and
trembled. Higher and still higher sprang the dancing flames. At last,
they leaped clear above the highest point of the mountain and started
down it in a river of red fire. Then the gentle Spirit of Fire called,
"Come back, my flames, come back again! The people in the village will
not know that you are in a frolic, and they will be afraid."

[Illustration]

The flames did not heed her words, and the river of fire ran on and on,
straight down the mountain. The flowers in its pathway perished. It
leaped upon great trees and bore them to the earth. It drove the birds
from their nests, and they fluttered about in the thick smoke. It hunted
the wild creatures of the forest from the thickets where they hid, and
they fled before it in terror.

At last, one of the warriors in the village awoke. The thick smoke was
in his nostrils. In his ears was the war-cry of the flames. He sprang to
the door of his lodge and saw the fiery river leaping down the mountain.
"My people, my people," he cried, "the flames are upon us!" With cries
of fear the people in the village fled far away into the forest, and the
flames feasted upon the homes they loved.

The two hunters went to look upon the mountain, and when they came back,
they said sadly, "There are no flowers on the mountain. Not a bird-song
did we hear. Not a living creature did we see. It is all dark and
gloomy. We know the fire is there, for the blue smoke still floats up to
the sky, but the mountain will never again be our friend."

PART III. THE BIRD OF FLAME

When the Great Spirit saw the work of the flames, he was very angry.
"The fires of this mountain must perish," he said. "No longer shall its
red flames light the midnight sky."

The mountain trembled with fear at the angry words of the Great Spirit.
"O father of all fire and light," cried the Fire Spirit, "I know that
the flames have been cruel. They killed the beautiful flowers and drove
your children from their homes, but for many, many moons they heeded my
words and were good and gentle. They drove the frost and cold of winter
from the wigwams of the village. The little children laughed to see
their red light in the sky. The hearts of your people will be sad, if
the flames must perish from the earth."

The Great Spirit listened to the words of the gentle Spirit of Fire, but
he answered, "The fires must perish. They have been cruel to my people,
and the little children will fear them now; but because the chi