{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_76997/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_76997","id":"gutenberg_76997","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76997","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Indians of North America -- Folklore"],"text":"WIGWAM WONDER TALES\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: \u201cThere will be no living with him,\u201d said the crow]\n\n\n\n\n WIGWAM\n WONDER TALES\n\n BY\n WILLIAM THOMPSON\n\n ILLUSTRATED BY\n CARLE MICHEL BOOG\n\n NEW YORK\n CHARLES SCRIBNER\u2019S SONS\n 1919\n\n\n\n\n COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY\n CHARLES SCRIBNER\u2019S SONS\n\n Published September, 1919\n\n [Illustration: Publisher\u2019s colophon]\n\n\n\n\nDEDICATION\n\n\nThis book is affectionately dedicated to H. T., who for ten years\nhas been my constant companion. We have travelled together from the\nGulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean. Have climbed glaciers of Alaska\nand shivered in the fogs of Newfoundland. Have rocked in the crafts of\nthe North Sea fishermen. Have looked from the Ph\u0153nician ruins of Eze\nto the island of Corsica. Have enjoyed the nature smiles of southern\nEurope from Italy to Setubal, the ancient Cetubriga of the Romans. Have\nstrolled along the highways and byways of Germany, Holland, France,\nBelgium, Moresnet, Italy, and romped together in the cork-groves of\nPortugal and the olive-groves of Spain. We have shared the same room\nin spooky inns along the trails of Don Quixote in La Mancha, and have\nridden fourth-class with a first-class ticket hundreds of kilometres\n... because dogs were not allowed in first-class compartments on\nEuropean railways.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                      PAGE\n\n THE GIANT BUTTERFLY AND THE MOUSE       1\n\n WACTU, THE ANIMAL PAINTER              15\n\n ALITOCI AND THE GIANT BIRDS            28\n\n NIONA AND THE MOON MAN                 40\n\n WHY DOGS DO NOT TALK                   56\n\n MR. FISH AND YONI                      68\n\n FIRE BOY AND WATER BOY                 92\n\n OLD SPOT AND THE CUPIDS               107\n\n THE UNDERWATER PEOPLE                 129\n\n WATC\u2019 AGIC KILLS THE TALKING-BIRDS    144\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n \u201cThere will be no living with him,\u201d said the crow    _Frontispiece_\n\n                                                                PAGE\n\n Every one laughed. What a joke! This tiny\n mouse offering to release the sun!                                5\n\n \u201cCome down,\u201d said Ayas. \u201cI wish to discuss a\n business offer with you\u201d                                          9\n\n Over their heads they heard a little voice calling,\n \u201cThey fit perfectly\u201d                                             13\n\n This he did, much to the amazement of the beaver                 17\n\n Wactu waited patiently for the color-sprites to dance\n on the snow and lakes                                            21\n\n On and on the frightened old man was carried                     29\n\n Down the big tree he lowered himself                             33\n\n The birds walked off in another direction                        37\n\n \u201cNiona, you are so, so beautiful\u201d                                41\n\n Niona felt herself being drawn up and up                         47\n\n \u201cI\u2019m coming!\u201d                                                    53\n\n So Nudi and his dog, Happy, would wander off to\n the mountains                                                    57\n\n One day, trailing a bear, Happy told all she knew of\n Neti\u2019s romance                                                   61\n\n \u201cYes,\u201d said Tiki, \u201cshe has told that which she should\n not.\u201d                                                            65\n\n There he found a strange and very large fish splashing\n and floundering                                                  73\n\n \u201cMy! how fast we are going!\u201d                                     83\n\n \u201cMr. Fish! Mr. Fish!\u201d called Yoni                                89\n\n \u201cWe have brought a goose and caribou tongues, and\n we will share them with you\u201d                                     97\n\n Looking up to her he waved his hand and smiled                  101\n\n He sat without discomfort in the midst of the flames            105\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got a fine catch this morning\u201d                          113\n\n It was but the work of a few seconds and all was over           121\n\n \u201cHow really clever Old Spot is\u201d                                 125\n\n They suddenly saw a man passing along in the dusk               131\n\n \u201cDo ha-s tei-ul tuk,\u201d which means \u201cDo not kill me\u201d              137\n\n He looked up and saw a giant frog standing on his left\n foot                                                            141\n\n Once there was a man who wandered all over the\n earth                                                           145\n\n \u201cMy good brother, what have you on your back?\u201d                  149\n\n And he began to sing in a harsh voice                           153\n\n\n\n\nWIGWAM WONDER TALES\n\n\n\n\nTHE GIANT BUTTERFLY AND THE MOUSE\n\n\nWhen Ayas was a small child, hardly able to walk, he would try to catch\nthe sunbeams that played with his fingers and toes. Onitu, an old woman\nwho had noticed his efforts, smiled and said: \u201cHe will be a sun-catcher\nsome day; in all truth, Ayas will be a sun-catcher.\u201d\n\nOf course, the people did not know the meaning of her strange remark,\nand looked serious.\n\nAyas grew to be a man, and travelled the long, lonely trails of\nthe forest in search for game. One day, being very tired, as it was\noppressively warm, he lay down to sleep. During his slumber something\nthat passed scorched his leather coat. This made him very angry, for\nupon the coat he had worked long days with needle and thread, putting\nmany colored beads in fantastic design. As he arose, his coat fell from\nhis back, and the thread holding the beads parted, scattering them upon\nthe ground.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ll find out my enemy!\u201d declared Ayas, so loud that the animals of\nthe forest became frightened and ran to their holes, or scampered away\nin many directions.\n\nUnstringing his bow, lashed many times around with caribou sinew, he\nmade a snare across the road, and over the spot where he had been\nsleeping. Then he went home.\n\nThe next day the sun did not rise, or the next, and the medicine-men\nwere consulted; but they were as much mystified as the people, who met\nin their lodges, many of them too frightened to speak. \u201cHad the Great\nSpirit deserted his people? Was this the end of all things?\u201d\n\nAyas\u2019 sister, who suspected her brother had been up to some mischief,\nwent to him and said: \u201cWhat have you been doing that the sun does not\ngive light?\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cI set a snare the other day; I will go and see if I have\ncaught anything.\u201d\n\nSo he went back to the wood where he had set his snares, and the nearer\nhe approached the hotter it became. When he arrived at the opening of\nthe trail he saw he had snared the sun. He tried to release it, but it\nwould not keep still, jumping up and down so fast Ayas could not grasp\nthe snares.\n\n\u201cKeep still!\u201d he cried, but his command was of no avail. So he called\nall the animals from near and far to help him; but it was so hot they\ndared not approach, fearing their fur would be scorched, and as winter\nwas drawing near, they would not risk that which kept them warm.\n\nA wee ground-mouse was looking on from his tiny hole under a great\nant-hill that had been deserted. He called to Ayas and said: \u201cGo to the\ngiant butterfly who makes wings over there in the dead pine. If he will\nagree to make for me a pair of wings and guarantee a good fit that I\nmay fly back should the sun take me with him, I\u2019ll release it.\u201d\n\nEvery one laughed. What a joke! This tiny mouse offering to release the\nsun when the great animals of the forest dare not attempt it! A lynx,\njust ready to spring at the silly little creature, was prevented from\ndoing so by Ayas, who gave him a stroke across his snout. This is the\nreason the lynx has such a short nose.\n\n[Illustration: Every one laughed. What a joke! This tiny mouse offering\nto release the sun!]\n\nAyas looked at the ant-hill. How large it was, and how small the\nbeings that had made it. \u201cPerhaps the mouse can do as it agrees,\u201d he\nthought.\n\nIt was so hot the grass began to scorch, and leaves became seared.\nSomething must be done.\n\n\u201cGo to the butterfly and tell him I wish to speak to him,\u201d Ayas\ndemanded of the mouse.\n\n\u201cHe will not come and scorch his wings. He has the finest pair in all\nthe lands about here,\u201d answered the mouse.\n\nAyas thought the mouse was right; so he started off for the wing\nfactory. When he got near the old tree he called, and slowly, from a\ngreat hole in the trunk peered the face of Mr. Butterfly.\n\n\u201cCome down,\u201d said Ayas. \u201cI wish to discuss a business offer with you.\u201d\nThe great winged creature slowly drew himself out of the hole, and\nspreading his wings, glided to the earth. He was so enormous Ayas was\nbut a tiny being compared to him.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cCome down,\u201d said Ayas. \u201cI wish to discuss a business\noffer with you\u201d]\n\n\u201cThe sun has become entangled in my snare,\u201d said Ayas, \u201cand a young and\nvery tiny mouse promises that he will release it if you will furnish\nhim with a pair of wings. The fit must be guaranteed as well as the\nquality, as he may be required to make a long journey, and must be\nassured they will stand the strain; and in addition, they must be made\nof material that will be able to withstand great heat.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat will be my compensation?\u201d asked Mr. Butterfly.\n\n\u201cWhat do you expect?\u201d asked Ayas.\n\n\u201cThat is not the way I bargain,\u201d replied Mr. Butterfly. \u201cWhat is it\nworth to you?\u201d\n\nAyas thought a moment. Knowing that if the sun was not released,\nsoon all the hunting-grounds would be destroyed by fire, he decided to\nmake a good offer, so he said: \u201cI\u2019ll give you five portions of clover\nhoney, two hundred fresh wild roses, and build a long ladder to your\nhole, that you may not need to fly when you grow old.\u201d\n\nThis appealed to Mr. Butterfly, for his wing joints did not work as\nsmoothly as when he was younger.\n\n\u201cThrow in a measure of goose oil and it\u2019s a bargain,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said Ayas. \u201cHave you any wings in stock that will fit?\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot tell without seeing your friend; bring him here and upon your\nreturn I\u2019ll have a few pairs ready for a try-on.\u201d\n\nSo Ayas went back and told the mouse he had fixed up the matter, so\nthey returned together, the mouse in the pouch of Ayas\u2019 coat. Many\nwings were tried on, and finally little Johnny Mouse selected a pair\nthat seemed satisfactory, although not bigger than the wings of a\nsparrow.