Chapter 13: Ranch Life

Udit wasn't just a guest at the ranch over the next few weeks. The old Indian worked right beside everyone else and sometimes he found things to do the rest hadn't even thought of or hadn't had time to do. Udit had asked Martha's permission to take Sean outside on a Friday afternoon and she agreed. Thirty minutes later she was astonished at what she saw when she looked out the window.

Prince was patiently standing in the middle of the corral and Udit had one hoof lifted. Sean was sitting in his cradle board proped with the stand to hold it upright so he could watch what Udit was doing. Udit pointed at something on the hoof and said something. A moment later, Sean would point to something and Udit would explain something else. Finally, Udit nodded and straightened. He walked to the barn and said something to Seth. Seth nodded and gave a tool to Udit and Udit returned to the corral.

Martha walked out to the barn and asked Seth, "What was that about?"

Seth looked up from a piece of harness that he was working on and said, "Udit's showing Sean how to take care of horses hooves. He needed a rasp to show him how to trim the edges of the hoof."

"A week ago I would have worried about it being safe to leave Sean in the corral like that," Martha said in bemusement.

Seth snorted and said, "Well, Prince isn't going to hurt him and I'd feel sorry for anything that tried to get to him while Prince's around. Sean was probably safer sitting there and waiting than Udit carrying him to the barn and back."

There were several incidents similar to that in the following days. When asked, Udit explained what he was doing.

"The animals will do anything for Sean that he asks them to do," Udit said. "The problem is, I don't think he really knows how the animals work. What I mean is, well, what can hurt the horse's hooves? What are the strengths and weaknesses of dogs and cats and what are their uses. Birds need to be understood too so I'll introduce him to the chickens this afternoon. They aren't as smart as the eagle but some of their needs are the same."

"So, he understands the mental but you're explaining the physical," Martha said slowly.

Sean made a noise that sounded very much like agreement.

"Wait a minute," Seth objected. "Isn't it dealing with the physical when Sean healed Queen?"

Udit hesitated and glanced at Sean before saying, "I'm only guessing Seth but I think he doesn't really heal the flesh."

Sean made another noise that made everyone feel like he was saying, "You're on the right track so go on and we'll see if you can figure the rest out." Of course it sounded like, "shlurs glusbei," but the grownups still thought they understood.

Everyone chuckled and Udit continued with a rueful shake of his head. "A lot of people think the mind has the ability to heal the body. You've all heard of faith healing haven't you?"

Martha, BB and Pappy nodded. Seth said, "I've heard of it but the people involved claim that God healed them. They say it's a miracle from God."

Udit shrugged and asked, "If God built in the tools to see and you see a sunset, isn't it still a miracle and an act of God?" He didn't wait for an answer. "That concept applies to healing too. Assume for a moment that all of us have the capacity to heal our own body but we don't know how to throw that switch in our heads to make it happen. In faith healing, it could simply be a matter of the mind believing in a certain way to flip that switch and the body heals. It's still God's miracle. Or it could be the Great Spirit's miracle if you want to give him a different name. He might have other names too but He's still the Supreme Being. Of course, I could be completely wrong and it could be a higher power stepping in to take a direct hand in things. I don't think so though because I don't think God works that way. I think what Sean did to Queen is flip that switch so she could heal herself."

Sean made a sigh of agreement and one little hand signed, "Yes."

That was another thing that Sean was quickly learning. BB had started working with Sean to teach him sign language the day Sean arrived at the ranch. Udit had joined in that effort and Sean was soaking up the information like a sponge. It was as if the baby yearned to be able to communicate. Udit had explained that communication was the key to success in dealing with other people and signing was simply another language. Also, in situations that required absolute quiet, like war or hunting, signing was pretty handy. Sean had learned enough control of his hands and enough of signing by Saturday morning to say, "Yes," and "No," and "I love you," and many other simple phrases.