ke his part.

An Indian and his dogs went into the woods to hunt. It was in the days
when dogs and men could talk together, and each understood the language
of the other.

When they reached the woods, the dogs began to talk with the Indian.
They told him many wonderful things about the woods, which he did not
know. They taught him many tricks of the chase: how to scent and track
the game, and where to look for trails.

[Illustration]

The man listened to what the dogs said, and he did as they told him.
Soon the sledge which the dogs had drawn to the woods was piled high
with deer and other game.

Never had the Indian's arrows brought him so much game. Never had he met
with such success in hunting. He was so pleased that he said to the
dogs, "Always shall I talk with you, give ear to what you say, and be
one of you."

"Ah, but listen!" said the dogs. "If you wish to be one of us, you must
live under the law of dogs, not men. Animals have laws different from
those of men. When two dogs meet for the first time, they try their
strength to see which is the better dog.

"Men do not fight when strangers meet, they shake hands. As we fight
strange dogs, so you, too, must fight strange men, to see which is the
best man,--if you are to live under the law of dogs."

The man said he would think it over, and at sunrise give his answer.
Indians always sleep before deciding a question.

Next morning, the man said he would live under the law of animals, and
fight strange men.

The following day, the man made ready to leave the woods. From the
basswood, he made a strong harness for the dogs, so that they could draw
the load of game back to the camp for him.

[Illustration]

When the sun was high, the man and the dogs started with the sledge
load of game. They had not gone far before they saw two strange Indians
coming.

"Now," said the dogs to the man, "remember you are living under the
dog's law. You must fight these strange men."

The man attacked first one Indian and then the other. At last both
turned on him, and when they left him, he was nearly dead. At this, the
dogs took a hand. They leaped upon the Indians and drove them from the
woods. Then they came back to where their friend lay on the ground, and
began to talk with him and lick his face.

The man could not speak for some time, but when his voice came to him,
he said to the dogs, "No longer do I wish to live under the law of
animals. No more shall I figh