have done many noble deeds, and you have always gone about bringing
good to others. In that way you have found peace. And because of your
good life, I have been sent to bring you more contentment. Your work
is done, but your life is not yet ended, and you have still a long
time to dwell upon the earth. You must live out your mortal course.
You are longing always for your dead wife and children, and you are
often thinking of your youth, and with you the days are long and time
hangs heavy. But I have been sent to you with a gift that will help
you to pass the time more pleasantly."
Then the little man gave him a number of small seeds and said, "Plant
these at once, here, in the ashes from which I have just risen." The
old man did as he was told. At once the seeds sprouted and great
leaves grew from them, and soon the place where the bird had been
burned up became a large field of Tobacco.
The fairy then gave him a large pipe and said, "Dry these leaves and
place them in this pipe and smoke them. You will have great
contentment, and when you have nothing to do it will help you to pass
the time away, and when no one is with you it will be a companion. And
it will bring you many dreams of the future and of the past. And when
the smoke curls upwards it will have for you many visions of those you
loved, and you will see their faces in the smoke as you sit alone in
the twilight."
The old man was very thankful for the fairy's gift. But the little man
said, "Teach other old men how to use it, so that they, too, may
possess it and enjoy it."
Then the fairy quickly disappeared, going towards the distant blue
hills, and he was never seen in the village again. And with his pipe
and his tobacco the old man went back to his dreaming, with more
contentment than before. In this way Tobacco was brought to the
Indians in the old days.
RAINBOW AND THE AUTUMN LEAVES
In olden days, long before the Indians came to Canada, all the animals
talked and worked like men. Every year after midsummer they held a
great council at which they were all present. But it happened once in
the summer before the council met, that they all wanted to go to the
sky to see what the country up there was like. None of them could find
a way to go. The oldest and wisest creature on all the earth was
Turtle. One day he prayed to the Thunder God to take him to the sky,
and his prayer was soon answered. There was a great noise, as if the
earth had been split asunder, and when the people next looked for
Turtle he was nowhere to be found. They searched everywhere without
success. But that evening, when they looked upwards, they saw him in
the sky, moving about like a black cloud. Turtle liked the sky so well
that he decided to live there always and to send his descendants,
later, to the earth. And the sky-people agreed to keep him. They asked
him, "Where do you want to dwell?" And he answered, "I should like to
dwell in the Black Cloud, in which are the ponds and streams and
lakes and springs of water, for I always dwelt near these places when
I was young." So he was allowed to have his wish. But when the Great
Council of the animals met on earth in the time of the harvest-moon,
he was always present. He came in the Black Cloud, but he always went
back to the sky after the Council was ended. And the other animals
envied him his good fortune, and they wished that they could go with
him.
After a time the animals were greatly distressed and angered by the
rumour that a new race of creatures was coming from far over the ocean
to inhabit their land. They talked it over very carefully, and they
all thought how fortunate it would be if they could all go to the sky
with old Turtle, and live like him, free from fear and trouble and
care. But they were puzzled to know how to get there, for Turtle had
never told any of them the way.
One day Deer, wandering about alone in the forest, as was his custom,
came across Rainbow, who often built a path of many colours to the
sky. And he said to Rainbow, "Carry me up to the sky, for I want to
see Turtle." But Rainbow was afraid to do it, for he wished first to
ask the Thunder God for permission, and he put Deer off, and to gain
time he said, "Come to me in winter, when I stay for a time on the
mountain near the lake. Then I will gladly carry you to the place
where Turtle dwells."
[Illustration: THROUGHOUT THE LONG WINTER MONTHS DEER LOOKED LONGINGLY
FOR RAINBOW]
Throughout the long winter months Deer looked longingly for Rainbow,
but Rainbow did not come. Life was growing harder on the earth, and
the animals were in terror of the new race that was soon to come to
their land, and Deer was very timid and impatient. At last, one day in
the early summer, Rainbow came again, and Deer hastened to meet him.
