fasten her basket between the rocks, in a narrow place of the stream.
Then, when the fish swam through in the night, they would get caught in
it, and Morning Star would find plenty of fish waiting for her. In the
morning, she would take the basket of fish back to the wigwam, and soon
the smell of fish frying on hot coals would come from the lodge.
Never since Morning Star began to fish with her basket, had Chief Little
Wolf, her father, had to wait for his fish breakfast before starting on
the chase. But one morning, neither Chief Little Wolf nor Morning Star
breakfasted on fish. This is how it happened.
On this morning, the Indian girl was up as usual with the sun. She ran
down the river just as the Great Spirit lifted the sun's smiling face.
Morning Star had such a light heart that she was glad just to be alive,
and she sang a song of praise as she ran. All true Indians at sunrise
lift their arms and faces to the sun, and thank the Great Spirit that he
has smiled upon them again.
Happy and fleet as a deer, Morning Star ran on until she came to the
great rocks. There she saw a whole tribe of tiny little folk gathered
about her basket. Some of them were perched on the sides of the basket,
laughing and singing. Others were lifting the fish from it and throwing
them into the stream. Still others were opening and closing the splints
of the basket for the fish to slip through.
Morning Star knew that these tiny folk were the _Jo gah oh_. She knew
also that these Little People were friends of the fish. They know every
twist of a fish net and every turn of a hook. Often they have been known
to set fish free, and to guide them into deep, quiet places, far away
from the men who fish.
Morning Star called to the Little People and begged them not to let all
the fish go. Then she began to climb down the rocks, as fast as she
could. The little Chief called up to her, "Fish, like Indian girls, like
to be alive."
Then he told the Little People to keep on setting the fish free.
When Morning Star reached her basket, a few fish were still in it. She
put out her hand to take them from the Little People,--and not a fish,
nor a _Jo gah oh_ was to be seen. The Little People had darted into
the rocks, for they go through anything, and the fish had slipped
through the tiny spaces between the splints of the basket.
[Illustration]
Morning Star heard the laughter of the Little People echo deep within
the rocks, for they like to play pranks with the earth children. And far
down the stream, she saw the fish leap with joy at being still alive.
She took up her empty basket and went back to the wigwam.
That morning for breakfast, Morning Star baked corn cakes on the hot
coals. As she ate the hot cakes, she thought they tasted almost as good
as fish.
Ever after, when Morning Star saw a fish leap from the stream, she
remembered what the _Jo gah oh_ had said: "Fish, like Indian girls, like
to be alive."
HOW LITTLE SHOOTER LOST HIS LUCK
One day, an Indian boy was playing beside a stream, when one of the
little elf men came along in his canoe. The boy had his bow and arrow
with him; so had the little elf man.
The little man stopped and offered to trade bows and arrows. The Indian
boy looked first at his bow, and then at that of the little man. His bow
was large. The little man's bow was very small. The boy thought his own
bow was better, so he said he would not trade.
The little elf man laughed and drew his bow.
"You think only big things are great," he said. "Some day you will learn
better. Some day you will want this little bow and these little arrows.
Some day you will wish you had traded."
Then he shot an arrow into the clouds, sprang into his canoe, and
paddled off up the stream. As he disappeared, he called back to the boy,
"You will see me again, sometime!"
The Indian boy ran to his wigwam home. He told his father about the
little man he had seen, and how the man wanted to trade bow and arrows.
"And you did not trade?" exclaimed the father.
"No," said the boy, "his bow was small; mine is large."
"Foolish boy!" said the father. "That little man was a _Jo gah oh_, one
of the Little People. They do wonderful things. Their arrows are winged
with power. Had you traded bows, you would have become a great hunter,
and been able to get near the animals.
"Those little arrows of the _Jo gah oh_ fly swift and far, and always
bring back game. The boy who has a _Jo gah oh_ bow and arrow always has
good luck. One arrow of theirs is worth a flight of yours. Had you
traded bow and arrows, you would have been called 'He shoots the sky.'
Now you shall be called 'Little Shooter.'"
Little Shooter grew to be a man. He went often on the chase, but his
arrows did not bring much game.
