A long time ago, there lived a young warrior who was very shy. He was so very brave in battle, and led the buffalo hunt with great courage, but when it came to speaking of his love to the maiden he wanted to marry, he was without words, too shy to speak. He would stand in the shadows feeling helpless, his eyes cast to the ground, while other young men stood with their courting blankets outside the tipi of the girl's father.

The young man thought about this maiden day and night. He thought of her ways in which she always spoke in kindness. Of her ways of helping others when she could, especially the very young and very old. He thought of her skills in making baskets and doing beadwork. Of how she sang while gathering wood or berries. In his dreams she was still there before his eyes, her long black hair shining in the sun, and yet even in his dreams he lacked the courage to tell her of his love. He watched her from a distance when she fetched water from the river, and his heart was heavy when he saw the other young men who talked to her so easily, who whistled to her to gain her attention, and in a hundred other ways vied for her affection. The young warrior was sure that this maiden did not even notice him.

One day, when his heart was aching, he left the camp and wandered alone into the forest. He walked and thought for a long time and came to a wide prairie. In despair he drew his bow and without a thought he let fly an arrow into the air. To his amazement the arrow stayed aloft. It seemed to him that the arrow pointed a way for him to go. He followed the direction of the arrow and found that it moved ahead at a steady pace which he could follow. He followed the arrow all day, and when evening came the arrow fell to earth beside a stream. He slept beside the stream too tired to even dream.

The next morning he shot another arrow into the sky. Again the arrow stayed aloft, and he followed it all that day. Once again that evening it sank into the earth beside a stream and he slept there. This pattern continued for a total of four days.

On the fourth day the young man slept at the edge of a forest. In that half-dream state between waking and sleep, two Elk-Men appeared and told him that they had come to help him with his dilemma. "We have come to give you this flute", one said, and when he blew into the flute he carried, the sound was so beautiful that all of the creatures and even the forest itself stood breathlessly still and listened.

One Elk-Man then told him, "This flute is made from the wood of the cedar, because cedars grow where the winds blow. But cedar tree roots run shallow in the ground and in order to grow strong, their roots must intertwine with other cedar tree roots for support. Just as the cedar trees have a network of family support, so do the clans and tribes. Cedar wood represents the family and like the Cedar tree, you are never alone. The woodpecker has made these finger holes in the flute with his beak and the little bird that sits atop will bring sweet notes from them."

The second Elk-Man spoke, "All the birds and animals helped to make this flute, and their voices sing within it. Remember this when you play this flute for the maiden you love, and all our voices will sing with you. Your music will speak the words of love that your voice alone cannot."

Then the Elk-Men were gone, but there, lying on a bed of sage leaves, was the flute. The young man picked up the flute and set off at once towards his home, his heart light. He played the flute all day as he walked, and the cranes and larks and sparrows joined in his song. For four days he walked, playing his music, and listening to the sounds of all the animals and birds. He imitated the sounds of the animals on his flute, and from those sounds he made his own melodies. Haunting and beautiful melodies.

As evening drew near on the fourth day, he reached the hill above his camp. There he paused to play his flute, and the sounds of the beautiful music he made echoed down the hill and was carried by the evening breeze into the camp. Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. The heart of every woman thrilled to the beautiful melodies. But one woman, the maiden he loved, knew that the music spoke straight to her heart. The girl left her tipi and joined the young warrior on the hill. She listened and understood the words of love that his music spoke more eloquently than his voice could express. "More than life, I love you. I love you, I do."