Wolf, Fox, & Hawk

Both the Jackfish and his sister grew tall and their shadows grew long, and while she was taught by the Sorceress, he learned all he could from the world of men. Jackfish Crow traveled far from the forest and saw all the great cities men had built. He journeyed to all the places where the birds flew and learned many more stories. He learned of the gods and the night, and of the tallest mountain in the world, and how the ocean dreamed. Some of the stories were those same stories he had told the birds years before, echoed back across the years, and others were new stories carried from some other distant shore. But there came a time when he knew he had heard enough stories and he had seen enough cities, for although a man may journey forever without ever learning all stories or seeing all cities, it is not necessary that any man hear every story or see every city.

Jackfish Crow returned to the forest with only the clothes on his back, just as he had left it many years before, but now he was determined to find his sister. “There is some payment I owe in blood,” he thought, “so I must find her and settle all my debts.”

Because he knew so many of the forest’s secrets, the Jackfish knew the way to the creek which never saw sunlight, and he knew of the eagle which guarded the door, and the of lioness, and the island. He considered how he might make his way past the eagle, and the lioness, and the Sorceress herself, and it seemed to him that he would be better off going to his sister directly. He had just come to this decision when he found himself walking next to an old grey wolf. He bowed to the wolf and said, “Greetings good sir wolf, and I hope you are well. If it is yours to give, I have a favor I would beg.”

The wolf had met few men who gave him such proper courtesy, and so he was agreeable. “Very well, I shall hear what you ask, and then we shall see what bargain we may strike.”

“My thanks,” said the Jackfish. “Long ago, before I could walk or speak, my sister was taken from me by the Sorceress. I have seen much of the world and learned many stories, but now I seek my only family. The wolves, I know, see much of the world, for they often speak with Lady Night, and her eye watches over all the world. The favor I would ask of you is to tell me if you know of her, if you have seen her, and if you may show me where to find her.”

The wolf considered what the Jackfish had asked and replied, “I may be of some help to you, but I am also hungry. It might be easier to eat you alive.”

“Well then,” said the Jackfish, “I will feed you for three days, and then you may give me what help you wish. Have we a bargain?”

And so they had.

On the first day, Jackfish Crow cut off the first joint of his second finger, and fed this to the wolf. They walked through the forest, but the wolf never saw the Jackfish eat, nor he was hungry for the entire day. At the end of the first day, the Jackfish asked the wolf what he knew, and the wolf said, “I have seen your sister in these woods.” This was good enough for the Jackfish. On the second day, he fed the wolf the second joint of his second finger. Once again, the wolf needed nothing more to eat for the entire day. He then said to the Jackfish, “Tomorrow I will take you to the place where I have seen your sister.” This satisfied the Jackfish again, so he fed the wolf the last joint of his second finger.

The wolf took him to a place in the forest far from the creek which never saw the light. The branches of all the trees barely touched, and the sun shone brightly through them all, casting leopard spots on the ground. “I have seen a lioness here who walks as you do, and sometimes I see her with another lioness. Sometimes I have seen a woman, and her hair is haystack yellow like yours, and she moves the same as well. I do not know what paths they take which lead to this grove, but we wolves have no interest in the affairs of lions.”

Jackfish Crow bowed to the wolf and thanked him for his help. The wolf said, “You have kept your word, and your honesty does you credit. I have no wisdom to give you if you wish to take your sister from the Sorceress. But you have given me your finger, so in return, I will give you the strength known to all wolves. May it serve you well.” Speaking thus, the wolf vanished into the woods.

As the wolf had promised, there were the tracks of a lion all throughout the clearing. The Jackfish followed the tracks, as he still knew all the paths in the woods, and followed the two lionesses at play, and chased them through the woods until the tracks were no more. Then, of the tracks he found no trace, of any kind, nor in any place. He looked carefully, but he had missed nothing. The tracks ended with nothing, and there was nothing to say from whence the lionesses came, or to whither they would go. He found places where the tracks of a lioness became the footprints of a woman, but strange as these tracks were, he still could not discover from them where she might come or go from the forest.

As he searched, a fox began to follow him. The fox, smiling his sly smile, watched the Jackfish follow the tracks to and fro. When no small amount of time had passed and the sun was low in the sky, Jackfish Crow sat upon a log and said, “Greetings, good sir fox. I trust this evening finds you in good spirits. You seem to have no small interest in my search and, I wonder, might I beg a favor from you?”

The fox seemed quite amused to be addressed in such a way, but he did not find it disagreeable. “Ask if you wish, and we shall see what sort of bargain we may make.”

“My thanks,” said the Jackfish. “Long ago, before I knew of songs or stories, I was separated from my sister by the Sorceress. I have seen much of the world, and learned many stories, and now I seek my only family. Fox, I know you and your kin. You are clever by far, and you know the secrets which other creatures of the forests wish to hide. The favor I would ask of you is to tell me if you know where my sister may be, if you have seen her, and if you may show me where to find her.”