\n\n\u201cGo up the tree and fly down,\u201d said Mr. Butterfly, and up crawled\nthe mouse until he had gone so far they could not see him. Over their\nheads they heard a little voice calling, \u201cThey fit perfectly. My! this\nis wonderful!\u201d And down glided the wee mouse in little circles to the\nground.\n\n[Illustration: Over their heads they heard a little voice calling,\n\u201cThey fit perfectly\u201d]\n\n\u201cNow to keep my promise,\u201d said he, flying around Ayas\u2019 head and\nsettling on his right shoulder.\n\nSaying good-afternoon to Mr. Butterfly, who was to call for his\nsupplies the following day, Ayas and the mouse returned to the\nstruggling sun. Going to the strings of sinew, the mouse began to gnaw,\nand very soon, one after another of the strands holding the sun parted.\nWith one great effort, it burst the remaining bonds and started again\non its path of day, giving light to all the world.\n\nIf it had not been for the mouse the sun would have remained a\nprisoner, and there would have been no day. If it had not been for the\nsun, bats would have always remained mice.\n\n\n\n\nWACTU, THE ANIMAL PAINTER\n\n\nAs long as the birds could remember, Wactu had lived among them. This\nwas a very long time ago, and before the rays of the sun had penetrated\nthe deep mist that surrounded the earth. It was only now and then that\nthe people living in the lowlands could see the golden shafts of light\ntipping the great mountain-tops as they stood like mighty gods, covered\nwith garments of snow. The snows, melting slowly, formed lakes high up\nin the mountain valleys, and across the great glaciers and fields of\nice all the colors of the painter\u2019s palette passed like a pageant of\nbeauty among the mountain peaks.\n\nFor ever so long Wactu had stripped the white birches that he called\nthe \u201cwhite ghosts of the forest\u201d of their bark and made baskets of it,\nfor what reason the magpie and owl had been very much perplexed to know.\n\nOne morning a large timber-wolf called to discuss a matter of\nimportance with Wactu, who was the King of the Kingdom of Animals, and\nmaster of the woodlands.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m growing very tired of so much sameness of color among my\nsubjects,\u201d he said to the wolf. \u201cIt\u2019s always black or white. Why don\u2019t\nyou go up the mountain and bathe in the lake and roll on the snows, and\nbecome beautiful of color? See!\u201d pointing to the rays of light piercing\nthe mist, \u201cSee! Is that not more fair than your gray costume?\u201d\n\nBut old wolf only grunted an indifferent acknowledgment, for he had\nlittle sentiment for anything but his appetite. His indifference caused\nWactu to ejaculate: \u201cYou are the most acrimonious of all my people.\nGo bring me a young beaver, and mind you do not devour him before he\nserves my purpose.\u201d\n\nWactu had decided upon a plan by which there was to be a change of\nfashion among his subjects, and he began preparations then and there.\n\nOld wolf returned with a young whimpering beaver-cub, crying at the top\nof his voice, for Mr. Wolf had not been over-careful in handling the\nyouth, who, being accustomed to the tender solicitude of fond parents,\ndid not understand the rougher ways of one who at any moment was liable\nto devour him. Wactu instructed the wolf to hold Young Beaver tight as\nhe wanted to pluck a few hairs from his back and tail. This he did,\nmuch to the amazement of the beaver, who, though crying lustily, was\nmore frightened than hurt.\n\n[Illustration: This he did, much to the amazement of the beaver]\n\n\u201cTake him back to his mother,\u201d demanded Wactu, \u201cand mind your appetite\ndoes not prompt you to rashness, for I may want you to bring him to me\nagain.\u201d So Mr. Wolf disappeared in the wood.\n\nWactu always had his suspicions that Mr. Wolf feasted on Young Beaver,\nfor when he needed more hair for his brushes, he always looked\ncarefully for the places he had plucked, but could not find them; so he\nof course knew that Mr. Wolf had not brought him the same animal. As\nMr. Wolf had served him well he never made any reference to the matter.\n\nFor many days that followed Wactu made journeys to the mountains,\nand waited patiently for the color-sprites to dance on the snow\nand lakes; and as they appeared, he caught them and thrust them\ninto his baskets. There were red, blue, green, orange, and yellow\nsprites--indeed, all the colors of the rainbow. Several times one end\nof the arch dipped into the waters of the lakes, and as Wactu knew the\nspirits of his departed friends formed the beautiful colors, he was\ncareful not to capture them, so waited for the rainbow to pass before\ncollecting material for his interesting undertaking.\n\n[Illustration: Wactu waited patiently for the color-sprites to dance on\nthe snow and lakes]\n\nWhen Wactu returned to his lodge, the owls, eagles, and hawks would go\nfar out on the limbs of the tall trees so that he could not hear them,\nand discuss the state of his mind, for they had \u201cnever seen him do\nsuch strange things before.\u201d Once or twice they flew down, unbeknown\nto their master, and lifted the baskets, but, finding them very light,\nthey were convinced that they contained nothing that would do them harm.\n\nBeing King of the Kingdom of Animals and Birds, Wactu knew the\nlanguage of all his people; so one morning, while he was tying up the\nbeaver hairs and making brushes of different sizes--some with long\nhandles and some with short--he called the skylark, the long-eared\nowl, the raven, the sparrow-hawk, the cuckoo, the chaffinch, the gray\nwag-tail, the spotted flycatcher, the crested titmouse, the woodpecker,\nthe robin, the nightingale, the blackbird, the crow, and all the other\nfeathered people of his empire, and said:\n\n\u201cMy good people, it will be many thousands of years before the mists\nand clouds surrounding this great world are dispersed by the goddess of\nthe sun. It is my purpose to hasten the work of Nature, by painting all\nof my people in the colors of the rainbow. Could you bathe in the rays\nof the sun, I would be saved all my trouble. You would then be like a\nqueen on her throne, arrayed in all the glories of color. Who will be\nthe first to change his or her plain garment for one of beauty? I have\ncollected all the colors to complete Nature\u2019s works.\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\u201cI will,\u201d called Mr. Peacock, as Wactu reached for his colors, and\nplaced them beside him in rows.\n\n\u201cStep right up and I will begin,\u201d said Wactu in a pleased tone. So the\npeacock, with his long flowing tail trailing behind him, his head bowed\nin an embarrassed, coy way, approached Wactu, who, after placing him in\na position most convenient, began to apply the mystical tints that were\nto make Mr. Peacock the most vain and conceited of all featherdom.\n\nBeginning at the head, he painted the neck, wings, and body. When the\ntail was to be renovated, he had to stand up and go around, as it was\nso long. Once or twice he stepped on it. The peacock winced though it\ndid not hurt him at all.\n\n\u201cThere will be no living with him,\u201d said the crow as he noticed the\npeacock straighten up and throw his head back in a haughty manner.\n\n\u201cRight you are,\u201d said the raven.\n\n\u201cSuch arrogance,\u201d said the wren, loud enough for Mr. Peacock to hear.\n\nWactu, having completed his toilet, asked him to step off a bit so\nthat he could see if the colors had run. This he did \u2019midst expressions\nof admiration from some, and, Wactu was sorry to know, suppressed jeers\nof others.\n\n\u201cMe next,\u201d said Miss Robin Redbreast as she surveyed the plain, soiled\nwhiteness of her clothing.\n\n\u201cGet on my knee,\u201d said Wactu in a gentle voice, for she was very small\nand timid. \u201cWhat colors for you, Miss Robin?\u201d\n\n\u201cRed on my breast, and for the others, those that will not soil easily.\u201d\n\nIn the meantime, Mr. Peacock, who had always heretofore mingled with\nhis people on an equal social footing, had strutted away, and was\nstanding alone in self-satisfied admiration, his beautiful tail spread\nlike a giant fan. The humming-bird afterward told his mate he heard him\nsay, \u201cI am more beautiful than the sun,\u201d and Mrs. Humming-Bird replied,\n\u201cI really believe he thinks it is so.\u201d\n\nOne by one the birds were bedecked with new garments. The old fogies\nlike the raven, crow, and blackbirds said, \u201cNone of it for us,\u201d and\nwent away quite satisfied with their old clothes.\n\nThere were many animals who had come out of mere idle curiosity,\nstanding about wondering what would happen to them if old Wactu did not\nuse up all of his colors. Mr. Porcupine felt quite confident that the\nroyal decorator would not insist upon any reform in _his_ apparel, no\nmatter what changes he made in the others.\n\n\n\n\nALITOCI AND THE GIANT BIRDS\n\n\nAlitoci, a beaver chief, who had become too old to work, spent most of\nhis time when the weather was not too cold along the rivers, fishing.\nHe had three dogs that helped him in winter, but in summer they did no\nwork, though they must eat; so Alitoci fished for them.\n\nOne day he was sitting by a dark water-hole full of fish, saying to\nhimself: \u201cHere shall I get plenty of food for my faithful dogs.\u201d\n\nSo he fished until he had caught all he could carry. As he was not\nstrong, he had but few. He climbed up the bank to return home.\n\nIt was growing dark, and as his head was bowed from age, he could\nnot see a great bird hovering over him. This bird was enormous in\nsize, and its wings spread like the limbs of a large tree. Suddenly it\nswooped upon him, and took him up toward the clouds that were piled in\nthe heavens like great banks of snow. On and on the frightened old man\nwas carried. Still remembering his faithful dogs, he held on to his\nstrings of fish until his hands were so tired he had to let them fall\nto the earth, many thousands of feet below.\n\n[Illustration: On and on the frightened old man was carried]\n\nHis coat was old and he could hear the sinew giving under his weight,\nfor though aged, he was still a heavy man, and there was a great strain\non the coat.\n\nThe old man could see only the wings of the giant bird as they went up\nand down, slowly, in flight.\n\n\u201cWhere are you taking me?\u201d said he in great terror; but the bird did\nnot reply.\n\nAfter a long journey over rivers and mountains, he was dropped into a\nlarge nest that rested on the limbs of a dead tree. The bird said to\nhis young ones, who seemed very much frightened: \u201cTake good care of\nthe old man; I will go for food.\u201d So the bird departed to seek young\nanimals like the rabbit, ermine, and small fox, as his children were\ntoo young to eat the larger game.\n\nWhen it was growing light, for the morning dawned while the father bird\nwas away, the mother returned. She was not quite so large and strong\nas her husband, but she also was big enough to carry a man for miles\nthrough the air.\n\n\u201cHow does it happen that you smell of a man?\u201d she asked her children.\n\n\u201cWe should smell of a man when father brought one here for us,\u201d the\nyoung ones said in chorus, without meaning to deceive their mother.