THE MAGIC SPEECH FLOWER

OR LITTLE LUKE AND HISANIMAL FRIENDS

BY MELVIN HIX

AUTHOR OF "ONCE UPON A TIME STORIES, " "UNITEDSTATES HISTORY FOR FIFTH YEAR, " CO-AUTHOROF "THE HORACE MANN READERS, " ETC. 

_ILLUSTRATED_

 LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK LONDON, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA

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COPYRIGHT, 1912, BYLONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 

FIRST PUBLISHED, OCTOBER, 1912

THE PLIMPTON PRESS[W. D. O]NORWOOD. MASS. U. S. A

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 ONCE-UPON-A-TIME STORIES

 By MELVIN HIX, B. Ped. , Principal of Public School 9, Long Island City, New York City. 

 The aim of the author is to retell these familiar stories of childhood in such way as to give added interest to first and second grade pupils. 

 _ELEVEN STORIES. ILLUSTRATED. 105 PAGES. PRICE, 25 CENTS. _

 LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. , PUBLISHERS Fourth Avenue and 30th Street, New York LONDON, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA

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THE MAGIC SPEECH FLOWER

OR LITTLE LUKE AND HISANIMAL FRIENDS

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER

 I. THE FINDING OF THE MAGIC FLOWER II. LITTLE LUKE AND THE BOB LINCOLNS III. THE STORY OF THE SUMMER LAND IV. BOB LINCOLN'S STORY OF HIS OWN LIFE V. LITTLE LUKE MAKES FRIENDS AMONG THE WILD FOLK VI. LITTLE LUKE AND KIT-CHEE THE GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER VII. WHY THE KIT-CHEE PEOPLE ALWAYS USE SNAKE-SKINS IN NEST-BUILDING VIII. LITTLE LUKE AND NICK-UTS THE YELLOWTHROAT IX. WHY MOTHER MO-LO THE COWBIRD LAYS HER EGGS IN OTHER BIRDS' NESTS X. THE STORY OF O-PEE-CHEE THE FIRST ROBIN XI. HOW THE ROBIN'S BREAST BECAME RED XII. HOW THE BEES GOT THEIR STINGS XIII. THE STORY OF THE FIRST SWALLOWS XIV. LITTLE LUKE AND A-BAL-KA THE CHIPMUNK XV. HOW A-BAL-KA GOT HIS BLACK STRIPES XVI. HOW A-BAL-KA THE CHIPMUNK HELPED MEN XVII. LITTLE LUKE AND MEE-KO THE RED SQUIRRELS XVIII. THE STORY OF THE FIRST RED SQUIRRELS XIX. HOW THE RED SQUIRREL BECAME SMALL XX. LITTLE LUKE AND MOTHER MIT-CHEE THE RUFFLED PARTRIDGE XXI. WHY THE FEATHERED FOLK RAISE THEIR HEADS WHEN THEY DRINK XXII. LITTLE LUKE AND FATHER MIT-CHEE XXIII. THE STORY OF THE FIRST PARTRIDGE XXIV. WHY PARTRIDGES DRUM XXV. MOTHER WA-POOSE AND OLD BOZE THE HOUND XXVI. MOTHER WA-POOSE AND OLD KLAWS THE HOUSE CAT XXVII. THE RABBIT DANCE XXVIII. WHY THE WILD FOLK NO LONGER TALK THE MAN-TALK XXIX. THE TALE OF SUN-KA THE WISE DOG XXX. HOW THE DOG'S TONGUE BECAME LONG XXXI. THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL DOG

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THE MAGIC SPEECH FLOWER

I. THE FINDING OF THE MAGIC FLOWER

It was June and it was morning. The sky was clear and the sun shonebright and warm. The still air was filled with the sweet odor ofblossoming flowers. To little Luke, sitting on the doorstep of thefarmhouse and looking out over the fresh fields and green meadows, thewhole earth seemed brimful of happiness and joy. 

From the bough of an apple tree on the lawn O-pee-chee the Robin chantedhis morning song. "Te rill, te roo, the sky is blue, " sang he. 

From the lilac bush Kil-loo the Song Sparrow trilled, "Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, the air is sweet. "

Over in the meadows Zeet the Lark fluttered down upon a low bush andsang, "Come with me, come and see, " over and over. Then he dropped downinto the grass and ran off to the nest where his mate was sitting onfive speckled eggs. 

Bob-o'-Lincoln went quite out of his wits with the joy of life. He flewhigh up into the air, and then came fluttering and falling, falling andquivering down among the buttercups and daisies. He was very proud ofhimself and wanted everybody to know just who he was. So he sang his ownname over and over. With his name-song he mixed up a lot of runs andtrills and thrills that did not mean anything to anybody but himself andhis little mate nestling below him in the grass. To her they meant, "Life is love, and love is joy. "

Old Ka-ka-go the Crow, sitting on the top of the tall maple, felt thaton such a morning as this he, too, must sing. So he opened his beak andcroaked, "Caw, caw, caw, caw. " What he meant to say was, "Corn, corn, corn, corn. " Sam, the hired man, heard him and came out of the barn doorwith his gun. Old Ka-ka-go spread his black wings and flapped off to thewoods on the side of the mountain. 

Far up in the blue sky Kee-you the Red-shouldered Hawk wheeled slowlyabout in great circles. When he saw Sam with his gun, he screamed, "Kee-you, kee-you, kee-you, " over and over. 

That was a poor song, but a good war cry; It sent every singer plungingto cover. O-pee-chee the Robin hid himself among the thick branches ofthe apple tree. Kil-loo the Song Sparrow hopped into the thickest partof the lilac bush. Zeet the Lark and Bob Lincoln squatted in the thickgrass. Not a bird note was to be heard. 

But Ka-be-yun the West Wind was not afraid of the warrior hawk. Hebreathed softly among the branches of the trees and set every littleleaf quivering and whispering. Then he ran across the meadows and thewheat fields. As he sped along, great waves like those of the sea rolledin wide sweeps across the meadow and through the tall wheat. 

To little Luke it seemed as if the leaves and grass and wheat allwhispered, "Come away. Come and play. " Just then a great bumblebee flewby and now the call was clear. "Come away, come away! Follow, follow, follow me!"

The boy jumped up and ran down the path into the garden. There he metOld Klaws the House Cat, with a little brown baby rabbit in his mouth. "You wicked old cat, " said little Luke, "drop it, drop it, I say. " ButOld Klaws only growled and gripped the little rabbit tighter. LittleLuke seized the old cat by the back of the neck and choked him till helet go. The little brown rabbit looked up at him with his big roundeyes, as much as to say, "Thank you, little boy, thank you. " Then hehopped off into the thicket of berry bushes, where Old Klaws could notcatch him again. 

Little Luke went on down the path, through the garden gate, and into themeadow beyond. All at once Bob Lincoln sprang up out of the grass rightbefore his feet. 

Little Luke thought he would find Bob Lincoln's nest. So he got downupon his knees and began to look about in the grass very carefully. Hedid not find the nest, but he did find a fine cluster of ripe, wildstrawberries. He forgot all about the nest and began to pick and eat thesweet berries. So he ate and ate till his lips and fingers were red asred wine and smelled strongly of ripe strawberries. 

Suddenly, as he put out his hand for another cluster, up sprang a blackand brown and yellow bird. That was Mrs. Bob Lincoln. Little Luke putaside the grass and there was the nest. It was so cunningly hidden thathe could never have found it by looking for it. 

Mr. And Mrs. Bob Lincoln were greatly frightened. They fluttered andquivered about, and talked to each other, and scolded at the boy. LittleLuke could not understand what they said, but part of it sounded like, "Let it be! Don't touch, don't touch! Go away, please, p-l-e-a-s-e, goaway. " So he got up and said, "All right, don't be afraid. I'll not takeyour eggs, I'll go right away. " And so he did. 

When he had gone two or three rods, Mrs. Bob Lincoln fluttered down toher nest and settled herself quietly over her eggs. But Mr. Bob flew toa tall weed in front of little Luke. There he sat and swung and teeteredand sang his merriest song. To the little boy it seemed as if he wastrying to say, "Thank you, thank you, little boy. "

There was an old apple tree standing near the meadow fence. On one ofits branches was the nest of O-pee-chee the Robin. Both Mr. And Mrs. O-pee-chee had gone away to pick worms from the soft, fresh earth in thegarden. 

As little Luke drew near to the tree, he saw Mee-ko the Red Squirrelcrouching by the side of the nest with a blue egg in his front paws. He had not yet broken the shell when he saw little Luke. At first hethought he would run away. But he wanted that egg; so he squatted veryquietly where he was and hoped the little boy would not see him. 

But little Luke's eyes were very keen. He saw Mee-ko and guessed whathe was about. So lie picked up a small round stone and threw it at therobber squirrel. His aim was so true that the stone flicked Mee-ko'stail where it curled over his shoulders. 

Mee-ko was so scared that he dropped the egg back into the nest and ranalong the branch and across to another. From the end of that he droppeddown to the fence and scampered along the rails up toward the woods onthe side of the mountain. 

He went all the faster because Father O-pee-chee flew down into thebranches of the apple tree just as little Luke threw the stone. He sawMee-ko and understood exactly what had happened. He flew a little wayafter the thieving squirrel. Then he came back and lit on the highestbranch of the apple tree and began to sing. "Te rill, te roo, I thankyou; te rill, te roo, I thank you, " the little boy thought he said. 

Little Luke went over to the fence. In a bush beside the fence there wasa big spider's web. Old Mrs. Ik-to the Black Spider had built the web asa trap to catch flies in. But this time there was something besides afly in the trap. Ah-mo the Honey Bee had blundered, into the web and wastrying hard to get away. 

Old Mrs. Ik-to was greatly excited. She was not sure whether she wantedbee meat for dinner or not. She knew very well that bees are strongerthan flies and that they carry a dreadful spear with a poisoned point. 

Mrs. Ik-to ran down her web a little way, then she stopped and shook it. Ah-mo the Honey Bee was not so much entangled by the web that he couldnot sting and the old spider knew that. So she ran back again to onecorner of the web. 

Little Luke stood and watched poor Ah-mo for a moment. Then he took atwig from the bush and set him free. Ah-mo rubbed himself all over withhis legs and tried his wings carefully to see if they were sound. Thenhe flew up from the ground and buzzed three times round little Luke'shead. 

The little boy was not afraid. He knew that bees never sting anyone whodoes not hurt or frighten them, and besides, he thought the buzzing hada friendly sound to it. It seemed to him as if Ah-mo was trying to say, "Thank you, little boy, thank you, " as well as he could. 

When Ah-mo had flown away, little Luke looked around to see what oldMrs. Ik-to was doing, but he could not find her. 

Leaving the old spider to mend her web as well as she could, little Lukegot over the fence into the pasture. As he was going along he heard Mrs. Chee-wink making a great outcry. She was flying about a little bushy firtree not bigger than a currant bush. "Chee-wink, to-whee; chee-wink, to-whee!" she called. Little Luke thought she was saying, "Help! Help!Come here, come here!" And so she was. 

[Illustration]

He went up toward the fir bush. As he walked along, he picked up a stoutstick that was lying on the ground. When he came to the bush, Mrs. Chee-wink flew off to a tall sapling near by and watched him withoutsaying a word. 

At first he could not see anything to disturb anybody. But he knew thatMrs. Chee-wink would never have made all that fuss for nothing. So hetook hold of the fir bush and pulled the branches apart. Then heunderstood. He had almost put his hand on A-tos-sa the Big Blacksnake. 

A-tos-sa had a half-grown bird by the wing and was trying to swallowit. The young bird was strong enough to flutter a good deal and MotherChee-wink had flapped her wings in the snake's eyes and pecked his head, so that he had not been able to get a good hold. 

Little Luke struck at once. The stick hit the snake and he let go of thebird and slid down to the ground. Little Luke hit him again, this timesquarely on the head. Then with a stone he made sure that A-tos-sa wouldnever try to eat young birds again. 

After he had finished with the snake, he picked up the young bird whichhad fallen to the ground. It seemed more scared than hurt, so he put itcarefully into the nest, where there were two other young birds. Then hewent on up toward the woods. 

Mrs. Chee-wink flew back to the fir bush. She looked first at the deadsnake and then at her nest. Then she said, "Chee-wink, chee-wink, to-whee, chee-wink, to-whee, " two or three times very softly and settleddown quietly on her nest. Of course that meant, "Thank you, little boy, thank you!"

Up above the fir bush in the pasture stood an old apple tree, all aloneby itself. On a dead branch was Ya-rup the Flicker. He was using thehard shell of the dead branch for a drum. "Rat, a tat, tat, " he wentfaster and faster, till the beats ran into one long resounding roll. Then he stopped and screamed, "Kee-yer, kee-yer!" Perhaps he meant, "Well done! good boy! good boy!"

You see he had seen little Luke's battle with the blacksnake and wasdrumming and screaming for joy. Little Luke stopped under the old appletree and listened to Ya-rup's drumming and screaming for a while. Thenhe went on up to the edge of the big woods. 

There he found an old trail which he followed a long way till it forked. Right in the fork of the trail, he saw a young bird. Its feathers werenot half grown and of course it could not fly. Little Luke knew thatit must have fallen out of the nest by accident. So he ran after thefrightened little bird and picked it up very carefully. Just thenO-loo-la the Wood Thrush flew down into a bush by the side of the trailand began to plead, "Pit'y! pit'y! don't hurt him! Let him go, littleboy; please let him go!" he seemed to say. 

Little Luke looked around for the nest. Soon he saw it in a tangle ofvines that ran over a dogwood bush. 

Very carefully he picked his way through the bushes toward the nest. O-loo-la seemed to guess what he meant to do and hopped from bush tobush without saying a word. 

When the little boy went to put the young bird back into the nest, hesaw why he had fallen out. There were three young birds in it, and theyfilled it so full that there was scarcely room for another. Little Lukesaw that the bird he held was smaller than the others. So he took one ofthem out and put his bird down into the middle of the nest. Then he putthe bigger one back. When this one snuggled down into the nest, it wasquite full. 

When little Luke went back into the trail, O-loo-la flew to a branchover his head and began to sing very happily. The little boy thoughtthat he, too, was trying to say, "Thank you, little boy, thank you. "

Little Luke took the left-hand trail and followed it till he came to abeautiful spring which gushed from under a tall rock. He lay down uponhis stomach and took a long drink of the cool, sweet water. 

Just beside the spring stood a big beech tree. Near the ground two largeroots spread out at a broad angle. Little Luke sat down between theroots and leaned his head against the tree. It was a very comfortableseat. So he sat there and dreamed with his eyes wide open. Just what hewas dreaming about he did not know. He only knew that he felt very happyand very quiet. 

Mee-ko the Red Squirrel ran out upon a branch just over his head andpeeked and peered at him with his bright, inquisitive eyes. As littleLuke sat very still, Mee-ko cocked his long tail up over his shouldersand sat and watched him. 

Little Luke felt so very comfortable and quiet that he closed his eyesfor a moment. At least it seemed only a moment to him. All at once heheard a loud hum. He opened his eyes and there was Ah-mo the Honey Beejust before his face. When Ah-mo saw that little Luke was watching him, he flew down toward the spring and lit upon a beautiful flower. 

Little Luke was surprised; he had not seen that flower before. It was avery beautiful flower. He leaned over and looked at it. Its petals wereblue as the sky, except near the heart, where they were pink as a baby'sfingers; and its heart was as yellow as gold. 

Little Luke reached out his hand to pick the strange flower. As soon asMee-ko saw what he was doing, he fairly screamed. To little Luke itseemed as if he said, "Stop, stop, let it be. Leave it alone. Go away. "

Little Luke was used to Mee-ko's scolding. He had heard it many timesbefore, but never before had he thought there was any sense in it. Itseemed very queer to him that he could understand the speech of asquirrel. 

In his surprise he forgot about the strange flower and sat looking up atMee-ko. At once Mee-ko became quiet. He ran along the branch and downthe tree behind little Luke. Then he leaped to the ground and ran acrossto another tree. When he thought he was safe, he began to talk and scoldagain. To the little boy it seemed as if Mee-ko was saying, "Come here, come away, follow me, follow me!"

But little Luke did not care to chase Mee-ko. He knew he could not catchhim, and besides, he wanted the strange flower. As soon as he reachedout his hand for it again, Mee-ko began to scold more angrily thanbefore. "Stop, let it alone, go away, " he screamed. 

"That is queer, " thought little Luke; "I wonder what is the matter withhim. What can he care about the strange flower?"

Just then Ah-mo the Honey Bee flew up toward little Luke and then backagain to the flower. Little Luke reached over and seized the flower. The stem was strong and he pulled it up, root and all. He put it to hisnose. Its odor was strangely sweet. From the broken stem some clearjuice oozed out upon his hand. Ah-mo the Honey Bee flew down and sippedit. Then he rose and began to buzz around little Luke's head. Withoutthinking, the little boy put his hand to his lips and his mouth wasfilled with a strange, sweet taste. At the same time a mist rose beforehis eyes, a strange feeling ran through his body, and his head swam. 

In a moment the strange feeling passed away and the mist cleared frombefore his face. He looked up and could scarcely believe his eyes. Therein a half circle around him sat a strange company--the strangest he hadever seen. 

