When they discovered what had happened, the elders of the tribe were appalled. But they did not send out a party to bring them back as would be done today. Instead, they lit a special fire and gathered about it and began to sing.

Day and night they sang and Grey Wolf heard them in his sleep and in his waking hours. He knew they were calling him to return but he was defiant. The singing continued and, on the second day, they came to the sea and Grey Wolf looked out across it to the land on the far side. He boasted to Red Fox that the elders could not reach them there. He made a raft and Red Fox wove a sail from willow and strong grass. She collected seeds and ground them into flour to make bread for their journey. Grey Wolf found a clear stream and filled the skin bags they had brought with them.

At dusk they set sail. Grey Wolf laughed when he saw how fast they were going and sang a song about himself and Red Fox. But, when sleep overcame him, he heard the elders again and he could still hear them when he awoke the next day. The singing did not cease and he lay on the raft and felt a fever come over him. On and on they sailed but he could not escape the singing. It forced itself upon him and he began to shout and scream that he would throw himself overboard to get away from it. And all the time Red Fox tried to quieten his raving mind.

On the third day they reached this island. Red Fox said they could go no further and she took a paddle and steered the raft onto the shore where you made your landing. The young lovers climbed the hillside then went a little further to the headland where the cliff falls away to the waters far below. On the right there is a whirlpool which is called the Mouth of Morpeth. On the left is another whirlpool. They went and stood above it and looked down.

It seemed that they had gone as far as possible. They could think of no way to live together and they couldn't bear to live apart. So they embraced and stepped out over the cliff and jumped into the swirling waters below. To this day the place is known as Red Fox's Leap.'

'Look.' The apparition pointed to a pair of bright stars. 'We call them Red Fox and Grey Wolf. The story tells how they did not die but rose into the heavens. As I have said, you must not listen to these stories as children would, believing every word. It is the underlying message that matters and the message is this: there is always a way of escape for those who are united by the bonds of true love. They do not go up into the sky ... they journey to another realm.'




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