\n\nThey were so large, although very young birds, that they could\neasily hide the man under their wings, and their mother did not know he\nwas there, which was well for the old man, for she would have eaten him\nhad she known the truth.\n\nThe old man trembled so that it shook the birds, and the mother,\nthinking them ill, said: \u201cWhy do you shake so; are you not well?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, yes,\u201d they replied, \u201cwe are very well indeed.\u201d\n\nShe seemed satisfied.\n\nThe old man thought of his poor dogs who were waiting for food, and of\nthe fish he had lost after working so hard to catch them. The fear for\nhis own safety worried him, too, but greatest of all his troubles was\nthe weight of the birds sitting on him, and the added weight of the\nmother caused him still more distress. When the sun came up he was sure\nhe would be seen.\n\nAs the sun rose higher and higher, one by one the birds fell asleep.\n\u201cNow is my chance,\u201d thought the old man, lame and out of breath. So out\nof the nest he crawled and down the big tree he lowered himself. He\nwaited at times to hear if there was any chattering in the nest, but\nheard none, so he went on and reached the ground in safety.\n\n[Illustration: Down the big tree he lowered himself]\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d thought the old man, \u201cif I should try to return home they might\nwake up and find me gone and follow me, and take me back to the nest.\u201d\n\nHe began to collect knots and dry wood which he piled at the foot\nof the tree. After heaping them as high as he could reach, he gathered\ndry blades of grass which he put under the pile of wood. Then striking\ntogether two pieces of flint which he took from his pocket, he lighted\nthe grass and this lighted the fagots. The flames ran higher and higher\nuntil they set fire to the nest. The wings of the birds were burned,\nand they fell to the ground. They tried to fly, but could not. The old\nman walked as fast as he could, and hid behind a tree. The birds walked\noff in another direction. They did not suffer as only their feathers\nwere burned.\n\n[Illustration: The birds walked off in another direction]\n\nAnd this is the way it came about that great birds like the ostrich,\nthe emu, and the auk, though having feathers and wings, cannot fly.\n\nThus were the birds punished for trying to prevent the old man from\nreturning and feeding his hungry dogs, who had always served their\nmaster so faithfully.\n\n\n\n\nNIONA AND THE MOON MAN\n\n\nThere once lived on the shores of the beautiful Lake Athabasca an\nIndian chief whose name was Wyani, and his two daughters, Wiona and\nNiona.\n\nWiona helped her father cure the moose and caribou skins, and put the\nfish to dry on racks in the sun, for food for the dogs during the\nwinter.\n\nNiona, the younger daughter, was very beautiful. She would sit by the\nlake where she could see her reflection, and arrange her hair, putting\nin her tresses large eagle feathers and wild flowers. She would make to\nadorn her feet beautiful moccasins of white deer-skin decorated with\nbeads and many colored silks, and would say to herself: \u201cNiona, you are\nso, so beautiful.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cNiona, you are so, so beautiful\u201d]\n\nThen she would glance at her pretty feet, and her slippers beaded in\nwild roses and big leaves, and sigh, saying to herself: \u201cHow fortunate\nto be so beautiful.\u201d\n\nWhen her father would call to her to help him, she would say, \u201cOh,\nfather! Do it yourself!\u201d or call to Wiona to help her father. Sometimes\nshe would say: \u201cI must make myself beautiful like the sun.\u201d\n\nA young Cree brave would come to visit her. He was a great hunter and\nfeared no man. One day while he was sitting near her when she was\nadorning herself, she leaned too far over the water to admire her\nreflection, and fell into the lake. He pulled her out, saying: \u201cIf you\nwere not so vain this would not have happened.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not scold me,\u201d Niona said, as she caught her breath and shook the\nwater from her dress.\n\n\u201cYou are very beautiful, but you are also very selfish,\u201d said the young\nman.\n\n\u201cAll who are very beautiful are selfish,\u201d Niona replied.\n\n\u201cThat is not so,\u201d said the Indian.\n\n\u201cOld Father Bear and Mother Lynx and Brother Fox tell me I am\nbeautiful; even the birds, more beautiful than I am, say I am\nbeautiful. Are they not proud of their plumage? Why should I not be!\u201d\nexclaimed the maiden.\n\n\u201cYou are very beautiful,\u201d the young Indian repeated, \u201cbut you are not\nkind to your father; and your sister is very tired. Why do you not\nconsider them? They are both very good to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no time. I must make myself like the sun; the beauty of\neverything comes from the sun, and I must be like her. She paints the\nclouds and rainbow and flowers and water--everything. I am the child\nof the sun and gather the beautiful things of color that I may adorn\nmyself. You also think me beautiful. That is pleasing to me. I know\nmyself that I am beautiful.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but beauty is not everything,\u201d he replied.\n\n\u201cDo not scold me. You would not like me if I were like the Old Man in\nthe Moon.\u201d\n\n\u201cI should like you better if you were helpful, and considerate of those\nwho love and serve you; and mind, you better not let the Moon Man hear\nyou speak slightingly of him or he may \u2018make medicine.\u2019\u201d[1]\n\n  [1] The Shaman of the Indian and Eskimo of Greenland, North America\n      and Siberia are supposed to have supernatural power. The exercise\n      of this power is called \u201cmaking medicine.\u201d\n\n\u201cShoot an arrow at the Moon Man,\u201d said Niona. \u201cWho\u2019s afraid of him!\u201d\n\nSuddenly it became very dark, and the moon seemed to draw nearer to the\nearth.\n\n\u201cSave me! Save me!\u201d cried Niona, but her companion had disappeared.\n\nNiona thought, \u201cHow silly it was to be afraid of the old dead moon,\u201d\nand cried out in defiance:\n\n    \u201cBoil the moon; save your passion;\n      Boil your lazy head,\n    Hiding thus in idle fashion\n      In your starry bed.\u201d\n\nThe Old Man in the Moon seemed to frown and to come closer and closer.\nNiona felt herself being drawn up and up; faster and faster she seemed\nto fly until the light of the camp-fires could no longer be seen. The\nstars grew larger and brighter and Niona began to feel very cold. Up\nand up she went until she could see the earth but dimly, and only as a\nround ball. Suddenly she stopped, and a voice said: \u201cThis is the end of\nyour journey. You must live here. You thought only of yourself, of your\nbeauty. Your time you spent in idleness. You did no good for any one.\nThis is your punishment.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: Niona felt herself being drawn up and up]\n\nNiona looked around. There were no flowers, or lakes, no trees, no\npeople. There were only mountains of dead rocks, craters of extinct\nvolcanoes, and deep-sea beds, but no water.\n\n\u201cWhat a terrible place,\u201d thought Niona, without speaking.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Old Man of the Moon, \u201cit is so. We once had all, but\nage came upon us, as it has now come to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo me?\u201d cried Niona.\n\n\u201cYes, to you,\u201d he replied. \u201cLook into the Grotto of Shadows yonder.\u201d\n\nNiona walked to a deep cave and looked down. There she saw reflected\nthe face of an old woman, older than any she had ever seen on earth.\n\n\u201cHorrors!\u201d she cried, \u201cHow can I escape this awful fate?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is but one way,\u201d said the Moon Man. \u201cCome with me.\u201d\n\nThey ascended a high mountain and looked afar to the \u201cCity of Good\nWorks.\u201d One end of a rainbow rested in a great square of the city, and\npeople, bejewelled and wearing beautiful costumes, were dancing around\nit. There was music, such as Niona had never heard in the woods, and\ngreat gardens with flowers bursting into bloom, and birds of wondrous\nplumage, too numerous to imagine.\n\n\u201cThis,\u201d said the Moon Man, \u201cis the abode of contentment.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! How can I get there?\u201d cried Niona.\n\n\u201cThere is but one way,\u201d he answered as she looked in wonderment. \u201cYou\nmust go back to earth and there seek out those who need help and\ncomfort; be kind to the aged, and share your blessings with those who\nmost need them. If you promise to do this, you may return.\u201d\n\n\u201cI promise, I promise!\u201d cried Niona, \u201cWhen may I go?\u201d\n\n\u201cAt once,\u201d answered the Moon Man, taking a great bow and an arrow that\nwas so long its head rested on a mountain miles away. On the other\nend was a little compartment, lighted with many colored lights, and\ncontaining chairs and a table which was set with the most dainty fruits\nand cakes.\n\n\u201cGet in, hold tight, and keep your promise.\u201d As he spoke he touched her\nlightly on the shoulder, and she began at once to regain her youth and\nbeauty.\n\nShe stepped into the fairy car.\n\n\u201cRemember your promise,\u201d said the Moon Man sternly. \u201cAre you ready?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d replied Niona.\n\nBefore she could say more, she found herself flying toward earth;\nnearer and nearer she flew. Soon a light appeared, then another and\nanother. Soon she could see the great lake, then her old father who was\nsitting outside his lodge. He was crying, \u201cNiona, Niona, come back!\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m coming!\u201d she called, as the great arrow plunged into the earth,\nstopping just in time so Niona could step out and be welcomed by her\nfather.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cI\u2019m coming!\u201d]\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve come to help you gather wood, and to fish, and to sew\ncaribou-skins, and make snares, and cure the moose-skins, and to hunt,\nand to draw water.\u201d\n\nHe looked up and smiled, he had grown very old.\n\n\u201cWhere are your fine clothes?\u201d he asked.\n\nNiona looked down at her feet, and behold! she was in rags!\n\n\u201cI shall not need them now, good father. I have come to serve you.\u201d\n\nFor many moons she had been faithful to her promise made to the Man\nin the Moon, when, one day, there came from the forest, a handsome\nbrave, with a deer slung over his shoulder--not the Indian she had\nadmired before her strange journey, but one nobler and taller. Walking\ntoward the old man he said: \u201cYou have a beautiful daughter. May I wed\nher when the moon is full?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe is a good daughter, and may do as she thinks best,\u201d replied the\nchief.\n\nNiona grew to love the young Indian, and they were married and devoted\ntheir lives to her father as long as he lived. They lived to be very\nold, beloved by their tribe for their good works. When they died they\nwere mourned by all who knew them. It is said they are now living in\nthe beautiful City of the Rainbow.