There was Mo-neen the Woodchuck, Unk-wunk the Hedgehog, A-pe-ka thePolecat, Wa-poose the Rabbit, A-bal-ka the Chipmunk, Tav-wots theCottontail, Mic-ka the Coon, and Shin-ga the Gray Squirrel. At one endof the line stood Mit-chee the Partridge, Ko-leen-o the Quail, andO-he-la the Woodcock. On the branches above them were Ya-rup theFlicker, O-pee-chee the Robin, O-loo-la the Wood Thrush, Har-por theBrown Thrasher, Chee-wink the Ground Robin, Tur-wee the Bluebird, Zeetthe Lark, and Bob Lincoln. Little Luke was surprised to see the lasttwo, for he had never seen them in the woods before. 

"What can have happened to me?" said little Luke aloud. All thecreatures in that strange assembly stirred slightly and looked atWa-poose the big Rabbit. Wa-poose hopped forward a step or two and stoodup on his hind legs. His ears were stretched straight up over his head, his paws were crossed in front of him, and he looked very queer. 

[Illustration: THE MAGIC SPEECH FLOWER]

Then to little Luke's surprise, he spoke. "Man Cub, " said Wa-poose, "a wonderful thing has happened to you. You have found the Magic SpeechFlower and tasted its blood. By its power you are able to understand thespeech of all the wild folk of field and forest. This great gift hascome to you because your heart has been full of loving kindness towardall the creatures that the Master of Life has made. 

"Only he can find the Magic Flower who, between the rising and thesetting of the sun, has done five deeds of mercy and kindness toward thewild folk of forest and field. These five deeds you have done. "

Wa-poose paused. For a moment there was silence. All the wild folklooked steadfastly at the little boy, who in turn gazed at them withwonder-filled eyes. Then he spoke. "Five deeds! What five deeds haveI done?" he asked, forgetting all about his morning's work. 

"This morning you saved my child from the fierce jaws of Klaws the HouseCat. You drove off Mee-ko the thieving Red Squirrel when he was tryingto steal the eggs from the nest of O-pee-chee. You helped Ah-mo escapefrom the trap of wicked old Ik-to. You saved Chee-wink's fledglings fromthe cruel fangs of A-tos-sa, and you put the young one back intoO-loo-la's nest safely. 

"Two things you must remember if you wish to keep this magic power. Youmust never needlessly or in sport hurt or kill any of the wild creaturesthat the Master of Life has made and you must tell no one what hashappened to you. If you give heed to these two things, we will all beyour friends. When you walk abroad, you shall see us when no one elsecan, and we will talk with you and teach you all the wisdom and the waysof the wild kindreds. "

Just then the sound of footsteps was heard coming down the trail. Thegray mist rose again before little Luke's eyes and he heard someone say, "Wake up, little boy, it is almost noon. Your Aunt Martha will havedinner on the table before you can get back to the farmhouse. "

Little Luke looked up and there was Old John the Indian, who lived ina lonely cabin on the other side of the mountain, and sometimes came tothe farmhouse to sell game he had killed or baskets that he had woven. 

Little Luke sprang up and rubbed his eyes. Not one of the wild folk wasto be seen. But he held in his hand a broken and crumpled flower. He putthe flower into his pocket and went along down the trail toward thefarmhouse with Old John. 

[Illustration]

II. LITTLE LUKE AND THE BOB LINCOLNS

That night little Luke dreamed of the Magic Flower. The next morning, as soon as he had finished his breakfast, he ran down through the gardenand into the meadow. He was eager to see his wild friends again and totry his new gifts, "Perhaps, " he thought, "it was only a dream afterall. "

As soon as Bob Lincoln saw him, he came flying across the meadow to meethim, his black and white uniform gleaming in the bright sunlight. "Goodmorning, little boy, good morning, " he trilled, and his voice soundedlike the tinkling of a silver bell. 

"Good morning, Bob Lincoln, " said the little boy, delighted that hereally could understand Bob Lincoln's language. "How is Mrs. Bob Lincolnthis morning?"

"Come and see, come and see, " trilled Bob Lincoln, in his sweetest andfriendliest voice. 

Little Luke walked over to the nest. When she heard him coming, Mrs. BobLincoln was scared and flew up from the nest. 

But as soon as she saw who it was, she fluttered down upon the top ofa tall weed and said, "Oh, it's you, is it, little boy? I heard someonecoming and I was frightened, but I am not afraid of you. " And so she satswinging and teetering on the tall weed. 

The little boy looked at the nest and admired the pretty eggs. "Oh, they're coming on finely, " said Mrs. Bob Lincoln. "In a day or two Iwill show you five of the handsomest baby Bob Lincolns you will eversee. I heard them peeping inside of the shells this morning. "

The little boy looked at the father and mother birds. "Bob Lincoln, "said he, "I wish you would tell me why you and Mrs. Bob Lincoln are sounlike. Your coat is white and black; her dress is black and brown andyellow. You do not look as if you belonged to the same family. "

"Well, " said Bob Lincoln, "that is a long story. "

"Oh, please tell it, " said little Luke; "I want so much to hear it. "

"Well, " said Bob Lincoln, "we have both had our breakfast and I havesung my morning song. So if Mrs. Bob will excuse me [Mrs. Bob gracefullybowed her permission] I will take the time. You go over there and sitdown under the old apple tree and I will come and find a comfortabletwig and tell you all about it. "

When little Luke had seated himself cozily with his back against thetrunk of the old apple tree, Bob Lincoln began his story. 

III. THE STORY OF THE SUMMER LAND

"Long, long ago when the world was new, " said he, "the first Bob Lincolnfamily lived in a beautiful country in the distant north. In that countryit was always summer. None of those who dwelt in that land knew whatwinter was. 

"Ke-honk-a the Gray Goose, who spent half the year in northernGreenland, had mentioned it, but the people of the Summer Land did notunderstand him. They had never felt winds or seen ice or snow. 

"But there came a time when Ke-honk-a said, as he flew over, 'Winter iscoming, winter is coming. ' But nobody understood and nobody cared. Whyshould they care about winter when they did not know what it was?

"Soon after this the people of the Summer Land noticed a change in theweather. One half of the year was cooler than the other half. The firsttime this happened they did not mind it at all. Indeed, they ratherliked it. It was pleasant to have a change. 

"The next year it was cooler and the next still cooler. And so it wenton for some years, each winter getting colder than that which had gonebefore. 

"One day a dull, gray cloud came up out of the north and hid the face ofthe sun. Out of its gray bosom there came floating to earth a wholeflock of big, white snowflakes. The people of the Summer Land wereamazed. 

"As the great flakes came wavering lazily down through the air, theylooked at them and thought that they must be some new kind of wingedcreatures. 'What a lot of them, ' thought they, 'there must be to makethat great cloud which hides the sun!'

"In a short time the sun shone out from behind the gray cloud. In thetwinkling of an eye all the snowflakes were gone. 'Strange, strange!'thought the people of the Summer Land. 'What has become of all thosewhite-winged creatures?'

"The next winter so many snowflakes fell that they hid the brown earthfor many weeks. This happened again and again, and the people of theSummer Land began to understand what winter was. The snow became so deepfor months at a time that they found it hard to get food. 

"After a while life became so hard for them that they felt thatsomething must be done. So they summoned a Great Council to consider thematter. After much talk they decided to send a messenger to the Masterof Life, who lived far away among the western mountains, to beg him tocome and help them. For their messenger they chose the swallow, theswiftest of all the birds. 

"The swallow flew for many days, until at last he reached the lodge ofthe Master of Life, and told his story. 

"'Go back, ' said the Master when he had heard it, 'and after four moonsI will come to visit you. Summon all the people of the Summer Land to aGreat Council and I will tell them what they must do. '

"At the time appointed, the Master of Life came. When all the people ofthe Summer Land had assembled, he spoke to them and said, 'I have heardof your troubles and have thought of a plan to help you. 

"'Henceforth, so long as the world shall last, there shall be summer andwinter in this land. Half the year shall be summer and half the yearshall be winter. 

"'While summer reigns, this is a pleasant land, and you may live hereand find plenty of food. Before winter comes, you must leave this landand journey far away to the south, to another country where summeralways reigns. But when the snow melts and winter returns to his home inthe distant north, summer shall come again to this land, and so it shallbe every year. 

"'When summer comes back, you may return with it and dwell in your ownhome until it is time for the return of winter. '

"When the people of the Summer Land heard this, some were glad, somewere sorry, and some were angry. 

"'What!' said the angry ones, 'shall we leave our pleasant homes onaccount of winter? No, indeed; we will stay. ' And so they did. 

"When summer was over and the cold winds began to blow, the Bob Lincolnfamily, obeying the command of the Master of Life, set out for theSouthland. On and on they traveled for many days. 

"At last they came to the end of the land, and before them was thegreat, salt sea. But far on to the southward, they could dimly seeislands rising out of the salt water. 

"So they flew bravely on across the great, salt sea, till they reachedthe islands; and beyond these islands they saw others. On and on theyflew from island to island until they reached another great land likethe home they had left behind them. In it there were vast meadows andforests, mountains and rivers. In that land it is always summer and foodis plenty all the year round. There in the pleasant meadows, the BobLincolns stopped and there they lived happily for half a year. 

"When it was time for summer to revisit the Summer Land, the BobLincolns returned also and this they did every year. 

"In those days all the Bob Lincolns wore black and white clotheslike mine. But, as you see, this black and white dress is verycon-spic'-u-ous. 

"Now it happened that in their journeyings to and fro, the Bob Lincolnsmet many enemies, and these enemies wrought sad havoc in their ranks. When they were flying in the air, the hawks and the eagles would swoopupon them and kill them. If they sat upon the ground, the weazels andthe minks, the wildcats and other four-footed prowlers, would pounceupon them and devour them. Even the Red Men, with their featheredarrows, would shoot them. So many of them were killed that they beganto fear that soon none of their family would be left alive. 

"So they called a family council, to consider their sad state anddecide what it was best to do. When they were all assembled together, they talked the matter over and decided to go and ask aid from theMaster of Life. 

"'I have heard your complaint, ' said the Master of Life when theyhad finished, 'and I am willing to assist you. But first you mustunderstand that the cause of all your trouble is your love of fineclothes. Your black and white uniforms are very beautiful, but theyare too con-spic'-u-ous for your safety. By day your enemies can spyyou afar because you are black; by night they can see you because youare white. 

"'Hereafter you shall wear different clothing. No longer shall yourfeathers be black and white; they shall be black and brown and yellow. When you sit upon the ground you shall look like the dry, brown grass, and when you fly through the air your enemies shall not be able to markyour flight from a distance. Thus it shall come to pass that, if you actwisely, you shall live in peace and safety. '

"When they heard this the Bob Lincolns were grieved at heart. Theyloved their gay black and white uniforms and sorrowed at the thought ofparting with them. So they humbly begged the Master of Life to let themkeep their gay clothing and tell them some other way of escaping theirenemies. 

"'There is no other way, ' said he. 'But tell me, when do you sufferleast from your enemies? Is it when you are dwelling in your oldnorthern home, or when you are dwelling in the sunny Southland?''When we are dwelling in our old homes, ' answered the Bob Lincolns. 

"'Very well, then, ' said the Master of Life, 'while you are dwelling inyour old home, all the male Bob Lincolns may wear their black and whitegarments. Nevertheless they shall suffer for their vanity, for theirenemies shall find and slay many of them. 

"'But your wives and sisters must be content with a quieter dress. It isthey who have the most to do with tending your nests and rearing youryoung ones. If they should wear your gay black and white garments, yourenemies would find and kill you all, and the Bob Lincoln family wouldperish from the earth, '

"That is the story, " said Bob Lincoln, "that my grandfather told melong ago in our distant winter home in the Southland. If you keep watch, little boy, for a month or so, you will see me put off my black andwhite suit for one just like Mrs. Bob Lincoln's. Then you will know thatwe are getting ready for our journey to our distant winter home in thesunny Southland, far away across the great, salt sea. "

"Now, " said Bob Lincoln, when he had finished his story, "it's time forme to be off to see how Mrs. Bob Lincoln is getting along. "

And off he flew before little Luke had time to thank him for hispleasant story. The little boy sat quietly for a while under the oldapple tree. Then he got up and went slowly back to the house. 

IV. BOB LINCOLN'S STORY OF HIS OWN LIFE

During the long summer days little Luke went often to visit the BobLincolns. The more he watched them, the more he grew to love them. BobLincoln himself was the merriest, jolliest fellow of all the littleboy's feathered friends. 

Little Luke saw the baby birds as soon as they had broken their shells. He watched the anxious parents feed them. And how those young BobLincolns could eat! How their busy parents had to work to support thelittle family! Back and forth over the meadow the old birds flew hourafter hour, searching for food for their hungry babies. And they werealways hungry! Whenever they heard anyone coming, they would close theireyes, stretch their long necks, and open wide their yellow mouths. 

The young birds grew larger and hungrier every day. And every day BobLincoln became busier and quieter. Little Luke noticed that the jollylittle fellow did not sing so much and that his gay coat was becomingrusty. One by one his bright feathers fell out and dull brown or yellowones took their place, until at last he looked just like his littlewife. 

"Well, little boy, " said Bob Lincoln one morning, "we must be gettingready to move. These youngsters can fly pretty well, and it is time forus to go. I am sorry, for I love our meadow home, and a long anddangerous journey is before us. "

"Tell me about it, " said little Luke. 

"Well, " said Bob Lincoln, "you must know that I was hatched in this verymeadow. There were five of us and I am the only one that is left. 

"When we young ones had learned to fly pretty well, we started south. After a few days we reached a land where there were broad marshescovered with reeds. There we stopped for a while. But the men of thatcountry hunted us with their fire-sticks. They called us reed birds aridliked us to eat. They shot many of our friends, but for a few days ourfamily all escaped. But one morning we heard a sound like thunder andour mother fell to the ground and we saw her no more. 

"This frightened us and we flew on to the southward for many days. Ofcourse wherever we found a good place, we stopped to rest and eat. Butwe did not stop for long until we came to a land where there were greatfields of rice. There we found great flocks of our kindred, who hadgrown fat by feeding upon the rice. 

"But here again were men with their fire-sticks and they killed two ofmy brothers. All the time we stayed there, we lived in fear. So aftersome days we left the rice land and went on toward the south. We crossedthe great, salt sea and at last found the winter home of our kindred. 

"In the spring we came back again to this meadow. And here I found Mrs. Bob Lincoln. I courted her with my sweetest songs, and after a shorttime we were married and set up house-keeping. 

"That autumn I led a family of my own on the long journey to oursouthern home. Three times have I made the journey to and from thismeadow, and each time some of my family have fallen a prey to our manyenemies. But the men with their fire-sticks are the worst of all. Whyare they so cruel to us?"

"Alas, " said Bob Lincoln, after a pause, "I dread this journey. Not manyof my friends have escaped so long. I fear I shall never return. But itcannot be helped, we must go. I think, little boy, we shall start thismorning. So I will say good-bye now. "

"Good-bye, Bob Lincoln, " said little Luke, "I hope it will not be as youfear. I shall look for you again next May. "

The Bob Lincoln family started on their long southern journey and littleLuke went sadly back to the house. Now that the Bob Lincolns were gone, the meadow no longer seemed so pleasant to him. 

V. LITTLE LUKE MAKES FRIENDS AMONG THE WILD FOLK

While little Luke spent a good deal of his time with the Bob Lincolnfamily, he did not neglect his other friends among the wild folk. Almostevery day he had long talks with one or more of them. Thus it came topass that he soon became exceeding wise with the wisdom of the wildkindreds; for his eyes were sharper and his ears keener than those ofany other of the house people. 

There was Sam, the hired man, who thought he knew a good deal about thewild folk. And there was Old Bill, the hunter, who had done littlebesides hunting and trapping all his long life; even these did not beginto know the beasts and birds as little Luke knew them. Before theFinding of the Magic Flower, he had thought them marvels of woodcraftand fieldcraft. Now they seemed to him almost blind and deaf. 

As he went about with them, he found that for all their boasting (andthey often boasted) they really knew little about the wild folk. Manytimes they would pass Wa-poose the Rabbit sitting unseen on his formwithin a few feet of them. Mother Mit-chee the Ruffled Partridge madeher nest in plain sight on the ground beside the old trail and theypassed by a hundred times and never saw her. And so it was with manyothers of the wild folk. Often they went quietly about their businessbefore the very eyes of the house people who did not see them. 

During that summer little Luke spent much time with Old John the loneIndian, who lived at the foot of Black Mountain. For Old John, seeingthe little boy's love of woodcraft and his wonderful keenness of ear andeye, and understanding, came to love him more than he had loved anyoneor anything for many years. 

He would make some excuse to come to the farmhouse. Then, when hispretended business was finished, he would sit with the little boy on anold bench on the lawn and tell him stories of the Red Men or of the wildfolk. 

Sometimes, too, the little boy would go up the trail and sit by thespring where he had found the Magic Speech Flower and wait for the oldIndian. Or, when Old John started for home, he would go along with himup into the woods and there they would sit on a fallen log and talk ofthe old days when the Red Men dwelt in that land, or of the wood folkthey saw and heard about them. These were most enchanting tales, andlittle Luke enjoyed them exceedingly. 

