368 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS |eth an\. 32 



young bears became very fond of the boy. When the old mother 

 bear was lying asleep in the sun, and they were at play, the cubs 

 would pull the boy's nails to make them long like theirs, and they 

 tried to teach him how to climb and run up the trees as they did. At 

 last he was almcst equal to them in skill in these exercises, his nails 

 having grown long and sharp. 



One day the old bear woke up and could not see the boy. At 

 last she saw him high up in a tree a long way off. Then she scolded 

 her cubs and w-as angry with them, and made the boy's nails as 

 they originally were. So the many days of summer passed. The 

 cubs and the boy were great friends and they had him sleep between 

 them and their mother. 



When winter came, the old bear .said, " It is time to go to our win- 

 ter quarters "; so she took them to a tall, hollow tree, into which they 

 all climbed, finding therein a comfortable place. Here they remained : 

 and the boy thought they had plenty of room. He and the cubs 

 played together and were verj' happy. The old bear slept most of 

 the time, but when she heard a sound she would aw^ake instantly and 

 would say, "You must keep very still: there is a hunter near." In 

 the tree was an opening from which she had an outlook. Soon after 

 the warning they would see a man coming toward the tree. Then tho 

 boy thought he saw the mother bear, putting her paw into her pocket, 

 draw out an object that had two prongs. As the hunter approached 

 she would thrust this out through the hole, moving it to and fro 

 until he passed ; then she would draw it in again. 



All went well until one day toward spring, when the fatal moment 

 came. The mother bear heard a hunter approaching again and, 

 although they all kept very still, she said, addressing the child: "I 

 think our time has come; our separation is near; you can remain 

 here, but we must go, for we are bears, but you are a human being. 

 They will take you out and care for you." Then the child and the 

 cubs saw the hunter coming. She put out her two-pronged bough but 

 could do nothing: all her magic power was gone. When the hunter 

 came up, seeing the claw marks on the bark of the tree, he concluded 

 there must be bears within. The old bear Itnew all was over, so she 

 said to the eldest of her cubs, " You must go first and the others must 

 follow." At this the eldest climbed up and out, and at that instant 

 the boy heard the twang of the bowstring and impact of the arrow, 

 and as he watched the little bear it seemed to throw off a burden, 

 which fell to the ground, while the little bear itself ^-* went straight on 

 without stopping. Then the other little bears followed, one and all 

 sharing the fate of the first; each time one emerged the boy heard 

 the same sounds and saw the burden fall, but as he saw the little 

 bears still running on, he was not frightened. Then the old bear 

 said: " Now, I have to go. You must be good and obedient and all 



