der the water for a few minutes,
saying magical words all the time; and then a full-grown Indian jumped
out of the water, with a feather head-dress, and beaded blankets, and a
bow and quiver slung over his back.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!" said his mother, and she hurried back to the
village to tell her friends the secret. The last thing Lox saw as he
hurried away into the wood was a score of mothers drowning their
children.

On the path in front of him Lox spied a couple of maidens, and they were
trying to reach the fruit that grew on a wild plum-tree. The joker
stepped on one side and broke a twig off another plum-tree and stuck it
in his hair. The twig sprouted fast, and grew into a little plum-tree
with big plums hanging from its twigs. He went along the path, picking
and eating the plums as he walked, till he came up with the girls.

"Wonderful!" said they. "Do you think we could get plums like that?"

"Easily," said he and he broke off two little twigs. "Stick these in
your hair, and you will have head-dresses like mine."

As soon as the twigs were stuck in their hair the little plum-trees
began to grow, and the maidens danced with joy, and picked the juicy
plums and ate them. But the trees went on growing, and the roots twisted
in among the maidens' hair and clutched their heads like iron fingers.
The girls sat down, for they couldn't carry all that weight standing.
And still the trees grew, till the girls lay down on the ground and
screamed for some one to come and rescue them. Presently their father
came along, and he pulled his axe out of his belt and chopped off the
trees, and tugged at the roots till they came off--but all the maidens'
hair came off too. By this time Lox took care to be scampering away
through the wood in the shape of a coon.

When he came near the next village Lox put on a terrified face and began
to run; and he rushed into the middle of the village, shouting: "The
plague is coming! The plague is coming!"

All the people flocked out of their wigwams, crying: "Where is it coming
from? Which way shall we fly?"

"Stay where you are and make your minds easy," said Lox. "I have a charm
that will keep off all the plagues under the sun. As soon as I have
spoken the words, every man must kiss the girl nearest him." Then he
stretched up his hands toward the sun and said some gibberish; and when
he stopped and let his arms fall, each man made a rush and kissed the
girl who happened to be neares