And he learned that in some matters Old John was very wise. But thesewere mostly concerned with hunting and trapping. Little Luke did notlike the idea of killing any of his wild friends, even though he knewthat their flesh and fur were very useful. He knew, too, that the Law ofthe Wild Kindred allowed everyone to kill to supply his need and so hedid not much mind the killing in Old John's stories, for he knew thatthe old man never killed any creature needlessly. 

And he learned, too, that the old Indian had some strange notions aboutthe wild folk. He believed that long ago they had all been very muchlike men. "In those days, " he said, "the animals could talk and buildwigwams just as the Red Men did. " He believed, too, that the forefathersof some tribes of the Red Men had been animals, and that the forefathersof some of the animal kindreds had been men. All this seemed queer tothe boy, but not half so queer as it would have seemed before theFinding of the Magic Speech Flower and his talks with the wild folk. 

Now the tale of the Finding of the Magic Flower was told abroad amongall the tribes of the wild folk round about. For this reason, as timewent on, many of them came to see the wonderful Man Cub (as they oftencalled little Luke) who could speak and understand the language of thewild kindreds. 

In that way little Luke came to know many of the wild folk that he hadnever seen before. Some of them were furry folk, who lived in the woodsand fields and along the brooks, and some were beautiful feathered folk, who came down from the tops of the tall pines and spruces and hemlocks. 

These were mostly bird folk who had once lived in the Summer Land andhad learned to travel southward before the return of Pe-boan the cruelWinter King. They loved the upper spaces of the great forests, and therethey lived as some of the water folk live in the lower depths of thegreat sea. 

These bird folk hated the open fields and even the lower air, in thethick forests, seemed heavy and unpleasant to them. So they seldom camedown from their airy homes in the upper branches of the great trees. Forthis reason little Luke did not see much of them, but when he did seeone of them, it was as if he had seen an angel. 

[Illustration]

VI. LITTLE LUKE AND KIT-CHEE THE GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER

Down in the far corner of the orchard stood an old apple tree. Some ofits limbs were dead and the rest of it was so covered with orchard mossthat it seemed gray with age. As little Luke was passing one day, henoticed a round hole in one of its branches. "Now, " thought he tohimself, "I'll climb up and take a peep into that hole. " And so he did. 

As he looked into the dark cavity, there was a sudden explosion, whichsounded like the noise made by an angry cat. The little boy jumped backso quickly that he almost fell to the ground. Just then he heard someonein the branches of the tree above him. "Whee-ree, whee-ree, " sounded amocking; voice, that made little Luke think that somebody was making funof him. He looked up and saw Kit-chee the Great Crested Flycatcher. 

"Ah-ha!" said Kit-chee; "so she scared you, did she?"

The little boy moved his hand toward the hole. 

"Better not; better not, " said Kit-chee; "that's Mother Kit-chee inthere. She doesn't like to be disturbed, and she has a temper of herown, and a sharp bill to go with it. "

"Excuse me, Father Kit-chee, " said the little boy; "I didn't know. Ionly wanted to see what was in that hole. "

"All right, " said Kit-chee. "We don't mind you. Perhaps, if you ask herpolitely, she'll come out and let you take a peep. "

"Pray, Mother Kit-chee, " said the little boy, "aren't you hungry? Thereare some nice flies and bugs out here, and besides, if you will be kindenough to allow me, I should like a peep at your nest and eggs. "

"Oh, very well, " answered Mother Kit-chee, "I'll do anything to obligeyou, when you speak in that way. " And out she came. 

Both Father Kit-chee and Mother Kit-chee were rather handsome, dignifiedbirds. They each wore a coat of butternut brown, mixed with olive green, and a vest pearl gray toward the throat and yellow lower down. 

"Thank you, " said the little boy to Mother Kit-chee as she came out, "I'll not disturb anything. I'll be very careful. " And so he was. Helooked down into the hole, where he saw five creamy-white eggs, streakedlengthwise with brown. But the queerest thing he saw was a snake-skinwhich formed part of the nest. 

"There's the skin of a snake, " exclaimed the little boy. "How did thatcome there? Did the snake try to steal your eggs, and did you kill him?"

"Oh, no, " replied Father Kit-chee, "I found that skin over yonder in thepasture. You know that A-tos-sa the Snake sheds his skin when it growsold and stiff, and grows a new one that fits him better. We just pick upthe cast-off skins and build them into our nests. "

"What on earth do you do it for?" asked the little boy. "I wouldn't wantsuch a thing around my bed. I don't like snakes, or even their skins. "

"I don't like snakes either, " said Kit-chee, "but it's a custom in ourfamily to use their skins in nest-building. Wherever you find a homeof one of our tribe, there you will find a snake-skin. I've heard mygrandfather say that our kinfolk, who dwell far to the south beyond thebig seawater, have the same custom. There's a tradition about it, too. "

"Oh, please tell me about it, " said the little boy. "I'm sure it will bean interesting story. "

"Very well; anything to please you, " said Kit-chee. 

VII. WHY THE KIT-CHEE PEOPLE ALWAYS USE SNAKE-SKINS IN NEST-BUILDING

"Long, long ago, " began he, "when the world was new, all the beasts andbirds were at peace with each other. In those days it was summer all theyear round. After a while a change came. "

"Oh, yes, I've heard about that, " said the little boy. "Pe-boan thecruel Winter King came down from the frozen North and drove off Ni-ponthe Queen of Summer. Then the animals and birds got hungry and began tokill each other. I've heard about that several times. "

"Yes, " said Kit-chee, "that was the way it was. The animals and birdsbegan to kill and rob each other. No nest was safe. Mee-ko the RedSquirrel, A-tos-sa the Snake, Ka-ka-go the Crow, and many others learnedto rob our nests and eat our young ones. 

"Every one of the birds tried to hide her nest, but in spite of thebest that they could do, the robbers would often find them. The worst ofall our enemies was Kag-ax the Weasel. The Kit-chee families sufferedterribly. They built their nests as we do now in holes in trees. Kag-axis a good climber and has sharp eyes. It was almost impossible to hidea nest from him. 

"After a while things got so bad that the Kit-chee family came togetherin a council. They talked over their troubles and made up their minds togo to the Master of Life and ask him to help them. And so they did. 

"'I am sorry for you, ' said he, when he had heard their story, 'and willtell you what to do. As you say, your worst enemy is Kag-ax the Weasel. Now Kag-ax is more afraid of A-tos-sa the Snake than of any othercreature in the whole world. He cannot bear even the sight of asnake-skin. You must weave a snake-skin into each one of your nests. Then he will not dare to trouble you. '

"'But how shall we get the snake-skins?' asked Grandfather Kit-chee, thehead of the family. 

"'That is easy, ' answered the Master of Life. 'A-tos-sa, as you know, sheds his skin. If you look sharp, you can find the cast-off skinsalmost anywhere. Do as I have said, and you will be safe. Even Mee-kothe Squirrel and others of your enemies will be afraid of the snake-skinand let your nests alone. '

"The Kit-chee family did as the Master of Life told them to do. Fromthat time to this they always have woven a snake-skin into their nests, and their nests have seldom been robbed. "

"Thank you, " said the little boy, "that was a good story. Now I must begoing home. There's Aunt Martha calling for dinner. " And he slid downout of the old apple tree and went across the orchard to the house. 

[Illustration]

VIII. LITTLE LUKE AND NICK-UTS THE YELLOWTHROAT

Among little Luke's bird friends was little Nick-uts the Yellowthroat. He was a dainty little fellow, with an olive green back, a brightyellow breast, and a black mask across his face that made him looklike a highwayman. Though he was lively and nervous, he had a gentledisposition and a sweet voice. His home was in some low bushes in thepasture. 

Whenever little Luke went up to see him, he would hop up on a branch andcall out, "Which way, sir? Which way, sir?" And when the little boystarted to go away, he would say, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. "

Every time the little boy went for the cows he would stop and chat amoment with Mr. And Mrs. Nick-uts. To be sure, Mrs. Nick-uts never hadmuch to say. She was a quiet little body, not so fidgety as Nick-uts, and besides, she had to stay close at home and see to the eggs andbabies. 

One morning, as little Luke was going for the cows, he saw Nick-utsbobbing around very excitedly. 

"Come here. Come here, " called Nick-uts, when he saw the little boy;"I want some help. " And he hopped over by the nest. 

Little Luke went over to the nest and looked in. "Look there, " saidNick-uts, "see that big, ugly egg. Take it out, please. "

"Take it out?" said little Luke. "Why should I do that? Isn't it yours?"

"No, indeed, " said Nick-uts, "it's old Mother Mo-lo's. The nasty oldwretch laid it in there while we were away from home. She's alwayssneaking around, the lazy old thing, to lay her eggs in some otherbird's nest. She's cowardly too. She always picks out the nest of onesmaller than herself. I wish I were big enough to give her a soundthrashing. 

"Please take the egg out, " he went on. "I can't do it myself, and if youdon't take it out, we shall have to leave the nest and our own eggs andbuild a new one. "

Little Luke took the egg out of the nest and threw it on the ground. "Why don't Mother Mo-lo build a nest of her own?" he asked. 

"Oh, she can't. She doesn't know enough, " answered Nick-uts. "In the olddays she had a chance to learn the same as the rest of us. She wouldn'tlearn then, and now she can't. I don't believe she ever tries. 

"She sneaks around and steals her eggs into the nests of other birds, and some of them are so silly they don't know the difference. They hatchthe egg and bring up the young one as if it were their own. The youngMo-los are greedy things and they eat up everything away from the otherlittle birds. Besides, they grow so fast that they crowd out the otheryoung ones, so that they fall to the ground and die. I've known oldMother Mo-lo to fool O-loo-la the Wood Thrush that way. It's a shamefor a decent bird to be imposed upon like that. 

"She tried the trick twice on me last year. Once we managed to roll theegg out, and once we built a second floor to the nest, but we lost twoof our own eggs by doing it. "

"You said that Mother Mo-lo had a chance to learn to build a nest, " saidlittle Luke. "Tell me about it. "

"Well, " said Nick-uts, "since you have been so kind as to help me, I'll try. I haven't heard the story for a long while, perhaps I can'tremember it very well. But I'll do the best I can. "

IX. WHY MOTHER MO-LO THE COWBIRD LAYS HER EGGS IN OTHER BIRDS' NESTS

"In the beginning, " said he, "the Master of Life made the world. Whenhe had finished the land and the sea, the mountains and the meadows, he made the fishes, and then the four-footed kindreds. Last of all, hecreated the birds. But he didn't make them all at the same time. Thelast ones were Father and Mother Mo-lo. 

"When Mother Mo-lo began to fly about, the other birds went to her andoffered to teach her how to build a nest. 

"'Come with me, ' said the oven bird; 'I'll show you how to build a neston the ground where no one will find it. You must just push up some ofthe dry leaves in the forest, and then put some grass and twigs underthem. It's very easy. '

"'For my part, ' said the woodpecker, 'I wouldn't build on the groundanyway. I should be afraid that a deer or a bear or some other creaturewould step on me. If you want a safe nest, I'll show you how to buildone. You just find a dead limb, not too dead, and bore a deep hole intoit. Put a little soft, rotten wood in the bottom, and there you are!

"'That must be a close, stuffy kind of a nest; enough to smother one, 'said the oriole scornfully. Come with me and I will teach you to hangyour nest on the end of an elm branch. You just weave together some hairand grass and moss and hang it on a slender, swinging branch, wherenothing can get to it. Then you'll be safe. The wind will rock yourbabies to sleep for you and you'll have plenty of fresh air. '

"'I wouldn't like that at all, ' said the sand martin. 'I'd be seasickthe first half hour. A good hole in a sandbank suits me much better. Tobe sure, the sand sometimes caves in. But that doesn't matter much. Alittle hard work will clear your doorway. '

"'What do you do when the high waters come?' asked the phoebe bird. 'For my part, ' continued she, 'I like a rock ledge for a foundation withanother one above for a roof. The rock never caves in on you. A littlehair and grass, nicely laid down, with a little moss on the outside, andyou are comfortable and safe. You'll never be drowned out there. '

"'I don't like rocks, ' said the robin. 'A fork in a tree suits me muchbetter. Just lay down a few sticks for a foundation, then weave togethersome twigs and grass and plaster the inside with some good thick mud, and you have a serviceable nest, good enough for anyone. A few feathersin the bottom will make it soft and comfortable. It may not be soelegant as some others, but it suits me. '

"And so it went on. Each one of the birds praised its own nest andoffered to show Mother Mo-lo how to build one like it. 

"But Mother Mo-lo cared little for what they said. She wasn't evenpolite enough to pretend to pay attention. She was too conceited. Thought that she was handsome and knew about all there was to be known. "

"Handsome?" said little Luke; "the ugly old thing! It can't be that shehad ever looked at herself. "

"Oh, I don't know, " said Nick-uts, "the sillier people are, the wiserthey think themselves. And it's always the ugly ones who thinkthemselves the most beautiful. "

"Well, " said little Luke, "I've seen a good deal of her, but I neverthought her handsome in the least. You know she follows the cows aboutso much that we house people call her the cowbird. "

"Well, at any rate, " said Nick-uts, "she thought she knew a great dealmore than she really did. 

"So she said to the other birds, very haughtily, 'You are all very kind, and I am very much obliged to you. But I think I can get along withoutyour help. I know how to build a nest that will suit me better than anyof yours. '

"'Indeed, is that so?' cried the other birds. 'You must have learnedvery quickly. Who was your teacher anyway?'

"'Oh, ' said Mother Mo-lo, 'nobody taught me, but I know how just thesame. '

"'Very well, ' said the other birds, 'we only wanted to be kind and helpyou. But we won't bother you any more. Good-bye. ' And they all flew awayto attend to their own affairs. 

"After a while Mother Mo-lo tried to build a nest. First she tried tobore a hole in a dead branch, but she couldn't do it. Then she tried thesandbank, but the sand caved in and got in her eyes and almost smotheredher. Then she tried the other kinds of nests. But every one was afailure. At last she gave it up, and ever since then she has laid hereggs in other birds' nests and let them rear her young ones for her. "

[Illustration]

X. THE STORY OF O-PEE-CHEE THE FIRST ROBIN

One day little Luke heard Old John the Indian speak of redbreast asLittle Brother O-pee-chee. He wanted to ask the old man about the name, but did not get a chance. So the next morning he went down to the appletree in the meadow and asked Father Redbreast about it. 

"That, " answered redbreast, "is an old tale which both the Red Men andour people know. According to the story, the first redbreast was anIndian boy, and that is why he calls us Little Brothers. "

"Tell me about it, " said the little boy. 

 * * * * *

"Long, long ago, " began Father Redbreast, "there was a tribe of Indianswhich dwelt in the distant Northland. Their chief, who was a wise manand a brave warrior, had an only child, a little son. The boy was abright little fellow, but not very strong. Somehow he was not so big andhardy as the other Indian boys. But his father loved him more thananything else in the world and wanted him to become the wisest man andthe greatest warrior of his tribe. 

"'My son, ' said the old chief one day, 'you are about to become awarrior. You know the custom of our tribe. You must go apart and fastfor a long time. The longer you fast, the greater and wiser you willbecome. I want you to fast longer than any other Indian has ever fasted. If you do this, the Good Man-i-to, the Master of Life, will come to youin a dream and tell you what you must do to become wise in council andbrave, strong, and skillful in war. '

"'Father, ' said the boy, 'I will do whatever you bid me. But I fear thatI am not able to do what you wish. '

"'Make your heart strong, ' answered the father, 'and all will be well. Most of the young men fast only four or five days. I want you to fastfor twelve days, then you will have strong dreams. Now I will go intothe forest and build your fasting lodge for you. Make yourself ready, for to-morrow you must begin your fast. '

"The little boy said no more and on the morrow his father took him tothe fasting lodge and left him there. The boy stretched himself upon amat, which his mother had made for him, and lay still. 

"Each day the old chief went and looked at his son and asked him abouthis dreams. Each time the boy answered that the Man-i-to had not come. 

"Day by day the boy became weaker and weaker. On the eleventh day hespoke to his father. 

"'Oh, my father, ' said he, 'I am not strong enough to fast longer. I amvery weak. The Man-i-to has not come to me. Let me break my fast. '

"'You are the son of a great warrior, ' said the father sternly; 'makeyour heart strong. Yet a little while and the Man-i-to will surely cometo you. Perhaps he will come to-night. '

"The boy shook his head sadly and his father went back to his wigwam. 

"The next day when he drew near to the fasting lodge, he heard someonetalking within it. 

"'My father has asked too much, ' said a voice which sounded like, andyet unlike, the voice of his son. 'I am not strong enough. He shouldhave waited until I became older and stronger. Now I shall die. '

"'It was not the will of the Man-i-to, ' said another voice, 'that youshould become a great warrior. But you shall not die. From this time youshall be a bird. You shall fly about in the free air. No longer shallyou suffer the pain and sorrow which fall to the lot of men. '

"The old chief could wait no longer. He opened the door of the lodge andlooked within. No one was there, only a brown bird with a gray breastflew out of the door and perched upon a branch above his head. 

"The old chief was very sad, but the bird spoke to him and said, 'Do notmourn for me, my father, for I am free from pain and sorrow. It was notthe will of the Man-i-to that I should become the greatest warrior ofthe tribe. But because I was obedient to you and did the best I could, he has changed me into a bird. 