"Why were you false to me?" he asked; "I waited for you all winter
long on the mountain by the lake, but you did not come as you
promised. I want to go to the sky now, for I must see Turtle." Rainbow
answered, "I cannot take you now. But some day, when there is a Fog
over the lake, I shall come back to drive it away. Come to me then,
and I shall take you to the sky and to the place where Turtle dwells.
This time I will not deceive you."
Rainbow consulted the Thunder God, and received permission to do as
Deer wished. Soon afterwards the Fog one day rolled in a thick bank
across the lake, and Deer hurried out to wait for Rainbow. Sure
enough, Rainbow came down, as he had promised, to drive the Fog away.
He threw his arch of many colours from the lake to the blue hills far
away, and the Fog at once disappeared from the place. And he said to
Deer, who stood watching him, "Now I will keep my promise. Follow my
many-coloured path over the hills and the forests and the streams, and
be not afraid, and you will soon reach Turtle's home in the sky." Deer
did as he was told, and soon he reached the sky. Turtle was glad to
see him, and Deer liked the country so well that he decided to stay
for ever. And he roamed over the sky everywhere, moving like the wind
from place to place.
When midsummer had passed and the harvest-moon had come and the Great
Council again met together, Deer was absent for the first time in his
life. The animals waited long for him to appear, for they needed his
advice, but he did not come. They sent the Birds out to find him.
Black Hawk and Woodpecker and Bluejay all sought him in the forest,
but they could not find a trace of him. Then Wolf and Fox scoured the
woods far and near, but they came back and reported that he could not
be found anywhere. At last Turtle arrived at the meeting of the Great
Council, as was his custom, coming in his Black Cloud, in which were
the ponds and lakes and streams and springs of water. And Bear said,
"Deer is absent from the Council meeting. Where is Deer? We cannot
meet without him, for we need his advice." And Turtle replied, "Deer
is in the sky. Have you not heard? Rainbow made a wonderful pathway
for him of many varied colours, and by that he came to the sky. There
he is now," and he pointed to a golden cloud scurrying across the sky
overhead.
Turtle advised that the animals should all go to the sky to live until
they could be sure that the new race of creatures would bring them no
harm. And he showed them the pathway that Rainbow had made,
stretching from the earth in wonderful colours. The animals all agreed
at the Great Council to take Turtle's advice. But they were all very
angry at Deer for leaving them without warning, for they thought that
all the animals should either stay together faithfully on the earth or
go all together to the sky. Bear showed the greatest anger and
annoyance. Because of his great strength, he had no fear of the new
race that was said soon to be coming, and he had always been inclined
to look with scorn on Deer's timid and impatient ways. "Deer has
forsaken us," he said; "he deserted us in the hour of our danger, and
that is contrary to forest laws and to our code of defence." And he
thought to himself, "I shall punish him for this when the time comes."
In the late autumn, the time agreed upon came for the animals to leave
the earth, and Rainbow again made his bright path for them to the sky.
Bear was the first to go up because he was the leader, and because
with his great weight he wanted to test the strength of the bridge of
burning colours over which they had to pass. When he had almost
reached the sky, he met Deer on the path waiting to welcome the
animals to their new home. And he said to him in anger, "Why did you
leave us behind, without warning, for the land of the Turtle? Why did
you desert the Great Council? Why did you not wait until all could
come together? You are a traitor to your comrades, and you have been
false to our faith." And Deer answered, also in anger, "Who are you to
doubt me or my faith? None but the Wolf may ask me why I came or
question my fidelity. I will kill you for your insolence." Deer had
grown very proud since he had gone to live in the sky, and he was no
longer timid as he had been on earth. His eyes flashed in his fury,
and he arched his neck and lowered his antlered head, and rushed madly
at Bear to push him from the path.
But Bear was not afraid, for he had often tested his strength with
Deer upon the earth. His low, hoarse growls sounded all over the sky,
and he prepared to fight. They came together with a shock. For a long
time they battled, until the bridge of burning colours trembled and
the heavens shook from the force of the conflict. The animals waiting
by the lake at the end of the path looked up and saw the battle above
them. They feared the results, for they wanted neither Bear nor Deer
to die. So they sent Wolf up to the sky to put a stop to the contest.
