Offer yourself for what you have, your beauty,
your charm, your tenderness, your good heart. Do not make yourself less
than you are. Find some man who will love you and can give as much to
you as you can give to him!"
107 The woman gently pushed away. "Are you saying no?" she asked.
108 "I am saying," continued Swift Deer, "that I do not want you to give
yourself to me, or, to anyone because you feel yourself inferior.
Because
you are not."
109 The woman smiled. "I am not offering myself," she announced, "I am
giving myself, because I love you. The more you speak the more I love
you. I have never loved anyone before, but the moment I heard you speak
the moment I saw your eyes…."
110 Swift Deer put his hand on her mouth. "Let us be friends," he
suggested, "before we are lovers. If our plans work out I
will ask Great Mountain if I can take you with me. If, after a time,
you find you still feel the way you do, then we will see."
111 The woman smiled. "You love me, too, don't you?" she questioned.
112 Swift Deer shook his head. "I like you very much," he answered,
"and I think I could come to love you very quickly. But I am not one
that just plunges into things. It is not my people's way. We like to
take our time to know each other, to understand each-other's needs, and
joys, before we become bound together. That done in haste is often done
wrongly, but that which is seasoned with time is all the better for the
making."
113 "Did your teacher say that?" the woman asked.
114 "No," answered Swift Deer, "I did!" They both laughed. "If you
don't mind," continued Swift Deer, "I