do the lodges ever spring leaks?”

“They might, but beavers are very sensitive to changing sounds in their lodges and will detect whenever that happens.  Once they realize there is a problem, the beavers are capable of repairing the damage so the lodge doesn’t flood or collapse.”

“Ok, but what animals hunt beavers?  There can’t be very many of them, if the beavers are the largest rodents in North America?”

“They are large, but they still have predators such as coyotes, foxes, bobcats, otters, and great-horned owls.”  

“Those predators all sound familiar, although only a couple of them are the same as the ones we’ve talked about in the past with other animals.”

“Yes, I’m sure they all sound familiar, since no predator relies on just one food source.”

“Are we going to start transitioning into a beaver now?”  Pops looked at the shaman to see what he had to say.

“Yes, and I will let the others transition into beavers so you can begin examining them.”

“Uh, I’ve never transitioned into a beaver before,” Devin quickly informed the shaman, “so you can let Pops and Gramps transition into beavers and I’ll just check them out with Mac.” 

“That will be acceptable and you can do all of the same things I have Michael do,” he agreed, and then he turned to speak with Pops and Gramps.  “Isaac and Jacob, would you please be kind enough to transition into beavers so Michael and Devin can investigate the finer points of what a beaver looks like?”

“Certainly,” Pops agreed for both of them. 

He and Gramps then got undressed and transitioned into beavers, and then Devin and I eagerly checked them out.  We studied every detail about their tails and web feet, and then we began running our fingers through their fur coats to see how they were different from the other animals that we’d transitioned into.  When we were satisfied that we’d learned all we could, we got ready to transition into beavers for the first time. 

Devin apparently did a better job at it than I did; at least the shaman appeared to think so.  I say this because he didn’t offer Devin nearly as many suggestions about how he could improve as he did me.  The shaman said Devin and I hadn’t gotten the fur quite right, because I’d messed up on the undercoat and the outer hairs, while Devin only messed up on the outer hairs.  After we had fixed those problems, we moved on to the next issue.  

Although Devin and I had the size and thickness of the tail correct, we apparently screwed up on the scales.  It took us more than an hour before we got those items correct, but then I had a couple of other items to redo.  I’d also messed up on the beaver’s webbed feet, and after I finally got those correct, I had to fix my mistakes on its teeth. 

The beaver has really large pairs of incisors, and mine weren’t quite large enough, but the color of them was also wrong.  I’d transitioned with white incisors, while a beavers’ incisors are vivid orange in color.  Devin had gotten both of those items correct the first time, but he waited until I corrected my mistakes to the shaman’s satisfaction.  Once that had been taken care of, the shaman explained what he wanted us to do next. 

“What I want you to do now would normally be done on the water, but unfortunately that will not be possible while you are here.  I suppose we could take you to a river or small pond where you could practice, although we would risk encountering others either along the way or once we got there.  Of course, that would probably lead to a variety of unwanted questions.  I am certain that anyone who saw us would want to know where we got two beavers from and why Isaac, Jacob, and I were transporting you to that location.  For this reason, I will have you practice this skill on land instead, and what I want you to do is to slap your tails on the ground as forcefully as you can.  After you have done that, I will explain why it was necessary.”

I couldn’t wait to hear his explanation for having us do this, because I was unable to conceive of any reasonable purpose that would justify his request, but we followed his instructions just the same.  Once we did as he asked, he requested that we do it again, although this time he wanted us to slap our tails on the ground even harder.  He still wasn’t happy after we’d done that and requested that we do it one more time, but even harder than on our previous attempts.  As soon as he was satisfied, he explained why this was necessary and why the beavers might do it while they were in the water. 

“I wanted you to practice this skill because a beaver will slap its tail on the surface of the water and create a loud noise when it senses a threat nearby.  Some people have compared the sound it creates to the sound of a rifle being fired, and beavers do this for two different reasons.  First of all, beavers are very territorial and will use this as a warning signal when they think other beavers are trying to move into their territory.  They will also do it to warn their family that a predator is in the area, which in turn encourages their young to return to the safety of the lodge.”

This made sense to me and explained why he had us practice doing it, so now I was merely curious about what he was going to have us do next.  

“It is already past the time when we would usually eat, so we will do that now and then I’ll have you transition into beavers a couple more times to see if you get everything correct on the first try.  Once you are able to accomplish that, we will go to sleep, because we have even more to do tomorrow.”

“Do you mean there is more to do concerning the beavers or another animal?” I asked. 

“There are a few more things I want you to practice concerning the beaver before we move on to the next animal.”

“What do we still have to do and what is the next animal you’re talking about?” Devin asked.  I wanted to know this information as well, but I knew better than to press my luck. 

“You are as impatient as Michael, so you must learn patience as well, tadpole.”

“Huh?  Why did you just call me tadpole?”

“I use grasshopper for Michael, so I will refer to you as tadpole instead.  I think we should get something to eat now, and then we will check that you can transition into the beaver adequately after we finish.  After you have done that we will get some sleep, because I want both of you to be wide awake and ready to go when we get started in the morning.”

Rather than argue with the shaman or say anything that might evoke another lecture, we went along with his suggestions.  Gramps and Pops had already left while the shaman had been working with us, and now they returned with something for all of us to eat.  After we finished eating, the shaman had Devin and I transition into beavers and he inspected our efforts, and then we transition into our own bodies again and talked for a bit before he asked us to transition into beavers again.

