The Warrior and the Eagle

The Warrior and the Eagle
A story told by the Lenni Lenape retold by Kristin Raphaela Otti 

A long time ago, the Lenni Lenape had come to believe, that if you could just pluck a feather from the tail of an eagle by being cunning and swift, your heart would not just only be filled with never-wavering courage, but good fortune would always be your faithful companion. 
 
One day, there was a young hunter and warrior, who was known for his recklessness and ambition. He wanted to pluck eagle feathers for a headdress, showing his prowess. He went out looking for the highest mountain, he could find in the lands, for surely, only the most beautiful and strongest eagles would call the snowy mountain tops their home. On his way to the mountain top, he took the life of a large wolf, whose liver he wanted to use to bait the eagles. Without care or honoring the life, he had just taken, he left the remains of the wolf at the wayside and followed his path to the mountain top.
 
As soon as he had placed the wolf liver on a sunlit rock, an eagle dove out of the sky in an attempt to grab the fresh morsel. The young warrior screamed in anger and drove the eagle away, for he deemed it too small and its feathers not large enough. All day, he screamed and shouted, driving away one eagle after the other, for their plumage did not satisfy him.
 
When the sun was about to set, he heard the loud flapping of wings and looked up. A giant eagle, much taller than any man, was flying straight at him. Its feathers were bloodred. Instead of grabbing the meat, the eagle seized the young warrior with its sharp talons and carried him away to a high cliff. The young man soon realized that he would not be able to escape, unless he decided to jump down and cause his own demise.
 
There was a large eyrie with four young eagles on the cliff. The giant bloodred eagle spoke, “I am the Chief of the Eagles and I have been watching you from the skies far above. I asked my warriors to gift a feather to you, but you were not satisfied with the feathers of the eagles, who agreed to bestow their gifts upon you. Your greed has brought you here. You will stay atop this cliff and care for my young, until they have grown large enough to carry you back to where I picked you up. Perhaps by then, you will have learned to honor the gifts given to you.” The Chief of the Eagles took off.

​So it happened, that the ambitious warrior could do nothing else but stay and watch over the young eagles. After some time, his mind calmed down and his heart opened up. He did so well, that the young eagles began to call him friend and speak to him in a loving way. The ancient eagle would fly by from time to time and bring them a deer or other game in its talons, feeding them.
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"White Harpy Eagle", white pastels, Kristin Raphaela Otti (2023)

“I am the Chief of the Eagles and I have been watching you from the skies far above. I asked my warriors to gift a feather to you, but you were not satisfied with the feathers of the eagles, who agreed to bestow their gifts upon you. Your greed has brought you here. You will stay atop this cliff and care for my young, until they have grown large enough to carry you back to where I picked you up. Perhaps by then, you will have learned to honor the gifts given to you.” 

 
The young warrior stayed for many days and finally the young eagles learned how to fly and would stay away from the eyrie and the cliff all day. He was left to his own thoughts, but instead of listening to his mind wondering if the ancient one would honor his word, he listened to the song of his heart, watching the young eagles grow into magnificent birds.  When the giant bloodred eagle returned the next time, it said, “My grandchildren have grown strong enough, to carry you home, for you have taken good care of them. I will fly along with you to see, that you reach your lands safe and sound.” The young eagles seized the young man with their talons and carried him back to the mountain top, where the ancient one had seized him. 
 
When the young warrior made his way down the mountain, he found some eagle feathers lying on his path. He knelt down and gladly accepted the gift given to him. He no longer felt the need to take away anything from another living being by force, but was happy to open his heart to all the gifts given to him without condition by the world around him.