Many times, he wished he could meet the little elf man again, and trade
bow and arrows, for sometimes he ran for days and found no track of deer
or rabbit. But the little elf man never came.
One day, when Little Shooter had grown to be quite an old man, he was
walking in the woods. He stopped under a tree to rest. Several times he
felt something fall on his head.
At last he looked up to see what it was.
There sat the little elf man, swinging on the tip of a branch, and
throwing nuts and twigs at him. He looked just as he did when Little
Shooter met him by the stream long before. He had not grown old or
changed at all.
"How long have you been here?" asked Little Shooter.
"I have always been here," said the little man. "I have been in the
world ever since the stones were soft."
Then he laughed, and asked, "Does Little Shooter now like big bow and
arrows best, or has he learned that sometimes small things are great?
Next time, he had better trade with the little man," and aiming another
nut at Little Shooter's head, he disappeared in the tree trunk.
[Illustration]
HOW AN INDIAN BOY WON HIS NAME
It was bluebird time, many moons ago. Little brooks laughed and danced,
and all the forest was glad.
An Indian boy came running through the forest. He, too, was glad, for it
was spring!
As he ran down the trail, he saw something hanging from a bush. The bush
was but a few rabbit jumps from the trail, so he stopped to see what new
flower the spring had brought. He found the new flower to be a tiny
papoose cradle.
The boy picked the cradle from the bush, and held it in the palm of his
hand. As he looked closer, he saw that there was a tiny papoose in the
little cradle. The wee papoose laughed in his face, as he spoke to it.
The boy had never seen so tiny a papoose, and he thought he would take
it home to his mother, it was so cunning. She had but nine of her own.
He was sure she would like one more, and that there would be a place for
the tiny stranger in their wigwam.
He started to run on down the trail, but something seemed to hold him
fast. He could not get away. Three times he tried to run, but each time
he only circled round that bush. Something held him to the spot.
Just then there came a sharp cry from up the trail. The boy thought some
animal must be hurt or in pain. He turned to look and saw a little woman
coming. She was less than a foot high, but she ran like a deer to the
boy, and cried and begged him to give back her baby.
Then the boy knew it was the love of that little mother that had held
him fast. He could not break the love cord between that mother and her
baby.
Now the boy had a heart that was soft and kind. He liked to see
everything happy. When he saw the little mother crying and begging for
her baby, he felt sorry for her.
[Illustration]
Many times he had heard his mother tell how every mother bird loves her
young; every mother bear, her cub; every mother deer, her fawn; every
Indian mother, her papoose. And he knew this little fairy mother must
also love her fairy baby, so he put it on the little mother's back, and
told her she should have her papoose.
The little mother gave a glad cry, as she felt the baby on her back once
more. Then she drew a stone from a bag which she carried, and slipped it
on a string of beads that hung from the boy's neck.
The stone shone on his breast like a dewdrop.
"Because you are good, and kind, and unselfish, and because you make
everything happy," she said, "you shall wear this good-luck stone. It
will bring you whatever you want.
"We Little People give this stone to those earth children only, who are
strong and yet protect the weak. Wear it always on your breast. Never
take it off, and you will become a mighty chief."
Then the little mother gave another glad cry, and with her baby on her
back she disappeared into an oak.
The boy ran on. His heart grew lighter and the stone brighter, as he
ran. Before he reached his mother's wigwam, his arrows had brought back
game for their evening meal.
From the day when the boy met the little _Jo gah oh_ mother in the wood,
and was given the stone, he had good luck. Whatever he did, all went
well with him. If he went on the chase, he brought back deer. If he
planted corn, it grew tall and fine. No boy could throw a ball as far,
or could run as fast as he. He could shoot his arrows to the sky, and
could send his snow-snakes skimming far beyond the rest.
So lucky was this Indian boy, that his tribe called him
"Luck-in-all-moons." "He wears the good-luck stone," the old people said
as they sat around the fire, and they nodded their heads knowingly. But
they never knew how he came by it, or why he won the stone.
And when "Luck-in-all-moons" grew to be a man, his tribe made him a
great chief. Just as the little _Jo gah oh_ mother had said, he became a
chief, though not in the chieftain line.
Because he stood so strong and straight, serving the people, protecting
the weak, and doing great deeds, he was called the Pine-tree Chief.
