eld his nose to the
wind, and called to the wind to blow hard and cool him. A hard wind
came, so hard that it blew him off the hill and away down to Birch
Creek. As he was flying along he caught at the weeds and brush to
stop himself, but nothing was strong enough to hold him. At last he
grasped a birch tree. He held fast, and it did not give way.
Although the wind whipped him about, this way and that, and tumbled
him up and down, the tree held him. He kept calling to the wind to
blow more softly, and at last it listened to him and went down.

Then he said, "This is a beautiful tree. It has saved me from being
blown away and knocked all to pieces. I will make it pretty, and it
shall always be like that." So he gashed the bark across with his
stone knife, as you see the marks to-day.

THE RED-EYED DUCK

Once, long ago, Old Man was travelling north along a river. He
carried a great pack on his back. After a time he came to a place
where the river spread out and the water was quiet, and here many
ducks were swimming about. Old Man did not look at the ducks, and
kept travelling along; but presently some of the ducks saw him and
looked at him and said to each other, "Who is that going along there
with a pack on his back?" One duck said to the others, "That must be
Old Man."

The duck that knew him called out, saying, "Hi, Old Man, where are
you going?"

"I am going on farther," replied Old Man, "I have been sent for."

"What have you got in your pack?" said the duck.

"Those are my songs," answered Old Man. "Some people have asked me
to come and sing for them."

"Stop for a while and sing for us," said the duck, "and we can have
a dance."

"No," said Old Man, "I am in a hurry; I cannot stop now."

The duck kept persuading him to stop, and when it had asked him the
fourth time, Old Man stopped and said to the ducks, "Well, I will
stop for a little while and sing for you, and you can dance."

So the ducks all came out on the bank and stood in a circle, and Old
Man began to sing. He sang one song, and then said, "Now, this next
song is a medicine song, and while you dance you must keep your eyes
shut. No one must look. If any one opens his eyes and looks, his
eyes will turn red."

The ducks closed their eyes and Old Man began to sing, and they
danced around; but Old Man took a stick, and every time one of them
passed him, he knocked it on the head and threw it into the circle.

Presently one of the littlest