When the robin had finished his story, little Luke thought for a moment.
Then he said, "That's a very interesting story. But there is one thing
about it I don't understand."
"What is that?" asked Father Redbreast.
"Why," said the little boy, "you said that O-pee-chee's breast was gray.
How does it come that yours is red?"
"That is another story," answered Father Redbreast.
"I should like very much to hear it. Please tell me about it," said
little Luke.
* * * * *
"Once upon a time," said Father Redbreast, "long after the days of the
first robin, old Mah-to the great White Bear dwelt alone in the far
Northland. He was the king of all the bears and was very cunning and
cruel. He was so selfish that he did not like anybody else even to come
into his country.
"If a hunter wandered into the region where he lived, he would lie in
wait for him and kill him. One stroke of his mighty paw and the man
would fall, to rise no more. He killed so many of them that the hunters
began to be afraid to go into that land. As for the beasts and birds,
they all feared him and kept as far away from him as they could.
"After a time a brave hunter with his son wandered into the kingdom of
the great bear to hunt. Day after day old Mah-to followed the man and
boy. But the hunter was cautious as well as, brave, and the old bear was
afraid of his sharp arrows and did not dare to attack him openly.
"When the snow began to fall, the hunter built a lodge and kindled a
fire. He cut down a great many trees and brought the wood close to the
door of the lodge.
"'Now,' said he, to his son, 'we must keep the fire going day and night.
Then we shall not freeze.'
"Old Mah-to, who was sneaking about the lodge, heard this and thought,
'I will watch and wait until they have gone away or are asleep, and then
I will put out the fire. Then they will have to go away or else freeze.'
"But the hunter was very careful. When he went out to hunt, he left the
boy in the lodge to keep the fire burning. The old bear was afraid of
the fire, which he thought was some kind of magic, and so he did not
dare to touch the boy. At night the hunter and the boy watched the fire
by turns, and so kept it burning brightly.
"The old bear watched for many days before his chance came. At last one
day when the hunter had gone away, the little boy fell asleep and
allowed the fire to burn low.
"'Now,' thought the old bear, 'now is my chance.' So he walked into the
lodge and trampled the fire with his great, wet feet, until he thought
he had put it all out. He meant to kill the boy, but the fire scorched
his feet and scared him. So he went away again to the edge of the forest
and sat there licking his burnt paws, waiting to see what would happen.
"Now O-pee-chee had followed the man and the boy into the Northland. He
watched the old bear and saw what he did. When he went away, the robin
flew down and scratched about among the ashes until he found a small,
live coal. Then he brought some splinters and dry moss and laid them
upon the coal and fanned it with his wings until the fire caught the
wood and burned up strong and bright.
"The heat of the blazing splinters scorched his breast and made it red,
but the robin did not stop until the fire was blazing brightly.
"Just then the hunter walked into the lodge and saw what the robin was
doing. He saw, too, the big footprints of the great bear and he knew
that the robin had saved his life and the life of his boy.
"All that winter the good hunter fed the kind robin and sheltered it in
his lodge. When he went back again to his people, he told them the
story, and they grew to love the robin more than before. To this day
they are never tired of telling their children the story of O-pee-chee
the Robin and how his breast became red."
[Illustration]