170 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS [BTH. ANN. 32 



to the camp, he said to his companion, " Thoie must be a bear in that 

 liollow ti'ee. altiiough tlie noise whicli it maices is lilce that of a 

 wliirhvind." Then tliey both went to the tree to' investigate further 

 the cause of the peculiar sounds. One climbed the tree to take a look 

 into the cavity. At fir.st he could see nothing, but finally he saw at 

 the bottom of the hollow cavity a spotted trout, which was leaping 

 around swiftly in water collected there. Crawliiig into the hole, he 

 captured the trout with his hand. On getting out, he threw the fish 

 down to his cousin, who said : " This is a curious fish. Let us take 

 it back to camp." The othei' replied, "No! Do not touch it; it may 

 be -something that will bring us harm." But the other young man 

 would not heed this advice. Taking the fish to camp, he cleaned, 

 cooked, and ate it. When he had finished eating, he began to be very 

 thirsty, and said to his companion, "Go iind get me some water, 

 cousin." The cousin brought him water, and the other drank and 

 kept on drinking, seeming to be unable to get enough water. 



Then his cousin said to him, " Do you not think that the fish is 

 making you ill ? " The only reply was, " Oh ! get me more water. 

 Take my moccasins and get me plenty." He brought both moccasins 

 full of water, which the thirsty man drank at once. At last the man 

 who was not ill said, " I am tired of getting water for you ; go to the 

 spring and there you can drink all you want," Visiting the spring, 

 he drank until he was tired of drinking; then he rested, and then he 

 began to drink still more. 



The cousin, being busy aroimd the camp, did not pay much atten- 

 tion to the sick man, but after a while he went to the spring to look 

 :ifter his cousin. Arriving there, he was frightened when he saw 

 him, for his mouth had become like that of a fish. He asked the 

 sick man how he felt. The other replied, " Oh, about as usual." 

 Then came the query, "Does not your mouth feel queer? " Putting 

 up his hand, the afflicted youth found that his mouth had grown 

 large, but still kept on drinking. His companion hurried back to the 

 camp in sorrow. The ne.xt time he went to the spring he found that 

 his cousin had become a fish to the wai.st. Later, when he went again 

 to the spring, his cousin had completely changed into a fish, and had 

 gone into the spring. The following morning his cousin had become 

 a great fish, dwelling far under the water, and the si)ring had grown 

 into a large pond. 



The man sat down on the bank of the pond. Soon the great fish, 

 raising its head out of the water, said : " My poor cousin, you see how 

 I have turned into a fish. Go home and tell my parents what has 

 become of me. When you need fish, come to this pond and you shall 

 get all you want. This p<md will always be full of fish." 



The man went home, where he told everyone what had befallen 

 his companion. The people then visited the pond, whereupon the 



