^°EW.'^] FICTIOK 163 



One day the old man dressed himself richly — sticking new feathers 

 in his headdress, trimming his hair, and painting his face, and put- 

 ting on new moccasins. The little boy, watching him, asked, " What 

 are you going to do. my friend? " " Oh, I am going to see the world. 

 I shall be gone a good while. I shall make a long journey," the old 

 man answered. " Can I not go with you ? " asked the boy. " Well, 

 if your father and mother will let you go, I will take you along," 

 .said the old man. 



(loing to his mother, the boy asked her if he might go. After 

 thinking a minute, she said, "Yes; you may go," and gave him a 

 new pair of moccasins to wear on the journey. 



He returned to his friend, who washed him, trimmed his hair, 

 painted his face, put new feathers in his headdress, and gave him a 

 fine new bow and arrows. Then both set out together. They traveled 

 until night, when they stopped and made their fire in the woods; 

 then they ate their evening meal and slept. 



They traveled in this way for five days, until they came to a lake 

 so broad that thej' could not see the other shore. " How can we 

 get across ? " asked the boy. " Oh ! we shall have to make a canoe," 

 said the old man. " Will it take long? " asked the boy. " About one 

 day," the old man replied. He looked around in the woods until he 

 found a large bitternut hickory tree; stripping off the bark he made 

 a large canoe. 



The next morning the old man and the boy, putting their bows, 

 arrows, and fur robes into the canoe, stai-ted across the lake. The 

 boy M-as seated in front and the old man, who paddled, in the stern. 

 In the evening they came in sight of a low island, and without land- 

 ing they fastened their canoe to the bullrushes that grew around the 

 shore. "How can we sleep here? Is it safe? Are there not things 

 in the water that might kill us? '" were some of the anxious queries 

 of the boy. " Oh ! " said the ojd man, " there are fish in the wutei% 

 and there are in the world evil things reaching from the bottom of the 

 water up to the home of the Master of Life."*' " If the wind blows 

 we .shall be carried off into the lake," said the boy. " Oh, no ! we are 

 safe." said the old man. So both lay down and soon fell asleep. 



About midnight the boy heard a rushing sound as of swiftly mov- 

 ing water, and it .seemed to him that the canoe was moving rapidly. 

 He thought that the wind must be blowing hard. On sitting up in 

 the canoe he found that the weather was calm. Then he thought that 

 the water must be running very fast, and putting his hand overboard 

 he found this to be true. He roused the old man at once by shaking 

 his feet and saying: "Get up, friend, and see what the trouble is. 

 The water is running by very fast. AVhere is the lake going? What 

 are we to do? " "Lie down," said the old man, "no harm will come 

 to you or me." 



