CINDERSUE part 1 of 4

Cindersue
An Appalachian fairytale
Once upon a time, deep in the Smokey mountains of Appalachian country, lived a poor girl named Cindy sueann Maryjane. Folks called her Cindersue fer short, becus like most all the mountain people, she had been given three first names at the time she was born. She was a skinny but healthy tanned mountain girl, and she could look purdy if she was cleaned up some. Just turned twelve and never set foot off the mountain she called home.
Now Cindersue lived with her widowed mother and several scraggly dogs and cats in a tiny cabin high in the mountains. Her father fell a victim to the coal mines when Cindersue was just a little baby. She didn't really think about being poor because poor was all she had ever known.
It always seemed to Cindersue that her mamma and her managed to eat at least once a day, and it wasn't but a half a mile to the creek where she hauled their water. She had neighbors as close as two miles , which by the way, was considered a close neighbor in the mountains. The woods were full of deer , black bear and jack rabbits to kill and eat in the winter time,and they always kept a few raggedy chickens for eggs, so Cindersue didn't feel that poor.
Even though living in the mountains was hard sometimes, Cindersue learned many things about the plants flowers and trees that shared her home. She learned early on to respect nature in all ways. She and her grandmother Cora had spent many hours in the deep woods gathering the makings for her familys home remedys. Without a real doctor for miles and little money to go to a hospitial, she learned how mountain people did thier own doctoring. Once when she was only four years old she stepped on a long rusty nail while fetching chicken feed from the old barn, She had cried and cried as her mother cleaned the wound and even screamed some when her granny poured coal oil on the wound and wrapped it in a white rag. There was some talk amoungsts the grown ups, about jaw freezing the first few days while she nursed her sore foot, but within a week she was back running barefoot again. She didnt even have a scar in the tender part of her foot where the old nail had went in.
Cindersue knew that if she got a belly ache the best way to get it healed was to chew the bitter bark of the yellow pine tree, it cured her every time. Blackberry tonic was taken for headaches in children and adults, but she understood the jug of strong remedy her momma kept over the fireplace was only for adults and not just when they were sick. That thought always made her giggle. Many a time Cindrsue had peeked from under her quilts on a cold winter night to see her momma and grandmother take a few sips from the jug and spend the rest of the night singing softly and smiling while they mended clothes or talked of old times on the mountain. She thought of it as happy juice since whoever she saw take a sip almost always got happier in a minute or two. The only time that jug ever left its place on the fireboard was when momma heard the Cherokees comming over the hill a hooting like crazy , always stopping to ask if they needed any fresh rabbit meat or whatever kill they had made that day. These Indians were Cherokee and not like the wild Indians Cindersue head about from her grandmothers childhood. These people were the great great grand children of the old ones who had been forced to leave the mountains in the big Indian removal many years ago. Cindersue had heard some of the old ones had hidden in the woods a long time after thier relitives had been forced to leave. They finially felt safe enougth to built cabins again and get on with living. Some had married white mountain folks too. They lived much as Cindersue and her family and friends did except sometimes late at night you could hear far away drum beats and shouts . Cindersues momma told her she reconed the Cherokee were still hurting from losing so many family members in the removal, and still had enough free spirit in them to play drums and hollar some. Cindersue loved to hear them late on a foggy night . She liked to think they were dressed all in feathers and carrying bows and arrows dancing in a cirlce round a big old fire. But she knew now days the only way she could tell an Indian from her self was the really dark hair most of them had and the silent ways they seemed to take on even when visiting . The cheroke were thier friends and helped them along after her daddy had died , but momma said she just felt safer not letting the indian men see the jug if they happened to come in for a bite to eat. Cindersue didnt understand why, but if her momma heard them comming she would tell Cindersue " You run put the jug in the outhouse child" and so Cindersue would. Other times it staied on the mantle.
Cindersue and her momma always shared food they had with the cherokee who came by the cabin. As did the Indians did with them. Many times after her daddy died, her and momma would have gone without any meat at all if her uncle was off working up north had it had not been for the kindness of thier indian friends.
