tionship in the story is one of understanding and acceptance, as if their intimacy were to be expected. This part of the story is made to seem natural by the tolerance of their elders and their own lack of guilt or shame about it. One can imagine that in traditional Victorian society, teenagers would not be permitted to have such private time, but Child explains that "Fortunately for the free and beautiful growth of their love, they lived out of the pale of civilization. There was no Mrs. Smith to remark how they looked at each other, and no Mrs. Brown to question the propriety of their rambles in the wood" (165).
Wah-bu-nung-o and O-ge-bu-no-qua live in a culture that allows them to explore their feelings freely, even if that might involve sexual exploration. This is because "The simple philosophy of the Indians had
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