Many years ago in the Piney Woods of what is now East Texas, there was a girl of the People who was called Smiling Eyes. She was much loved by all the People, and it had been started at her birth that she would marry a noble warrior and bring peace to the land during a troubled time.

Smiling Eyes grew from a cute girl to a beautiful maiden. Her father noticed the way the young men of the village were beginning to look at her, and talk to her; he feared she would tire of waiting for the prophesized noble warrior and accept the proposal of one of the lesser men. To prevent this from happening, he took her and a friend deep into the woods and left them there with instructions to wait for his return. He then returned to the village with a sad tale of their demise.

Years passed and the People continued to mourn. Their sadness grew in intensity when their peace-loving village came under attack by a band of warriors from a distant tribe.

After months of battling the invaders, Smiling Eye’s father decided it was time to arrange for his daughter to meet with the leader of this band. Under the cover of darkness, he made his way to her in the forest. He brought the girls with him to the camp of the enemy where he presented them as a peace offering.

The beauty of Smiling Eyes instantly captured the leader’s heart; his second in command was just a smitten with her companion, Little Sparrow. They agreed to take the rest of the warriors and never return if the women would be their brides.

Smiling Eyes agreed. After all, this is what she had been told was the purpose of her life. The fact that the warrior was the best looking man she had ever seen made her decision to go with him to his homeland an easy one.

The warrior, Brave Otter, took her to his dwelling and they became as one. That way she could not change her mind and run away; she was his in the eyes of all. His second in command, Red Fox, did the same with Little Sparrow.

The very next morning, the nomads broke camp and began the return trip to their home in the black land prairie. After about a week, they were trapped by an unexpected early snow and forced to make camp.

Since they had been traveling for over two weeks, the soreness had left the new lovers. This unexpected delay gave all the couples at least one last time to be together before joining the hectic pace of village life that was waiting for them upon their return to the home of these fine brave warriors.

As soon as they were inside, Brave Otter pulled Smiling Eyes to him. His hand covered her breast over her dress and he began to squeeze gently. She moaned and moved so he could find the ties to her dress. “Take me,” she said as she captured his mouth with her own. “Give me your child.”

As Brave Otter entered her, Smiling Eyes moaned and moved her hips up to meet him. She matched his movements and soon brought him to release while he was deep inside her. She pulled him close to her as her body shivered with the release.

A few days later, the band finally reached the home of the warriors. Smiling Eyes was happy at first, but unfortunately Red Fox and Little Sparrow were taken from them. At the lose of her lifelong companion, Smiling Eyes soon began to long for the tall majestic pine trees that had surrounded her for so much of her life. A deep sadness fell upon her, and she became ill. She was so despondent that the medicine man of the village feared she would die if something was not done to ease her suffering and longing for her homeland.

Her husband knew he could not bear to lose her and that as leader of his warriors he could not just leave and return to her home with her. In a desperate attempt to make her well by making her happy once more, he broke his promise to never return to her people. He handpicked a group of young men that would not be taken as a threat, and returned to the land of Smiling Eyes.

They met with the leaders of the village and told them of Smiling Eyes’ depression. After getting over the shock of hearing that their beloved Smiling Eyes was still among the living, the village wise men suggested that the warrior take some of the small trees she loved so much back with him. They thought that the task of caring for her beloved trees would make her happy once more.

Each person in the band of riders took a dozen seedlings. They returned to their home in the black land prairie where they cleared an area near the river that was the source of their water. Here they planted the small trees they had carried halfway across their known world.

Smiling Eyes’ husband oversaw the project. As soon as it was completed, he went to his home and picked up his ailing wife. He carried her gently to this new forest and laid her on the ground among the saplings.

Upon seeing her beloved trees, Smiling Eyes began to grow stronger and was soon once more participating in the village activities. All were happy again.

Over the remaining years of her life, Smiling Eyes gave her husband many children – three of them fine, strong sons. All of her children grew up with a love of the trees, and they passed that along to their children. Who, in turn passed it along to their children. Because of them, the pine trees grew and prospered despite being away from their native habitat. The forest of pines grew and prospered despite being lost.