Chafe] SENECA THANKSGIVING RITUALS 23 



as well; rivers will flow, and will pass by under the earth. (40) And 

 there will also be ponds ""■ and lakes. ^^ They will work hand in hand, 

 the way I fashion them on the earth. And moisture will continue to 

 fall." (41) And it is true: fresh water is available in abundance to 

 us who move about on the earth. And, in fact, to all those things 

 which he provided for our contentment, fresh water is abundantly 

 available too. (42) And it is true: we have been using it up to the 

 present time. (43) It is the first thing we use when we arise each 

 new time. When the new day dawns again, the first thing we use is 

 water. (44) And let there indeed be gratitude. (45) It is coming 

 to pass as Our Creator intended. (46) And give it your thought, 

 that we may do it properly: we now give thanks for the springs, the 

 brooks, the flowing rivers, and the ponds and lakes. And our minds 

 will continue to be so. 



5. The Trees 



(47) And now this is what the Creator did. (48) He decided, "There 

 will be forests growing on the earth. (49) Indeed, the growing forests 

 will be of assistance to the people moving about on the earth." (50) 

 He decided, "There will always be a certam period when the wind 

 will become warm, and a certain length of time, also, when it will 

 become cold. (51) And the forests growing on the earth will provide 

 heat for them." That is what the Creator intended. (52) And it is 

 true: it continues unchanged up to the present time. A few of us ^* 



S2 Lit 'waters on It'. 

 " Lit. 'large waters'. 

 »* Thus the recording. The speaker considered this a slip of the tongue, and would rather have said simply 'we' 