When Wolf reached the combatants, Bear was bleeding freely, for Deer
with his antlers had pierced his neck and side. Deer, too, was
bleeding where Bear's strong claws had torn a great wound in his head.
Wolf soon stopped the battle, and Bear and Deer went away to dress
their wounds. Then the other animals went up to the sky over Rainbow's
flaming path. And they decided to live in the sky and to send their
descendants back to earth when the new race of creatures should come.
And they can still sometimes be seen, like clouds hurrying across the
sky, in the shape they had on earth.
But the blood of Bear and of Deer dropped from them as they moved to
the sky from the scene of their battle along the Rainbow road. It fell
freely upon the leaves of the trees beneath them, and changed them
into varied colours. And every year when autumn comes in the north
country, the leaves take on again the bright and wondrous colours
given to them by the blood of Bear and Deer when they fought on the
Rainbow path ages and ages ago. And Bear and Deer have never since
been friends, and their descendants no longer dwell together in peace,
as they did in the olden days.
RABBIT AND THE MOON-MAN
Once, long ago, Rabbit lived with his old grandmother deep in the
Canadian forest, far from all other people. He was a great hunter, and
all around, far and near, he laid snares and set traps to catch game
for food. It was winter, and he caught many little animals and birds.
He brought them home daily to feed himself and his old grandmother,
and he was well pleased with his success. But after some weeks had
passed he was unable to catch any game. He always found his traps and
snares empty, although many tracks were always around them, and there
were many signs that animals were prowling about. He knew then that he
was being robbed nightly, and that a thief was pilfering his traps. It
was very cold and the snow lay deep in the forest, and Rabbit and his
old grandmother were in dire need of food. Every morning Rabbit rose
very early and hurried off to his traps, but always he found them
empty, for the thief had been ahead of him. He was greatly puzzled,
for he could not think who the thief was.
At last one morning, after a new fall of snow, he found the mark of a
long foot near his traps, and he knew it was the foot of the
game-robber. It was the longest foot-print he had ever seen, long and
narrow and very light, like a moonbeam. And Rabbit said, "Now I shall
rise earlier in the morning, and I shall go to my traps ahead of the
thief and take my game, so that they will all be empty when he comes."
Each morning he rose earlier to catch the thief, but the man of the
long foot was always there before him, and his game was always gone.
No matter how early Rabbit got up, the thief was always ahead of him
and his traps were always empty.
So Rabbit said to his old grandmother, "The man of the long foot, who
robs my traps, is always up ahead of me, no matter how early I rise. I
will make a snare from a bow-string, and I will watch all this night,
and I will surely catch him." He made a trap from a stout bow-string
and set it beside his snares, and took the end of the bow-string some
distance away to a clump of trees, behind which he hid. He hoped that
the thief would step into the trap; then he would pull the bow-string
and tie him fast to a tree. He sat very quiet, waiting for the man of
the long foot to appear. It was moonlight when he set out, but soon it
grew very dark in the forest. The Moon suddenly disappeared. But the
stars were all shining on the white snow and there were no clouds in
the sky, and Rabbit wondered what had happened to the Moon. He waited
very still and a little frightened in the starlight.
Soon he heard some one coming, sneaking stealthily through the trees.
Then he saw a white light which dazzled his eyes. The light went
towards the snares, until it stopped just at the trap Rabbit had set.
Then Rabbit pulled the bow-string, closed the trap as he had hoped,
and tied the string fast to a tree. He heard sounds of a struggle, and
he saw the white light move from side to side, but he knew that he had
his prisoner fast and that the man of the long foot was caught at
last. He was much afraid of the white light, and he ran home as fast
as he could and told his old grandmother that he had caught the
game-robber in the trap, and that he did not know who he was, for he
was too frightened to look. And his grandmother said, "You must go
back and see who it is, and tell him he must stop robbing your
snares." But Rabbit said, "I do not want to go until daylight, for the
Moon has gone down and the forest is very dark." But his grandmother
said, "You must go." So poor Rabbit, although he was very frightened
by what he had seen, set out again for his traps.
