are you?" "Here
I am," answered the snail. "Why have you been so slow? I have been
here a long time waiting for you." The deer tried again and again,
but always with the same result; until the deer in disgust dashed
his head against a tree and broke his neck.

Now the first snail had not moved from his place, but he had many
cousins in each of the wells of the town and each exactly resembled
the other. Having heard the crows talking of the proposed race, as
they perched on the edge of the wells to drink, they determined to
help their cousin to win it, and so, as the deer came to each well,
there was always a snail ready to stick his head out and answer,
"Here I am" to the deer's inquiry.

CHAPTER 22

Story of Ca Matsin and Ca Boo-Ug. [8]

One day a turtle, whose name was Ca Boo-Ug, and a monkey, Ca Matsin,
met on the shore of a pond. While they were talking, they noticed a
banana plant floating in the water.

"Jump in and get it," said Ca Matsin, who could not swim, "and we will
plant it, and some day we will have some bananas of our own." So Ca
Boo-Ug swam out and brought the plant to shore.

"Let's cut it in two," said Ca Matsin. "You may have one half and I
will take the other, and then we shall each have a tree."

"All right," said Ca Boo-Ug; "which half will you take?"

Ca Matsin did not think the roots looked very pretty, and so he
chose the upper part. Ca Boo-Ug knew a thing or two about bananas,
so he said nothing, and each took his part and planted it. Ca Boo-Ug
planted his in a rich place in the garden, but Ca Matsin planted his
in the ashes in the fireplace, because it was easy, and then, too,
he could look at it often and see how pretty it was.

Ca Matsin laughed as he thought how he had cheated Ca Boo-Ug, but
soon his part began to wither and die, and he was very angry.

With Ca Boo-Ug it was different. Before long his tree began to
put forth leaves, and soon it had a beautiful bunch of bananas on
it. But he could not climb the tree to get the bananas, so one day
he went in search of Ca Matsin, and asked him how his banana-tree
was getting along. When Ca Matsin told him that his tree was dead,
Ca Boo-Ug pretended to be very much surprised and sorry, and said:--

"My tree has a beautiful bunch of bananas on it, but I cannot climb
up to get them. If you will get some of them for me, I will give
you half."

Ca Matsin assented, and climbed the tree. When he got to the top, he
pulled a banana