What's for Dinner by Marvin Wilson

Swift Wolf has been sitting for two days and one night now, praying. Praying to the Grandfathers and the Spirit of the Deer. His tribe needs meat. He is ravenous with hunger and extremely thirsty, having fasted all this time. It's the Way of the Hunt. He must obey the laws of the Grandfathers and the spirits in order for the hunt to be successful, so that his people may eat and receive good energy and blessings from the food. He sits. Still. Silent.

He hears a rustling, and suddenly the deer presents itself to him. Eye to eye in full view, a short arrow's thrust away in the clearing.

Swift Wolf stands, maintaining eye contact with the deer. Neither of them are afraid, both of them know that what is to happen now is The Way. Swift Wolf puts an arrow in his bow, pulls back the string and saying a prayer of thanks lets the arrow fly. The aim is perfect, penetrating the deer's heart and sending it to the ground in the throes of certain and swift death.

Swift Wolf runs up to the deer, still praying, pulls out his knife and slits the deer's throat to end its life and pain as fast as possible. Blood gushes forth, but the parched Swift Wolf cannot drink yet. First he must pray.

He prays for the spirit of the deer. He prays that its spirit will be received well and be blessed in the afterlife, that its rebirth will be a fortuitous one, that it will be rejoined with its friends and family who have passed on from this world before it. And he prays his thanks, his gratitude to the Grandfathers and the Spirit of the Deer for allowing this transfer of life, this exchange of energy, this gift of food for his peoples' sustenance.

Then, and only then, after finishing an hour in worshipful, respectful and gratitude-giving prayer and meditation, he drinks of the life giving blood and cuts out the deer's heart and eats.
***
Cameron closed the book. Great story. What amazing connectedness, such enlightenment. Native Americans. So integrated with nature the way they lived their lives, the way they only took what was needed, and always lived in harmony with the universe. So debt free with their karma. Incredible.

Cameron's wife was standing in the sitting room doorway. "Time to eat, honey, dinner's on."

Great. I'm famished. Haven't eaten a thing since breakfast. What's for supper?"

"Steak."