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Dancing Cloud and the Buffalo

by Katrina

There once lived a little boy named Dancing Cloud.  He lived with his mom, Sunshine, in a beautiful valley next to beautiful mountains and beautiful plains.  They were very poor, but generous and kind.  One day, Dancing Cloud went hunting for buffalo.  Dancing Cloud came upon a plump buffalo with tons of brown, silky fur.

“My mother shall be proud to have such fine fur!” he said.  He wanted to give her a warm, fur coat because soon the winter snows would be coming, and he didn’t want his mother to be cold.

Dancing cloud went under the great oak tree to hunt his prey.  He took an arrow out of his quiver and put it in the bow.  He pulled back the arrow and aimed at the buffalo.  When he was ready to kill the buffalo, the buffalo turned and saw him.  Dancing Cloud looked into the buffalo’s eyes and didn’t have the heart to kill him.  The buffalo looked too kind and loving.  He went to the buffalo and started petting him, instead.

“Dancing Cloud, you show a good heart,” said the buffalo.  “Come here tomorrow and there will be a teepee made out of gold.”

Dancing Cloud was so happy he ran home and told Sunshine.  The next day, Dancing Cloud went back to meet the buffalo but the buffalo was not there.  Instead, there was a golden teepee, just as the buffalo had promised.  So Dancing Cloud got his treasure and bought many great things, including a nice, warm coat for his mother.

When the story got around the village, a greedy man wanted to be rich, too.  So he did what Dancing Cloud had done and went to speak to the buffalo.  This time, though, the buffalo said, “You are a rotten, greedy, selfish man.  Tomorrow, you won’t be a man.  You will be a buffalo!”  The greedy man stomped back to the village, and the next day he turned into a buffalo.

Dancing Cloud remained a kind, loving person.  But the greedy man is cursed forever as a buffalo because of his cruel, selfish heart.

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