As soon as he acknowledged that we had passed his examination on both attempts, we retrieved our bedding and prepared to turn in.  Before I fell asleep, however, I mentally tried to figure out what the shaman was going to have us do in the morning and which animal I would be transitioning into next. 

When we woke up, Gramps and Pops went to get something for us to eat, and after we finished chowing down, we waited to see what the shaman was going to have us do next. 

“While I was working with you boys yesterday, I asked Isaac and Jacob to take my hatchet and go out in the woods and chop down a couple of saplings for us to use.  I had them place the cut ends of the saplings in a bucket of water to keep them fresh, and now I am going to take you outside so the two of you will be able to see what it is like for a beaver to chop down a tree of this size.”

Devin and I transitioned first, and after the shaman had checked us over and given us his approval, we followed the others outside and moved to the side of the hohrahn that was shielded from the road.  We were now ready to get started on what the shaman had planned for today. 

“I want each of you to gnaw your way around one of the saplings, as if you are cutting it down.  You will also need to use your tail to brace your body as you are using your strong teeth to do this, or else you won’t be able to complete the job.  I am certain you will soon discover this is not an easy task for a beaver to accomplish.”

At this moment, Pops and Gramps each took one of the saplings and forced the cut end into the ground, and then they braced the upper portion of the sapling with their arms to make certain it didn’t move.  While they were doing this, the shaman told Devin and me that we could get started. 

The shaman was correct about this not being easy and it took some effort on our part to gnaw the saplings down, even though neither sapling was very big around.  It took us quite a while to gnaw through them, and then I realized that beavers would have to gnaw down a lot more than just one or two saplings in order to build their dam and lodge.  When we finished, the shaman advised us about what we were going to do next. 

“I am going to give both of you an apple to eat, because I want you to see how your mouth will close tightly behind the large front teeth as you chew using your other teeth.  The front teeth that you used to gnaw the trees down will not interfere while you are eating.”

He was correct and we were able to eat the apples without any difficulty, and this was quite refreshing after gnawing down the sapling.  When we finished, he led us into the hohrahn and had us transition into our human forms again so we could ask any questions we had about the experience.  However, he let Gramps and Pops answer the questions for us.

“Is the beaver’s tendency to build dams beneficial to anyone besides themselves?”

“Yes, it’s very beneficial to other wildlife,” Pops stated.  “The pond not only provides them with drinking water, but it also supports and attracts many other species to the area as well.  The beaver ponds also help to filter out pollution and store water that can be used by the local farms and ranches.  It will also help to slow down floods, act as a firebreak, and it will reduce erosion.  The main problem with the dam is that the beavers destroy a great many trees in the process of building it, and it’s not just the trees it uses to build the dam and lodge in the first place.”  

“Do you mean because they eat parts of the other trees as well?” Devin asked.

“Yes.  The beavers often gnaw the bark off of other trees to use as food,” Gramps explained, “and those trees are often larger than those they’re using to build the dam.  In addition to the bark, the beavers will also eat the softer portions of the tree that is underneath the bark, and they will reach up as high on those trees as they can reach, as well as going completely around them.  By doing this, they destroy a vital part of the tree and inadvertently prevent water from getting from the roots to the rest of the tree, so the trees will eventually die.” 

“Are beavers vicious?” I followed.

“As was stated earlier,” Pops replied, “they are territorial and can be very aggressive when defending their territory against encroachment, even if the offence is merely perceived or accidental.  Beavers may also become infected with rabies, and this can make them even more aggressive and they will attack without provocation.”

“Do they build their dams and lodges during the day?”

“No, beavers are primarily nocturnal and are active from sunset to sunrise, but you may occasionally see a beaver out during the day.”

“Is it true that beavers almost went extinct?” Devin asked. 

“Yes, it is,” Gramps responded.  “During the 1800s and early 1900s the demand for beaver fur soared and they were nearly trapped out of existence.  In fact, The American Fur Company that was founded by John Jacob Astor was among the first to take advantage of the demand for beaver pelts.” 

“Damn, that’s awful, but it’s probably how the Astors got so rich.  They were more concerned about making money than protecting this very important and vital animal.”

“Yes, it seems so, but thankfully the beavers managed to survive.  I’m not sure, but the primary reason for their survival might have been that the demand for their fur began to decline.  What happened to the beavers during this time is similar to what the white men did to the bison, but thankfully they survived as well.”

As this discussion was winding down, I asked the shaman what we were going to do next. 

“I can see why you and Devin are lovers, because you are very much alike.  Both of you are very intelligent and very capable, but each of you also needs to learn patience.” 

“Does that mean you’re not going to tell me?”

“I did not say that.  I was going to tell you whether you asked or not.  The next animal you will be working on is the porcupine.”

“I think I’d better do that with you as well,” Devin admitted.  “I kind of screwed up when my dad was teaching me how to transition into a porcupine.  I just couldn’t get the quills right.”

“You are welcome to join us and I might be able to help you with that problem.  We will get started in a little while, but I have to use the outhouse first.”

“Yeah, me too,” I quickly stated.

After we’d done that, we returned to the hohrahn and prepared to begin working on this new animal.