The Birchbark Canoe

In this book， an old hunter， a boy， and a birchbark canoe are linked into a story of the boy’s first long journey. Readers start their inner journeys back to spiritual hometowns sailing together with him.

Xue Tao

In recent years， Xue Tao has won many awards by publishing works including Glacier in September， The Small City Moat， Follow Like a Shadow， The Lonely Major， Sand and Stardust， and Little Goat Walks Dver the Field. Many of his works have been translated into many languages， and published overseas.

The Birchbark Canoe

Xue Tao

Anhui Children’s Publishing House

March 2022

35.00 （CNY）

The roar of the beast woke Wuri.

Wuri lay still， judging what was roaring. He had little knowledge about the outside world. He had just known the cries of some livestock by watching TV and playing games. The cries outside sounded like a goat but not， like a horse but not. It sounded like cars’ whistles but was not when he listened carefully.

Wuri rolled over， but he didn’t want to get up. The cabin was empty. "Tob and the birchbark canoe were gone， Aha too. They were like things in a dream that vanished as soon as he opened his eyes. Wuri reminded himself that it was not a dream. “Tob， the birchbark canoe， and Aha are real. I’m not in Shenyang. I don’t have to be watched by adults. This is also real.” Wuri was overjoyed and woke up willingly.

Tob and the birchbark canoe were both there， and so was Aha.

Tob was blowing the deer whistle with his back leaning against the cabin. A red deer was standing in the mingled forest on the other side of the river. It was quietly chewing something while listening to the call on the other bank. Aha， lying in the birchbark canoe， would never rush over to outflank the red deer.

Wuri appeared on the levee with confusion. The red deer was taken aback and went into the woods.

Wuri whispered， “Tob， are you ready to hunt？”

Tob said， “I used to hunt. Since hunting was banned， Aha has protected the woods with me. In the past， Aha fell out with rabbits， roe deer， wild boars， and red deer. Now they get along well.”

Wuri said carefully， “Aha is a very powerful dog. I have no chance to witness this though.”

Tob said， “It’s right to say that we were good partners. As soon as my deer whistle rang， Aha obediently lay down， like a piece of dog skin pasted in the bushes. It knew that animals would soon appear once the whistle rang. You were rough-handed， not so skillful as Aha was. So you scared the deer away.”

Wuri squatted beside Tob in a hurry. “If I lie down obediently， will it come back？”

Tob continued to blow the deer whistle. The red deer poked its head out again. It was sure that a companion was near the cabin on the other bank. After a while， another fawn appeared. This reckless little one wanted to see what was going on， and it jumped straight out of the woods onto the bank.

Wuri’s heart beat crazily – the baby roe deer came back.

He held back excitement and pointed to Tob， saying， “Guran， it’s Guran.” But Tob was indifferent. He kept quiet and just blew the deer whistle. The tune of the deer whistle became milder. It must be played specially for the fawn.

The red deer hesitated for a while and stepped out of the woods onto the bank， standing beside the fawn. The red deer worried that something might happen to the fawn and had to stay with it.

Wuri was soon disappointed and whispered to Tob， “I saw it clearly. It was not Guran.”

Tob said in a low voice， “Hongmu， Hongmu. Remember， it means deer.”

Wuri said dejectedly， “The fawn is no veteran.” Tob whispered， “Little things are like this.”

Wuri requested， “Help me catch the fawn. I want to go to school with it. It will be the best pet.”

Tob said， “I’m too old to catch a deer. Aha is useless. It can do nothing but sleep. Look at how soundly it sleeps. It would have been howling in the past.”

Wuri said， “Can’t Aha make friends with deer？”

Tob said， “Well， Aha follows my advice. If I respect the deer， it follows suit. If I chase the deer， it won’t give up. It will surely run faster than me. Today I will call the deer to make up with it， then I will send it back home.”

“Both the deer and the fawn saw Aha.”

“Aha is weak. It cannot attack them anymore.” Tob put away the deer whistle and shouted to the riverbank on the other side， “Aha will go home. Forgive it. Send it off！”

The red deer looked up and gave out several howls to the cabin. Then it lowered its head to gnaw the turf on the riverbank. The fawn， also hungry， stood beside the deer to graze. The red deer did not remember the chase and escape in the past but focused on the grass all over the ground in front of their eyes. They forgot all the past enmities， and this could be a reconciliation.

Tob said to Aha， “I’ve persuaded them for you. Go back home at ease.”

After Tob said that and took Wuri to the cabin， they found a bicycle leaning against the wall， like a drunkard sleeping there.

Wuri was surprised， “Tob， you can do magic！”

Tob said with satisfaction， “With this bicycle， we can return to the eighteenth station together.”

This would be an amphibious journey. The birchbark canoe could carry one more passenger， including Aha. The left could ride the bicycle on the riverbank， side by side with the canoe in the river. Tob stared at Wuri， hoping he would find the right role.

“I will row. I can do it.” Wuri looked at the river. Huma River flowed deep into the forest. The end of the river was fascinating.

“I can only ride a horse， not a bicycle. You will ride the bicycle， and I will row the canoe. It’s fair. What do you think？” Tob was helpless， so he had to be frank with Wuri. In fact， they had no other choice.

“I can’t ride a horse， but I can ride a bicycle very well. I have three-years experience of riding a bicycle. I’m a veteran.” At last， Wuri found his role.

The bicycle had been ready to set off. Its owner had originally been the old master of the water conservancy station. The old master retired and went back home， and it was laid off. From then on， it had been asleep， leaning against the wall behind the cabin. Actually， it was waiting for its new owner. Like Wuri， it needed a decent journey.

Wuri greeted his partner， “Hey， get up. The ride will begin！”

A red dragonfly landed on the handlebar and gave it a hard push. The bicycle shook slightly as if telling Wuri， “I’m awake. It’s up to you.”