er. They were asking
the chief what trails they had best take. Before the chief could reply,
a beautiful dove-colored bird had flown close to his ear and had spoken
to him in soft, low tones.

[Illustration]

The chief told the young men what the bird had said, and they set off on
the trail the bird had named. Before sunset, they had found the lost
hunter.

Carefully they freed him from the grasp of the great oak and bore him to
his people. That night there was a feast and a dance in his honor.

Ever since, the Indians have loved the birds that carry the messages,
and they never shoot a pigeon.

HOW OLD MAN WINTER WAS DRIVEN BACK

Far away in the North Sky lives Old Man Winter. Every year he leaves his
wigwam in the sky and comes to earth.

At the foot of a mountain, he builds a lodge of ice and snow, which no
human being, animal, or bird can enter. There he lives for a time.

North Wind is the only friend of Old Man Winter. When he passes near Old
Man Winter's lodge, he gives a loud shriek, and with his blustering
breath he blows open the door and enters.

Near a fire which glows, but does not warm, North Wind finds a seat.
There he and Old Man Winter sit and smoke, and lay their plans for the
next snowstorm.

When the council is ended, North Wind departs, to drive up the snow and
hail from the corners of the earth.

Old Man Winter also leaves his lodge. He stalks over the mountains and
valleys of the Red Children. The land becomes white with his breath. The
rivers are stilled, and all the voices of the wood are hushed as he
passes. A deep sleep falls upon every living thing.

No sound is heard in the forest but the rapping on the trees. Old Man
Winter carries a great hammer, and he strikes the trees a blow as he
passes. The colder it grows, the louder and more frequently he raps. The
trees snap, and the Indian lodges crack with his blows.

One day, as Old Man Winter was stalking through a forest, he came upon a
hunter's lodge. For days the snow had been falling. No track of deer or
rabbit was to be seen, and the hunter and his little boy sat within,
weak from hunger. They were also very cold, for the fire in the lodge
burned low.

Old Man Winter laughed and shook his hammer in glee, as he drew near.
Once, twice, three times, he rapped. The little boy within heard him,
and rapped three times in reply,--just as Old Man Winter had done.

At this, the hunter spoke. He told the boy that he must n