32 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 48 



Why 'Possum has a Large Mouth 



It had been a dry season and there was very little food for Deer, consequently he 

 had become thin and rather weak. One day Deer met 'Possum and exclaimed: 

 "Why! 'Possum, how very fat you are. How do you keep so fat when I can not find 

 enough to eat?" And 'Possum answered, "I live on persimmons, and as they are 

 unusually large this year, I have all I want to eat." "But how do you get persim- 

 mons, which grow so high above the ground?" "That is very easily done," replied 

 'Possum. "I go to the top of a high hill and, running swiftly down, strike a persim- 

 mon tree so hard with my head that all the ripe persimmons fall to the ground. Then 

 I sit there and eat and eat until I can not hold more." "Indeed, that is easily done," 

 answered Deer; "now watch me." 



So 'Possum waited near the tree while Deer went to the top of a near-by hill. And 

 when Deer reached the top of the hill, he turned and then ran quickly down, striking 

 the tree with so great force that he was killed and all his bones were broken. 



^\^len 'Possum saw what Deer had done, he laughed so hard that he stretched his 

 mouth, which remains large even to this day. 



The Hunter who Became a Deer 



One night a hunter killed a doe and soon afterward fell asleep near the carcass. 

 The next morning, just at sunrise, the hunter was surprised and startled to see the 

 doe raise her head and to hear her speak, asking him to go with her to her home. At 

 first he was so surprised that he did not know what to reply, so the doe again asked 

 him whether he would go. Then the hunter said that he would go with her, although 

 he had no idea where she would lead him. So they started and the doe led the hunter 

 through forests and over high mountains, until at last they reached a large hole under 

 a rock, which they entered. Here the hunter was led before the King of all the deer, 

 an immense buck, with huge antlers and a large black spot on his back. Soon the 

 hunter became drowsy and finally he fell asleep. Now all around the cave were 

 piles of deer's feet, antlers, and skins. While the hunter was asleep the deer endeav- 

 ored to fit to his hands and feet deer's feet which they selected for the purpose. 

 After several unsuccessful attempts the fourth set proved to be just the right size and 

 were fastened firmly on the hunter's hands and feet. Then a skin was found that 

 covered him properly, and finally antlers were fitted to his head. And then the 

 hunter became a deer and walked on four feet after the manner of deer. 



Many days passed, and the hunter's Aother and all his friends thought he had been 

 killed. One day when they were in the forest they found his bow and arrows 

 hanging on a branch of the tree beneath which he had slept beside the body of the 

 doe. All gathered around the spot and began singing, when suddenly they saw a 

 herd of deer bounding toward them through the forest. The deer then- circled about 

 the singers. One large buck approached closer than the others, and the singers, rush- 

 ing forward, caught it. To the great astonishment of all it spoke, whereupon they 

 recognized the voice of the lost hunter. Greatly distressed, the hunter's mother 

 begged her companions to remove from her son the deer skin and antlers and feet, but 

 they told her he would certainly die if they should do so. She insisted, however, 

 saying she would rather bury her son than to have him remain a deer. So her friends 

 began tearing away the skin, which already had grown to the hunter's body, and, as 

 they continued their efforts to remove it, the blood began to flow. Finally the hunter 

 died. Then his body was taken back to the village and was buried with the cere- 

 mony of a great dance. 



The Hunter and the Alligator 



One winter there were many hunters living in a village, all of whom, with one excep- 

 tion, had killed a great many deer. But one had met with very poor luck, and although 

 he often succeeded in getting close to deer, just ready to draw his bow on them, they 



