The Old Woman In The Cave

The Old Woman In The Cave
By:  Cave Spelunking


According to Sioux legend, as told by Chief Lost Feather, there is a secret and mysterious cave that is located on the West Mountain (near Hot Springs, Arkansas).  There's an old woman and a dog that have been living in this cave for many generations.

The old woman never grows any older.  The dog never ages, either.  They both stay exactly the same, and they have since anybody can remember.

The old woman spends her days weaving a rug.  She is using pine needles that she has collected in the nearby pine forest.  The old woman has been weaving now for many centuries, and yet the rug never gets any bigger. The dog watches his mistress weave through narrow slits in his eyes as he appears to just nap in the corner.

Occasionally the old woman puts the rug down and leaves it while she goes to stir the pot of soup that she has cooking on a fire at the mouth of the cave.  The soup has probably been cooking for several centuries, as well.  The minute the old woman leaves, the dog rises slowly and sneaks over to the rug.  He grabs the rug and shakes it as hard as he can until part of the rug unravels.

The old woman returns after stirring the pot of soup. She picks up the rug and patiently begins to restore the damage.  But, the soup must be stirred.  So,she must put the rug down again and again to go and stir the soup.  Each time the old woman leaves, the dog unravels part of the rug.

So, through the centuries, the old woman and the dog have continued the cycle of weaving, unraveling, and reweaving.  The rug never gets any bigger.

This is, of course, a good thing according to Chief Lost Feather — because should the rug ever be completed, the world, as we know it, would end...

Rock On & Keep Spelunking...
Cave Spelunking.