air, though he could not tell what had made them. Then round the
bend of the stream came fifteen huge whales, which he ordered to place
themselves heads to tails, like stepping stones, so that he could jump
from one to the other till he landed on the opposite shore. Directly he
got there he told the whales that he did not need them any more, and sat
down in the sand to rest.

Unluckily some children who were playing about caught sight of him, and
one of them, stealing softly up behind him, laid tight hold of his
ears. The hare, who had been watching the whales as they sailed down the
river, gave a violent start, and struggled to get away; but the boy held
on tight, and ran back home, as fast as he could go.

'Throw it in the pot,' said the old woman, as soon as he had told his
story; 'put it in that basket, and as soon as the water boils in the pot
we will hang it over the fire!'

'Better kill it first,' said the old man; and the hare listened,
horribly frightened, but still looking secretly to see if there was no
hole through which he could escape, if he had a chance of doing so. Yes,
there was one, right in the top of the tent, so, shaking himself, as if
with fright, he let the end of his net unroll itself a little.

'I wish that a spark of fire would fall on my net,' whispered he; and
the next minute a great log fell forward into the midst of the tent,
causing every one to spring backwards. The sparks were scattered in
every direction, and one fell on the net, making a little blaze. In an
instant the hare had leaped through the hole, and was racing towards
the river, with men, women, and children after him. There was no time to
call back the whales, so, holding the net tight in his mouth, he wished
himself across the river. Then he jumped high into the air, and landed
safe on the other side, and after turning round to be sure that there
was no chance of anyone pursuing him, trotted happily home to his
grandmother.

'Didn't I tell you I would bring you fire?' said he, holding up his net,
which was now burning briskly.

'But how did you cross the water?' inquired the old woman.

'Oh, I just jumped!' said he. And his grandmother asked him no more
questions, for she saw that he was wiser than she.

['Indian Folk Tales.' Bureau of Ethnology.]

The Turtle and His Bride

There was once a turtle who lived among a great many people of different
kinds, in a large camp near a big river which was born right up