"'From this time, as long as the world shall last, I shall be the friendof man. When the cold winds blow and ice covers the streams, I shall goaway to the warm land of the South. But in the spring, when the snowsbegin to melt, I shall return. And when the children hear my voice, theyshall be happy, knowing that the long, cold winter is over. Do not mournfor me, my father. Farewell!'

"Ever since then, when the Indian children hear a robin singing, theysay, 'There is O-pee-chee, the bird that was once an Indian boy. ' And noIndian boy ever hurts a robin. "

[Illustration]

XI. HOW THE ROBIN'S BREAST BECAME RED

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 thingabout 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, " saidlittle Luke. 

 * * * * *

"Once upon a time, " said Father Redbreast, "long after the days of thefirst robin, old Mah-to the great White Bear dwelt alone in the farNorthland. He was the king of all the bears and was very cunning andcruel. He was so selfish that he did not like anybody else even to comeinto his country. 

"If a hunter wandered into the region where he lived, he would lie inwait for him and kill him. One stroke of his mighty paw and the manwould fall, to rise no more. He killed so many of them that the huntersbegan 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 ofthe great bear to hunt. Day after day old Mah-to followed the man andboy. But the hunter was cautious as well as, brave, and the old bear wasafraid 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 afire. He cut down a great many trees and brought the wood close to thedoor 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 thenI 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 theboy in the lodge to keep the fire burning. The old bear was afraid ofthe fire, which he thought was some kind of magic, and so he did notdare to touch the boy. At night the hunter and the boy watched the fireby turns, and so kept it burning brightly. 

"The old bear watched for many days before his chance came. At last oneday when the hunter had gone away, the little boy fell asleep andallowed the fire to burn low. 

"'Now, ' thought the old bear, 'now is my chance. ' So he walked into thelodge and trampled the fire with his great, wet feet, until he thoughthe had put it all out. He meant to kill the boy, but the fire scorchedhis feet and scared him. So he went away again to the edge of the forestand 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. Hewatched the old bear and saw what he did. When he went away, the robinflew down and scratched about among the ashes until he found a small, live coal. Then he brought some splinters and dry moss and laid themupon the coal and fanned it with his wings until the fire caught thewood 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 wasdoing. He saw, too, the big footprints of the great bear and he knewthat 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 inhis lodge. When he went back again to his people, he told them thestory, and they grew to love the robin more than before. To this daythey are never tired of telling their children the story of O-pee-cheethe Robin and how his breast became red. "

[Illustration]

XII. HOW THE BEES GOT THEIR STINGS

Little Luke was fond of watching the bees. He was not afraid of them, for he knew that if he did not disturb or annoy them, they would notsting him. 

One morning the bees in one of Uncle Mark's hives seemed greatlyexcited. They buzzed and buzzed about the hive, till there was a greatswarm of them in the air. All at once they started in a body and flewdown toward the orchard. 

The little boy followed them. They settled in a great bunch on thebranch of an apple tree. The little boy ran back and told Uncle Markthat the bees had swarmed. Then Uncle Mark and Sam the hired man took abeehive, a ladder, and a saw and went down to the orchard. Sam climbedthe ladder, sawed off the limb, and lowered the bees to the ground. Uncle Mark set the hive over the swarm and left it awhile. He knew thatthe bees would settle down in the hive and soon feel at home and beginto gather honey. And so they did. But Sam the hired man was stungseveral times. One of his eyes swelled shut and one of his cheeks lookedas if he had the toothache. 

"Why did your friends sting Sam?" asked little Luke the next day of hisfriend Ah-mo the Honey Bee. 

"Oh, " answered Ah-mo, "he was too rough. The bee people have sharptempers and ever since they got stings they are apt to use them whenthey get angry. "

"Got stings!" exclaimed the little boy. "Didn't the bee people alwayshave stings?"

"Oh, no, " answered Ah-mo; "not always. "

"How did they get them?" asked little Luke. "Tell me about it. "

 * * * * *

"Long, long ago, when the world was new, " said Ah-mo, "the bee folk hadno stings. They were just as busy workers as they are to-day. All daylong and all summer long they flew from flower to flower and gatheredwax and honey, which they stored against the winter, when there wouldbe no flowers and no honey. 

"But many of the other creatures liked honey as well as the bees. Theywould watch the bees till they found out where their storehouses were. Then they would break them open and steal all the honey. This was badfor the bee people. For without their honey they would starve to deathduring the long, cold winters. 

"At last matters got so bad with the bee people that they sent amessenger to the Master of Life to ask him to come to their aid. When hehad heard about their trouble, he said to their messenger, 'Go back toyour people. In two moons I will come to visit you. By that time I shallhave thought out a way to help you. '

"The bee people were very glad. They told their cousins, the hornets andthe wasps, that the Master of Life had promised to assist them againsttheir enemies. At the end of the two moons, the Master of Life came andall the bees assembled to meet him. The wasps and the hornets came also. 

"'I have thought of a way to help you, ' said the Master of Life to them. 'From this day you shall have stings. Hereafter, if anyone comes tosteal your honey, you will be able to defend yourselves. '

"The bees were greatly pleased. They were no longer afraid of theirenemies and did not try to hide their storehouses as they had donebefore. 

"Now the worst of all the enemies of the bee people was Moo-ween theBlack Bear. One day Mr. And Mrs. Moo-ween were walking by a hollow treewhere the bees had made their home. They looked up and saw many of thebee folk going in and out of a hole in the tree. 

"'What lots of honey there must be in that tree, ' said Moo-ween. 'Howgood it would taste. Let us climb up and take it away from the bees. 'So the two bears began to climb the tree. 

"But the bees were not afraid of them. They did not fly away and leavethe bears to eat their honey, as they had always done before. Instead, they flew down and began to sting the bears. The two bears could notunderstand it. They had never been stung before and they groaned andgrowled with pain. The bees settled upon their eyes, their ears, andtheir noses, and stung them again and again, until they had to let goof the tree, and fell to the ground. There they rolled over and over, growling and groaning and snapping their teeth. The bees kept onstinging them. The bears could not stand it. They got up and ran away asfast as they could, Since that time the bee folk have had stings and thecourage to use them whenever any creature, little or big, attempts toannoy or injure them. "

[Illustration]

XIII. THE STORY OF THE FIRST SWALLOWS

In May little Luke had watched Mr. And Mrs. Lun-i-fro the Eave Swallowswhile they had built their queer, pocket-shaped, mud hut beneath theeaves of the big barn. He saw them on the muddy shores of the river, rolling little pellets of mud, which they carried to the barn and builtinto their nest, and wondered at their odd ways. 

"I wish, " he often said to himself, "that they could talk. I would askthem how they learned to do it. " At that time he had no idea he wouldever be able to talk to them. 

After he had found the Magic Speech Flower he often talked to Fatherand Mother Lun-i-fro. But their talks were always short, for the twoswallows were always too busy chasing gnats and flies through the airto spend much time on anything else. 

Early in September the swallows began to gather in large flocks. The young ones, who were now finishing their lessons in flying, wereintroduced to the rest of the tribe and the little boy often saw themtraining in squads. They would sit in a long row upon the peak of thebarn roof. Suddenly they would start off all together and fly about fora while. Then they would come back and settle down upon the roof again. 

One day as little Luke was watching them, Father Lun-i-fro happened tolight upon a fence stake near him. "Father Lun-i-fro, " said the littleboy, "what are you swallow folk doing these days?"

"We are holding our councils and getting ready to go to the sunnySouthland for the winter, " answered the old swallow. 

"Before you go, " said the boy, "I wish you would tell me how you learnedto build your nests in such an odd way. "

"Well, " said Father Lun-i-fro, "since you have been so nice to us thissummer, I'll tell you. "

 * * * * *

"Long, long ago, " went on the old swallow, "there was an Indian villageupon the top of a high hill. 

"The grown-up people of the village were very good. But alas! thechildren were naughty. They were so disobedient that they could never betrusted to mind anything that their parents said to them. The old peopleoften talked to them and did their best to make them behave better, butit did no good. As soon as their backs were turned, those naughtychildren would begin to quarrel and fight and steal and run away. 

"The old people were much troubled. The woods were full of bears andpanthers and wolves, and they felt sure that some time the wickedchildren would be eaten up by them. 

"They did everything they could think of to make it so pleasant for thechildren that they would stay at home. They made bows and arrows for theboys, and Indian dolls for the girls, and all sorts of playthings forall of them, but it did no good. They would run away just the same. 

"At last the elders of the village held a council to see if they couldnot think of some plan to make their children behave better. After muchtalk it was thought best to call in all the children and have thevillage chief talk to them. This was done, but it did no good. The nextday they ran away just the same. Their parents had to search far intothe night before they found them. This time the old folks were veryangry. 

"Another council was held. They talked the matter over a long time andmade up their minds to send for Gloos-cap the good and wise Magician, who was yet upon the earth. And so they did. 

"When he came he found that, as usual, the children had run away fromhome and could not be found. They had already been gone two or threedays. 

"Gloos-cap frowned and looked very stern. 'I will find them, ' said he, 'and when I find them I will punish them as they deserve. '

"By his magic power he was able to follow their trail, which theirparents had not been able to find. 

"At length he saw them. They were playing about on the muddy shore ofa small lake. Out of the mud they were making many different kinds ofobjects, especially little wigwams. 

"He walked down to where they were. 'You naughty children, ' said he, 'are you not ashamed of yourselves, to disobey your parents and makethem so much sorrow and trouble?'

"'No, we are not, ' spoke up one bold, saucy little fellow. 'We don'tcare for what they say. We've been having a good time all by ourselves. '

"'Very well, ' said Gloos-cap, 'since you are not willing to obey yourparents, you shall never trouble them any more. You shall become birds. Since you love to play in the mud, you shall always build your nests ofmud; and since you love to gad about so much, you shall wander about theearth forever. '

"And so it has been with the swallow folk since that time. 

"But, " went on the old swallow, "our foreparents learned their lesson, and since that time we always bring up our children to be very obedient. No doubt you have noticed how very well they mind. "

[Illustration]

XIV. LITTLE LUKE AND A-BAL-KA THE CHIPMUNK

One of little Luke's best friends among the wild folk was A-bal-ka theChipmunk. He was a dainty little fellow about five inches long, with atail of the same length. His coat was of a yellowish-brown color, withblack stripes running down his back. This fine, striped coat made himlook much prettier than his cousin Mee-ko the Red Squirrel. 

He was a clean, jolly, little chap, and very fond of singing, though heknew but two songs. One was a sharp chip, chip, chip, which he wouldsometimes keep up for a long time. At a distance it sounded like thecall note of some bird. The other was a cuck, cuck, cuck, which soundedmuch like the song of the Cuckoo. A curious thing about this song wasthat one could scarcely tell where it came from. Little Luke was oftendeceived by it. Sometimes when it sounded as if A-bal-ka was near by, hewas really a good way off, and when it sounded as if he were a good wayoff, he was really close by. 

Beside these songs, A-bal-ka had an odd way of saying chip, chur-r-r-r-r, when he was scared. This meant, "I am not afraid of you, "and he never said it till he was safe in some hole where no one couldget at him. 

A-bal-ka never harmed any one, nor did he scold and steal like Mee-kothe Red Squirrel. Yet he had many foes. Ko-ko-ka the Owl, Ak-sip theHawk, Kee-wuk the Fox, Kag-ax the Weasel, Ko-sa the Mink, and A-tos-sathe Snake were always ready to pounce upon him at sight and make ameal of him. Even Mee-ko was not to be trusted. Sometimes he wouldchase A-bal-ka and rob him of the nuts which he was carrying to hisstorehouse. He would have robbed the storehouse, too, if he could havegot into it. But A-bal-ka's door was too small, and his hallways toonarrow for Mee-ko. 

Little Luke knew all about A-bal-ka's underground dwelling. The way hefound out was this: Uncle Mark and Sam the hired man were digging stoneson the hillside in the edge of the woods for the foundations of a newbarn. While at this work, they uncovered the home of one of A-bal-ka'sbrothers. It was made up of a long, winding passageway, ending in asleeping chamber, near which was a storehouse, and in this storehousethere was a large quantity of nuts. These nuts were all good ones. Thegreater part of them were little, three-cornered beech nuts, which thesquirrels like better than anything else. In all there was as much ashalf a bushel of nuts, enough to last a chipmunk all winter. The bedroomwas a neat, little, round chamber, nicely filled with leaves, grass, andmoss. In such a house as this, with its store of nuts, a chipmunk couldlive snug and warm all winter long and come out sleek and fat in thespring. 

Because of A-bal-ka's many enemies, he was very watchful. He seldom wentfar from home, and when he did venture to go abroad, he nearly alwaysfollowed the same path. At first it ran along under the side of a fallenlog. From the end of this, a few quick leaps carried him to a brushpile. A jump or two more brought him to a rock and yet a few more to astone fence. Once there, he felt safe. At the least alarm, he could runinto a hole too small for any of his foes except, perhaps, A-tos-sa, whom he dreaded more than any of the others. 

All along the stone fence stood nut trees, --oaks, hazels, walnuts, beeches, and others. And at one end was a cornfield. 

This made it very handy for A-bal-ka. He could gather the nuts whichfell upon the stone fence, and when he went for corn, he could keep tothe fence and thus avoid his enemies. Early in the fall he began to fillhis storehouse. To and fro he went along the fence with hischeek-pouches full of corn and nuts. 

Little Luke often amused himself by watching him. He would pick up thenuts with his paws and put them into his cheek-pouches, and it wasamazing how many they would hold. When he started for home, his cheekssometimes looked as if he had a very severe case of the mumps. 

One day in the autumn little Luke found out a queer thing aboutA-bal-ka. He was going up the trail with Old John. A-bal-ka started tocross the trail, but seeing the old Indian he became scared and ran up atree. This was a thing which he seldom did; never unless he was obligedto, to escape from his enemies. He is a ground squirrel, and no treeclimber, like his cousins the Red and the Gray Squirrels. 

"Now, " said Old John, "I'll show you something. " So he got a stout stickand began to tap the tree. Tap, tap, tap, tap, as if he were beatingtime to music. This tapping had a strange effect upon A-bal-ka. At firsthe was greatly excited and tried to run farther up the tree. Soon hegave this up, turned around, and began to come down head foremost. Hewould lift his little feet and shake them as if something hurt them. Lower and lower he came, until the old Indian could easily have killedhim with his club or caught him with his hand. He did neither. He justlaughed and threw away his stick. 

"There, " said he, "that's the way to make a chipmunk come down out of atree. They'll always do it, if you tap long enough, "

"That's queer, " said the little boy; "what makes them come down? Whydon't they run farther up?"

"I don't know, " said Old John, "perhaps they think you are trying to cutdown the tree, or maybe the jar hurts their feet. The Red Men used tothink that there was some kind of a magic charm about it. "

"I am glad you didn't hurt him, " said the little boy, as they went on upthe trail. 

"Hurt him!" exclaimed the old Indian, "why, don't you know that noIndian ever hurts a chipmunk?"

"Why is that?" asked the little boy. 

"It's an old, old story, " said Old John, "but come, let us sit down onthis log, and I'll tell it to you. "

So when they were both comfortably seated, the old Indian began the talewhich you will find in the next chapter. 

[Illustration]

XV. HOW A-BAL-KA GOT HIS BLACK STRIPES

"In the old days before winter had come into the land, the beasts andthe birds, the fishes, and even the insects, all had one language. Theycould speak the speech of the Red Men and they all lived together inpeace and friendship. 

"In those days, there was no killing and no war. But after winter hadcome upon the land, the Red Men learned to kill the wild folk and to usetheir flesh for food and their skins for wigwams and for clothing. 

"At first this was bad enough, but after men had learned to use bows andarrows, spears, knives, and hooks, it was still worse. They became moreand more cruel. They delighted to slaughter even creatures for whichthey had no use. Out of heedlessness, they trod upon the worms and thefrogs, and killed them without caring for the pain and suffering whichthey caused. At last the animals made up their minds to try to find outsome means to check the slaughter of the wild kindreds. 

"The bears were the first to meet in council. After much talk, theydecided to begin war at once against the human race. 

"'What weapons shall we use against them?' asked one of the bears. 

"'Why, ' answered another, 'the same that they use; bows and arrows, ofcourse. '

"'But how shall we make them?' asked one bear. 

"'Oh, that is easy, ' said another. 'I'll show you how to do it. You knowI lived for a long time in one of their villages. '

"So this bear got a piece of ashwood and a string, some straight reedsand pieces of flint, and made a bow and some arrows. 

"The White Bear, who was chief of the council, stepped out to make atrial of the bow. He pulled back the string and let the arrow fly, buthis long claws caught the string and spoiled the shot. 

[Illustration: THE TESTING OF THE BOW]

"Seeing this, one of the bears proposed to cut off his own claws andmake another trial. This was done and the arrow went straight to themark. 

"Now all the bears were ready to cut off their claws that they mightpractice with the bow and arrow. But their chief, the old White Bear, was wise. 

"'No, ' said he, 'let us not cut off our claws. If we do, we shall not beable to climb trees or to tear our food to pieces, and we shall allstarve together. It is better to trust to the teeth and claws that theMaster of Life has given us. Man's weapons are not for us. '

"All the bears agreed to this, and the council broke up without any planfor dealing with their cruel enemies. 

 * * * * *

"The deer were the next to hold a council. Each one had some story totell about the cruelty of men. Each one had lost his father or hismother, his wife or his children, his brother or his sister. 

