ALONG FOUR-FOOTED TRAILS 



for food. On the banks of a stream he found a 

 beaver lodge. He entered and asked the master 

 beaver for something to eat. The beaver was 

 grieved for he had nothing for Bear Voice to 

 eat. One of the little beavers said, c Father, kill 

 me and let the brave warrior eat me that he may 

 not starve ! ' The father beaver consented upon 

 one condition Bear Voice was not to bite into 

 any of the bones. The little beaver with his 

 soft, silky fur was killed and the great warrior 

 feasted. While eating the meat from the hind 

 foot he accidentally bit into the bone of the 

 second toe, all unnoticed by his braver host. 

 When Bear Voice had finished, the father beaver 

 put all the bones of his late little son into the 

 skin and threw it into the water. Immediately 

 the self-sacrificed little beaver came to life and 

 swam back to the lodge. When his father saw 

 him he said, c Are you all right, my son?' He 

 answered, c Yes father, save the second toe on my 

 hind foot ; he bit into that and it is split/ Ever 

 after the beavers have had the double nail." 



As years passed by the beaver city slowly 

 increased but in time the inhabitants were all 

 trapped and the dams and lodges broken down. 

 [I8a] 