\n\n\n\n\nWHY DOGS DO NOT TALK\n\n\nAt the foot of a mountain, with his daughter Neti and his dog, lived\nNudi, an Indian whose wife had left him. He was fond of both, but of\nthe two he loved his dog more dearly as she gave to him affection and\nobedience.\n\nAt the time the incidents of this story happened all dogs could talk.\nThen language was very primitive, but as the dog has for nearly all\ntime been a friend of man and his companion, each learned the language\nof the other, as does man when associating with a people speaking\nanother language.\n\nThe dog, being also the most sociable of all animals, learned that\nman could hunt with more skill when in quest of food, and before he\nbecame his companion, would follow on his trail and devour the meat\ndiscarded by him. When the dog found man a kindly being, he would join\nin the hunt, each finding the other helpful. Man found the dog had\nmore highly developed the instinct for location, and that his sense of\nsmell and his hearing were more acute, combining also the pleasure he\nenjoyed in associating with man rather than with his own kind. So man\nand dog became fast and enduring friends, and as some one has said of\nthe latter, \u201cthe most intimate and companionable comrade for man of all\nthe kingdom of animals.\u201d\n\nSo Nudi and his dog, Happy, would wander off to the mountains in\nsearch of game, and fish the waters for trout so plentiful in the dark,\nwinding streams that came down with such a rush from the upper reaches\nof the mighty mountain that Nudi called \u201cThe Giant.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: So Nudi and his dog, Happy, would wander off to the\nmountains]\n\nSometimes they would have much to say, sometimes little. Happy would\nalways consider the moods of Nudi--if he was not disposed to talk, she\nwould run along beside him if the path was wide, and if not, follow at\nhis heels in silence.\n\nThere was something Happy had for a long time wanted to tell Nudi,\nabout his daughter, but she would always hesitate, for she felt that\nperhaps it would not be right as it was natural for all creatures to\nlove some one. Neti was very beautiful; she had many young braves who\nadmired her, and she was very fond of their wooing, as she was also\nfond of the pretty trinkets they would bestow upon her. But the youth\nNeti liked the most, her father did not favor, so, unknown to him,\nshe would go for long walks with her lover, and Happy knew, as she\nhad followed them, that he had kissed her and said to her words of\naffection which Neti liked, even though she blushed and had taken her\nhand from his.\n\nOne day, trailing a bear, Happy told all she knew of Neti\u2019s romance.\nThis vexed the father, so he threatened not to allow Neti to go\nmore than twenty paces from the lodge, and to take from her all the\nbaubles she had received from her admirers, this being the most severe\npunishment he could inflict. He also went to Tiki, the Shaman of the\ntribe, and asked him to make medicine and bring upon the lover some\nevil.\n\n[Illustration: One day, trailing a bear, Happy told all she knew of\nNeti\u2019s romance]\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Shaman, \u201cIt is not upon the young brave, but upon your\ndog that I shall bring punishment.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no!\u201d said Nudi, \u201cMy dog is my friend. You shall not bring upon her\nany misfortune!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Tiki, \u201cshe has told that which she should not. We cannot\nourselves judge of another\u2019s affection. We must choose according to the\ndictates of our own hearts.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cYes,\u201d said Tiki, \u201cshe has told that which she should\nnot.\u201d]\n\nSo the Medicine Man used his powers so that dogs could never talk\nagain; but left them the capacity to understand the language of all\nmankind. Though he took from all dogs the power of speech, he left to\nthem fidelity, patience, and affection, and made them so nearly human\nthat many who have loved them mourn their loss almost as much as one\nof their own kind. For has not the dog much of human intelligence with\nnone of man\u2019s conceit, hypocrisy or ingratitude? Does he not cling to\nhis master no matter how humble may be his lot or how spare may be his\nmeal? He will even forgive those who abuse and neglect him. No matter\nwhat may be the adversity that befalls those around him, he is still\ntheir loyal, clinging friend.\n\nWhat an object-lesson is this patient, trusting creature that\nshares man\u2019s companionship, a companionship that if broken by the loss\nof the master, has sometimes ended in the death of man\u2019s best and\ntruest friend.\n\n\n\n\nMR. FISH AND YONI\n\n\nYoni, an old Indian, had lost his wife by death, so, to the custom of\nhis people, he covered her body with birch-bark, and wrapped it in a\nlarge moose-skin. Then, with the help of his friends, he put the body\non a platform high up in the boughs of a tall, young spruce-tree.\n\nHe then cut his hair very short, as a sign of mourning, and began to\nthink how alone he would be during the long winter days.\n\nThe frost had come and touched the trees and bush, and the beautiful\ncolors that the artist of Nature was painting upon them, just a little\nwhile before Nature destroyed the picture, began to appear in places\nhere and there, all over the land. The fine birds that sang to Yoni,\nand the plain little wrens he loved best were leaving, one by one,\nto wing their ways to the Southland where the sun is always warm and\nsmiling, and Jack Frost and his bearded old relation Father Winter are\nunknown.\n\nYoni had been very happy during the many years of his life. He was a\ngood hunter, so of deer meat and fish he always had a plentiful supply.\nBut his age, even with all the pleasant memories of the years gone by,\nmeant to him in his solitude only sorrow and loneliness. He would have\nbeen glad if his wife, many years younger than he, could have lived to\nhelp him in his old age, but this was not to be.\n\nHe would sit outside his lodge, and watch the beavers working on their\ndam just across the river, and recall how he had told his wife, Noimi,\nwho was very pretty in his eyes, that there was no one to compare with\nher in all the graces and virtues, that she must not go for wood when\nthe nights were cold; and if she did, he would call her back and insist\nthat she go into the tipi and sit by the fire, and if she wished, she\ncould sew on the skins that would keep them warm during the winter.\n\nHe would waken at night, and out of the silence would come, from far\nacross the lonely hills, the barking of the great timber-wolves,\nsounding like big dogs. Sometimes a stealthy bear would come with\nits cubs and tear down his fish-racks, and carry off the fish he had\ndressed and was drying for the winter. In the morning he would go out\nto see what damage they had done. He would never get angry, saying in\na low voice: \u201cLet them eat. It\u2019s very bad to be hungry.\u201d Then he would\nsmile at their destruction, and with thin, trembling hands, try to\nstraighten the poles.\n\nTwice a day he would pull up his nets that were made of willow fibre.\nSometimes there were many fish, and sometimes only a few--but he never\ncomplained, for there were always enough for his needs now that he\nwas all alone--having not even a dog. The preceding fall he had had\ntwo, but one had wandered away and he had given the other to Moni,\nhis friend, who lived just around the bend of the river, and who was\nbusy hauling wood for his winter fires, so did not come to visit him\nso often as in summer. Moni was growing old also, and his children had\nleft him, all but a daughter, and she was blind, and not much help.\n\nOne morning before it was very light, old Yoni heard a terrific\nsplashing in the water above the place he tied his canoe. He had heard\nthe connie or pike making a great rumpus when trying to catch a frog,\nbut the splashing increased, so Yoni started for the shore as fast as\nhis poor old legs could go. There he found a strange and very large\nfish splashing and floundering, and the more he floundered the more he\nbecame entangled in Yoni\u2019s net, and the only one he had.\n\n[Illustration: There he found a strange and very large fish splashing\nand floundering]\n\nWhen the fish saw Yoni he called: \u201cCome quickly and release me. I\u2019m\nafraid I shall die. Come! I feel so strange.\u201d\n\nYoni made no effort to untangle the monster, who was just twenty-five\nfeet long to an inch.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d thought Yoni, \u201cYou are a fine catch; you\u2019ll be food for me all\nwinter and much to spare; this I can barter with Moni for my winter\u2019s\nwood.\u201d And Yoni was pleased and smiled, and this he did not do very\noften.\n\nThe more the creature struggled, the more and the tighter the net held\nhim.\n\n\u201cHurry!\u201d called the fish, not knowing what Yoni had been thinking\nabout. Then he became perfectly still, and looking up at Yoni in a very\nappealing way said: \u201cYou are an old man. Get me out of this tangle and\nI will reward you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow?\u201d said Yoni, becoming very much interested to have an affair with\na fish that could talk.\n\n\u201cThere are many places and people,\u201d said the fish, \u201calong these great\nriver ways that you have never seen.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Yoni, becoming more interested. \u201cThe Yellow Knife, the Dog\nRib, the Cree and many tribes far away to the North.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know their language,\u201d said the fish. \u201cRelease me and I will take you\nwhere you will be among friends, and to those who will honor your old\nage. As you know, the rivers are long with many rapids that would upset\nyour old canoe, and crush it on the rocks. Many of the portages are\nhigh hills, and many too rough and stony for your feet.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is all very well in words,\u201d said Yoni, \u201cbut you may be like\nmany of the fur-traders who do not always speak words that are to be\ndepended upon.\u201d\n\nAlthough the net was very tight about the neck of the fish, he managed\nto smile.\n\n\u201cAh\u201d said he, \u201cfish who talk never are known to speak untruths. Release\nme, and I will prove to you my gratitude by taking you anywhere you\nwish to go.\u201d\n\nSo Yoni, convinced that he was talking to a truthful fish, waded\nslowly arm deep in the water, and cut the tangled strands holding his\nnew-found friend.\n\n\u201cJust a moment,\u201d said the fish after the last strand binding his gills\nhad been severed, and he straightened out to see if his tail and fins\nwere in working order, \u201cI\u2019ll swim out a little way to see if everything\nis right for our journey.\u201d So far from shore and nearly to the middle\nof the stream the fish swam.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019ll never come back,\u201d thought Yoni, \u201cand my net is in shreds.\u201d\n\nFar out, and out of sight the monster had gone. At first Yoni thought\nhe would never believe the promise of a talking-fish again, but knowing\nhe had saved the creature\u2019s life, he thought he might keep faith with\none who had so truly befriended him. Just as Yoni was really losing\nfaith, the fish rose to the surface far out in midstream.