"After much talk, their chief, Little Deer, spoke. 'It is a law, ' saidhe, 'among all the kindreds that each may kill to supply his needs. Themen folk need our flesh to eat and our skins for clothing. 

[Illustration]

"'But there is another law. It is that no one shall kill cruelly orneedlessly. Upon such as do so, let us send pains and aches. Let us maketheir joints swell and become stiff, so that they cannot follow us andkill us. Besides, let us make another law, that when a hunter kills oneof the deer family, he must pray to the spirit of the deer for pardon. If he has killed to supply his needs and without cruelty, he shall bepardoned. If not, he shall become a helpless cripple. '

"The deer people all agreed to this and sent word to the nearest Indianvillage, to tell the hunters about the new law. 

"Since that time every Indian hunter is careful to pray to the spirit ofthe deer which he has killed. 

 * * * * *

"Next the fishes and the snakes held a council. Each one had complaintsto make against the cruelty of men. After much talk, A-tos-sa the chiefof the snakes spoke. 

"'We of the snake kindred, ' said he, 'will afflict men with diseases oftheir nerves. They shall tremble and shake when there is nothing to beafraid of. And when they draw the bow-strings, their arrows shall gowide of the mark by reason of the unsteadiness of eye and hand. And wewill send upon them in their sleep evil dreams. The ghosts of the snakeswhich they have needlessly killed shall twine about them, with fearfulfangs, ready to pierce their flesh, and the cold sweat of terror shallooze from their skin, and they shall awake with cries and tremblings. '

"After him the chief of the fishes spoke. 

"'We, ' said he, 'will afflict men with diseases of the stomach. In theirsleep, they shall dream of eating raw or decayed fish and theirappetites shall pass from them. '

"These plans were agreed upon, and the council of the fishes and thesnakes broke up. 

 * * * * *

"After this, the smaller animals, the birds and the insects, gatheredthemselves together in a common council. Here, too, all were bitteragainst the useless cruelty of mankind. After all complaints had beenheard, Am-wee-soo the Wasp addressed the council. 

"'Each creature, ' said he, 'has the right to live. Our cruel enemiesdeprive us of our lives which they cannot restore. It is just that theyshall be punished. We, the wasps, the bees, and the flies, will sendupon men boils and wasting fevers, which shall sap their strength andbring them to their graves. '

"'And we, ' said Da-hin-da the Bull Frog, 'will afflict men with coldsand coughs, which shall make them weak and short of breath. '

"'We, the birds, ' declared E-kes-ke the Blue Jay, 'will afflict themwith sores and diseases of the skin. '

"And so it went on. Each of the tribes of the wild folk agreed toafflict mankind with some sort of sickness. 

"A-bal-ka the Chipmunk alone spoke in favor of the men. But he hadhardly said ten words, before the others became so enraged that theyfell upon and drove him from the council. He barely escaped with hislife. 

"And as it was, Up-wee-kis the Lynx fastened his claws on A-bal-ka'sneck and tore four gashes the length of his back. You can see the marksto this day. That is the way the chipmunk got his black stripes. "

XVI. HOW A-BAL-KA THE CHIPMUNK HELPED MEN

"The wounded ground squirrel hid himself in his den beneath the roots ofa great oak, where his enemies could not get at him. There he remaineduntil the other creatures had departed and his wounds were somewhathealed. 

"When he was well enough to get about again, he visited the villagesof the Red Men. Everywhere he went, he found sickness and death. Thekind-hearted chipmunk was sorry to see so much suffering and sorrow. So he revealed the secret plans which had been formed in the councilsof the wild folk. 

"Men now knew what was the cause of their troubles. But this knowledgedid little good, since it did not heal their diseases or save them fromdeath. For a time, it seemed as if the human race would be entirelydestroyed. 

"In their despair, they appealed to their kind friend A-bal-ka thelittle ground squirrel. 'What shall we do?' they wailed. 'Cannot you, who are so kind of heart and so wise, help us?'

"'I will do my best, ' he replied, 'but I must take time to think aboutit. ' After turning the matter over in his mind carefully, he went aboutamong the plants and trees and told them what had been done by the wildfolk against their friends the men. 

"'Cannot you, ' said he, 'do something to heal their diseases and savethe human race from destruction?'

"After much coming and going on the part of A-bal-ka the groundsquirrel, and much talking and thinking on the part of the plants andtrees, it was resolved that they, too, should hold councils, to seewhat they could do toward checking and overcoming the evils which hadbefallen the human race. 

 * * * * *

"First the big trees of the forest and the shrubs held their council. They talked over the matter and agreed that each should do all in itspower to furnish remedies to cure the diseases which the wild folk hadinflicted upon men. 

"'We, ' said the pine, the spruce, and the balsam trees, 'will give ourgums and our balsam. ' The slippery elm offered its bark; the sassafrasits roots; the cherry tree its bark and its berries. One after another, the other trees and shrubs offered their berries, their bark, theirleaves, or their roots as medicine to heal the diseases of men. 

 * * * * *

"Next the plants held their council and resolved to come to the aid ofmen in their distress. 'I, ' said the ginseng plant, 'will give my rootsto make a healing drink. It shall be good for headaches and for crampsand for many other kinds of pains and aches. '

"'And I, ' said the snake-root, 'will give my roots also for a healingdrink. It shall cure fevers and coughs and many other diseases. '

"And so it went on. The silkweed, the skull-cap, catnip, boneset, thepeppermint, wild ginger, wintergreen, and scores of other plants, allgladly offered their roots, their berries, or their leaves. 

 * * * * *

"Their number was so great that the little striped squirrel, who hadattended both councils, was scarcely able to remember them all. 

"After the councils were over, he went about among the villages of theRed Men and told them what the trees and the plants had said. They atonce began to gather and prepare the medicines which they needed to curethe different diseases from which they suffered. And from this time, onaccount of the use of these medicines, they were sometimes able to healtheir diseases and save many of their people from death. 

"This is the story of how diseases came upon men and medicines to curethem were found. 

"The Red Men were grateful to the little ground squirrel for the help hehad given them, and loved him more than any other of the wild folk, andto this day no Indian boy will injure a chipmunk. "

[Illustration]

XVII. LITTLE LUKE AND MEE-KO THE RED SQUIRREL

One day as little Luke was sitting on a fallen log in the woods, Mee-kothe Red Squirrel ran out on a branch over his head. There he sat up onhis hind legs and began to chatter and scold and cough. 

He remembered the day when the little boy had stoned him away from thenest of O-pee-chee the Robin. Ever since that time he had never misseda chance of saying bad words at him. But the little boy didn't mindMee-ko's scolding; he only laughed at him for his bad temper andspitefulness. 

"Mee-ko, " said he, "what makes you cough so? Tell me. I think there mustbe a story about it. "

"Well, suppose there is?" snapped Mee-ko. "I wouldn't tell you anyway. A Man Cub has no business to know the animal talk. I did my best tokeep you from touching the Magic Speech Flower. I hate you! I hate you!I wish I were as big as my forefathers were, I'd drive you out of thewoods!"

"Come, now, Mee-ko, " replied the boy, "don't be so spiteful. I haven'tdone you any harm. I stopped you from stealing Mother O-pee-chee's eggs, but you had no business with the eggs anyway. How would you like to havesome one eat up your young ones? Let bygones be bygones and tell meabout your forefathers. "

"I'll not be friends with you on any terms, " replied Mee-ko. "I wishyou'd stay about the farmhouse where you belong. You've no businesssneaking about in the woods, disturbing us wood folk, and spying on usand tattling about us. Go away. You know too much now. "

"Yes, no doubt he knows too much about you. We all do, " said a voice. Little Luke looked up and there was old Ko-ko-ka the Big Owl, sitting ina hole in a tree. "As for spying and tattling, " Ko-ko-ka went on, "youare the worst of all the wild folk. It runs in your blood. The Mee-kofamily have always been meddlers. It was the first of your tribe, asall the wood folk know, who, with his tattling; tongue, set Mal-sum theWicked Wolf trying to kill Gloos-cap the Good. Your foreparents werethieves and murderers too; and you take after them. 

"The Master of Life has formed some of us so that we must kill to liveand for us to kill is lawful. It is not so with you. You were made tolive on seeds and nuts, yet Kag-ax the Weasel, whom we all hate, isscarcely more bloodthirsty than you are. And you are a coward to boot. You haven't the courage to fight and you kill for pleasure and bystealth. "

Mee-ko started to talk back at Ko-ko-ka, but the big owl snapped hisbeak angrily and rustled his wings. Mee-ko saw and heard and he didn'twait to finish his remarks. He scurried along the branch, took a flyingleap to the next tree, and disappeared. 

"Let him go. His room is better than his company, " remarked Ko-ko-ka. 

"That's so, " said little Luke, "I never did like him much anyway. Buttell me, what did he mean about his forefathers?"

"Well, " answered Ko-ko-ka, "I've had a good nap and haven't anything todo till sundown. So, if you like, I'll tell you about it. "

[Illustration]

XVIII. THE STORY OF THE FIRST RED SQUIRRELS

"Long, long ago, " began the old owl, "when the world was new, theredwelt upon the earth a wise and good man whose name was Gloos-cap. Hewas a servant of the Master of Life, who had sent him to teach the menand all the other creatures everything that was good for them to know. So he went about from place to place, teaching the kindreds. 

"He taught the Red Men how to build their wigwams and to plant corn andcare for it. He taught the beavers how to build their lodges and thebirds how to build their nests and care for their little ones. To allthe kindreds he taught the things which each most needed to know. 

"At first all the creatures were good and heeded the teachings ofGloos-cap. But after a time their hearts became evil. Gloos-cap oftenspoke to them and did his best to turn them from their wicked ways, butin vain. They grew more and more envious, spiteful, and quarrelsome. Atlast they became so wicked that they began to fight and kill each other. Worse than all else, the victors took to devouring the bodies of theslain. 

"The good Gloos-cap was grieved and disgusted. He made up his mind toinvite them to a feast and try once more to turn them from their evilways. When they came, he set before each one of them food in abundance. Although each had enough and more than enough for himself, some of themwere not satisfied. They began to quarrel and fight, each striving totake from the other his portion. 

"Now Gloos-cap was a mighty magician. By his magic power, he caused thefood to turn to ashes in the mouths of the greedy ones. As soon as theytasted the ashes, they tried to talk and scold, but they could scarcelysay two words on account of the ashes which got into their throats. 

"The angry Gloos-cap waved his hand over them, and by his magic powerthe quarrelsome, envious, and greedy ones disappeared. In their placethere were a number of red squirrels, who chattered and scolded andcoughed as red squirrels always do even to this day. These were theforeparents of all the red squirrels in the world. 

"'Now, ' said Gloos-cap to the other creatures, 'take warning by thefate of these who are now squirrels and cease from being quarrelsome, envious, and greedy. '"

XIX. HOW THE RED SQUIRREL BECAME SMALL

"Now in those days Mee-ko the Red Squirrel was much larger than he isto-day, --as large as Moo-ween the Bear; and his temper was even as hissize. He desired most earnestly to take revenge upon Gloos-cap the Goodfor what he had done to him. So he sought out the brother of Gloos-cap, even Mal-sum the Wicked Wolf, and tempted him to kill his brother. 

"'I would gladly slay him, ' said Mal-sum, 'but I know not how it may bedone. On account of his magic power, there is only one thing in all theworld that can hurt him, and I know not what that is. '

"'Go you, ' said Mee-ko, 'and pretend to be friendly with him and findout his secret. Then you may slay him. '

"Mal-sum thought this good advice, and acted according to it. For manydays he behaved to his brother with pretended kindness, always watchingto find out his secret. 

"'My brother, ' said he, one day when they were hunting together, 'youknow that there is but one thing in all the world that can hurt eitherof us, one thing for you, and another for me. Tell me what it is withwhich you may be slain?'

"Now Gloos-cap the Good knew the wickedness and spite that lay hid inthe heart of his brother. So he said, 'Nay, but tell me first, what itis with which you may be slain?'

"And the wicked Mal-sum thought in his heart, 'What would it matter evenif he knew the truth? I shall slay him before he can harm me. ' So heanswered truly, 'By the stroke of a fern-root only can I be slain. Nowwhat is your secret?'

"But Gloos-cap, knowing his brother's wickedness, was unwilling to trusthim. So he answered falsely and craftily, 'By the stroke of an owl'sfeather it is fated that I shall be some day slain. '

"Now the wicked Mai-sum was greatly rejoiced in heart at hearing this. So he left his brother, making some excuse, and went off into the woodsalone. There finding an owl, one of my foreparents, he shot him, and, taking some of his feathers, returned home. 

"That night while Gloos-cap was sleeping, the wicked Mai-sum arose, andtaking the owl's feather, struck his brother upon the forehead. ButGloos-cap, awakened by the blow, only laughed. 'It is not really afeather, ' said he, 'but a pine-root that shall end my life. I was butjoking with you this morning. '

"But the wicked Mai-sum feigned that lie, too, had been only in sport, and the two brothers lay down again and slept. 

"But the next night, while Gloos-cap was sleeping, Mai-sum again aroseand struck him upon the forehead with a pine-root. 

"This time Gloos-cap, seeing the wickedness of his brother's heart, andthat he was bound to take his life, arose and drove Mai-sum forth intothe woods. Then he went away and sat down by the brookside, consideringwhat he should do. 

"'Truly, ' said he to himself, 'he will yet slay me. If he but knew thata flowering rush is fated to be my bane, my life would not be safe for amoment. '

"Now it chanced that the beaver was hidden among the reeds in the brookand heard what Gloos-cap had said. So he went off to Mal-sum, and toldhim his brother's secret for a reward. 

"The reward was that Mal-sum by his magic power should grant whateverthe beaver might ask. So the beaver asked that he might have wingslike a wood dove. But Mal-sum only laughed at him. 'Wings for you!' hechuckled; 'you, who have nothing to do but paddle about in the mud andeat bark! what need have you of wings? Besides, how would you with thatflat tail of yours look with wings!'

"Now you may be sure that the beaver was angry at being thus made sportof. So he went straightway to Gloos-cap and told him that Mal-sum hadfound out his secret. 

"'Now, ' said Gloos-cap to himself, 'I must needs slay him. He doesnaught but evil in the world, and I have not yet finished the goodwork which the Master of Life sent me to do. ' That night he arose and, talking a fern-root, smote the wicked Mal-sum on the head so that hedied. 

"Now Gloos-cap knew that Mee-ko the Red Squirrel had tempted his brotherto try to slay him, and since Mee-ko was so large and of such an eviltemper, lie feared that he would do much harm. So meeting Mee-ko one dayin the woods, he said, 'Tell me, what would you do if you should see aman?'

"'If I should see a man, ' answered Mee-ko, 'I would dig up the trees ofthe forest, so that they would fall upon and slay him. Then I wouldfeast upon his dead body. '

"'You are too large and too wicked, ' said Gloos-cap. 'I fear I cannotchange your temper, but I can your size, ' So he passed his hands overthe big red squirrel's back, and behold, he shrunk and shriveled untilhe became small, even as small as he is at this day. But his temperremained almost as bad as before. Even to-day, he can scarcely seeany creature without scolding and saying bad words. "

XX. LITTLE LUKE AND MOTHER MIT-CHEE THE RUFFLED PARTRIDGE

Up in the woods on the side of the mountain Mother Mit-chee the RuffledPartridge built her nest, close beside the trail. It was nothing but alittle hollow in the ground, lined with leaves. 

It was in plain sight and you would have supposed that anyone goingalong the trail would have seen it. But they didn't. Old John the Indianand Sam the hired man passed it a dozen times and never noticed it. EvenOld Boze did not find it, although he followed Sam up and down the trailmany times. 

You see, Mother Mit-chee knew enough to sit perfectly still, and hermottled feathers blended so exactly with the tree trunks and the deadleaves about her that only the sharp eyes of the Finder of the MagicFlower ever found her out. 

Little Luke saw her one day as he was walking up the trail beside Samthe hired man, and with Old Boze following at his heels. But he wentright on by, as if he had not seen Mother Mit-chee at all. He did notwant Sam or Old Boze to see her, for he knew they could not be trusted. They would be almost sure to try to kill Mother Mit-chee, or at the veryleast, they would rob her nest. 

The next morning the little boy went up the trail alone, to pay MotherMit-chee a visit. "Good morning, Mother Mit-chee, " said he, "I saw youyesterday, but Sam and Old Boze didn't, and I wouldn't tell them. "

"I knew you saw me, " replied Mother Mit-chee, "and I knew you wouldn'ttell. You are too kind-hearted for that, especially since you found theMagic Flower and learned the animal talk. We all trust you. You may cometo see me as often as you like, but be careful not to leave any trailnear my nest. I don't want Old Boze nosing around here. And when youcome along with any of the house people, just go right by and don't lookthis way. I am more afraid of Old John the Indian than of anyone else. He looked right at me the other day and I was sure he saw me. I wasscared, I tell you. I was all ready to fly away. But he didn't see me. If he had, I never should have seen my eggs again. "

"All right, " said the little boy, "I'll do just as you say. " And aftersome more talk, he went on up the trail to visit some of his otherfriends among the wild folk. 