[Illustration: HE SAT VERY QUIET, WAITING FOR THE MAN OF THE LONG FOOT
TO APPEAR]
When he drew near to his snares he saw that the white light was still
shining. It was so bright that his eyes were dazzled and he had to
stop far from it. Then he approached nearer, but his eyes soon became
very sore. There was a stream flowing beside him, and he bathed his
eyes in the cold water, but it brought him no relief, and his eyes
felt hot and red, and tears fell from them because of the dazzling
light. Then he took great handfuls of snow and threw snowballs at the
light, hoping thereby to put it out. But when the snowballs came near
to the light they melted and fell down like rain. Then, with his eyes
still smarting, Rabbit in his rage scooped up great handfuls of soft
black mud from the bottom of the stream, and forming it into balls, he
threw them with all his force at the white light. He heard them strike
something with a dull thud, and he heard loud yells from the
prisoner--the man of the long foot--behind the shining light. Then a
voice came from the light, saying, "Why did you snare me? Come and
untie me at once. I am the Man in the Moon. It is near to the morning,
and before dawn I must be on my way home. You have already spotted my
face with mud, and if you do not loose me at once I shall kill all
your tribe."
Poor Rabbit was more frightened than before, and he ran home and told
his old grandmother what had happened. And his grandmother was also
very frightened, for she thought that no good could come of it. And
she told Rabbit to go back at once and untie the Man in the Moon, for
the night was almost spent, and the dawn would soon be breaking. So
poor Rabbit, trembling in his fear, went back to his traps. From a
great distance he cried, "I will untie you if you will never again rob
my snares, and if you will never come back to earth." And the prisoner
in the trap promised, and said, "I swear it by my white light." Then
Rabbit approached very carefully. He had to shut his eyes and grope
his way because of the bright light, and his lip quivered because of
the great heat. At last he rushed in and cut the bow-string snare with
his teeth, and the Man in the Moon hurried on his way, for he could
already see the dawn in the East. But Rabbit was almost blinded while
he was about it, and his shoulders were badly scorched. And ever since
that time Rabbit blinks and his eyelids are pink, and water runs from
his eyes when he looks at a bright light; and his lip always quivers;
and his shoulders are yellow, even when he wears his white winter
coat, because of the great light and heat on the winter night long ago
when he loosed the Man in the Moon from the snare. And since that
night the Man in the Moon has never come back to earth. He stays at
his task in the sky, lighting the forest by night; but he still bears
on his face the marks of the black mud which Rabbit threw at him. And
sometimes for several nights he goes away to a quiet place, where he
tries to wash off the mud; and then the land is dark. But he never
succeeds in cleaning himself, and when he comes back to his work the
marks of Rabbit's mud-balls are still upon his shining face.
THE CHILDREN WITH ONE EYE
Two little children, a boy and a girl, lived long ago with their
widowed mother in the Canadian forest. The woman was very poor, for
her husband had long been dead and she had to work very hard to
provide food for herself and her children. Often she had to go far
from home in search of fish and game, and at times she was absent for
many days. When she went on these long journeys she left her children
behind her, and thus they were allowed to grow up with very little
oversight or discipline or care. They soon became very unruly because
they were so often left to have their own way, and when their mother
returned from her hunting trips she frequently found that they would
not obey her, and that they did pretty much as they pleased. As they
grew older they became more headstrong and disobedient, and their
mother could do very little to control them. And she said, "Some day
they will suffer for their waywardness."
One day the woman went to visit a neighbour not far away. She left a
large pot of bear-fat boiling on the fire. And she said to the
children, "Do not meddle with the pot while I am gone, for the fat may
harm you if it catches fire." But she was not gone long when the boy
said to the girl as they played around the pot, "Let us see if the fat
will burn." So they took a burning stick of wood and dropped it into
the fat, and stood looking into the large pot to see what would
happen. The fat sputtered for an instant; then there was a sudden
flash, and a tongue of flame shot upwards from the pot into the faces
of the children. Their hair was burned to a crisp and their faces were
scorched, and they ran from the house crying with pain. But when they
reached the outer air, they found that they could not see, for the
fire had blinded their eyes. So they stumbled around in darkness,
crying loudly for help. But no help came.
