Using every talent and skill of the Wood Cow traditions, Breister and Helga listened for the qualities of the wood being brought to them. They were greatly encouraged. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a chorus of willing woods,” Helga commented joyfully. “It’s as if the entire pile of wood that Burwell and Bwellina has gathered is saying, “Choose me! Use me! I want to be a part of this ladder!”
“Yes,” Breister replied, as he tied stout knots to lash the ladder securely together. “Some of the wood we have is not very pretty and would be discarded by most carpenters. But if the wood is willing, it is the strongest of all, no matter what it looks like.” Wishing to avoid damage to the LuteWoo, and leave no debris behind, Breister and Helga used only rough wood and lashings in their construction. All manner of sizes and shapes were tied together in an amazingly strong, yet very unusual, structure.
The remarkable Wood Cow skills were revealed in a most improbable ladder that grew in length and strength throughout the night. Working in almost complete darkness, Helga stopped repeatedly to play some notes on the pronghorn flute to help her and Breister ‘see’ their surroundings well enough to carry on their work. She wished that she had been a better student when Miss Note was trying to teach her to play so many years ago. “If only I had paid better attention,” Helga thought ruefully. “But, at least I memorized the ‘sounding notes’—so I can use the flute tonight to help us see!” She silently promised herself that, if she ever got the chance to take flute lessons again, she would be more attentive. “If Edna Note could see me now, what would she think!” Helga chuckled.
“I begin to see the ways of the Wood Cows,” JanWoo-Corriboo reflected as she went up and down the rope. “Listening with respect is everything. They listen to the wood. They listen to the rocks. And then these humble materials arise to help them! It’s amazing! Who would have believed it! The actual carpentry work they do all depends on listening well. If they did not have these ways, this project could not be done. Most creatures would look at what they were doing here tonight and say it was impossible. Yet, they are doing it!” And as she climbed and reflected, the song grew louder and louder in her heart.
A family is
a circle of friends.
Unbroken,
let the circle be.
WooPeace Airlift
The afternoon light was filtering into the LuteWoo when WooZan’s boat paddled out of the darkness. As her boat came to the stone bank, she looked with dismay on an amazing sight. Hundreds of WooSheep filled the rocky ledges of the LuteWoo, and a steady stream of Otters, Sheep, Geese, Foxes, and other creatures were still descending the long ladder Breister and Helga had constructed.
So filled with creatures was the LuteWoo, that WooZan found nowhere to land her boat. Paddling her boat as close to the bank as possible, she called for ‘the rebel Wood Cows’ to come to her.
Helga and Breister stepped through the crowd and addressed WooZan. “You see the creatures that care about creatures in the WooPeace,” Helga said. “These are not illusions. They are not images of some perfect picture in your mind. These are real creatures that love and care for real creatures in the WooPeace. That is all they want.”
WooZan was livid with anger. She replied with cold fury. “I had hoped you would depart in the night. But you have chosen to remain. The Council of Inquiry has handed down its verdict. You will be conducted—” She stopped speaking abruptly; her eyes fixed on the ladder.
Slowly, carefully, rung-by-rung, a very elderly, wrinkled Sheep was descending. She was looking toward WooZan with kindly eyes. Helga, who had experienced long separation from her parents also could never mistake the meaning of the look. “That is WooZan’s mother,” Helga breathed, “or I do not know my own feelings.” Breister nodded.
WooZan, who had been sitting stiffly in her boat, plunged over the side and half-splashed, half-waded, to the rocky bank. She clambered out of the water and pushed her way through the crowd. The crowd parted to let her pass, staring in astonishment. WooZan reached the base of the ladder just in time to help her mother take the last steps. Gently and with genuine love, WooZan embraced the aged Sheep.
The crowds of WooSheep fell into silence, knowing that they were in the presence of a blessed event. Some minutes passed, as WooZan and her mother embraced and tears flowed freely from both.