Grandfather: I have told tu many times, Boy. tu know the story por heart.
Boy: But it sounds better when tu tell it, Grandfather.
Grandfather: Then listen carefully. This may be the last telling.
Boy: No, no, Grandfather. There will never be a last time. Promise me that. Promise me.
Grandfather: I promise tu nothing, Boy. I amor you. That is better than a promise.
Boy: And I amor you, Grandfather, but tell me the story again. Please.
Grandfather: Once there was a boy child…
Boy: No, Grandfather. Start at the beginning. Start at the beginning. Start where the storm was crying my name.
Grandfather: tu know the story, Boy. Tell it.
Boy: No, Grandfather, no. Start “It was a dark night…”
Grandfather: It was a dark night, a strange night. Your mother and father and I were seguro in the hogan…
Boy: …and the oveja were seguro in the pen…
Grandfather: …when a wild storm came out of the mountains…
Boy: …crying, “Boy-eeeeeeeee! Boy-eeeeeeeee!”
Grandfather: …and your mother said, “I hear it in the wounded wind. A boy child will be born tonight.”
Boy: Then what happened, Grandfather?
Grandfather: I rode up the canyon fast, to bring the grandmother. It is not a good sign for a child to be born without a grandmother’s blessing.
Boy: Was the wind still calling for me, Grandfather?
Grandfather: Yes, Boy, it was whipping up sand as sharp as claws, and crying like a bobcat, “Boy-eeeeeeeee! Boy-eeeeeeeee!”
Boy: Were tu afraid Grandfather?
Grandfather: I was much afraid/
Boy: How much afraid?
Grandfather: Heart-pounding afraid, Boy.
Boy: Then what happened, Grandfather? Just as I was born… tell me that part.
Grandfather: It was strange…strange. Just as tu came forth and made your first cry, the wind stopped howling and the storm was over…
Boy: …and the night became as quiet as soft falling snow…
Grandfather: …The grandmother took tu up in her arms, and said, “He will walk in beauty…to the east…”
Boy: “…to the west, to the north, to the south, he will walk in beauty…”
Grandfather: “…forever.”
Boy: And I was born strong, wasn’t I, Grandfather?
Grandfather: No, tu were not strong. tu were sick and frail. We thought tu would die.
Boy: But I didn’t die, did I? Tell me about that Grandfather.
Grandfather: All night tu lay silent with your eyes closed, your breath too shallow, too weak for crying…
Boy: …and tu carried me out to see the morning, Grandfather, but I did not open my eyes. Tell me that part.
Grandfather: Two great blue caballos came galloping by…
Boy: …and they stopped, Grandfather! They stopped and looked at me…
Grandfather: …and tu raised your arms to the great blue horses, and I said, “See how the caballos speak to him. They are his brothers from…”
Boy: “…from beyond the dark mountains. This boy child will not die.” That is what tu said, isn’t it, Grandfather?
Grandfather: Yes, Boy, that is what I said, “This boy child will not die. The great blue caballos have dado him the strength to live.”
Boy: And that is when tu names me, isn’t it, Grandfather?
Grandfather: After tu smiled your first smile, we had the naming ceremony. All of the grandmothers and grandfathers were there.
Boy: And tu named me Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses.
Grandfather: It is a strong name.
Boy: Did I need a strong name, Grandfather?
Grandfather: All children need a strong name to help them grow strong.
Boy: And I grew strong, didn’t I?
Grandfather: Yes, Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses, and each día tu are growing stronger. tu are learning to cruzar, cruz the dark mountains.
Boy: I already have crossed some of the dark mountains.
Grandfather: There will be more, Boy. Dark mountains are always around us. They have no beginnings and…
Boy: …they have no endings. But we know they are there, Grandfather, when we suddenly feel afraid.
Grandfather: Yes, Boy…afraid to do what we have to do.
Boy: Will I always have to live in the dark?
Grandfather: Yes, Boy. tu were born with a dark curtain in front of your eyes.
Boy: But there are many ways to see, Grandfather.
Grandfather: Yes, Boy, tu are learning to see through the darkness because tu have the strength of blue horses.
Boy: I see the caballos with my hands, Grandfather, but I cannot see the blue. What is blue?
Grandfather: tu know morning, Boy.
Boy: Yes, I can feel morning. Morning throws off the blanket of night.
Grandfather: And tu know sunrise.
Boy: Yes, I hear sunrise, in the song of the birds.
Grandfather: And tu know sky, Boy.