Cindersue had eaten squrrill, rabbit, black bear, raccoon, deer, dove, and crow. Many kinds of fish and she would even eat opossom if she didnt happen to see it before her momma cut off its tail. Seeing the possoms bald ugly tail made Cindersue sad after her momma told her that once along time ago the possom had the most besutiful tail of all the animals . The Possum's tail was covered in long silky hair, and he would show it off when the Animal People met in council. Momma said Possum would always hold his tail up so all the animals could see, and shout "Can you see my tail, ."Isn't it the finest tail you have seen?. Surely it no animal's tail is more beautiful than mine." Momma told her He had bragged so much about his tail that the other animals got tired of it, and so Rabbit decided to step in and do something about it. Rabbit was the one who called the council meetings, because he was the the messenger for all the animals. He went to Possum's house ond night and told him,"There is going to be a big meeting, my friend," Bear, our chief wants you to sit by him next meeting and to speak first, because you have such a beautiful tail." Possum was flattered so he grinned really big and told rabbit, "It is true what you said.I will be the first one to speak in council because i do have the best tail of anyone" Then Rabbit took another long look at Possum's tail. "Your tail is dirty, let me clean it, so your will look nice for the meeting. I have some medicine that will make it look more beautiful." Well momma told her possom was so proud and vain he didnt blink his eye before he told rabbit, "Yes, that is a wonderful idea, my friend," I do want all the animals to admire my tail at council." So Rabbit mixed his medicine up. Medicine strong enough to loosen all the hair on Possum's tail. As Rabbit put the medicine on Possum's tail, he wraped it in black snake skin. He told possom to keep on until the next day when he got ready to speak, so everyone will see it as it should be seen." Possum did as Rabbit said do. He kept the snake skin wraped tightly around his tail all though the night." At the council meeting the next day Possum sat next to Chief Bear . When the meeting started, Possum stood up, and while walking back and forth, he swung his tail proudly, with the snake skin still attached. All the animals were watching Possum very closely. The thought of his beautiful tail made Possum grin big. As Possum held up his tail, and he began to take off the snake skin, he spoke. "I have chosen to start this council because of my tail. Look at my beautiful tail." As Possum took off the snake skin all the hair on his tail fell right off. His tail was naked and ugly! When he saw it, the smile on his face froze. All the animals were staring at him. Possum was so ashamed that he fell down and pretended to be dead. He stayed that way until all the animals had left. Momma told Cindersue thats why to this day when Possum feels threatned he plays dead and still has that foolish grin on his face. Possum has the ugliest tail of all animals because he was so vain. Being vain and proud wasn't a nice thing to be, neither was being a big old bragger,. but still Cindersue felt sorry for poor old possom and couldnt bear to eat him if she got reminded of his ugly tail.
In the summer time when they picked berries and fished a lot,She knew the best way to catch fish with her cane pole, was to find a nice wiggle worm and after puttin it on her hook give it a nice big spit like she was spittin tobacco . That made the fish bite better her granny always said. Cindersue also knew to tie a string soaked in coal oil round her wrist and one round her ankle when she went to the woods. That kept the chiggers, ticks and misquitoes off her so she wouldn't itch all night .. One time she left out without her strings and they bout ate her up. She pert near scratch the hide off her self before she got better.After that she always remembered her strings.
Cindersue knew to hide her mommas dish rags too if company came. If someone had warts on thier body they could steal your dishrags , take them home and bury them under the front porch. that way when they got company next time, the last one to leave would get the warts on them and the one who buried the dishrag's warts would disapear.
Cindersue learned that the crushed leaves of the touch me not flower worked as a relief for poison ivy rashes and irritation from stinging nettle. Learned to, That the Plantain weed was good for bee stings and mosquito bites, because it soothed itching and burning symptoms. Just chew on the leaves for a few seconds and press the wet leaves on the bites. The red clover that grew in the medow was prized by her momma for what she called her monthlies, but Cindersue didnt know what the monthlies were. Her momma promised to explain all about it one day.
If someone had a really bad headache or a bad cold her momma had some yarrow plant ready to sweat the cold away and ease the head ache. All these things Cindersue knew from living in the mountains and being taught so well by her momma and grandmother. Every plant had a story and so did every tree.
