re, but failed to kill a manito.
One, two, three, four, five, six arrows had left his bow, each leaving
behind it a long streak of lightning. But not one had reached its mark.

"Carefully he aimed; seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. Alas! his skill
was not equal to his task.

[Illustration]

"Long he held the twelfth arrow. He looked around on every side. The
evil spirits had wonderful power, and they could change their forms in
a moment.

"The boy let his last arrow fly toward the heart of the chief of the
manitoes. But the evil spirit saw it coming and changed himself into a
rock.

"'How dare you try to kill me!' cried the angry manito. 'Now you shall
suffer. You shall evermore be like the trail of your arrow.'

"And he changed the boy into the lone lightning which you so often
see, my children, in the northern sky."

"I wish I could shoot as well as I can run," Swift Elk said. "It is
easy to win in the races, but I can never beat in a shooting match."

"You can if you will practice more than the other boys. You remember
how the crane beat the humming bird in a race."

"Tell us about it, tell us," begged all the boys. "Then we will shoot
our arrows all day long until the sun hides his face."

The old man was silent for a time. Then he said, "I will tell you just
one more story. And you shall keep your word and practice until the
darkness creeps over the earth."

THE RACE BETWEEN THE CRANE AND THE HUMMING BIRD

[Illustration]

The crane dared the humming bird to a race. The humming bird was as
swift as an arrow, but the crane flew slowly.

At the word they both started. The humming bird was far ahead and he
stopped to roost on a limb; but the crane flew all night.

The humming bird woke in the morning, thinking it would be no trouble
to win the race. He was very much surprised when he passed the crane
spearing fish for his breakfast!

"How did the Slow One get ahead?" he thought. "I must start earlier
in the morning." He flew swiftly until dusk, when he stopped to roost
on a tree.

The crane flew all night. Before morning he was again ahead, and he
had finished his breakfast when the Swift One passed him.

"This is indeed strange," thought the humming bird. "But I can fly a
little faster, and it will be no trouble to win." So he stopped again,
far ahead, to take his usual sleep.

The crane flew all night, as usual. He passed the sleeping humming
bird at midnight and was well on his way be