^^S-'^^t'] fiction 193 



Seizing the woman, they strapped her to the board, saying, " You 

 must be very cold." Then they set the board up in front of the fire 

 in order to broil her slowly. Just at this time the yoimg man's wife 

 came. Finding that they were roasting the woman, she was angry 

 and, freeing her, said, " You are now liberated and I shall go home." 

 Making her way to the lake, she called on the bloodsuckers to stretch 

 across it so that she could walk over on them. Each man went to his 

 own lodge. When the young man came home his wife was there. 



38. The Self-sacrifice of Two Dogs for Their Master 



In a certain village lived a man who was very fond of hunting; he 

 had two dogs, which were so very strong and fierce that they would 

 attack and kill a bear. 



One day the man started off from the village to hunt. After he 

 had traveled for two days he pitched his camp. The next morning 

 he began to hunt. He was very successful for many days, killing a 

 great deal of game. One night as he was going to sleep his dogs 

 began to bark furiously. Not far away from the camp was a very 

 large elm tree, whose top had been broken off. Hitherto the man 

 had thought it might be hollow, although he had never examined it. 

 One dog ran in the direction of this tree. The other dog followed it, 

 and by the sound of its barking the man knew that it had stopped 

 near this tree. 



After a time one dog came back to the man, saying : " My brother, 

 I believe that we are going to die to-night; we have seen a creature 

 such as we have never beheld before. We think that it will come 

 down from the tree to attack us. I will go and watch it; but first 

 you must mark me with coal from the end of my mouth to my ear." 

 The man did as the dog wished. Then the dog said, " Now, I will 

 go to the tree and my brother can come to be marked by you as T 

 am marked." Off he ran. The other dog soon came and the man 

 marked him in the same way. Taking a torch, the man went to the 

 tree. There on the broken top he saw a terrible creature; its head 

 and part of its body were protruding out of the hollow in the trunk; 

 it had very long teeth, enormous eyes, and long claws. The man 

 had never before seen anj'thing so dreadful. He went back to his 

 camp. One of the dogs followed him, saying: "We two shall be 

 destroyed, but we will do what we can to save you. You must hurry 

 back to the village. Do not take a torch or a bow with you ; it will 

 only be in your way. Put on a pair of new moccasins, and carry 

 also a second pair. I will lick the soles of your feet to give you 

 speed." The dog licked the soles of his feet ; then the man, putting 

 on the new moccasins, started toward home. 

 94615°— 18 13 