Cindersue loved the trees as much as she did the flowers . Cindersue remembered an old cherokee woman that came to the cabin with fresh ramp soup one winter night when her granny was very sick, sitting by the fire and telling her about the cedar trees. While her momma spoon fed her granny the warm soup, Cindersue sat at the feet of the old Indian grandmother and listened as she told the story. In a quiet voice she had said that a long long time ago when the Cherokee people were new upon the earth, they thought that life would be much better if there was never any night. They asked the Creator, The great Spirit, (that Cindersue understood to be what they called God), that it might be day all the time and that there would be no darkness. The Creator heard their voices and made the night go away and it was day all the time. Soon the forest was thick with heavy growth. It became difficult to walk and to find the path. The people toiled in the gardens many long hours trying to keep the weeds pulled from among the corn and other food plants. It got hot, very hot, and continued that way day after day. The people began to find it difficult to sleep and became short tempered and argued among themselves. When a few days had passed , they again praied to the Creater saying, "Please," 'we have made a mistake in asking that it be day all the time. Now we think that it should be night all the time." The creater loved his people and decided to make it night all the time as they had asked. Soon, the crops stopped growing and it became very cold. The people spent much of their time gathering wood for their fires. They could not see to hunt meat and with no crops growing, it was not long before the people were cold, weak, and very hungry. Many of the people soon died. The people who had not died once again called to the great Spirit "Help us Creator," they begged! "We have made a very terrible mistake. You had made the day and the night perfect, and as it should be. We ask that you forgive us and make the day and night as it was before. "Creator listened to the request of the people. The day and the night became as the people had asked, as it had been in the beginning. Each day was divided between light and darkness.The people thanked the Creator for their life and fire and food they had to eat. The Creator accepted the thanks of the people and was glad to see them smiling again. However, during the time of the long day of night, many of the people had died, and the Creator was sorry they had perished because of the night. The Creator placed their spirits in a newly created tree. This tree was named cedar tree. The old woman told Cindersue that was why she carried a small piece of cedar in the medicine bag around her neck. It was her Cherokee ancestors spirit in the tree and when she left the next morning she handed Cindersue a small piece of sweet smelling cedar .She told her to put it over the door to the cabin to keep evil spirits away. Just to be sure, Cindersue slipped it into a small crack over the door. somehow it helped her feel safe, She looked at trees alot differently after that night.
But to Cindersue the prettiest tree of all was the Jesue died for me trees that grew all over the mountain. they were called dogwoods and her own grandmother had told her thier story many times .Cindersue knew the story by heart. When she did her remembering now she could still hear her grandmothers voice saying " Child this here tree is special and dontyou forget it. It is special because At the time of Crucifixion of our sweet jesus, the dogwood had been the size of the oak and other forest trees. So firm and strong was the tree that it was chosen as the timber for the cross. To be used thus for such a cruel purpose greatly distressed the tree, and as Jesus was nailed upon it, sensed this.
In His gentle pity for all its sorrow and suffering Jesus said to the tree,
Because of your regret and pity for My suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a cross. Henceforth it shall be slender and bent and twisted and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross--two long and two short petals. And in the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints, brown with rust and stained with red, and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see it will remember." This always made cindersue tear up as her grandmother would add, "See that one younder? that pink dogwood is said to be blushing for shame because of the cruel purpose which it served in the Crucifixion. And that one younder, the one that looks like its weeping? That dogwood shows the sorrow. That red dogwood, is called the Cherokee, and has that color to remind us of the blood shed by our Savior" Yes, Cindersue loved the dog woods the very best of all.
When she was done with her chores everyday, she would run and play in the wild flower filled hills and hollers surrounding her home.Sometimes taking a cane pole and some wiggle worms to the creek beyond the wild flower meadow to fish.
One cool morning right before breakfast, Cindersue's mamma called to her from the front porch. "Cindersue , come here baby, mammas got something to talk to you about." " I'm coming" Cindersue yelled. She grabbed the daisies she had been picking for the kitchen table and ran into the house. "What is it mamma?" she said catching her breath from the run she just had. Reaching for the flowers she'd brought in, her mamma took a deep breath and said "Sit down child, I got a letter today I got to tell you about."
The worried look on her mamas face stopped Cindersue flat."Oh no mamma, is it bad news ?"
"Did uncle pop die or something?" "No no," her mamma said, "And iffin you'll calm down ill tell you, goodness girl your shaking like a three tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. it aint bad news at all. its a letter from your aunt Lucyball in Knoxville Tennessee. and it came airmail too. I picked it up from miss Sadiemae's house after she came back from the co-op yesterday. I was saving it to tell you about today.."
Whew, thought Cindersue, almost every letter that they had ever got was some kind of bad news,or something to put mamma in a poorly mood for days on end.
Cindersue wiped the beads of sweat off her upper lip and looked at her mamma.
"I'm sorry mamma I recon I'm still afeard of letters since we got the one about aunt Martha passin on." " Well this letter aint bad news Cindersue" her mama said "But it is something I think you will want to hear."
Hher mama picked up her reading glasses and the letter and started to read it out loud.

end of part 1