half as much as
was good for her; and they were all three very happy. As soon as
Taffy could run about she went everywhere with her Daddy Tegumai, and
sometimes they would not come home to the Cave till they were hungry,
and then Teshumai Tewindrow would say, 'Where in the world have you two
been to, to get so shocking dirty? Really, my Tegumai, you're no better
than my Taffy.'

Now attend and listen!

One day Tegumai Bopsulai went down through the beaver-swamp to the Wagai
river to spear carp-fish for dinner, and Taffy went too. Tegumai's spear
was made of wood with shark's teeth at the end, and before he had caught
any fish at all he accidentally broke it clean across by jabbing it down
too hard on the bottom of the river. They were miles and miles from home
(of course they had their lunch with them in a little bag), and Tegumai
had forgotten to bring any extra spears.

'Here's a pretty kettle of fish!' said Tegumai. 'It will take me half
the day to mend this.'

'There's your big black spear at home,' said Taffy. 'Let me run back to
the Cave and ask Mummy to give it me.'

'It's too far for your little fat legs,' said Tegumai. 'Besides, you
might fall into the beaver-swamp and be drowned. We must make the best
of a bad job.' He sat down and took out a little leather mendy-bag, full
of reindeer-sinews and strips of leather, and lumps of bee's-wax and
resin, and began to mend the spear.

Taffy sat down too, with her toes in the water and her chin in her
hand, and thought very hard. Then she said--'I say, Daddy, it's an awful
nuisance that you and I don't know how to write, isn't it? If we did we
could send a message for the new spear.'

'Taffy,' said Tegumai, 'how often have I told you not to use slang?
"Awful" isn't a pretty word, but it could be a convenience, now you
mention it, if we could write home.'

Just then a Stranger-man came along the river, but he belonged to a
far tribe, the Tewaras, and he did not understand one word of Tegumai's
language. He stood on the bank and smiled at Taffy, because he had
a little girl-daughter Of his own at home. Tegumai drew a hank of
deer-sinews from his mendy-bag and began to mend his spear.

'Come here, said Taffy. 'Do you know where my Mummy lives?' And the
Stranger-man said 'Um!' being, as you know, a Tewara.

'Silly!' said Taffy, and she stamped her foot, because she saw a shoal
of very big carp going up the river just when her Daddy couldn't use his
spear.

'