Once Old Man was fording a river, when the current carried him down stream,
and he lost his weapons. He was very hungry, so he took the first wood he
could find, and made a bow and arrows, and a handle for his knife and
spear. When he had finished them, he started up a mountain. Pretty soon he
saw a bear digging roots, and he thought he would have some fun, so he hid
behind a log and called out, "No-tail animal, what are you doing?" The
bear looked up, but, seeing no one, kept on digging.
Then Old Man called out again, "Hi! you dirt-eater!" and then he dodged
back out of sight. Then the bear sat up again, and this time he saw Old Man
and ran after him.
Old Man began shooting arrows at him, but the points only stuck in the
skin, for the shafts were rotten and snapped off. Then he threw his spear,
but that too was rotten, and broke. He tried to stab the bear, but his
knife handle was also rotten and broke, so he turned and ran; and the bear
pursued him. As he ran, he looked about for some weapon, but there was
none, not even a rock. He called out to the animals to help him, but none
came. His breath was almost gone, and the bear was very close to him, when
he saw a bull's horn lying on the ground. He picked it up, placed it on his
head, and, turning around, bellowed so loudly that the bear was scared and
ran away.