olf by letting
him know that the birds had a great secret.

"A flock of sparrows settled in front of the wolf's den, and the wolf
soon heard all he wanted to know. He, in turn, told a dog that
sometimes ran with him at night.

"Of course the dog told the boy he loved best, and so the Indians
found out where fire was hidden.

"'We must have fire,' they said. 'Who will get it for us?'

"At last Manabush said that he would try to get fire for his tribe.

"Manabush was a daring young Indian hunter. Like Hiawatha, he spent his
life trying to help his people. He saw how fire was needed to warm the
lodges in winter, and to cook the raw meat freshly killed in the hunt.

"So Manabush made a birch canoe and started across the great lake.
When he reached land he pulled his light canoe out of the water and
carried it on his back to a near-by thicket. Then he changed himself
into a rabbit and hopped away into the long grass.

"Soon there came up a great storm. The old man guarded the sacred fire
with the utmost care until the rain was over. Then he went to sleep
near the glowing coals.

"His daughters came out of the lodge to look at the sky. As they bent
down to enter the low door, they saw a little rabbit lying on the
grass. His fur was wet, and he was trembling with cold.

"One of the daughters carried him in and laid him down where it was
warm. The rabbit hopped nearer the fire.

"The old man started from his sleep. 'What do I hear?' he asked.

"'You have heard nothing, Father. We picked up a little wet rabbit and
brought him in to dry.'

"The old man closed his eyes again. His daughters turned and went on
with their work. Quickly the rabbit seized a burning stick and hopped
away by leaps and bounds.

"Up jumped the old man. 'My fire, my sacred fire, is stolen!' he
cried. His daughters ran out of the lodge to chase the thief.

"But the old blind man thought that someone was in the wigwam. So he
snatched a long stick and pounded so hard on every side that he beat
some of the fire into a log. This is the way that fire came to be in
wood."

[Illustration]

"What did the rabbit do, Grandmother?"

"He ran to the canoe, changed back to a man, put the fire in a magic
bag, and paddled as fast as he could to his own camp.

"There he lighted a pile of wood for his grandmother, and then hurried
away to the Thunderers. They have kept the sacred fire for the Indians
since that day."

"Who are the Thunderers, Grandmot