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m coming,\u201d he called. \u201cThere are a few scales missing, but otherwise\nI\u2019m all right for a long swim.\u201d\n\nYoni was glad his confidence was justified, although he did begin to\nthink the story was fishy, like others where fish were concerned.\n\n\u201cWade out to the rock,\u201d called the fish. \u201cI\u2019ll swim alongside; you get\non my back and then we\u2019ll be off for anywhere.\u201d\n\nSo Yoni with some difficulty waded to the rock, and climbed upon it\njust as the fish rose alongside. Yoni got aboard, straddling the huge\nback as if he were riding a horse just as he had once done before he\ngrew so old.\n\n\u201cWhere shall we go, and what is your name?\u201d asked the fish.\n\n\u201cYoni,\u201d replied the old Indian, \u201cWhat is yours?\u201d\n\n\u201cPiscatori,\u201d answered the huge creature.\n\n\u201cWhat a strange name,\u201d said Yoni, \u201cI am afraid I cannot remember it. My\nmemory is not so good as it was years ago.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s not important,\u201d replied the fish. \u201cJust call me Mr. Fish. I\u2019ll\nunderstand.\u201d\n\nYoni thought that was best, so he asked the fish to turn around and go\ndown the river to a place where he had set his snares and traps the\nyear before. So Mr. Fish turned around and began to swim so fast it\ntook Yoni\u2019s breath almost away.\n\n\u201cNot so fast, Mr. Fish,\u201d called Yoni. \u201cI\u2019m afraid I\u2019ll slip off.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no!\u201d said Mr. Fish. \u201cHold onto my front fin. Look out you don\u2019t\nprick your fingers, the points are sharp. If you get cold, lift up the\nfin, step down, and you\u2019ll find a cosy room just large enough to hold\nyou comfortably.\u201d\n\nSo Yoni, being just a little chilly, with some difficulty raised the\nfin, and to his great joy and surprise he found such a cosy little\nplace like a little room, with the floor and sides covered with the\nmost beautifully colored scales--just as if they had stolen the tints\nfrom an Arctic rainbow or from the inside of a beautiful shell. And it\nwas so warm, and Mr. Fish said, \u201cQuite waterproof.\u201d\n\nYoni had not been so really contented for many years. He sat upon a\nstrange little seat, so soft and warm, and looking around he found to\nhis great astonishment that each scale formed a little window through\nwhich he could look out. Mr. Fish was passing through the deepest part\nof the river, and Yoni could see so many strange water things, fish of\nmany colors and shapes, turtles, eels, frogs, rocks with very beautiful\nclinging vines in which fish of many kinds were hiding. Yoni was in a\nmaze of wonderment that was broken by the movement of Mr. Fish, who\nwas pointing for the bank. Yoni looked out and recognized the place as\nthe one at which he had camped many years before, and just across the\nriver where the old elm was still standing, was the spot where he had\nfirst met Noimi, who afterward became his wife. This made him sad, but\nhe felt better when he realized he had found a new friend and a very\nagreeable companion. Though he had not felt bold enough to ask, he\nthought Mr. Fish was much older than he himself was.\n\nThe fish swam to a great tree that had fallen into the water, due to\nthe underwash of a swiftly flowing river and the grinding ice that cuts\nthe banks in the spring.\n\n\u201cGet off here,\u201d said Mr. Fish; and Yoni raised the fin and stepped out\non the tree, and then climbed the steep bank. Mr. Fish, seeing how\ninfirm the old man was, moved a little, then backing up, raised his\nstrong tail and gave Yoni a gentle push.\n\n\u201cThat is a great help,\u201d said Yoni. Mr. Fish made no reply. He was\nthinking how unfortunate it was to be old, and of the \u201cTree of Youth\u201d\nthat grew where the waters of the Slave River flowed into the great\nlake of the same name.\n\nMr. Fish waited patiently for the old man to return from his\nwanderings, and when he did, his eyes were red from weeping.\n\n\u201cCheer up,\u201d said Mr. Fish, \u201cwe are going on a long journey. To go by\ncanoe would take five or six days. If the water is not low, I can do it\nbefore sundown.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood for you,\u201d said Yoni, having great confidence in Mr. Fish as a\nmeans of transport.\n\nMr. Fish smiled. \u201cI\u2019ll give the old fellow the greatest surprise of his\nlife,\u201d said he to himself as he swished his tail to the right and to\nthe left with the power of a great propeller.\n\n\u201cMy! how fast we are going,\u201d said Yoni aloud; and he told Mr. Fish so,\nbut he was too busy dodging rocks and sunken timber to have answered\neven had he heard Yoni.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cMy! how fast we are going!\u201d]\n\nOn Mr. Fish swam, cutting the corners of the river, winding his\nway between sunken ledges, leaping great rapids in which many a\ntrapper\u2019s scow had been crushed, as the little crosses on the graves\non the banks can testify--struggling over shallow water, getting fast\non sand-bars covered with wreckage from the great forests, held by\nboulders in narrow ways and pushing through with his muscular tail and\nwiggles--then down into deep water where things looked black and spooky\nto Yoni. For hours, fast and slow, the great physical being worked like\na mighty engine.\n\n\u201cWhat will become of me?\u201d thought Yoni, \u201cif anything happens to Mr.\nFish?\u201d\n\nAs the sun was falling and the shadows were dying in the water, the\ncraft of flesh pulled to the bank, and Yoni, a bit cramped from being\nso long in one position, got on the back of Mr. Fish and looked around\nto survey his surroundings.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll remain here to-night,\u201d said the fish, as he wiped the\nperspiration from his kind face.\n\n\u201cYou must be very tired,\u201d observed Yoni.\n\n\u201cOh, no!\u201d answered Mr. Fish. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit strenuous when one has a cargo\naboard, to get over dry land when one is accustomed to a water route.\nGoing back you\u2019d better take your time--that is if I don\u2019t go back with\nyou.\u201d\n\nYoni looked worried.\n\n\u201cWhy have you brought me so far from home?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t ask silly questions,\u201d replied Mr. Fish. \u201cOn the bank yonder\nyou\u2019ll find some leaves and fagots. I\u2019d help you if I could, but it\nmakes me very short of wind to be out of water very long, so you will\nhave to excuse me. Collect an armful, build a fire under the tree with\nthe leaves all aflame with the \u2018Fire of Youth\u2019--that one\u201d pointing with\nhis fin. \u201cThere are berries enough on the hill for your supper. I\u2019ll\nsleep in the black hole over there. It\u2019s near the shore.\u201d\n\nYoni went about gathering leaves and small sticks which he placed near\nthe tree, as there were many spots showing little piles of ashes where\nfires had been built before. While he was standing under the strange\ntree, a leaf would now and again fall--it seemed to him, all aflame.\nOne touched his forehead and fell to the ground. He stooped to pick it\nup, but just as his fingers touched it, it disappeared.\n\n\u201cWhat can be the meaning of this?\u201d said Yoni to himself, and then he\nremembered Mr. Fish having said something about the \u201cFire of Youth.\u201d A\nstrange desire to sleep came over him, and all night he slept, dreaming\nstrange dreams of fairies and places and people.\n\nThe sunshine chased away a gray dawn and shone straight in Yoni\u2019s\nface. He turned to get away from the glare, and in turning he felt\nso strange that he partly awakened. Becoming wide-awake, he gripped\nthe grass and leaves with a vigor long forgotten. He looked at his\nhands. They again had the appearance of youth. His limbs were hard and\nmuscular. Looking down, he discovered he was wearing a beautifully\nembroidered suit of moose-skin made for him by Noimi many years before.\nLooking up, he saw that the tree under which he had fallen asleep was\nnow bare of all foliage, and not a leaf was to be seen on the ground.\nEverything seemed strange to him.\n\n\u201cMr. Fish! Mr. Fish!\u201d called Yoni in a voice so strong it almost\nfrightened him. \u201cWhere are you, Mr. Fish?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cMr. Fish! Mr. Fish!\u201d called Yoni]\n\nMr. Fish was so tired on account of his long journey, that Yoni had to\ncall many times. At last the vibrations of Yoni\u2019s voice touched the\near of the fish, and he awoke, moved his tail, blew the water, and\nswam slowly to the bank. Of course, he knew what had happened when he\nsaw the young man on the shore. He smiled so hard that three scales\nloosened by the struggle of the day before fell off, and went sailing\nand sinking down-stream.\n\n\u201cGood morning! ... and good-by! Long life and always happy days to\nyou. Seek Noimi in the lodge just over the hill. I\u2019m off for the sea.\u201d\n\nYoni called frantically, but Mr. Fish had gone so fast and far, he\ncould not hear. He would not have come back if he had, having given to\nthe old man \u201cYouth,\u201d some say, the most beautiful and precious of all\nthings.\n\n\n\n\nFIRE BOY AND WATER BOY\n\n\nAs long as the oldest Indians could remember, the Fire and Water Boys\nhad lived along the shores of the great lake called Athabasca. They\nnever seemed to grow any older; sometimes they were very good and\nvery helpful--sometimes, very annoying and often destructive. When\nthe Indians grew tired of their pranks and tried to punish them, many\nstrange things would happen.\n\nFar off the shore of Chipewyan lies an island, beautifully wooded and\nshaped very like a lady\u2019s hat. On this island, alone, for nearly fifty\nyears had lived Ani, who seldom spoke to any one, nor did she ever go\nto the mainland to enter into the festivities of the other Indians\nliving in the vicinity of the settlement comprising two old Hudson\u2019s\nBay forts, a store of the company that traded with the Indians, a log\nchurch and a few straggling huts that fringed the woodlands on one side\nand the lake on the other. In winter the Indians trapped and hunted\nfor the many valuable fur animals that roamed the desolate parts of\nthis great northern wilderness, and in the spring and summer fished for\ntheir winter supply for their dogs that helped them drag the game from\nthe woods, often many miles from the settlement.\n\nThe women made white and colored moccasins of the most beautiful\ndesigns, adorned with porcupine quills dyed in many colors, some of the\nstrands being almost as fine as a hair. These were braided and twisted\nwith silk cords also of many colors, making a charming adornment\nfor the feet, even of a queen. Because the Indian women were not\nindustrious, there were but few made, and these were all bought by the\ntrappers, so people of the Southland never saw them.