Tin Maung Myint - Those Who Walk on the Clouds

Chapter (1)

From his office, Principal John Metzel looks out over the endless green meadows and the Mokattipa Mountains, overlooking the Government Border Area Administration building opposite the school.

He saw a wagon pulled by two old horses. As he came within a clear distance, the teacher recognized the driver. It was John Black Bear. A little boy was walking beside him.

He stopped the cart at the school fence and got out. But the young boy didn't get out suddenly, but hesitated. Black Bear John picked up the boy and put him down.

Master Metzel gathered up his robe and went out into the schoolyard. In the open field in front of the school, a group of Indian students were practicing white games.

Black Bear Jan greeted the teacher warmly as he approached the wagon. But there was no trace of laughter on his face. His clothes, though white, were tattered and tattered. Only a few teeth remained in his mouth. But his manner was full of pomp. He was full of self-confidence. He had become the leader of the “human race” of Indians.

Master Metzel shook hands and greeted them in their own language.

"Hello, black bear."

The black bear greeted the teacher by squeezing his hand three times, as if he were squeezing the handle of a water pump.

"I came to deliver this child because his mother asked me to put him in a white school, teacher. His mother wants him to become a white person."

Master Metzel looked at the boy. His clothes were tattered. His eyes, like those of a young fowl, were like the eyes of a crow. It didn't seem like he had come to the government boarding school to get an education. It seemed that the main thing was to get food and new clothes.

The black bear continued.

“This child’s father is a ‘cloud walker.’ He has been in the white man’s prison for a long time. His mother, “Rainbow,” died of whooping cough contracted from the white man. Before she died, she converted to Christianity and ordered her son to be placed in a white man’s school. Teach him white man’s skills.”

Master Metzel asked the young man's name in the Cheyenne language. Black Bear answered.

“Hocox. It means little crow.” | The teacher offered his hand. The boy backed away and clung to the black bear’s side.

"He's afraid of white people, Master. He's heard stories about white people killing the "human race" Indians."

He added the name of their Indian tribe in the ancient Cheyenne language: "The people." Are they really big Indians?

The teacher looked at the boy and said in Cheyenne.

"You can't do anything here, crow."

The teacher said, and then he looked at a group of first graders jumping rope. He beckoned to an Indian girl. Then he spoke in Cheyenne.

"Her name is Martha Washington, and she is a Heyo Indian. She has been here a year. No one has ever bullied her. You ask her."

The crow stared at the girl intently. She was disgusted by the white blouse, blue skirt, black socks, and shoes.

"Now... Martha, go and get Teacher Teabing and tell her that a new student has arrived."

The teacher spoke to Martha in English.

Mrs. Kate Teabing was the head teacher. She was a big, plump woman with big, round breasts. She wore a long, ankle-length gown. The teacher took a piece of candy from the table and came up to me.

The boy backed away. The teacher spoke to him in the Cheyenne language. The black bear came in and coaxed the boy. He said to go to school. But the steps of the shoeless crow were not afraid.

The teacher held the boy's arm.

"Come on, son, let's go to school. You'll be happy," he said, taking her with him.

The head teacher at the school was Mrs. Clare Day. She was teaching a class one by one. Mrs. Teabing entered the class and

"Teacher, wait a minute, a new student has arrived. First, I need to give him a haircut."

The teacher spoke English slowly so that he could understand. Then, looking at the hair hanging down over his shoulders, she showed him how to cut it with scissors.

"Well... there must be a lot of millions."

Some of the students burst out laughing. Here the crow tried to run away. The teacher had already caught it,

"It doesn't hurt, you'll look prettier, okay... Teacher, let's cut his hair, Teacher will hold it for you."

"Mrs. Claddagh took a pair of scissors out of the drawer and looked down at the boy's head."

"Yes, just like the teacher said. There are many big millionaires."

The students burst out laughing. Without saying anything, the boy bit off Ms. Cladday's hand and punched Ms. Tebbin squarely in the stomach.

Ms. Cladday screamed in shock and turned to run towards the students. She hit the chairs and fell over. The students also screamed in shock.

The teacher grabbed the boy. But the crow jumped onto a cupboard like a monkey. When it reached the cupboard, it sat down and looked down. Its teeth were bared and its breathing was labored.

Master Metzel came into the room.

"Hey.. how are you doing?"

"We're just doing it to give him a haircut, Master. He's a real wild cat."

The teacher coaxed the boy to get down. The black bear entered, and the teacher urinated.

“Tell him to come down. No one will harm him.”

The black bear frowned and looked disappointed, but at the same time, he seemed proud.

"Little crow, come down and think about your mother's face. What will she say if she knows? Your mother wants you to stay in this school. You must listen to your mother."

The expression on the face of the stiff little crow changed. Tears welled up in his eyes. He slowly climbed down from the wardrobe.

The teacher sent the two teachers away to the school clinic. He also asked the students to leave the classroom for a while. Then the teacher closed the door and began to speak.

"Little crow, the teacher is not your enemy. He is just a person who will help you. You should treat them with respect and trust."

The teacher was speaking in Chien-ni.

The little crow looked at the black bear. The black bear nodded. The teacher, knowing that according to the Chinese custom, if you trust someone, you will treat them as if they were blood relatives, invited the little crow to eat.

As a schoolmaster, it was not customary to invite a student to his home for a meal, but Mr. Metzel considered this one to be of special concern. This unusual treatment was not only because the boy was wild and full of mistrust and hatred, but also because he was the son of an Indian chief known as the "Walker on the Clouds."