The fox considered what the Jackfish had asked and replied, “I may be of some help to you, but I am also hungry. Why should I not, instead, go about my way and fill my belly?”

“Well then,” said the Jackfish, “I will feed you for three days, and then you may give me what help you have to offer. Have we a bargain?”

And so they had.

On the first day, Jackfish Crow cut off the first joint of his third finger. He fed this to the fox, and the fox led him through the forest, away from the tracks of the lion. The fox never saw the Jackfish eat, and nor he was hungry for the entire day. At the end of the first day, the Jackfish asked the fox what he knew, and the fox said, “I know where your sister lives, and I have seen her come and go.” This was more than the Jackfish had dared hope to find and so, on the second day, he fed the fox the second joint of his third finger. Again the fox needed nothing more to eat for the entire day, and he said to the Jackfish, “Tomorrow we shall see where your sister lives, and I will tell you how she comes and goes.” This satisfied the Jackfish again and so he fed the fox the last joint of his third finger.

The fox took the Jackfish to a small, bright clearing at the base of the mountain, and they beheld from there a great castle, built into the side of the mountain like a cliff. “There is where you will find your sister,” said the fox. “She knows the secrets of the doors, and therefore she comes and goes as she pleases. However, we foxes are not without secrets of our own. We have spoken to the doors, and know the one you seek is the one who walks between them with their secrets.”

Jackfish Crow bowed eloquently and thanked the fox for all his help. The clever animal said, “You have kept your word, and you have besides proved to be a most amusing and clever companion. Though you may be on a fool’s errand, I wish you well, and will lend you the cunning known to all foxes. Perhaps you too will learn the secrets of the doors, one day.” And with those words, the fox vanished into the woods.

The Jackfish did not doubt the fox’s word, but although he spent many days outside the castle, watching the birds circle and the clouds pass overhead, he saw no one entering or leaving the castle, and if anyone had appeared at a window, she was too far away for him to see. Sometimes he thought, perhaps, he heard the faintest echoes of laughter from the castle, but he could not tell. The Jackfish waited for three days and three nights, until on the fourth day, a hawk flew low enough for him to call in the hawk’s own language.

“Many pardons, fair Hawk, but I wonder if I might beg the favor of your company for a moment. If this is agreeable to you, I wonder if I may entreat yet one favor more.”

The hawk circled around once, twice, and thrice again, quite surprised that someone would address her in the language of the hawks. But his manner was agreeable, so she landed upon a nearby rock and said, “Ask what you will, and I shall do what I am able.”

“My thanks,” said the Jackfish. “Long ago, before I learned all the languages of the birds, I lost my sister. Now I have found her, but she is guarded by the Sorceress. Year upon year, I have spoken story after story, and henceforth seek to finish my own. It is well known that not even the fall of a sunbeam is missed by the eyes of the hawk, and still less escapes her ears. The favor I would ask of you is to tell me if you can see my sister in the castle, and if you may learn for me any of the secrets of the doors, so I might find her.”

The hawk contemplated this request and replied, “I can do all these things for you, but it is no small task. What am I to do, from one day to the next, when I must eat and drink? A hawk cannot live on promises and the empty sky.”

“That is nothing at all,” said the Jackfish, “I will feed you for three days, and then you may give me what help you wish. Have we a bargain?”

And so they had.

On the first day, Jackfish Crow cut off the first joint of his fourth finger. He fed this to the hawk, and she flew up to the heights of the castle and circled round it. Her eyes searched amongst the windows and nothing within escaped their gaze. She flew the whole day, and never once felt hunger or thirst. The hawk returned to the Jackfish and said, “I have seen your sister and all her attendants in the castle. Tomorrow I will see through which doors she passes.”

The Jackfish was greatly pleased to hear this from her, and on the second day he fed her the second joint of his fourth finger. She flew up to the heights of the castle and pass over every hewn stone until she found a carelessly opened window. The hawk found her way inside, and spent all day perched in the high shadows of the castle, whilst her keen eyes remembered each door the Jackfish’s sister used. Never once did she feel hunger or thirst, and when she returned to the Jackfish, as the sun slipped behind the cloak of lady Night, she said, “I have seen the doors, and tomorrow I will learn their secrets.”

The Jackfish was happy enough to hear this, therefore he fed the hawk the last joint of his fourth finger on the third day, and she flew back to the heights of the castle. Finding her way inside once again, she hid in the shadows by the ceiling and listened closely as the Jackfish’s sister went through all the different doors. Though she did not speak, the hawk’s hearing was so keen that she heard even the secrets that went unspoken. Thereupon she returned to the Jackfish, telling him all the secrets of the castle’s doors, and thus he knew where the doors were hidden in the forest. “You have been true to your word, and your dedication does you credit. Though I have not the eyes to see what shall come of this, I shall give you my sight, so that you may see your way more clearly.” And so saying, the hawk took to the sky and was gone.