\n\nFar beyond the island on which Ani had made her home so long, was\nanother smaller one where Ani\u2019s lover, a very handsome Beaver Indian,\nhad lived more than forty years before. He had gone on a long trail for\nmoose and caribou and had never returned; and every morning at dawn,\nand in the evening at sunset Ani would take a wild flower that her\nlover had given her, and which she had kept in a squirrel-skin bag, and\ngo to the edge of the lake when the sun made a path of gold away across\nto the far shore, and call in her feeble voice to the Great Spirit to\nsend back her brown-eyed boy of so many dead years of long ago. But he\nnever came, and her heart grew more sad as the years passed. There were\nso many reasons why she wanted him--her tipi needed repairing, it was\nhard for her to cut wood, the path to the lake was stony and sometimes\nshe would bruise her feet and groan; but there was no one to hear or to\nhelp her. She would not leave the island, fearing if she did her lover\nwould return and would not be able to find her.\n\nOne morning she heard the paddle of a canoe, and thinking perhaps he\nhad come, she threw down her pan in which she was frying a portion of\nrabbit that she had snared two days before, and slowly crawled to the\nopening of her tipi and looked out; but it was not he--only two boys\nwho were pointing their canoe directly to the path leading to her camp.\n\n\u201cHello, Granny Ani!\u201d called the boy plying the bow paddle, but Ani was\nso disappointed she made only a grunt as a reply.\n\n\u201cHello!\u201d they called again.\n\nAni made no answer, standing with a worried look.\n\n\u201cGet some fagots,\u201d called the boy in the bow. \u201cWe have brought a goose\nand caribou tongues, and we will share them with you.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cWe have brought a goose and caribou tongues, and we\nwill share them with you\u201d]\n\nAni seemed pleased and went for an armful of dry branches--she had not\neaten goose for so long, and caribou tongue she had almost forgotten.\nShe was so slow the boys went to help her, and gathered for her a fine\nlot of branches, dry and just the right size to make a quick and hot\nfire. The goose was prepared and strung on a birch branch, as also were\nthe tongues, just close enough to the fagots to roast without burning.\n\n\u201cI have no tinder,\u201d said Ani.\n\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d said the boy with the bright, flashing eyes, and with the\ntip of his finger he touched the branches, at which they burst into\nflame, much to the astonishment of Ani.\n\n\u201cSpirits,\u201d thought she, \u201cI\u2019ll not go too near them.\u201d\n\n\u201cGet a gourd,\u201d demanded the other boy in a tone Ani did not like--but\nshe obeyed, and brought a fine big one hanging on long strings of\ncaribou sinew. She handed it to the boy, and as soon as he had taken\nit, it filled to overflowing with clear, cool water.\n\n\u201cYou are children of the Evil Spirit,\u201d said Ani, looking first at one\nand then at the other, and then at the fire.\n\nThis remark made the boys laugh.\n\nThe goose and tongues were by this time nicely browned, and the edge\nof the fire had spread to a pile of dry leaves. This was put out by\na gesture of the hand of the boy who had so mysteriously filled the\ngourd. But this Ani had not noticed as she was now anxious to know if\nthe boys would make a fair division of the food, as she was growing\nvery hungry.\n\n[Illustration: Looking up to her he waved his hand and smiled]\n\nThe first boy reached out and tore from the goose a leg dripping\nwith rich juice while the other lad took from the stick a dainty\ntongue, and began eating. Ani waited for them to invite her to join in\nthe feast, but they did not. This so offended her that she seized the\nnearest boy (who made no resistance) by the hair of the head, and led\nhim to the water, pushing him into a deep hole where he sank to the\nbottom. Looking up to her he waved his hand, and smiled, making strange\nfaces at the astonished old woman who was too startled to speak. Then\ngoing back to her tipi, she collected a large armful of leaves and\npiled bundle after bundle of branches until they mounted as high as she\ncould reach. Then she went to the other boy with her pipe, pretending\nshe wanted to smoke, and asked him to light it, which he did. Then she\nput the fire from her pipe on the ground beneath the great pile and\nblew until a flame burst out, the fire leaping high. Quickly seizing\nthe boy, she dragged him to the pile and pushed him into the burning\nmass. He also did not resist, but sat without discomfort in the midst\nof the flames until the fire had burned itself out. Then he shook the\nashes from his clothing and walked back to his friend who had returned\nfrom the river, and they finished their meal together.\n\n[Illustration: He sat without discomfort in the midst of the flames]\n\n\u201cWhere is the old lady?\u201d asked the boy whom Ani had tried to burn,\nand they went in search, finding her sitting behind an old hut that\nhad been deserted before she came to live on the island. She was very\nmuch worried by their coming, and told them so; but they only smiled,\nand told her she was to have all the goose and the caribou tongues that\nremained, and that they, who were the incarnation of fire and water,\nthe elements she needed most, had been sent to her by the spirit of her\nlover to hunt, to make her fire, cook her food, and to water the island\nso berries and herbs would grow--and to do all that fire and water\ncould do for her in her old age.\n\nThe old Indians who knew Ani said the boys served her in every way\nas long as she lived, and that she was never so happy as when they were\nwith her; and some said her young lover came back, and they journeyed\ntogether to the far-off land that the white man called heaven.\n\n\n\n\nOLD SPOT AND THE CUPIDS\n\n\nArachnida, or \u201cSpotted Spider,\u201d the name given him by his neighbor\nYuti, who lived at the edge of the trail not far from the bear\u2019s den,\nhad grown so large, and his legs so long that his snare was no longer\nstrong enough to bear his weight. Once in a while he would go back to\nit, make a few extra turns, spin stronger strands, and try it out; but\nit was no use, down it came every time he tried. After repairing it, he\nwould say to himself, \u201cNever again.\u201d Then he would go back to the dark\ncave in the ledge that for many years had been the home of his friend,\nBruin, who had wandered away, and had never returned. Nor did any one\nknow of his whereabouts.\n\nOld Spot, though having really no claims by right of possession to\nBruin\u2019s premises, felt he was not trespassing. He had always been on\nthe most intimate terms with him, and had served him in many ways,\nrecalling how often he had nursed him when Black Bear had feasted,\nnot wisely, but too well in the garden of Yuti, who had cultivated a\nwell-ordered patch bordering the woodland near his lodge.\n\nYuti suspected Bruin--in fact had seen him leaving the patch where the\ncorn grew several nights before he had gone away; but being on friendly\nterms with Spot, who was very devoted to Bruin, he never made any\ncomplaint, feeling it was better to live in accord with his neighbors\nrather than to plant the seed of hostility. \u201cBruin was hungry, so let\nhim eat. The sun and rain will cause more corn to grow.\u201d This is what\nYuti would say.\n\nOld Spot had always lived alone, weaving his snare in the most likely\nplace for his prey, just at the beginning of the trail as it entered\nthe wood, and in good view of his apartment in the ledge. His spinners\nand spinnerets had the reputation of making the strongest silk thread\nin that vicinity.\n\nOf course, Spot was proud of this, but he was getting on in years--some\nof his twelve eyes were losing focus, and he sometimes felt, though\nnot always, with Bruin away and Yuti not as sociable as he would have\nliked him to be, that life did not have much attraction for him. His\nmandibles did not serve him with the same dexterity that they had\npossessed when he was younger, when he tried to seize his prey and\nsqueeze it: this depressed him. There were also symptoms of rheumatism\nin two or three of his many legs, causing troublesome and disagreeable\npains; and having many legs and long ones, the chances were that his\nsuffering would be much more serious than if they had been fewer and\nshorter.\n\nKnowing that these symptoms without doubt meant the approach of age,\nhe became very blue at times, and for days would not stir from his\nquarters to see if his snare held any food for him.\n\nFor two days and as many nights he slept with his long slender legs\nwrapped about him. The fall was coming on and he would often wake\nhimself by chilly shudders, the nights being very, very cold. On the\nmorning of the third day he was wakened by a strange noise. The sound\ncame from the direction of his snare, but knowing that the young fox\nand the lynx made noises like real babies he paid little heed. Changing\nhis position because three of his hind legs had gotten tangled, he\nsettled again for another sleep of a day or two. Again the sounds like\nthose of a crying child disturbed him, and again he said to himself:\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s only a young thing that has strayed from its mother.\u201d\n\nBefore he had finished thinking, the cries became louder and more\nappealing; so Spot, being of a kindly nature, though age had hardened\nhim as it does so many, decided to investigate.\n\nHe had been in one position so long that his legs, or a half-dozen of\nthem, refused to work as he would like to have had them; but being very\nhungry from his long fast, he drew himself together, and with a big\neffort and a bigger grunt, stood up, stretched himself, and walked to\nthe entrance to his den.\n\nJust as he poked his face out Yuti, who was gathering fagots to make a\nfire to roast a fat rabbit he had snared the night before, called out:\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve got a fine catch this morning.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cYou\u2019ve got a fine catch this morning\u201d]\n\nSpot did not answer. Turning in the direction of his snare that was\nstretched from either side of the trail, attached to as fine a pair\nof white birches as ever plumed a wood, he beheld two creatures with\ngreat, tapering wings, beating and struggling for freedom, making at\nthe same time, wee, shrill cries that caused Spot to hurry his pace.\n\nHis first thought was for the safety of his snare.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s a pretty mess,\u201d thought he. \u201cHow shall I ever repair it?\u201d\n\nAll the time Spot was hobbling toward the strange, struggling things,\ntheir cries increased. They were real heart-piercing cries. The more\nthey shrieked the more they struggled, and alas, poor Spot\u2019s snare was\nbeing torn to ribbons.\n\nThe cries were so terrifying that Spot was just a bit frightened, but\nhaving been always very courageous, he rather resented the feeling of\ntimidity, and, quickening his steps, he approached the destroyers and\nthe destroyed.\n\n\u201cBears and beetles!\u201d ejaculated Spot, \u201cWhat have I caught this time?\u201d\n\nFast in the lashings of his great web a brace of Cupids were beating\ntheir splendid wings vigorously against his snare. As he came near they\ncried more lustily.\n\n\u201cWhere does so much sound come from?\u201d thought Spot, looking at their\nrosy, plump little bodies.