When their mother came home she tried every remedy she thought might
restore their sight. But all her medicine was unavailing, and she
said, "You will always be blind. That is the punishment for your
disobedience."
So the children lived in darkness for a long time. But they were no
longer headstrong and unruly, and although they could no longer see,
they were less trouble to their mother than they were when they had
their sight, for they did not now refuse to do her bidding.
One day, when their mother was far away hunting in the forest, an old
woman came along and asked the children for food. And they brought
good food to her as she sat before the door. After she had eaten, she
said, "You are blind, but I can help you, for I am from the Land of
the Little People. I cannot give you four eyes, but I will give you
one eye between you. You can each use it at different times, and it
will be better than no sight at all. But handle it with great care and
do not leave it lying on the ground." Then she gave them an eye which
she took from her pocket, and disappeared. So they used the one eye
between them, and when the boy had the eye and the girl wished to see
anything, she would say, "Give me the eye," and her brother would
carefully pass it to her. When their mother came home she was very
glad when she found that they had now some means of sight.
[Illustration: THE BOY WENT INTO THE FOREST WITH HIS BOW AND ARROWS.
HE HAD NOT GONE FAR WHEN HE SAW A FAT YOUNG DEER, WHICH HE KILLED]
One day when their mother was away again, the boy went into the forest
with his bow and arrows. He carried the eye with him. He had not gone
far when he saw a fat young deer, which he killed. The deer was too
heavy for him to carry home alone. So he said, "I will go and get my
sister, and we shall cut it up and put it in a basket and carry it
home together." He went home and told his sister of his good fortune,
and he led her to where the deer lay, and they began to cut up the
body. But they had forgotten to bring a basket or a bag. He called to
his sister saying, "You must weave a basket into which we can put the
meat to carry it home." And his sister said, "How can I make a basket
when I cannot see? If I am to weave a basket, I must have the eye."
The boy brought the eye to her and she made a large basket from green
twigs.
When she had finished making the basket the boy said, "I must finish
cutting up the meat. Give me the eye." So she brought him the eye, and
he proceeded to chop up the meat and to put it in the basket. Then he
said, "Why can we not have a meal here? I am very hungry." His sister
agreed that this was a good idea, and he said, "You cook the meal
while I pack the meat." The girl made a fire, but she was afraid she
would burn the meat, so she said, "I cannot see to cook. I must have
the eye." By this time her brother had finished packing the meat into
the basket, and he brought her the eye and she went on with her
cooking. The fire was low and she said, "I must have some dry wood.
Bring me some dry pine." The boy wandered off into the forest in
search of wood, but he had not gone far when he stumbled over a log
and fell to the ground. He called to his sister in anger, saying, "You
always want the eye for yourself. How can I gather dry pine when I
cannot see? Give me the eye at once."
His sister ran to him and helped him up and gave him the eye. She
found her way back to the fire, but as she reached it she smelled the
meat burning on the spit. She shouted, "The meat is burning and our
dinner will be spoiled. Give me the eye at once, so that I may see if
the meat is cooked." The boy was some distance away, and in his anger
he threw the eye to her, saying, "Find it. I am not going to walk to
you with it if you are too lazy to come and get it." The eye fell to
the ground between them, and neither of them knew where it lay. They
groped for it among the dead leaves, but as they searched for it, a
wood-pecker, watching from a branch of a tree near by, swooped
suddenly down and gobbled it up and flew away.
As they were still searching for it, the old woman who had given it to
them came along. She had been hiding among the trees, and she had seen
the wood-pecker flying away with her gift. She said, "Where is the eye
I gave you?" "It dropped from my head," answered the boy, "and I
cannot find it in the grass." "Yes," said the girl, "it dropped from
his head, and we cannot find it." "You have lied to me," said the old
woman, "and you have disobeyed, and for that I shall punish you." And
with her magic power she changed the boy into a mole and the girl
into a bat, and said, "Now live blind upon the earth, with only your
sense of sound to guide you." At once the boy and the girl were
changed. And so the Mole and the Bat appeared upon the earth.
THE GIANT WITH THE GREY FEATHERS