March, 1905. The Traditions of the Hopi — Voth. 145 



a father, but from him we have fled, and he will not care for you. East 

 of here is a village, Kawaihkaa, and there is where we used to live. 

 There our father and our mother live. You go there and north of the 

 plaza where the big ladder is you inquire and see what they will say 

 to you. There is where we used to live. But they too are bad. 

 They will undoubtedly ask you to contend with them, and if any one 

 is beaten they usually kill him. On top of the ladder something is 

 hanging, and if any one does not guess that, he is killed; but if they 

 contend with you and beat you, you must guess that. There is a 

 little turtle tied up in it." 



Hereupon they slept until morning, then the two children started. 

 Their mothers said to them: "If they contend with you and your 

 grandfather pities you and gives you something, you bring us some- 

 thing too, so that we can dress up, because our clothes are worn out. 

 If they do not say anything to you, we shall go there too." When 

 they arrived at the village they crossed the plaza, saw the ladder, and 

 went up. Their grandparents lived in a kiva there. They entered 

 and sat down. The grandparents had always been sad and sorry and 

 at first did not say anything. Finally the grandfather saw them and 

 asked, "Who are you?" "Why, it is we," they said. "But who are 

 you? Where do you come from?" "From west of here," they re- 

 plied. "From Akdkovi (a village west of Kawafhkaa)?" the grand- 

 father asked. "No," they said, "not from there, but we stayed right 

 west of here." "But who are you?" they asked again. 



"A long time ago you had two daughters and somebody fetched 

 them, and we are their children. We have grown up now and have 

 come here." Hereupon they set food before them and fed them. 

 The grandmother was crying. When they had eaten, sure enough, 

 they were asked to play a game with them. "If they are our grand- 

 children," they said, "they will know something." So the grand- 

 father laid out a flat stone on which was drawn a t6kwnanaw6hpi.' 

 The grandfather sat on one side, the boy at the other end, and then 

 they began to play. The boy won the game. "Very well," the 

 grandfather said, "there at the top of the ladder something is wrapped 

 up. You giiess what that is. If you guess that you kill me, and if 

 you do not guess it I shall kill you." Hereupon they all went out and 

 looked at the bundle that was hanging at the top of the ladder. " Now, 

 what is in there?" the grandfather said. "Who knows?" the child 

 said. "You guess once," the brother said to his sister. "How do I 

 know what can be in there?" she said; "you guess." "Now, do not 

 hesitate," the grandfather said, "but speak out and say what you 



' A game tesembling our checkers. 