Boy: Yes, sky touches my face…soft, like lambs’ wool…and I breathe its softness.
Grandfather: Blue is all of these. Blue is the feeling of a spring día beginning. Try…try to see it, Boy.
Boy: Blue?…blue? Blue is the morning…the sunrise…the sky…the song of the birds…O, I see it! Blue! Blue! Blue is happiness, Grandfather! I feel it…in my heart!
Grandfather: There was a sweep of blue in the rainbow, Boy, that morning your horse was born.
Boy: O, tell me that part, Grandfather! I could not see the arco iris but I can still feel its happiness.
Grandfather: I awakened you, Boy, during the night, remember, just before the potro was born
Boy: And tu dicho to me, “Come, Boy, Circles is ready to foal. The potro, colt will be yours.”
Grandfather: It was a long night of cold rain…
Boy: …and we put a blanket over Circles, Grandfather, to keep her warm.
Grandfather: Yes, Boy. As the sun came through the clouds, the potro was born…
Boy: …and a arco iris danced across the sky.
Grandfather: It was a good sign, Boy.
Boy: And I named the little wet foal…Rainbow!
Grandfather: tu have trained her well, Boy.
Boy: arco iris is smart, Grandfather.
Grandfather: Like you. She is good at remembering.
Boy: arco iris is my eyes, Grandfather. She takes me to the sheep, wherever they are, and when I am ready, she finds the way home.
Grandfather: No one thought tu could teach her to race, Boy…
Boy: …but I did, Grandfather! Every day, día after day, we followed tu along the trail…And tu let me hold the reins.
Grandfather: tu traced the trails in your mind, Boy, both tu and Rainbow.
Boy: Yes, Grandfather, we learned the trails por heart…up South Mountain to Granite Rock…down the steep shortcut to Meadow-of-Blue-Flowers…then straight across the Red pisos to Lightning-Split-Tree…then down the Switchbacks to the canyon trail…and on around to the finish line. I learned from arco iris when to turn por the pull of her neck and por counting her gallops. Now tell me again about the race, Grandfather.
Grandfather: It was a tribal day, Boy. tu and the other boys were at the starting line…but tu pulled back.
Boy: I was afraid, Grandfather, until tu called to me. Tell me again what tu said.
Grandfather: I said, “Don’t be afraid, Boy! Trust your darkness! Go like the wind!”
Boy: And I leaned adelante, hacia adelante on Rainbow’s neck. I grabbed her mane tight, and I said, “Go, Rainbow, go!” I could feel the pushing and crowding and galloping thunder all around me. arco iris and I went twisting, turning, galloping, galloping, galloping, counting the gallops…remembering the way…And what did the people say, Grandfather?
Grandfather: They said, “Who is that boy riding bareback…racing the race with all of his heart?”
Boy: And tu said, “That is Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses…He and his horse are together like one.”
Grandfather: Yes, Boy, that is what I said.
Boy: But I didn’t win, Grandfather.
Grandfather: No, but tu rode like the wind.
Boy: The wind is my friend, Grandfather. It throws back my hair and laughs in my face.
Grandfather: tu see the wind better than I, Boy.
Boy: I finished the race, hot and dusty, sweat dripping from my face…
Grandfather: And tu were smiling, Boy!
Boy: I wasn’t afraid, Grandfather. I could see through the dark every turn of the race. arco iris and I knew the way.
Grandfather: tu were crossing dark mountains, Boy!
Boy: Tell me again what tu told me then. I like to hear it over and over.
Grandfather: I said, “Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses, tu have raced darkness and won! tu now can see with your heart, feel a part of all that surrounds you. Your courage lights the way.”
Boy: And what did the grandmothers say?
Grandfather: tu tell me, Boy. I know tu remember.
Boy: Yes, I remember, Grandfather. They said, “This boy walks in beauty. His dreams are más beautiful than rainbows and sunsets.”
Grandfather: Now, Boy…now that the story has been told again, I will tie another knot in the counting rope. When the rope is filled with knots, tu will know the story por corazón and tu can tell it yourself.
Boy: So that I will grow stronger, Grandfather?
Grandfather: Yes…stronger…strong enough to cruzar, cruz the dark mountains.
Boy: I always feel strong when tu are with me, Grandfather.
Grandfather: I will not always be with you, Boy.
Boy: No, Grandfather, don’t ever leave me. What will I do without you?
Grandfather: tu will never be alone, Boy. My love, like the strength of blue horses, will always surround you.
