whistles, and the storms roar
about him. Where he steps, the ground turns to rock and plants bow
their heads to the earth.

All the animals flee before him and hide in caves and hollow trees. The
children leave their happy play and sit shivering by the wigwam fire.

One day old Winter looked about him. He saw no life in field or
forest. The wind raged, and the drifts almost hid the lodges of the
Indians.

"The world is conquered; I am the only king," said giant Winter. He
sat alone in his lodge. The fire was white with ashes, and the tempest
howled.

A step was heard, and a young warrior entered the lodge.

He was tall and straight and youthful.

Old Winter welcomed the stranger. "Sit here on the mat beside me," he
said. "Let us pass the night together. You shall tell me of your
strange adventures, and of the lands in which you have traveled."

The old man drew his long peace pipe from its pouch. It was made of
red sandstone, and its stem was a smooth reed. He lighted the pipe
from the dying embers and passed it to his guest.

Long they talked and smoked together, each boasting of his power.

"When I blow my breath about me," said old Winter, "rivers stop their
flowing, and water turns to stone."

The young man smiled. "When I blow my breath about me," he replied, "I
free your prisoned waters, and they rush onward to the seas."

"My power is greater than yours," boasted Winter. "I have only to
shake my long hair and the leaves die on the branches. Plants bow
their heads before me and go back into the earth."

[Illustration]

And now the stranger laughed as he boasted of greater power. "When I
shake my curling locks, I call the leaves back on the branches. The
plants come out of the brown earth and bring forth their flowers and
fruit."

Old Winter frowned. "I speak, and the birds fly away. I command, and
the wild beasts obey me. They hide in caves. They burrow in the
earth. They do not venture to look upon my face!"

"I call back the birds you have sent away," replied the stranger.
"They hear my voice and return to their nesting places. I speak, and
the beasts leave their shelters and fill the forests and the plains
with life."

"I am the king," shouted Winter, "for even man obeys me. When I send
the tempest, the mightiest warriors turn and flee. They close the
doors of their lodges, and I imprison them with drifts of snow."

"I also have power over man," replied the stranger. "My name is
Spring.