it in the pot,' said the old woman, as soon as he had told his
story; 'put it in that basket, and as soon as the water boils in the
pot we will hang it over the fire!'

'Better kill it first,' said the old man; and the hare listened,
horribly frightened, but still looking secretly to see if there was no
hole through which he could escape, if he had a chance of doing so.
Yes, there was one, right in the top of the tent, so, shaking himself,
as if with fright, he let the end of his net unroll itself a little.

'I wish that a spark of fire would fall on my net,' whispered he; and
the next minute a great log fell forward into the midst of the tent,
causing every one to spring backwards. The sparks were scattered in
every direction, and one fell on the net, making a little blaze. In an
instant the hare had leaped through the hole, and was racing towards
the river, with men, women, and children after him. There was no time
to call back the whales, so, holding the net tight in his mouth, he
wished himself across the river. Then he jumped high into the air, and
landed safe on the other side, and after turning round to be sure
that there was no chance of anyone pursuing him, trotted happily home
to his grandmother.

'Didn't I tell you I would bring you fire?' said he, holding up his
net, which was now burning briskly.

'But how did you cross the water?' inquired the old woman.

'Oh, I just jumped!' said he. And his grandmother asked him no more
questions, for she saw that he was wiser than she.

['Indian Folk Tales.' _Bureau of Ethnology._]

_THE TURTLE AND HIS BRIDE_

There was once a turtle who lived among a great many people of
different kinds, in a large camp near a big river which was born right
up amongst the snows, and flowed straight away south till it reached a
sea where the water was always hot.

There were many other turtles in the camp, and this turtle was kind
and pleasant to them all, but he did not care for any of them very
much, and felt rather lonely.

At last he built himself a hut, and filled it with skins for seats,
and made it as comfortable as any hut for miles round; and when it was
quite finished he looked about among the young women to see which of
them he should ask to be his wife.

It took him some time to make up his mind, for no turtle likes being
hurried, but at length he found one girl who seemed prettier and more
industrious than the rest, and one day he entered her home, and