There Are Deep Dark And Dangerous Rabbit Holes That Are Best Not To Go Down

  

The story is told on the northwest coast of a young man who went against the advice of his elders. On a winter's day, on his own he pushed his canoe into the channel and headed out in search of a large fat seal. He didn’t return. They eventually found the canoe. But they never found him. 

 About a year later things started to go missing in the village. People would have left a net or a paddle, or a coat in their canoe. The next day when they came back, it would be missing. This was very unusual. Theft was pretty much unheard of.

 They decided to set a watch on the beach to see if they could find and capture the thief. It took a while. But one night during a full moon, the guards heard paddling? Swimming? Soon they saw a shape emerge from the water. They didn't know what it was. It looked almost like a man. Or almost like a bear. Or what some might think of as a Sasquatch. Silently, the guards crept forward. They called for the monster to stop. They told it to surrender. It didn't. As it began to run towards them. They fired 3, 4, 5, 6 shots. The beast turned and ran into the water, swimming down channel. 

The guards woke up the village. Told them what had happened. It was decided that the best hunters would wait till daybreak to set off. They knew they'd be looking for signs, for tracks, for blood. And they wouldn't see those in the night. 

 They found signs. Where the bear, man, sasquatch had pulled himself out of the water. They followed the trail for three or four miles. They found the creature, still alive, but barely. As they watched they saw a transformation take place. As the monster died it slowly but surely changed back into the young man that was lost how many years before. 

 The lesson? Here’s one that comes to mind: Solitude is a deep, dark, dangerous rabbit hole that most people would do well not to go down. Too much of nothing is just no good.

We need each other

The Green Man