S:w.'a FICTION 183 



nWay." "Wait," the other said, "until we get the water boiling to 

 cook it. AVe must cut it up carefully. Such a fish must have much 

 roe." 



A\Tien everything was ready they opened the fish carefully; in 

 the place of roe they found a beautiful boy. For a moment they 

 forgot the fish. They washed the boy and cared for him, and were 

 rejoiced that such a gift had come to their door. They said : " We 

 will take good care of him. Perhapa he will become a great hunter 

 and get meat for us when we are old." The sisters and their son, 

 as they called him, lived very happily together. He soon surprised 

 them by killing large game and by becoming a great hunter. When 

 they found, however, that while hunting he wandered off a long 

 distance from home, they were alarmed and cautioned him to keei) 

 near the lodge and, above all, not to go near the setting sun. Finally 

 he killed a great deer. While the sisters were pleased with his 

 )iower and skill, they wei"e afraid something might happen to him, 

 s-ince there wei-e so many wicked people about. The fear woi'ried 

 them greatly. They kept warning him of danger, saying that he 

 must never on any account go toward the setting sun.'^ 



After a time the youth killed any kind of game he wished. One 

 day he said to himself: "I wonder what there is near the setting 

 sun? I will go to see for myself." He had not gone far before he 

 came to a clearing, in which he saw a cabin that seemed to be empty. 

 Everything was quiet around it. Creeping up cautiously, he peeped 

 in ; an old man was sitting there with his head bent upon his breast. 

 The latter instantly called out, " AVell, nephew,^^ have you come?" 

 Knowing that he was discovered (by sorcery), the boy answered: 

 "Yes; I have come. I thought I would see what you are doing." 

 " Well, come in and wait a moment. I will get my head up," the 

 old man replied. Taking up a mallet and a large wooden pin that 

 lay at his side, he drove the pin down his spinal column. Up came 

 his head, whereupon he said. " I have a rule that when one of my 

 nephews comes I play a game with him, and we bet." " What do 

 you bet ? " asked the boy. " I bet my head against his," came the 

 reply. "All right," said the boy. The old man dusted off the fire- 

 place and made it smooth; then he shook the bowl and plum pits. 

 The agreement was that the first who turned the plum pits all of 

 one color was to be the winner. The old man said, " You must throw 

 first." " No," said the boy, " you proposed the game ; now you 

 must play first." At last the old man agreed to this. As he shook 

 the bowl the six plum pits flew out of the smoke hole. When they 

 got outside they turned into birds, which flew off out of hearing. 

 By and by the boy heard them again ; down into the bowl they rolled 

 as plum pits. Bending over, the old man stirred and stirred 

 them, repeating, "Let them be white; let them be white! " But he 



