186 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [bth.ann.31 



Now, the relatives of the girl accepted, but the girl rejected the 

 proposal and said that she would not marry him; but the young 

 prince loved her very much, and still she refused him. The young 

 man loved her still more, ami he was always true to her. Moreover, he 

 was very anxious to speak to her, but the young woman rejected him. 



Now, the princess wanted to make a fool of her cousin. One day 

 she dressed herself up and went to the end of the village to take some 

 fresh air. The young man saw her pass by his door, and he went 

 after her. Soon he saw her sitting under a large tree, and went up 

 to her, and the girl was very kind to him. She smiled when she saw 

 him coming. Then the young man sat down by her side under the 

 tree as gently as he could. He asked her if she did not want to 

 marry him. The girl said, "If you make a deep cut in your cheek, 

 then you may marry me." Therefore the handsome young man 

 took his knife and cut down his right cheek. The girls laughed at 

 him, and they went home. When the cheek of the young man was 

 healed, the princess put on her finest dress, passed the door of her 

 cousin, and the young man saw her pass by. He followed her, and 

 saw her sit at the same place where he had met her before. He went 

 to her; and she stretched out her hands to greet him, put her arms 

 around him, and kissed Mm once, since her cousin wanted to marry 

 her. Then the young man loved her still more because she had 

 kissed him the first time ever since he had loved her; and when the 

 young man was overflowing with love, she said, "If you love me so 

 much, show your love and make a cut down your left cheek; then I 

 shall know that you really love me." The young man did not like 

 to do it. However, he wanted to marry her, and so he took his knife 

 and made a cut down his left cheek. They went home, and the young 

 man was always thinking of her. 



Soon his wounded cheek was healed. He did not mind his foolish 

 acts. On the following day he saw her passing his door. The young 

 man followed her, and she was sitting under the tree. She smiled at 

 him when he was coming to her, and said, "Do you come to me 

 again, my beloved one?" and he replied, "Yes, I come to marry 

 you." Then he put his arms around her, and she kissed him again. 

 He asked her, "Do you love me, my dear cousin?" and she replied, 

 "Yes, you know how much I love you," and the princess asked him, 

 "Do you also love me, cousin?" and he replied, "Indeed, I love you 

 very much." Thus said the young man, for he wanted to marry 

 her. Then the princess said to him, "Now, show me your love. 

 Cut off your hair, then you may marry me." So the young prince 

 took his knife and cut off his beautiful yellow hair. (In those days 

 the young men and the old men wore their hair as long as women's 

 hair, and it was considered dishonorable to cut a man's hair as we 

 do it now.) 



