o
the lake, nor burned to death even if he tumbled into the fire. He often
met with accidents, but he always came up right again and was ready for
some other adventure in some new shape. He has left his marks on the rocks
and trees, leaves and flowers. Almost anywhere we look we see signs that
Nanahboozhoo has been around. As his temper was very uncertain he sometimes
caused trouble and injured the appearance of things which were once more
beautiful than they are now. But in general he was the friend of our race
and worked changes that were for our good.

"One day, as Nanahboozhoo was walking along on a sandy shore, he felt very
hungry. It was now in the autumn of the year. As he wandered on he saw an
object moving toward him. He had not long to wait before he saw that this
object was a great black bear. He pulled up a young tree by the roots and
hid himself, preparing to kill the bear when he should come near. When the
bear came near Nanahboozhoo made a big jump out of his hiding place and
killed the bear with one blow. Then he built a big fire, and having singed
all the hair off the bear he cut him up and nicely roasted him. When the
meat was cooked Nanahboozhoo cut it up into fine pieces, for he intended to
enjoy his feast by eating leisurely.

"While he was thus busy preparing his feast he was annoyed by a strange
sound among the tree tops that rubbed together when the wind blew.
Nanahboozhoo was very quick-tempered, and as the noise continued he
determined to stop it. So he left his feast on the ground and climbed away
up one of those trees to the spot where the other pressed against it. He
was endeavoring to pull the two great trees apart when one of his hands got
caught between them and was firmly held. While struggling to get loose he
heard a pack of wolves running toward his bear meat. This made him struggle
the harder to get his hand free. The fierce wolves soon scented the food
and had a good time devouring it, in spite of the shoutings of
Nanahboozhoo.

"When Nanahboozhoo at length got his hand free and came down he found
nothing left of his feast but the skull of the bear. He was very angry, not
only at the wolves that had eaten his feast but also at the trees that had
held him, the great Nanahboozhoo, in so tight a grip. As the wolves had run
away he could not, at present, punish them, but he resolved that he would
so punish these great birch trees that they would never give him such a
squeeze again. So