\n\nSeeing Spot approaching them, they cried all the louder; but observing\nhis venerable and kindly face, they suddenly became quiet, waiting to\nsee what was to be their fate.\n\n\u201cWell, my children,\u201d said Spot in a gentle tone, \u201cyou\u2019ve made a pretty\nkettle of fish of my only means of securing food. Where did you come\nfrom, and what are your names?\u201d\n\n\u201cGet us out of this tangle and we\u2019ll tell you all about it,\u201d said the\nCupids in chorus.\n\nOld Spot gathered the end of a long strand of spider silk that was\nfloating with the wind, and began to wind.\n\n\u201cHurry!\u201d said one of the little prisoners. Spot hurried as fast as he\ncould, but the faster he worked his spinner the oftener he broke the\nthread.\n\n\u201cBe patient,\u201d said Spot, \u201cThe more haste the less speed.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, but I\u2019m cramped,\u201d said the Cupid who was bound tighter than his\nmate, as he struggled to free himself. Part of the great web fastened\nto the birches began to sag from the weight of the chubby little\nvictims.\n\n\u201cHave a heart,\u201d commanded Spot in a sterner voice than before. \u201cThere\nwill be nothing left of my trap if you don\u2019t keep quiet.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you are so slow,\u201d observed the one with four dimples on his hand.\n\nAt last the sticky threads were tightly bound on Spot\u2019s spinners, and\nthe poor tired little chubs, being free, stood up, slowly moving their\nwings that had been so ruffled and mussed by old Spot\u2019s food-catcher.\n\n\u201cYou asked our names and where we came from,\u201d straightening out their\nwings and adjusting a few shaggy feathers.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Spot, scratching his head with his hindermost leg in\nmeditation.\n\n\u201cCupid is our name. We have no home.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo home?\u201d echoed Spot. \u201cWhat is your other name?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe have no other name, it\u2019s just Cupid.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s news to me,\u201d said Spot thoughtfully, adding:\n\n\u201cAye, aye! You\u2019re the little chaps that make a lot of trouble in the\nworld. I\u2019ve heard of you very often.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, and a lot of happiness,\u201d they replied timidly, in a voice not\nbigger than a wren\u2019s.\n\nAgain the little fellows flapped their splendid wings, that were\ngradually getting back to their original form.\n\n\u201cNot quite so much breeze; I\u2019m very sensitive to drafts,\u201d pled Spot,\neyeing the pair with a feeling of pity.\n\n\u201cNo father or mother? Poor kiddies,\u201d thought he.\n\n\u201cYou have always been alone?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlways,\u201d they replied.\n\n\u201cHave you nothing to wear to keep you warm?\u201d\n\n\u201cNope,\u201d they replied, shivering just a little, seeing old Spot was\nbeing moved to sympathy.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll see about that,\u201d he said. \u201cCome over to my house, and I\u2019ll build\na fire for you.\u201d So over they all went to Spot\u2019s den.\n\n\u201cWhat a delightful place,\u201d said the Cupids, looking around.\n\n\u201cYou like it, do you?\u201d said Spot.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s very cosy,\u201d said they as they entered the den, and cuddled in\none corner where the leaves had blown in as if to make a comfortable\nbed for them.\n\n\u201cWould you like to make your home with me?\u201d\n\nThey looked at each other with an expression of pleasure, each\nanticipating the reply of the other to be \u201cYes.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould you let us?\u201d\n\nSpot did not reply, he was so deep in thought. \u201cWhat delightful little\nthings to have around,\u201d he almost said aloud.\n\n\u201cWould you let us?\u201d they repeated.\n\n\u201cI\u2019d be glad to have you,\u201d trying not to express too much emotion, as\nhe was pleased beyond all measure at the thought of having them for his\ncompanions.\n\n\u201cWhat shall we do about our wings; they are so terribly in the way,\u201d as\nthey tried to adjust them so they would not scrape the rough wall of\nthe cave.\n\n\u201cIf you want them clipped my friend Yuti can attend to that,\u201d said Spot.\n\n\u201cWould it hurt?\u201d they asked.\n\n\u201cI think not.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right; can we have it done now?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll go and see if Yuti is at home,\u201d replied Spot, looking in the\ndirection of Yuti\u2019s moose-skin lodge.\n\nOver they went across the cleared land, where they found Yuti mending\nhis moccasins.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve a job for you,\u201d called Spot, as Yuti looked up very much\nbewildered at the sight that to him was startling.\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve a little job for you, Yuti,\u201d repeated Spot. \u201cGet your tomahawk\nand clip the wings of my little friends.\u201d\n\nYuti looked at Spot and then at the Cupids. \u201cWhat a strange request,\u201d\nhe thought.\n\nThen Spot took Yuti aside and told him about his strange experience,\nand Yuti only smiled, saying nothing.\n\nGoing to his lodge he got his tomahawk and led the party to an old\noak stump. Then taking the Cupid standing nearest to him, he gently led\nhim to the stump and placed his wing upon it. With one stroke off it\ncame.\n\n\u201cMy! that was easy,\u201d said his interested companion, looking to see if\nit hurt.\n\n\u201cNow the other,\u201d said Yuti, and Cupid turned around.\n\nDown came the strong arm of Yuti, and off came the other wing.\n\n\u201cWhat a relief,\u201d sighed the little fellow, now free of his troublesome\nappendages. The other Cupid moved toward the stump. It was but the work\nof a few seconds and all was over.\n\n[Illustration: It was but the work of a few seconds and all was over]\n\nReaching up and each taking one of Yuti\u2019s hands in his, the tiny\nfellows thanked him; then the little party started back to the den.\n\nOn their arrival the conversation became more general and less\nconstrained, all becoming better acquainted.\n\n\u201cSomething must be done about your clothing; we are liable to have snow\nany day,\u201d said Spot, in a tone burdened with solicitude, for spiders\nhave the reputation of being kind to their young and those they like,\neven though the lady-spider sometimes devours her husband in a fit of\nanger.\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s go down to the snare and see how much there is left of it,\u201d he\ncontinued. \u201cIf it can\u2019t be repaired I\u2019ll have to weave another, for\nclothing you must have.\u201d After surveying the mass of tangled threads,\nthey decided it would be best to make a new web.\n\nFor days Spot worked upon it. Then he began the patterns for the\nsuits. Up and down, under and over, he wove, warp and woof, doubling it\nand twisting the threads so that the garments would be warm; drawing\nclose and tight the strands that formed the strange little affairs to\nbe worn by his Cupids--perhaps the only Cupids that ever wore clothes.\n\nThey would sit in admiration. \u201cHow really clever old Spot is,\u201d they\nremarked.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cHow really clever Old Spot is\u201d]\n\nAs the wonder garments neared completion, he added pockets, and made\nopenings through which the little wings that were left could pass.\n\nRealizing how good he was to them, they decided to be very helpful and\nto serve him in every way possible as long as he lived, which was to be\nfor a very long time. When strangers passed and saw the little things\nsitting close to Spot, some would ask: \u201cHow is it that their wings are\nso small?\u201d\n\nThen Spot would smile and say: \u201cThe reason Cupids have no wings is\nbecause--they do not want them.\u201d And then Spot would look at the Cupids\nand the Cupids would look at Spot, and they would giggle; but Spot\nwould look serious. Of course, the strangers did not understand the\ncause of their merriment.\n\nSometimes when Spot put the Cupids to bed, and covered and tucked\nthem in with sweet grasses and scented moss flowers to keep them warm,\nhe would sit beside them when the tree-toad whistled his night song,\nand wonder if they had their large wings again, whether they would fly\naway, and leave him all alone.\n\n\n\n\nTHE UNDERWATER PEOPLE\n\n\nOne evening in the fall of the year, far-away in the North, on the\nshores of a great lake, there were sitting around the camp-fire a party\nof Beaver Indians. The winter had already set in, for the ice comes\nearly, and it is very cold when the sun has gone to rest.\n\nHocini, the oldest man of the party, had fallen asleep. Around the\nmoose-skin tents were scattered bits of wood, dried fish hung on racks,\nand five dogs, used in winter for drawing moose and caribou, were\nsleeping as near as they dared to be, to the warm fire, for the Indians\nare very cruel to their dogs, who really are very good to work so hard\nfor masters who do not allow them to get near enough to the fire to\nwarm themselves. The hoot owls had begun to make their strange noises\nand open their big, round eyes, for night was their day, and they must\nhunt food when they could see best, which was in the dark.\n\nAway on the far-flung reaches of the hills the wolf began to cry\nand moan. He is a big animal of grayish color, sometimes seven and a\nhalf feet from the tip of his tail to his nose-end. Many say he came\noriginally from Siberia when there was a land crossing from Alaska to\nSiberia, and that his great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers and\nmany of his relations way back in the years of long ago came to visit\nour Northland, and liked it so much they did not return to the land of\ntheir birth. That land is now divided from Alaska by the waters that\nflow from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, so if he did ever want\nto go back to visit his relations in Siberia, he would have to swim,\nfor no craft that go to Siberia for furs would care to have him for a\npassenger as he has a bad disposition, and cannot be depended upon when\nhe is hungry.\n\nWhile the Indians were sitting by the fire they suddenly saw a man\npassing along in the dusk. He was carrying on his back a strange\nblanket which was sewn with caribou sinew for thread, as the Indians\nhad no cotton thread. It was made of dozens and dozens of muskrat\nskins covered with fish-scales all sorted as to color and size, and\nthe lining was made of many, many squirrel-skins also covered with\nfish-scales, which were also well matched for color, making a beautiful\nand very warm water-proof covering for his body.\n\n[Illustration: They suddenly saw a man passing along in the dusk]\n\n\u201cWhere are you going and what are you going to do?\u201d asked an old man of\nthe tribe.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m going to become a young man again,\u201d he replied.\n\n\u201cHow will you do that?\u201d asked another old person.\n\n\u201cWe will go with you,\u201d said one of the party, \u201cfor we like youth, for\nthen we can hunt the beaver and moose in far-away mountains.