ncil. Here, too, all were bitter
against the useless cruelty of mankind. After all complaints had been
heard, Am-wee-soo the Wasp addressed the council.

"'Each creature,' said he, 'has the right to live. Our cruel enemies
deprive us of our lives which they cannot restore. It is just that they
shall be punished. We, the wasps, the bees, and the flies, will send
upon men boils and wasting fevers, which shall sap their strength and
bring them to their graves.'

"'And we,' said Da-hin-da the Bull Frog, 'will afflict men with colds
and coughs, which shall make them weak and short of breath.'

"'We, the birds,' declared E-kes-ke the Blue Jay, 'will afflict them
with sores and diseases of the skin.'

"And so it went on. Each of the tribes of the wild folk agreed to
afflict mankind with some sort of sickness.

"A-bal-ka the Chipmunk alone spoke in favor of the men. But he had
hardly said ten words, before the others became so enraged that they
fell upon and drove him from the council. He barely escaped with his
life.

"And as it was, Up-wee-kis the Lynx fastened his claws on A-bal-ka's
neck and tore four gashes the length of his back. You can see the marks
to this day. That is the way the chipmunk got his black stripes."

XVI. HOW A-BAL-KA THE CHIPMUNK HELPED MEN

"The wounded ground squirrel hid himself in his den beneath the roots of
a great oak, where his enemies could not get at him. There he remained
until the other creatures had departed and his wounds were somewhat
healed.

"When he was well enough to get about again, he visited the villages
of the Red Men. Everywhere he went, he found sickness and death. The
kind-hearted chipmunk was sorry to see so much suffering and sorrow.
So he revealed the secret plans which had been formed in the councils
of the wild folk.

"Men now knew what was the cause of their troubles. But this knowledge
did little good, since it did not heal their diseases or save them from
death. For a time, it seemed as if the human race would be entirely
destroyed.

"In their despair, they appealed to their kind friend A-bal-ka the
little ground squirrel. 'What shall we do?' they wailed. 'Cannot you,
who are so kind of heart and so wise, help us?'

"'I will do my best,' he replied, 'but I must take time to think about
it.' After turning the matter over in his mind carefully, he went about
among the plants and trees and told them what had been done by the wild
folk against their f