Many times during the days that followed the little boy stopped andtalked with the Mother Partridge. "If you will come to-morrow, " saidshe, one day, "I'll show you as fine a brood of partridge chicks asanyone could wish to see. "

"I'll be sure to come, " answered the little boy, "for I want to see themvery much. "

As he came up the next day, Mother Mit-chee stepped off her nest. "There, " said she, "there they are. Now aren't they fine ones?"

The little boy looked. In the nest there were a dozen of the daintiest, downiest, little creatures he had ever seen. They were scarcely biggerthan an acorn. "They surely are a fine brood, " said he. "Aren't youafraid that something will catch them?"

"Of course I am afraid. I'm always afraid. " said Mother Mit-chee, "butthe creature that catches them will have to be pretty sharp. I know atrick or two that will fool most of the wild folk, and the house peopleas well. You come up to-morrow and I'll show you. They are pretty youngnow, and I don't want to disturb them unless I have to. "

The next day the little boy found the nest empty. He looked carefullyabout for Mother Mit-chee and her brood. Suddenly something rose almostfrom under his feet, and whizzed off through the wood. There was a soundlike an explosion, followed by thunder, which scared the little boy sothat he jumped. But he saw that it was only Mother Mit-chee, and he hadseen her do that before. 

He knew that the chicks were near at hand, and looked around carefullyfor them. 

Pretty soon Mother Mit-chee sailed around through the woods and droppedto the ground but a little way from the boy. She seemed to have beenhurt, badly hurt. One wing dragged as if it was broken, and she limpedsadly. 

"Ha, ha, " laughed the little boy, "you can't fool me with that trick. You needn't keep it up any longer, I shan't follow you. I know that youare not hurt at all. Old John told me all about it. He told me that hesaw you playing that very trick on Kee-wuks the Red Fox only the otherday. "

[Illustration]

"Well, well!" said Mother Mit-chee. "Did Old John see that? I didn'tknow he was anywhere about. Yes, " she went on. "Kee-wuks thought he hadme that time. I let him get close up. Then he jumped for me; but when helanded where I was, I wasn't there! If I hadn't made him believe hecould catch me he might have found my chicks. "

"Well, " said Little Luke, "I heard Sam say that no one could find ayoung partridge chick, but I'm going to try it. You know since I foundthe Magic Flower my eyes are sharper than those of any of the otherhouse people. "

"All right, " said Mother Mit-chee, "I'll call them out. I'm afraid ifyou walk around there, you'll step on them; they're right around yourfeet. " And she began calling to the chicks. "Kreet, kreet, come out, come out, right away, " she called. 

Right before little Luke a dead leaf that was curled up seemed to cometo life, but it wasn't really the leaf. It was the partridge chick thathad squatted upon it that moved. Just before him, little Luke saw a tinybunch under the dead leaves. He reached down and seized it, but verycarefully. It was another one of the chicks. And the ground about himseemed alive with the little ones as they came out at their mother'scall. 

"Well done, " said Mother Mit-chee, "your eyes certainly are good. Buthandle him carefully. Don't squeeze too tight. There now, you've hurthim!" (The little one was peeping as if in pain. )

Little Luke set him very carefully on the ground. "Don't worry, " saidhe, "he isn't hurt, he's only a little scared. "

"Well, " said Mother Mit-chee, "I must take these babies of mine downto the spring and teach them how to drink. They have never tastedwater yet. "

"Kreet, kreet, come along, come along, " called Mother Mit-chee. 

"Peep, peep, we're coming, we're coming, mother, " said the little ones. And they all started down the mountainside toward the spring. 

It took a good while to get there, for the chicks were young, and theirlittle legs so short and so weak that Mother Mit-chee had to wait forthem a good many times. But it was a pretty sight. The yellow, downy, little fellows marched along boldly behind their mother. Sometimes shewould go on a little way ahead. Then she would stop and call, "Kreet, kreet, come along, children, " and the little fellows would race to seewho could catch up first. 

Some of them were not so strong as others, and at times they would squatupon the ground to rest. Mother Mit-chee would wait as long as shethought proper, and then tell them to "come along. " And away they wouldgo down the mountainside. 

At last they reached the spring. The little ones had never seen waterbefore, and did not know what to do. But Mother Mit-chee took a drop ofclear, cold water in her bill, and raised her head before she swallowedit. Each chick copied her motion exactly. It was fun for the little boyto watch them. Nearly the whole dozen would clip their little bills intothe water at once, and raise their heads to swallow it, as they had seentheir mother do. 

"Mother Mit-chee, " said the little boy, after they had all finisheddrinking, "what makes you raise your head before you swallow the water?"

"Oh, " said Mother Mit-chee, "that is our way of giving thanks to theMaster of Life for the cool, sweet water. Our family learned to do it along time ago, and we have always done it since. "

"That sounds as if there might be a story about it, " said the littleboy, who was always on the watch for stories. 

"Well, " said Mother Mit-chee, "there is a story about it. "

XXI. WHY THE FEATHERED FOLK RAISE THEIR HEADS WHEN THEY DRINK

"A long time ago, " she went on, "there came a summer when no rain fellfor many weeks. As you know, all the feathered folk can get along prettywell if there are only dew-drops to drink. But after a time there was nodew, and even the grass withered and died. 

"All the feathered tribes suffered terribly from thirst. At last theygathered together in a great council, and asked the Master of Life totake pity on them in their sad state. He heard their prayer, and sentthe angel who cares for the wild folk to speak to them. 

"'The Master of Life, ' said he, 'has seen your sufferings and heard yourprayers. He is merciful and kind, and has given orders to the Angel ofthe Rain Clouds to supply your needs. Look!' said he, pointing to thewest. All the feathered folk looked, and behold, in the distance, thedark Rain Clouds were already flying toward them, driven by the breathof the Angel of the Winds. 

"Soon the rain began to fall, the grass, the flowers, and the treesrevived, the springs were filled, and the sweet murmur of running waterwas again heard in the brooks and rivers. The wild folk drank and wererefreshed. 

"Before the Angel of the Wild Folk departed, he said, 'From this time onforever when you drink, you must raise your head as a token ofthankfulness to the Master of Life who has sent you the refreshingrain. '

"If you watch them, you will notice that all the feathered folk showtheir gratitude to the Master of Life in the same way. "

XXII. LITTLE LUKE AND FATHER MIT-CHEE

"Where is Father Mit-chee?" asked the little boy of the MotherPartridge, one day. 

"I don't know, " she answered; "I haven't seen him since I began to sit. "

"Well, " said the little boy, "I think he's a mean, lazy scamp, to go offand leave you to take care of the family alone. "

"Well, " said Mother Mit-chee, "it would be rather nice to have somehelp. I feel a bit lonesome sometimes, especially when I notice how kindFather O-loo-la is to his wife and family. But it isn't the custom inour family. The fathers leave the mothers to take care of the family. They never come near us until their children are able to take care ofthemselves. I've taught these youngsters of mine what to eat and whereto find it. They have learned to fly pretty well, and taken some lessonsin whirring, so that they can frighten their enemies. I wouldn't besurprised to see Father Mit-chee any day. Why, there he is now! I cantell his drumming any time. "

The little boy listened. Far off in the distance he heardthump!--thump!--thump!--thump!--thr-r-r-r-r-r!

"Let's go and meet him, " said Mother Mit-chee. "He doesn't know you, soI'll go ahead. Then he won't be frightened. "

So they went through the woods, Mother Mit-chee in the lead, till theycame in sight of the Father Partridge. He was standing on a fallen logand drumming. Just how he did it the little boy could not tell. Heflapped his wings like a rooster, and seemed to beat the log or his ownsides. As the little boy watched him, he thought that perhaps the soundwas made by Father Mit-chee's wings striking together over his back. When he saw Mother Mit-chee coming, he walked up and down the log veryproudly. Then he stopped and drummed louder than ever. 

"Well, " said Mother Mit-chee, "so you've come back at last, have you?Here are your children. Don't they look as if I had taken good care ofthem?"

"Why, yes, " replied Father Mit-chee, "they're looking pretty well. I'veheard of you several times, and knew that you were getting along allright. But who's that over yonder?" he asked, as he caught sight ofLittle Luke. 

"Oh, " answered Mother Mit-chee, "you've heard of him before. He's theboy who found the Magic Flower, and learned the animal talk. "

That was the way little Luke came to know Father Mit-chee. 

XXIII. THE STORY OF THE FIRST PARTRIDGE

"Father Mit-Chee, " said little Luke one day as the two were sittingtogether on the drumming log, "can't you tell me a story?"

"Why, yes, " said Father Mit-chee, "I suppose I might, I might tell youthe story of the first partridge. "

Long, long ago an Indian was hunting in the woods. As he went along, heheard a noise as of people jumping and dancing on hard ground. "That isqueer, " said he to himself. "I will go and see what is going on. "

So he turned his steps in the direction of the sound, and went onthrough the forest swiftly but silently. Though at the first the noisehad seemed to come from a place near at hand, it was a long time beforehe came in sight of the dancers. They were a man and a woman, and theywere jumping and dancing about a tree, in the top of which was Hes-punsthe Raccoon. 

Now all three of them, the raccoon as well as the man and woman, weremagicians. The man and the woman were enemies to the other, and as theirmagic was stronger than his, he had turned himself into a raccoon toescape them. 

[Illustration]

The hunter did not know this. He went toward them, and as he drew near, he saw that the dancers had worn a ditch waist-deep about the tree. 

He went up to them and asked them why they did this strange thing. 

Now the man and the woman did not want the hunter to know the truth ofthe matter. So they said, "We are trying to wear away the earth from theroot of this tree, so that we can get it down and catch Hes-puns, We arehungry and we have no tomahawk. "

"Well, " said the hunter, "I have a good tomahawk and I will cut down thetree for you. But you must give me the skin of Hes-puns. "

They agreed to this, and the hunter soon brought the tree to the ground. They caught the raccoon and killed and skinned him. Then they gave theskin to the hunter, who went home. 

A few days after this, the hunter saw a stranger coming toward hislodge. On his head he wore a strange kind of cap which looked like asmall wigwam. When the hunter went out to meet him, the stranger tookoff his cap and set it upon the ground. At once it grew larger andlarger until it became a beautiful lodge with several fine rooms in it. 

The hunter was greatly amazed, but invited the stranger into his ownlodge and set food before him. While eating, the visitor chanced to seethe pelt of Hes-puns hanging on one of the lodge poles. 

Now he was a magician and the brother of the one who had turned himselfinto a raccoon. As soon as he saw the skin, he knew it by certain marksto be the skin of his brother, and supposed that the hunter had killedhim. So he thought, how he might be revenged upon him. 

"That is a fine pelt you have there, " said he to the hunter. "I shouldlike to buy it. "

"Yes, " replied the hunter, "it is a fine one, but I do not care to sellit. "

"I will give you more than it is worth, " said the magician. And heoffered everything that he had except his magic wigwam. 

"No, I do not care to sell it, " answered the hunter to each new offer. But finally, he said, "If you will give me that fine lodge of yours, youmay have the skin. "

"It's a bargain, " said the magician; "the lodge is yours. But you mustkeep me overnight. We will sleep in your new lodge, which is much finerand better furnished than this. "

"Very well, " replied the hunter, "but you must show me how to carry mynew lodge upon my head as you did. "

"Oh, that is easy, " returned the magician, "you just pick it up and putit on your head. Come out and try it now. "

The hunter went out and picked up the lodge and put it upon his head. Hefound he could carry it easily, for it was as light as a wicker basket. 

When he put it upon the ground, it at once grew as large as before. Sothe hunter and his wife and the stranger went into the lodge. Its newowner was greatly pleased with it. It contained several large rooms, inone of which was a very fine bed covered with a white bear skin. On thatbed the hunter and his wife lay down to sleep, while the stranger founda bed in another room. 

In the morning when the hunter and his wife awoke, they were moredelighted than ever with their new lodge. It seemed large and airy, andfrom the beams high above their heads hung all kinds of things good toeat. There were ducks and geese, rabbits and venison, ears of corn, andbags of maple sugar. 

In their joy, the man and his wife sprang out of bed and made a jumptoward the dainties. At once the white bear skin melted and ran away, for it was nothing but the snow of winter. At the same time, their armsspread out into wings, and they flew up to the food, which was only theearly buds of the birch tree on which they hung. For the magician hadcast a spell upon the man and the woman and they had become partridgesand had been sheltering themselves from the storms of winter under asnowdrift, after the manner of their kind, and now came forth to greetthe pleasant spring. 

And these two were the first partridges, the foreparents of all thepartridges that are now in the world. 

"That is a strange story, " said the little boy. "I thank you for tellingit. But now I must go home. Good-bye for to-day. "

XXIV. WHY PARTRIDGES DRUM

A few days later little Luke went up into the woods again. As he walkedalong the trail, he heard Father Mit-chee drumming. He knew where thedrumming log was, so he went over to it and sat down on one end. 

"Father Mit-chee, " said he, when the old partridge had finished, "Inoticed a queer thing about your drumming. One day I heard Old Johnpounding on a canoe he was building. At a distance your drumming soundedjust like his pounding. Why was that?"

"Well, " said Father Mit-chee, "I suppose it was because GrandfatherMit-chee, the first partridge, was a canoe builder. When he stoppedbuilding canoes he kept up his drumming. "

"Tell me about it, please, " said the little boy. 

"All right, ' said Father Mit-chee, and he began this story. 

 * * * * *

"In the olden days, Mit-chee the Partridge was the canoe builder for allthe birds. Once upon a time they all came together on the bank of theriver, and each one got into his own bark. Truly that was a fine sightto see!

[Illustration]

"Kit-chee the Great Eagle paddled off first, using the ends of his broadwings. After him went Ko-ko-ka the Owl; Kusk the Crane; Wee-so-wee theBluebird; and Chip-sis the Blackbird. Even tiny A-la-moo the HummingBird had a neat little boat. But his wings were so small that Mit-cheehad made for him a dainty little paddle. Some of the birds thought itrather too large, for it was almost an inch long. So the fleet of canoesstood bravely out to sea, and after a pleasant voyage returned safely toland. 

"Now the partridge had not taken part in the voyage, for he had built nocanoe for himself. 'It's great sport, ' said the other birds, on theirreturn. 'Why didn't you build a canoe for yourself?' But Mit-chee onlylooked wise and drummed upon the log on which he was sitting, and thesound was the sound of one making a canoe. '

"But the birds kept asking him to build a canoe for himself and jointhem. At last he remarked that he was about to do so, and that when hehad finished it, it would be a wonder, something new such as no eye hadever before beheld. 

"Then he went off into the woods by himself and was seen no more forseveral days. When he came back, he invited all the birds to come andsee his wonderful canoe, --one he had built for himself on an entirelynew plan. 

"Now Mit-chee had reasoned that if a boat having two ends could be rowedin two ways, one which was all ends (that is, round) could be rowed inevery direction. So he had made a canoe exactly like a nest, perfectlyround. When the honest feathered folk saw this, they were greatly amazedand wondered that so simple a thing had not occurred to all of them. 

"But when Mit-chee got into his new canoe and began to paddle, theirwonder turned into amusement, for he made no headway at all. Howeverhard he worked, the canoe simply turned round and round. 

"After wearying himself, and all in vain, he went ashore, and flew offfar inland. There he hid himself for shame under the low bushes in thewoods, and there he has lived ever since. But at certain seasons, whenhe thought no one was looking, he would get upon a dead log and drumwith his wings, and the sound was like the sound which he used to makewhen he was building canoes. 

"And so his children have always done since that day. "

[Illustration]

XXV. MOTHER WA-POOSE AND OLD BOZE THE HOUND

Up at the edge of the woods the wood-cutters had felled a tree into theopen pasture. As they trimmed the trunk, they threw the smaller branchesinto a big pile. Uncle Mark intended to burn them when they became dryenough, but forgot all about it. There they had lain for years, tillthey were dead and covered with moss. Over the heap of half-rottedbrushwood a tangle of wild vines had spread, and up through them athicket of blackberry bushes had grown. 

This was just the place for a rabbit nest. Mother Wa-poose could squatanywhere in the pile and her brown coat would blend with the dead brushso perfectly that only the keenest eye could see her. No hawk or owlcould swoop through such a tangle of vines and brush, and no fox or dogcould creep through the close-set hedge of thorny blackberry busheswithout losing a good deal of his hide. 

Through the thicket Mother Wa-poose cut two or three paths just wideenough for herself, but not big enough for a dog or a fox. In the middleof the brush pile, she dug a little round hollow about a foot across andlined it with coarse grass. On the top of this she placed another liningof finer grass. Then she filled the hollow quite full of soft fur fromher own coat. No bird's nest could be cosier or safer. To be sure, itwas on the ground, but the land sloped and no water could settle intoit. 

One day as little Luke was passing by the brush pile, his keen eye sawMother Wa-poose. "There, " said he to himself, "is just the place for arabbit's nest. I'll take a look at Mother Wa-poose's babies. "

So he got down on his hands and knees, pulled the bushes apart, andcrept into the thicket. He saw the nest, but could not get quite to itbecause of the sharp thorns on the blackberry bushes. 

"Good morning, Man-cub, " said Mother Wa-poose. 

