The Enchanted Lake
:
CHEROKEE TALES
:
Indian Legends Retold
In the depths of the Great Smoky Mountains there lies a hidden lake
which no human eye has ever seen. The hunters know where it must be,
for sometimes one has come near enough to scent its freshness, and to
hear the rustle of thousands of wings as the ducks rise in great
clouds from its cool, green depths. Yet when he approaches, he
perceives only a dry hollow in the heart of the woods.
All the creatures know this lake; it is their City of Refuge; mortal
eye cannot find them there, and when one of them is wounded, he has
only to plunge into its mysterious waters, and he comes out whole.