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo as you please,\u201d the stranger replied indifferently.\n\n\u201cLet us go,\u201d said a young brave to two of his brothers-in-law, and they\ngot up and went to their tents to get their bows and quivers and long\nhunting moccasins, for it had rained in the morning, and the ground was\nnot yet dry.\n\nThe stranger called to them, \u201cHurry!\u201d and seemed out of sorts; but the\nIndians paid no attention to his mood and smiled at his haste.\n\nAfter saying good-by to their people, they joined the stranger and\nwalked through a dark wood until they came to a lake shore. Suddenly\nthe strange man who had been walking ahead of them, said: \u201cXwui!\u201d and\nwent through a hole in the ice to the bottom of the deep lake where his\nwife and many children were awaiting him. He did not greet his wife as\nthough he was fond of her, and to one of his children he said roughly:\n\n\u201cTell the men on the shore to do as I have done.\u201d\n\nSo the three men went to the hole through which the stranger had gone,\nand dove to the bottom. Then they walked to a settlement on the sands\nof the lake where there were many tents made of all kinds of skins--of\nmoose, caribou, white deer, muskrat, lynx, beaver, and many skins the\nIndians had never seen before--and around the tents, walking about,\nwere many people, who did not look at them.\n\nThe children of the strange Underwater Man would take bits of tough\ngrass and make fish snares. Then they would wait for a big fish to\ncome swimming along, swishing his tail and looking many ways with his\nstrange eyes. The children would hold out the snare, saying, \u201cTo nai,\u201d\nwhich means \u201cfish\u201d in the beaver language. Then the fish would swim\ninto the snare and be caught, and would say, as he wriggled to free\nhimself, \u201cDo ha-s tei-ul tuk,\u201d which means, \u201cDo not kill me.\u201d Then the\nchildren would take the fish to their mother, and she would cook it on\nhot stones that lay near a spring of boiling water that came from the\nbed of the lake.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cDo ha-s tei-ul tuk,\u201d which means \u201cDo not kill me\u201d]\n\nThe stranger called to the three men to come to his tent and eat. They\ndid so, and he shared the fish with them.\n\nSuddenly some one stepped on the foot of the man who had asked his\nbrothers-in-law to go with the stranger. He looked up, and saw a giant\nfrog standing on his left foot. He could not believe his own eyes, for\nhe had never seen a frog so large. The frog said to him:\n\n\u201cI was once a man like yourself, but years ago, while picking\nberries on the shore of the lake, I fell into the water and became a\nfrog. I have the secret, and if you wish to become a frog who can live\nboth on land and in the water, which has its advantages, I will tell\nyou where you can get some wonderful berries, red and sweet. Eat of\nthem and lie down on the bottom of the lake, and after you have been\nsound asleep you will awake and be as you see me.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: He looked up and saw a giant frog standing on his left\nfoot]\n\nThe man who owned the beautiful blanket was angered that the frog had\ngiven the secret to them, and said: \u201cI do not like it that the minds of\nyour people are so intent on us.\u201d\n\nAs the visitors were growing very short of breath from being so long\nunder water, they said: \u201cWe will return to our people, but must go in a\ncanoe as the water is making us ill.\u201d So the Underwater Man loaned them\nan old canoe.\n\n\u201cTake care how you use my canoe, for it is not very good,\u201d he called to\nthem in a warning way. They paddled nearly to the shore. Then the canoe\nmelted away. The men swam for the land, but when they reached it one\nwas missing. The other two believed that their brother was dead, but as\nthey sat on a big rock they saw his head appear and reappear, and once\nwhen his head was above water he called:\n\n\u201cI am held by the frog. Help me!\u201d So the two swam out, but when they\ncame near to the man he said:\n\n\u201cGo back; I am free, the frog has gone!\u201d\n\nThe men swam ashore and stood up. When they looked again they saw a\ngreat jack-fish--they could not see their brother. The jack-fish swam\ntoward them and walked on its tail upon the shore. Like magic it turned\ninto a man, and they all returned to the camp, to tell the wonders of\ntheir adventure.\n\nSuddenly the old man who had gone to sleep began to groan and cry\nout. His wife, who was also very old, said: \u201cHocini, my husband, is\ndreaming.\u201d The old man then woke up and said in a frightened way: \u201cThe\nfrog, the frog. Where is he?\u201d and his wife said:\n\n\u201cPoor old man, the frog is in the lake,\u201d and Hocini said: \u201cI have been\ndreaming again,\u201d and his wife said \u201cYes,\u201d and laughed, and so did the\nold man.\n\n\n\n\nWATC\u2019 AGIC KILLS THE TALKING-BIRDS\n\n\nOnce there was a man who wandered all over the earth. He had as his\ncompanions many kinds of birds who could not, or would not, talk\nor sing without his consent. He was a man who talked little but\nthought much, and noises worried him, especially the noises made by\ntalking-birds like the parrot and the magpie.\n\n[Illustration: Once there was a man who wandered all over the earth]\n\nIn his wanderings he would meet many kinds of people who did not\nlike him, because when they spoke to him he would only say \u201cYes\u201d or\n\u201cNo\u201d to any questions they would ask. Of course, his attitude toward\nall he met made them angry, and when he visited the villages the second\ntime, many of the Indians threatened to kill him. The places in which\nhe thought he would be in the most danger he would go around and not\nshow himself or his bird companions, for he was very kind to them, and\nthey held him in great respect, although he had told them he would\nsurely rid himself of their company if they should talk so loud that\nhis enemies could hear them. They also feared him, for many times had\nthey seen the way he had treated other birds, and they knew what his\nmission was.\n\nOne day, after a long walk, they came to the foot of a high hill.\nAround the hill and coming from afar, they could see great numbers of\nbirds.\n\n\u201cThis,\u201d said the man, \u201cis the \u2018City of Birds,\u2019 and no man dare go among\nthem. If he should, they would pick his eyes out. Many times have I\nheard my father tell of his band of beavers who went among them, and of\ntheir fate.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us go!\u201d spoke up a great eagle. \u201cI will defend you. My parents\u2019\nnest was on yonder mountain, and I have many relations living among\nthem.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs you will,\u201d said the man, \u201cbut let us wait until night falls and\nthey are asleep.\u201d\n\nThe eagle had been talking matters over with his companions, and they\nall, with the exception of a few of the smaller birds, decided to go,\nhappen what might. So at dusk they started.\n\nThe road was long and dusty, and many times they had to wait for the\nvain birds to clean their plumage and arrange their feathers, but it\nwas better so, because many of the older birds of the City of Birds\nhad not returned to their nests. The man, although impatient, thought\nthey might have been discovered if this cause for their delay had not\nhappened.\n\nAs they approached the city, a night-hawk who was just going to\nwork, gave a wild scream. This caused a great awakening in the town,\nand all the birds went to the public square in alarm.\n\nThe eagle said \u201cGo on.\u201d So the party boldly went among the crowd.\nSome, I can assure you, were very much frightened; but they had great\nconfidence that some of the relations of the eagle would be living, and\nwould no doubt befriend them.\n\nWhen the mayor of the town, a great pelican, saw the strange bundle the\nman carried on his back, he said: \u201cMy good brother, what have you on\nyour back?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: \u201cMy good brother, what have you on your back?\u201d]\n\n\u201cThey are my songs,\u201d the man replied.\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d said the mayor, \u201csing them, and I will have my troupe of dancing\nflamingoes keep time to your songs.\u201d\n\n\u201cThose who dance to my songs, and those who do not, if strangers to\nme, must keep their eyes shut when I sing,\u201d said the man.\n\nThe mayor called to the crowd that was chattering so loud his voice\ncould hardly be heard. So he called again:\n\n\u201cDo you agree, my townsmen?\u201d\n\nHe opened his mouth so wide that a great fish he had eaten for supper\nfloundered out of his pouch. Before repeating his question he leaned\nover and picked it up. Again he repeated, \u201cDo you all agree to keep\nyour eyes closed when the gentleman sings?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will do as you desire,\u201d many of them replied.\n\nSo it was agreed. A great fountain in the middle of the square\ncontained many fish both large and small. These fish were for the use\nof the mayor only, as he was getting old, and to climb the long hill\nfrom the river made him both tired and cross. So the man said:\n\n\u201cCome near the fountain. My songs are of running water and brooks,\nand it will inspire me to sing them more to your pleasure.\u201d\n\nSo the crowd moved near the big basin full of water, deep and very wet.\n\n\u201cBring your flamingoes and I will begin,\u201d said the man.\n\nThe eagle called him aside and said: \u201cDuring your song they will know\nbecause their eyes are shut, how dark it is for the thousands they have\nmade blind.\u201d The man did not reply, but walked close to the fountain.\n\n\u201cEyes shut!\u201d he called loudly, and the people all closed their eyes and\nhe began to sing in a harsh voice, for he could not sing, and disliked\nany kind of music.\n\n    \u201cI will sing of Mayor Pelican,\n      And of his pretty daughter,--\n    And of a dashing pelican\n      Who in matrimony sought her.\n    And while I sing I\u2019ll wring your necks,\n      And throw you in the water.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: And he began to sing in a harsh voice]\n\nAll the people smiled but kept their eyes closed, fearing he would stop\nhis funny song. So he continued to wring their necks and throw them\ninto the deep water of the fountain.\n\nAfter he had treated them all alike, he said to his companions:\n\n\u201cWe are quite safe now; let us remain here until morning, as there are\nmany places of shelter and plenty of food.\u201d\n\nSo it was agreed, and they resumed their journey about dawn the\nfollowing day.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes\n\n\n \u2022 Italics represented with surrounding _underscores_.\n\n \u2022 Small caps converted to ALL CAPS.\n\n \u2022 Duplicate half title before first chapter removed.\n\n \u2022 Illustrations relocated close to relevant content.\n\n \u2022 Footnote numbered and moved below the relevant paragraph.\n\n \u2022 Obvious typographic errors silently corrected.\n\n \u2022 Variations in hyphenation kept as in the original.","title":"Wigwam wonder tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":15221}