"Good morning, Mother Wa-poose, " said little Luke; "don't be afraid, I only want to take a look at your babies. "

"Oh, I'm not afraid, " said Mother Wa-poose. "None of us are afraid ofyou any more. Look all you want to. But don't come any nearer. I amafraid you will open a path for Kee-wuk the Red Fox, or for Old Boze theHound. Both of them have been around here several times. They know thatI and my babies are here, but they can't get in. Old Boze tried it theother day, but went back to the house with a pair of bloody ears forhis pains. "

"Yes, I noticed his ears, " said little Luke, "and wondered what he hadbeen up to. "

The little boy sat down as comfortably as he could and looked at MotherWa-poose and her babies. 

"Mother Wa-poose, " said he after a while, "what makes you wriggle yournose so?"

"Oh, " said Mother Wa-poose, "I do that to keep my smeller clear. You seewe have so many enemies that we have to be on the watch all the time, and I can smell a fox or a dog almost as far as I can see them. Yousee I always sit with my nose to the wind, and my ears in the otherdirection. My nose tells me who is coming in front; my ears tell me whois coming from behind; and my eyes keep watch on both sides. I sleepmost of the day, but my eyes, my ears, and my nose are always awake. Why, I knew you were coming almost half an hour ago. My nose told me. It is only in such a place as this that my three sentinels ever getany rest. 

"When I haven't any babies to care for, I like to sit in a more openplace in the sun. So long as I have a chance to run each way, I am notmuch afraid of anybody. And if it wasn't for the men with their dreadfulfire-sticks, we of the Wa-poose family would have a pretty safe and easytime of it. "

Just then the deep bay of a hound was heard. "There, " said MotherWa-poose, "there's Old Boze now. Would you like to see how I can foolhim?"

"I would indeed, " said little Luke, "if you are not afraid. Old Boze isa wise, old hound, and he may catch you. "

"Oh, I'm not afraid of that, " said Mother Wa-poose. "You just sit herewhere you can see, and I'll go down there and give Old Boze the time ofhis life. I think he must be trailing me now by the sound. I was down inthe garden last night after a meal of cabbage leaves, and I suppose hehas found my track. "

Mother Wa-poose sprang out of her hiding place and went down the slopeten feet at a bound. She crossed her old track near the pasture bars andhopped slowly on to the edge of the blackberry patch. There she sat tillshe was sure that Old Boze had found her new trail. Then she skippedhere and there through the briar patch till she came out on the otherside. With a great leap she cleared the fence and ran on down throughthe cornfield. When she was clear of that, she ran along beside thestone wall till she came to the creek. Over the creek she went at oneleap; then down through the alder bushes till she came back again intothe pasture. Two or three times she crossed the brook. Then she camearound up through the woods to the brush pile, where little Luke wassitting. From its lower edge there was a good view all down through thepasture. There Mother Wa-poose sat up and watched the old hound, herbig, round eyes shining with glee. 

Old Boze followed her trail into the blackberry thicket. Round and roundhe followed the scent, pushing his way through the stout bushes. Everybush was armed with a thousand sharp hooks, and every hook clung to theold hound's skin. He fairly whimpered with pain. Now and then he gavetongue, until at last he came out on the other side. But his ears werein tatters and blood drops oozed from his skin in a thousand places. 

At the fence he was balked. Up and down beside the fence he ran severaltimes, nosing the ground for the scent. 

"Look at him! Look at him, " said Mother Wa-poose, fairly shaking hersides with laughter. "Isn't he a sight? But that won't teach himanything. He'll do it the next time. Rabbit chasing must be lots of funfor him. "

"I really do think he enjoys it, " said little Luke. 

Old Boze jumped over the fence and found the trail again. He followedit until he came to the creek. There he was puzzled. But he crossed thebrook and found the trail at last. Over in the pasture he lost it again. Mother Wa-poose had been too cunning for him this time. After nosing theground in all directions for a long time in vain, the old hound gave itup, and went back to the house. 

"You see, " said Mother Wa-poose, "if it wasn't for the fire-sticks, thehounds would not bother us much. Why will the house people be so cruelto us? We never harm them. Last fall the fire-sticks killed six of mychildren. " And Mother Wa-poose's eyes filled with tears at the thought. 

"It is too bad, " said little Luke, "but Uncle Mark says that if some ofthe rabbits weren't killed off every year, they'd soon eat all the grassfrom the sheep and cows, and we wouldn't be able to raise any cabbagesor turnips at all. Besides, you know, the house people like rabbit'sflesh to eat. I used to eat it myself, but I'll never do it any more. "

"How dreadful!" said Mother Wa-poose. "I don't see how anybody can eatflesh. Clover, or a nice, tender cabbage leaf is a good deal better. "

XXVI. MOTHER WA-POOSE AND OLD KLAWS THE HOUSE CAT

A few days after little Luke saw something that gave him a new feelingof respect for Mother Wa-poose. 

He was going up to make her another visit. As he came near the brushpile, he heard a thump! thump! thump! "That's Mother Wa-poose, " said heto himself, "and she's angry about something. I wonder what can be thematter. "

He went around to the other side of the brush pile and then he knew. There was Old Klaws the House Cat, his tail twitching and his round eyesshining hungrily. 

Just as the boy caught sight of the old cat, Mother Wa-poose sprang outof the thicket. She sprang straight at Old Klaws. The cat snarled andshrank to one side. But Mother Wa-poose was too quick for him. As shewent over, she struck him a sounding thwack with her hind feet. Itfairly made the old cat's ribs crack, and he rolled over and over downthe slope. In a second he sprang up, snarling and spitting. Again MotherWa-poose sprang at him. This time she hit him squarely on the side ofthe head. Old Klaws went down, rolling over several times before hecould right himself. The last thwack took all the fight out of him. Hescrambled to his feet and went flying down the hillside at his bestspeed. 

[Illustration]

"There, " said old Mother Wa-poose, "I guess he'll know enough to keepaway from here after this. "

"Why, Mother Wa-poose, " said the little boy, "I didn't know that youwere such a fighter. "

"Well, " said Mother Wa-poose, "we of the Wa-poose family never fight ifwe can help it. We'd rather run. But we aren't really afraid of anythingour size. And this time I couldn't run. If I had, Old Klaws would surelyhave carried off one of my babies. He got one of them this spring. Youremember the one you took away from him. He is grown up and has gone outinto the world for himself now. You know we Wa-pooses have three or fourfamilies each year. "

[Illustration]

XXVII. THE RABBIT DANCE

"Would you like to see a rabbit dance?" asked Father Wa-poose one day inSeptember. 

"Indeed, I should, " replied little Luke. 

"Come out to-night then, " said Wa-poose, "and sit down in the shadow ofthe stone wall in the corner of the clover field. There you will seesomething you have never seen before. "

"I'll be there, " said the boy. 

That night little Luke went up to his room early. He took off his shoesand threw them heavily upon the floor, and blew out the light. Then hejumped upon his bed, so that it creaked loudly. Without taking off hisclothes, he got under the blankets, and when Aunt Martha looked in, heseemed to be sound asleep. She did not look into the closet to seewhether his clothes were hanging up there or not. 

When he thought Aunt Martha had gone to bed, the little boy got upquietly, took his shoes in his hand, and slipped softly down the backstairs. Silently he unlocked and opened the kitchen door, and went outinto the moonlight. 

He did not feel that he was doing quite right, but he was afraid to askAunt Martha. You see he was afraid that she might ask questions, whichhe could not answer without telling about the Magic Flower and his wildfriends. 

He went over to the clover field and sat down in the corner of the stonefence where some bushes hid him from view. 

For some time nothing happened. Pretty soon he heard a queer thump!thump! thump! He looked up and there was old Father Wa-poose closebeside him. He had come into the field so quietly that little Luke hadnot heard a sound. 

"Hi! hi! there you are, Man-cub, " said the old rabbit. "Now you sitvery still, and you'll see something worth seeing. Of course we are notreally afraid of you, but if some of the young folks should see you, they might get nervous. I'll just go out and get my supper, and when thefun begins I'll come back and keep you company. I don't care much fordancing. I leave that mostly to the young people. "

Soon from all sides, rabbits came leaping over the fence into the field. There were young rabbits and old rabbits, big rabbits and littlerabbits. 

Sometimes one of them would stop and thump the ground with his hindfeet. This seemed to be a signal; for when one thumped, another wouldcome hopping toward him. The two would touch noses and then turn to onthe sweet, young clover, that had grown up since the July mowing. 

Their feast lasted for an hour or more. Then the fun began. Severalof them would hop close together in the centre of the field. Then theywould skip slowly about in a sort of stately dance. Little by little themovement became faster and faster until they were spinning around likea pinwheel in a brisk breeze. Round and round they went until it madelittle Luke's head dizzy to watch them. 

Suddenly a rabbit stamped with his hind feet, --thump! thump! thump!Instantly every rabbit squatted motionless. It was a danger signal, buta false one. Nothing happened. 

Soon the fun began again. Several of the rabbits had a game of tag. Round and round they went, leaping ten feet or more at each bound. Sometimes in the midst of their race, one of them would take a sky-hop. Up straight into the air he would go as if he were trying to reach themoon. 

"Why do they do that?" asked little Luke of Father Wa-poose, who hadcome back and was sitting quietly beside him. 

"They do that, " answered the old rabbit, "to get a clear look allaround them. You know we always have to be on the lookout for our foes. "

Not far from little Luke two rabbits were having a boxing match. Theystood up to each other just like men. Little Luke could hear a softspat, spat, spat, as the blows went home. Their paws were so soft thatthe blows did not hurt and it was great fun. 

Suddenly thump! thump! thump! sounded the danger signal again. Not fornothing this time! Ko-ko-ka the Great Owl came sailing over the cloverfield as silently as a ghost. But for all his great eyes, the old owlcould not see a single rabbit. Neither could little Luke. 

"Where have they all gone to?" he asked Father Wa-poose. 

"Oh, " said he, "they're all there. So long as they sit perfectly stillold Ko-ko-ka can't see them. "

"Why didn't they run away?" asked little Luke. 

[Illustration]

"What's the use?" replied the old rabbit; "so long as we know he iscoming, we aren't afraid of Ko-ko-ka. If he should swoop at one of them, he'd just give a bound and get out of danger. Old Ko-ko-ka can't catcha rabbit who knows he's coming. It's the way he comes that makes us fearhim. His wings are covered with down and do not make a sound. That's thereason we all dread him so. Ugh! I fairly shiver when I think of him. Henearly got me once. His sharp claws scratched my ears. "

Ko-ko-ka was very hungry. He knew the rabbits were in that meadow, andhated to go off without one. While Wa-poose had been talking, he hadbeen sailing slowly round the field. Now he was coming back again. 

As he flew over little Luke's head he looked down. Perhaps he saw aslight movement as little Luke tried to look up at him. Instantly heswooped and his sharp claws struck the little boy's hat. 

"Hi, there!" said little Luke in astonishment. It was Ko-ko-ka's turn tobe astonished now. He dropped the hat, flapped his great wings, andfloated off towards the woods. 

Little Luke left his hat where it fell and waited to see what therabbits would do. After a short time the fun began again. There were twoyoung ones that little Luke noticed in particular. They began their racein the middle of the field. Round and round they went and each timeround their circles became larger. 

Now on the other side of the clover field there was an open gap in thefence. All at once the danger signal sounded again. Thump! thump! thump!Again every rabbit squatted, with ears and eyes alert to catch sound orsight of an enemy. 

It was too late. Through the gate bounded a ball of reddish, yellow fur. Snap! And the teeth of Kee-wuk the Red Fox had seized one of the youngrabbits by the neck. Swinging the limp body over his shoulders, hetrotted quietly off through the gap. 

That ended the fun. As they saw the Red Fox every rabbit sprang to hisfeet, and with a hop, skip, and jump went over the fence and out of theclover field. And little Luke saw them no more that night. 

XXVIII. WHY THE WILD FOLK NO LONGER TALK THE MAN-TALK

Now in his talks with his wild friends little Luke noticed that theyused many Indian words such as he had learned from Old John the Indian. 

"Why is it, " said he, one day to Wa-poose, "that you wild folk use somany of the Red Men's words?"

"Well, " said the old rabbit, "that is a long story. But if you will sitdown here beside me, I will tell you about it. "

 * * * * *

"In the first days, " said Wa-poose, "when the world was new, the men andthe wild folk were much alike. They all spoke one language. 

"In those days it was always summer. All the year round the grass wasgreen and the flowers bloomed. Twelve times a year the vines and bushesand trees bore fresh blossoms, and twelve times a year they were loadedwith ripe berries, fruits, and nuts. 

"In those times there was no hunting and no killing. All the wildkindreds lived in peace with each other and with the Red Men, who thendwelt in this land. You see there was plenty to eat and the weather wasso warm and pleasant that the Red Men did not need the skins of theirwild brothers to keep them from the cold. 

"But after a while a change came. Pe-boan the dreadful Winter King camedown from the North and made war upon Ni-pon the Queen of Summer. Aftermany battles peace was made and the year was divided; half the year wasruled by the Queen of Summer, and half by the Winter King. 

"Now it came to pass that after the war was over the vines and bushesand trees put forth their buds and blossomed and bore fruit but once ayear. The Red Men and the wild kindreds suffered dreadfully from hunger, and their hearts became hard and cruel. Then the hunting and the killingbegan. The Red Men hunted many of the wild kindreds for their flesh andtheir fur, and the wild kindreds began to kill and devour each other. And so it has been since that day. 

"In those times the Wa-poose folk were much larger than they are now, even as large as Mo-ween the Bear. But they refused to take part in thekilling and flesh eating, and so they suffered more from hunger thansome of the wild kindreds. Year by year, on account of the scarcity offood, the Wa-poose folk became smaller until they were as you see themnow. 

"In the beginning, as I have said, the Red Men and the wild kindredsspoke one language. Even to this day, the Red hunters have kept many ofthe watchwords of the wild folk, and by means of them are able todeceive and kill them. 

"Now by reason of the great slaughter that was made by the Red Men, thewild kindreds gathered themselves together in a great council to discusstheir condition. After much talk they decided to ask help of the Masterof Life. 

"'There is but one way, ' said he, when he had heard their story, 'youmust change your speech. Then the Red Men will no longer be able todeceive you so easily and slay so many of you. '

"The wild folk did as the Master of Life told them to do. They changedtheir language, and refused to speak any longer with the Red Men. Butsome of the Red Men's words they have kept to this day, and that is whyyou hear us use them. "

XXIX. THE TALE OF SUN-KA THE WISE DOG

One day Old John the Indian came down the trail to the farmhouse. He wason his way to town to sell some baskets. As Uncle Mark was going to townwith the team, he invited him to ride. Since the town was several milesaway, the old Indian gladly accepted the invitation, leaving Ke-ha-gahis old hound at the farmhouse. 

In the afternoon little Luke was sitting on the fence when old Ke-ha-gacame over to him. Putting his front paws on top of the fence, he lickedthe little boy's hand. 

"Hello, Ke-ha-ga, " said little Luke, "so you have come out to see me, have you? Can't you tell me a story?" he added as he gently patted theold hound's head. 

"What kind of a story do you want?" asked the old dog. 

"Oh, most any kind will do, " said the boy. "Tell me a story about somedog of the olden, days, --the days before the white men came to thiscountry. "

"Very well, " said Ke-ha-ga, "I'll tell you a legend that my grandfathertold to me when I was a puppy. " And he began the following tale. 

[Illustration]

"Many winters ago there was a wise dog whose name was Sun-ka. He livedwith an old Indian woman. Now Sun-ka was a good hunter, and oftenbrought home to the lodge rabbits and other small animals which he hadhunted and caught by himself. 

"But his mistress was a bad, greedy old woman. She took all the gamewhich he brought, and used it for herself. What she could not eat atonce, she dried and put away for another time. To Sun-ka she gave onlythe bones and other poor scraps, so that most of the time he was halfstarved. 

"At last there came a season when game was very scarce. The old woman, it is true, had plenty of dried meat in her wigwam, but she gave none ofit to Sun-ka. He almost died of starvation. 

"At last he said to himself, 'Why should that old woman have plenty toeat, and I scarcely anything at all? Most of the meat which she hashidden in her lodge, I caught for her myself. It is as much mine as itis hers. Since she will not give me my share of it, I'll just take itwithout asking her. '

"But the old woman was very watchful. When Sun-ka tried to get the meat, she beat him over the head with a club until he ran away yelping withpain. 

"The next morning one of his dog friends came to visit him. 'Goodmorning, Sun-ka, ' said he, but Sun-ka made no reply. Indeed, his headwas so swelled from the blows he had received, that he could hardly openhis mouth. 

"'Well, well, ' said his friend, after looking him over carefully, 'youseem to be in a sad case. What has happened to you?'

"'Oh, ' replied Sun-ka, speaking with difficulty, 'I tried to get myshare of the meat, which my mistress has in her lodge, and she beat mefor it. She beat me till I am stiff and sore, and can scarcely move. '

"'Well, ' said his friend, 'I wouldn't stand it if I were you. The meatis just as much yours as it is hers. You caught most of it yourself andyou helped her to catch the rest of it, I'll tell you what we'll do;well pay her off for it. I'll go and call our friends; I'll callRainmaker, Stillbiter, Strongneck, and Sharptooth. ' And so he did. 

"Rainmaker caused it to rain, and it rained all the day through untildark, and when it was dark it was very dark. Then Stillbiter crept upsoftly to the lodge and bit off all the thongs which fastened thecovering to the lodge poles. 

