habrington] 



CHILDREN'S STORIES 361 



As their leader told them thus, they flew to the Rio Grande. 

 When they reached the Rio Grande they lighted near the river. 

 They drank the water of the Rio Grande and ate the fishes, frogs, 

 and other water animals that lived there, and lived well. AU the 

 Sandhill Cranes did their very best to drink up the water, but could 

 not finish drinking the water of the Rio Grande, neither could they 

 finish eating up the Rio Grande fishes, frogs, and other water animals 

 that lived there. "This river must be very strong, so here we will 

 make our headquarters, here we will build our nests and increase 

 in number." When their leader told them thus, they made their 

 homes there. 



So this is the reason that there are Sandhill Cranes living on the 

 Rio Grande, because there is plenty of water. 



A B.\BY IS Stolen by an Owl 



Once there lived people at the Pueblo. And there also dwelt 

 there a certain woman who had a baby that cried a great deal. 

 As the baby cried every night, the mother did not know what to do 

 with it. Soothing songs were sung to it, but the baby would not 

 stop crying. It cried day and night, and one day the mother took 

 the baby out upon the roof and left it tliere. 



As the chUd cried continually on the roof, it was heard by an Owl. 

 The Owl came flying to where the baby was crying and picked it up 

 in his claws and carried it to Poxaputa, up on some very high rocks 

 where the Owl dwelt. When he brought the baby to his home, he 

 laid it on a flat rock. Every day the Owl would feed the baby 

 whatever he could, and the baby stayed there several days. 



One evening a man was commg home from hunting from the north- 

 east, and as he was passing along the trail opposite the Owl's home, he 

 heard a baby cry. There he stood to listen for a while. The baby 

 sounded crying up on the top of the rock. "I believe I will go up 

 toward where the baby sounds crying and see." As he said thus, he 

 climbed to the top of the rocks. When he reached the top, the baby 

 sat on the rock, crying. He took it, put it on his back, and carried 

 it home. 



When he reached home, he took the baby over to where its mother 

 lived. He handed the child to its mother and scolded her, telling 

 her: "Why do you leave the baby outside, crying? I found it at 

 the home of the Owl this evening as I was returning home from 

 huntmg. I brought it from there. If it were not for me, your 

 child could have been eaten by the Owl." As the man said thus to 

 the woman, he went home. 



So this is the reason that the women at Pueblo no longer leave 

 their babies crying outside alone, lest the Owls might take the babies 

 to their homes. 



19078°— 28 24 