"His feet are planted deep in wisdom and strength," they said, "and his
head is not far from the sky. He sees far and points us the way. As the
topmost branch of the pine points always to the east, so
Luck-in-all-moons shall guide us to the sun rising. He shall be our
Pine-tree Chief."
HOW THE FAIRIES WORKED MAGIC
Once a little Indian girl was very sad and unhappy. The Great Spirit had
taken her father and mother, and she had gone to live with relatives who
did not want her. Often she went to sleep hungry, for only the scraps of
food that were left from a meal were given to her.
One day, the relatives of the little girl brought in a fine deer from
the chase, and made ready for a feast. They told the girl to get out of
the lodge, for there was neither room, nor meat for her.
The little girl ran and hid herself in a great field of corn. There she
cried aloud.
Soon a band of strange Little People gathered about her, to comfort her.
On all sides, from the folds of the green cornstalks they came.
They stroked her head, wiped the tears from her eyes, and said, "Don't
cry, little girl. We will take care of you. You shall come and live with
us. We will make a feast for you. We know why you are sad, for we can
read the thoughts of all the earth children. Come with us, and we will
show you more wonderful things than you have ever seen."
At this the little girl dried her tears, and smiled at the kind Little
People.
"You are very good to me," she said. "Who are you?"
"We are the _Jo gah oh_," they replied, "the Little People. Come, and we
will show you what we can do."
Then they slipped some winged moccasins upon her feet. They wrapped her
in an invisible blanket and put a magic corn plume in her hair, and the
next moment all were flying through the air.
They flew to a ledge of great rocks. At the touch of the Little People,
the rocks opened, and they passed within.
The girl found herself in a beautiful lodge. Kind _Jo gah oh_ mothers
were baking cakes and roasting meat. They welcomed the girl, and soon a
feast was spread in her honor.
Now the heart of the little girl was so light that she danced with joy.
"What wonderful people you are! Can you go anywhere, or do anything you
wish?"
"Yes," said the little chief, "the _Jo gah oh_ are small, but they are
great. Come with us, and you shall see what we can do."
Again they were flying through the air. Soon they reached the lodge
where the little girl had lived. It was night, and her relatives were
asleep, but she could see the deer that hung outside ready for the
feast.
"Now," said the _Jo gah oh_ chief, "we will call out a pack of wolves
from the wood yonder, and there will be no fat deer for this selfish
feast, at sunrise."
Now no wolves had been seen in that wood for many moons. But at the call
of the fairies, a pack sprang from it, ran to the lodge, seized the
deer, and tore it into shreds. Then they again disappeared in the wood.
The little girl's eyes were large now with wonder, as they flew back to
the fairy lodge in the rocks, but she was not afraid of these strange
Little People. She was so happy with them she wished she might always
live in a _Jo gah oh_ lodge.
One morning, the little chief said, "Today we shall see more wonders."
This time a tiny canoe was waiting. They stepped into it and sailed
down a river until they came to a great tree.
"In that tree," said the little chief, "lives a great, black bear. Every
day he comes out that door you see high up in the bear tree. I will make
the door fast so he cannot open it. A deep sleep will fall on him. He
will sleep for many moons."
Then the chief threw three stones through the open door of the bear
tree. Each time, a flame spread like a blanket over the door. A growling
and scratching was heard within. Then all became still.
"Now," said the chief, "the bear will sleep until I call him in the
spring. He is locked up for the winter. Come, let us go on."
The little girl drew her invisible blanket closer, as the canoe went
sailing with the birds through the clouds. The birds that were swift of
wing called loudly for a race.
"Come on!" said the fairy chief.
Then he spread wide the invisible sails of his canoe, and they flew past
the birds like a streak of lightning. Even the eagle was left far
behind. They seemed to shoot through the sky.
And, oh, what fun it was to be a bird! The little girl would have sailed
on forever, but the little chief said, "You shall now return to your
people. We have given them soft hearts and kind minds. They are calling
for you. They will be glad to see you."
And soon the little girl was again in the wigwam of her relatives,
sitting by the warm fire.
They greeted her with joy, spread a soft skin for her to sit upon, and
gave her the best food. And the little girl lived with them, ever after,
and was happy.