"When this was done, Strongneck crept in and seized the meat and carriedit away. Then Sharptooth ripped open the bag which held the meat, andbefore morning the six dogs ate it all up. 

"When the meat was all gone, Sun-ka ran away and became a wild dog. Whatbecame of the old Indian woman I do not know. "

"Served her right, " said the little boy. "If she hadn't been so stingywith her meat, she wouldn't have lost it. And Sun-ka would have stayedwith her to help catch more. "

XXX. HOW THE DOG'S TONGUE BECAME LONG

It was hot. Little Luke sat on the doorstep in the shade. Over in thepasture Old Boze the Hound gave tongue. He was at his favorite sport oftrailing rabbits all by himself. He really didn't have any spite againstthe rabbits, but when he struck a fresh trail, he felt that he just mustfollow it. And when he had puzzled out a balk or break in the trait, hecouldn't for the life of him keep still. 

But it was really too hot for trailing, especially when there wasnothing in it but fun. The old hound would have stuck to it longer ifSam the hired man had been around somewhere, hiding behind the busheswith his thundering fire-stick. Old Boze wasn't afraid of thefire-stick. He liked to hear it roar, and see the poor rabbits fallbefore its deadly breath. 

Well, after a while he gave it up and came back to the house. Goingaround to the doorstep, he lay down on the cool porch with his headclose to the little boy's shoulder. He was tired, and his drippingtongue hung far out from his open mouth. The little boy looked at it. 

"Old Boze, " said he, "what a long tongue you have. Why is it that dogshave such long tongues?"

Old Boze shifted his eves uneasily and looked the other way, but saidnothing. 

"Come, now, " said the little boy, "I am sure there is a story about thatlong, red tongue of yours. "

"To be sure there is, " said a voice that came from just behind the boy'sear. He looked around and there was Old Klaws the House Cat. 

"What do you know about it?" asked the little boy. 

"Oh, I know all about it, " answered the old cat. "But ask Old Boze, " hewent on with a grin, "perhaps he'll tell you. "

Old Boze got up slowly and with dignity. "I am too tired to tellstories, " said he, "but I'm not too tired to shake the foolishness outof a cat. "

"Here now, " said the little boy, "no quarreling and fighting. I won'thave it. And Klaws shall tell me that story about your long, red tongue, if he will. "

"To be sure I will, " said Old Klaws, delighted to be able to tease OldBoze safely. Of course there was another time coming when little Lukemight not be at hand, but then the old cat trusted to speed and sharpclaws to put himself up a tree and out of the reach of the old hound. 

"All right, " said Old Boze, "if you're fond of the company of asneaking, mouse-eating, old tabby. I'm not. I'll take myself off. Butmy memory is good, " he added, glancing at Old Klaws with a snarl thatshowed all his sharp, white teeth. 

"Well, now for the story, " said the little boy, when Old Boze was out ofsight around the corner. 

"Long, long ago, " began Old Klaws, "when all the animal kindreds couldtalk the man-talk, the dogs were the greatest telltales in the world. They told everything they knew, and sometimes a great deal more. Theirmasters often flogged them for tattling, but it did little or no good. 

"In those days there was a great hunter whose name was Man-e-do. Hewanted a dog to help him hunt, but he did not want a tattletale. So hetook a fine, young pup, and tried to bring him up to be a good hunterand to keep his tongue. He took good care of him. He often told him howfoolish it was to tell everything he knew. The pup would promise not totattle, but he was only a dog, and blood will tell after all. 

"When the pup was big enough, his master took him with him when he wenthunting for small game. The dog was a good trailer by this time, andtogether they killed many rabbits and other small animals. 

"But when they went home, the dog couldn't hold his tongue. He wouldbrag to the other dogs, and tell them what a great hunter he was, andhow at such and such a place he had caught the biggest rabbits that everwere seen. Then the other dogs would lead their masters to those placesand clear them of game. Whenever Man-e-do went to a place a second time, he found no game there. 

"Besides, if they were hunting near the village and made a kill, the dogwould pretend to go off after more game. But when he was out of sight ofhis master, he would run home and tell some of his chums about his kill. Then the other dogs and their masters would come out and kill or scareaway all the game there was in that place. Many times Man-e-do caughtthe dog tattling, and scolded and beat him for it, but it did no good. He just couldn't keep anything to himself. 

"One time Man-e-do went off on a long hunt. He took three horses andtraveled several days before making his camp. He thought he would get sofar away that the dog could not go back to the village and tattle. 

"While hunting in the mountains near his camp, he found a valley whichwas full of game. There he made many kills, and soon had all the meathis three horses could possibly carry. 

"'To-morrow, ' said he to his dog, 'we will start for home. When we getthere, you must keep your tongue in your mouth. You must not tell wherewe have been. If the other hunters do not find our valley, we can comeback at any time and get all the meat we want. '

"'All right, ' said the dog, 'I'll keep the secret. '

"'See that you do, ' added his master; 'for if you don't, I'll make yousorry for it. '

"The next morning they started for home. That night they camped beside abrook. At daybreak Man-e-do arose and made ready to start, but the dogwas nowhere to be seen. 

"'Where can he be?' said he to himself. 'Surely he has not gone home tothe village. ' You see, he thought that at last he had broken the dog ofhis tattling. Why then should he go on ahead?

"So he turned about and went back to his camp near the valley. The dogwas not there. 'Perhaps, ' thought he, 'a bear or a panther has killedhim. '

"So he turned about and went home to his wigwam alone. There he foundthe dog as well as ever. He had been home a long time, and told all heknew about the valley of game and more too. According to his stories, heand his master had killed more game than had ever been seen before, andthere was plenty more in the valley yet. All the hunters in the villagewere getting ready to go there to hunt. 

"Man-e-do was very angry. He caught the dog, and gave him the worstwhipping any dog ever had. 'I'll stop your tattling, ' said he. And hecaught the dog by the tongue and pulled it nearly out of his mouth. Thenhe shoved a round stick back into his mouth and tied his mouth shut overit. 

"He left the stick there for a long time. When he took it out, the dog'smouth was larger, and his tongue longer than any dog's mouth and tonguehad ever been before. 

"Since that time, all dogs have had big mouths and long tongues. 

"But, " added Old Klaws, "they don't tattle as much as they did before. "

While Old Klaws had been telling this story, Old Boze had been lying inthe shade and resting. After a while, he thought to himself, "I'll givethat old mouser a scare and I'll do it before little Luke can hinderme. "

So he got up and walked silently around to the corner of the porch. Withone foot raised, he stopped scarcely three feet from Old Klaws, who wassitting on the end of the top step. 

Just as the old cat finished his story, Old Boze sprang toward himwith a loud, "Bow-wow-wow. " The old cat bounded as if he were made ofIndia-rubber of the best quality. Such a cat-jump the little boy hadnever seen before. The first leap carried Old Klaws far out on thegarden walk, and in the twinkling of an eye he was among the topmostbranches of the old pear tree. When he felt himself safe, he turnedround and began to spit and snarl and say bad words at Old Boze, who waslooking at him with his long tongue hanging out of his mouth, and hisface all wrinkled up into a broad grin. 

Little Luke had jumped almost as lively as Old Klaws, but when he sawwho it was and took in the old cat's language, and the old dog's funnylooking face, he lay down on the porch and laughed till the tears came. 

[Illustration]

XXXI. THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL DOG

"Dear Old Boze, " said the little boy, after the fun was over, "can't youtell me a story of the old days?"

"Yes, " replied the old hound, "I can. And since Old Klaws has told youabout one dog, I'll tell you about another. "

"Once upon a time, " went on the old hound, "there was an Indian hunterwho had a dog that he loved very dearly. And the dog on his part lovedhis master more than his own life. 

"For many years, master and dog hunted together. When night came theyate of the same food, and shared the same bed. Many and many a time, each saved the life of the other. At last both began to grow old. 

"One morning in winter a stranger entered their lodge. 'I am theMan-i-tou of Death, ' said he to the hunter. 'The Master of Life has sentme to summon you to the Happy Hunting Ground. Make ready at once, forwhen the sun rises for the third time, you must set forth. '

"'It is well, ' replied the hunter, 'the summons shall be obeyed. '

"At once he began to make ready. He danced the death dance and sang thedeath song. His wife and his two sons mourned and wept, and the dogjoined in the death chant. 

"On the third morning, the hunter was ready to depart on the longjourney from which he could never return. 

"'Alas, my husband, ' said his wife, 'I cannot live without you. I willgo with you. Where you are, there will I be also. ' And so also said histwo sons. 

"The hunter tried to comfort them, and to persuade them to remain untilthey too should be summoned by the Master of Life. But they refused tobe comforted, and at last they all set forth. 

"Meanwhile the dog had said nothing. But when they started, he was closeat the heels of his master. 

"Day after day they traveled toward the south-west. Alter a time, theyentered a desert land, where water was scarce and there was no game. Soon they began to be hungry as well as weary. 

"The younger boy's strength and courage gave out, and he turned andfollowed the trail back to the wigwam. 

"A little farther, and the older son said, 'Alas, my father, I amfamished, and my strength has gone from me. I will return and seek myyounger brother. When I have found him and we have rested and eaten, wewill come and overtake you. ' So he turned back, and that was the lastthat was seen of him. 

"Seeing that her children had turned back, the wife said, 'Be of goodcourage. I am still with you, I am strong and we shall yet enter thegate of the Happy Hunting Grounds together. '

"The dog said nothing, but though he was hungry, footsore, and weary, he still followed close at his master's heels. 

"Now the trail entered a region of desolate mountains. The way becamerough and rocky. Their moccasins were worn from their feet, and therewas no food to be found. 

"'At last the wife cried, 'Oh, my husband, I am faint and weary. I cango no further. Let us rest here. ' And she sat down beside the trail. 

"'Nay, ' said the hunter, 'I may not stop. The Master of Life must beobeyed. The summons was not to you, but to me. Rest here beside thetrail, and when your strength has returned, go back to the wigwam anddwell with our two sons until the Death Man-i-tou comes for you. '

"Then he went on, up the steep trail. He had not noticed the dog, who, footsore and famished, now limped painfully at his heels, and when hecamped for the night, came silently and lay down at his feet. 

"The next morning, they arose and continued their journey. After manydays, they saw far before them a narrow gap between two tall snow-cappedmountains. Through this the trail went, and at the further end theyfound the gateway to the Happy Hunting Ground. Beside the gateway stoodthe lodge of the keeper of the gate. 

"Before the lodge the hunter stopped and lifted up his voice, and cried, 'The Master of Life called. Here am I. '

"Hearing his cry, the keeper of the gate came from his lodge. 

"'You are welcome, ' said he to the hunter, 'but where are those who setout upon the long trail with you?'

"'They are not here, ' returned the hunter, 'the way was long andtoilsome, and their feet grew weary, '

"'Who is that, ' again asked the keeper of the gate, 'who stands besideyou, and looks upon you with eyes of love?'

"'That is he, ' said the hunter, 'who loved me best of all. '

"'His great love and his faithfulness have made him worthy, ' said thekeeper of the gate. 'He shall enter with you, ' and he opened the gate. 

"With a bark of joy the dog sprang forward and entered the Happy HuntingGround beside the master whom he had loved more than his own life. "

 * * * * *

THE HORACE MANN READERS

By Walter L. Hervey, Ph. D. , Member of Board of Examiners, New York City;formerly President of Teachers College; and Melvin Hix, B. S. , Principalof Public School No. 9, Long Island City, New York City. 

A new series of basal readers shaped by these controlling ideas:personal interest on the part of children in the doings of childrenof their own age; personal hunger for stories having continuity, development and variety; and the development of a personal power ofsatisfying the literary appetite. The stories, dialogues, poems, andother selections, are almost entirely of new material. 

This material is _varied_; and was selected because of its_intrinsic interest_--action, appeal to self-activity. The lessonsare not mere collections of words and sentences, but have _continuityof thought_. The pictures, _being adapted to the text_, aredistinct aids in teaching children to read. The _helps to teachers_are varied, time-saving, practical. The _method_ is simple, effective, original. 

Each book is fully illustrated with black and white pictures and severalcolored illustrations. 

 ============================================ ==== Primer $. 30 First Reader . 32 Second Reader . 40 Third Reader . 48 Fourth Reader . 55 Fifth Reader (Preparing) Sixth Reader (Preparing) Manual for Teachers (Daily Lesson Plans) $. 75 Phonogram Cards--Primer Set, 26 cards . 25 Word Cards--Primer Set, 130 cards 1. 25 Phonogram Cards--First Reader Set, 115 Cards 1. 00 ============================================ ====

_Daily Lesson Plans_ is the teacher's manual for the first year'swork with _The Horace Mann Readers_. Every step of each day'slesson is planned and explained. The directions given are intended to beso definite, so complete and so practical, that comparativelyinexperienced teachers may be able to follow them with excellentresults; while in the hands of the experienced teacher it is hoped thatit will be of much accommodation in following the progress of the work. 

_The manual for the remainder of the series is in preparation_. 

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. , PUBLISHERS

FOURTH AVENUE AND THIRTIETH ST. , NEW YORK

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FEATURES OF THE HORACE MANN READERS

_The Horace Mann Readers_ are highly organized--words beingdeveloped into independent yet mutually related parts; different storiesbeing related to other stories; the vocabulary of one lesson beingrelated to the vocabulary of the lessons preceding and the lessonsfollowing; a system of phonics complete in itself and yet organicallyrelated to the reading matter. 

The principle of self-activity is carefully developed, The action rhymes given impress the children and give variety to thereading lesson. But since reading isn't all poetry, all other phases ofsound methods of teaching are employed. Especial attention is called tothe system of phonics developed. It is rational and wonderfullyeffective. 

The Theory of Multiple Sense Appeal is carefully applied. Every avenueof approach has been taken--the eye, the hand, the ear--all are used tomake the appeal broader and more interesting. No sound psychologicalprecept has been omitted. 

_The Horace Mann Readers_ have successfully combined all theapproved methods of teaching reading. 

The material is new and varied. The books contain clear and vividimages, whole situations and self activity, which appeals to the child. They also afford the teacher every possible suggestion and conveniencein respect to method. 

_Daily Lesson Plans_, the teacher's manual for these readers, givesminute directions for each day's lesson. 

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. , PUBLISHERS

FOURTH AVENUE AND THIRTIETH ST. , NEW YORK

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APPRECIATIVE LETTERS ABOUT THE HORACE MANN READERS

"I like particularly the long story element. I never did like 'hash' ina reading book. I like also the narratives relative to our own greatmen, Lincoln, Webster, etc. I like also the idea of developing relatedwords from the same root, as you do in the last few pages. This willtend to enable the child to increase his vocabulary independently ofteacher. "--E. M. SHERRY, _County Supt. , Rolla, N. D. _

"These readers deal with nature and subjects very near the hearts ofchildren. They are delighted with them. The dramatic form also helpswith the expression. The illustrations are fine for language as well asreading. "--Miss CARRIE J. RICHARDSON, _Sheppard School, Philadelphia, Pa. _

"An excellent set of books. They are mechanically well made. Thematerial is well selected and very well arranged and graded. They willcertainly meet the approval of any who give them a carefulexamination. "--A. R. CHAPMAN, _State Normal School, Terre Haute, Ind. _

"I liked the Second Reader so much that I at once ordered copies for usein the Second Reader Class. What I especially like is the fact that thelittle stories and poems are exactly adapted to the literary developmentof the children in the class. They recite the poems and tell thestories, and altogether we are having a very good time. "--Miss WINIFREDG. JONES, _The Greenwich Academy, Greenwich, Conn. _

"It is a pleasure to recommend the _Horace Mann Readers. _ The booksare full of interest, in keeping with the best results for teachers andpupils. We enjoy them in our school, Troy's largest GrammarSchool. "--Miss ANNIE A. GREEN, _Grammar School No. 14, Troy, N. Y. _

"The Primer is a favorite with teacher and pupils. The literary merit ofthe stories used is high. The vocabulary is such as will open many booksto the child, and the frequent repetition of words I considerexcellent. "--Miss ALICE M. JOHNSTON, _Calhoun School, Minneapolis, Minn. _

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. , PUBLISHERS

FOURTH AVENUE AND THIRTIETH ST. , NEW YORK

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PHONOGRAM CARDS FOR USE WITH THE HORACE MANN READERS

Designed for Rapid Phonic Drills and for Rapid Word Building

_The object of these drills is to train pupils so that the sight ofthe phonogram will cause an immediate, correct, and automatic vocalresponse; while the word building will develop skill in uniting or"blending" readily and correctly the different phonic elements of whichwords are composed. _

=THE PRIMER SET=

26 CARDS IN A STOUT MANILA ENVELOPE ... 25 CENTS

=THE FIRST READER SET=

115 CARDS IN PASTEBOARD CASE ... $1. 00

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WORD-CARDS FOR USE WITH THE HORACE MANN PRIMER

Designed for Rapid Word-Drill or Flash Reading, and for Rapid SentenceDrills

_The object of these word-drills is to secure instantaneous automaticword recognition with rapidity and promptness as the foundations ofsuccess; while the sentence drills, if properly conducted, will trainpupils to grasp instantly the total meaning of groups of relatedwords. _

130 CARDS IN PASTEBOARD CASE ... $1. 25

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LONGMANS, GREEN, & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS

FOURTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW YORK