496 SENECA FICTION, LEGENDS, AND MYTHS [eth. ann. sz 



At this the elder brother scolded him, saying, " Do not ever say that 

 again, because something sinister will happen to us owing to that." 

 But the younger, heedless of the advice, rejoined : " Let it be so then. 

 I shall match myself, however, with anything, be it an animal or a 

 human being; it matters not what it may be." 



When night came they lay down to sleep. In the morning, after 

 their morning meal, the two again went forth to hunt. After a long 

 tramp they reached a place in which they saw many deer. At once 

 the younger brother began to shout loudly in order to frighten the 

 deer, so that they would run away from him, and he would have the 

 opportunity of overtaking them. Hearing his outcries, the deer fled 

 from him, and the youth pursued them. By midday he had over- 

 taken and killed six deer. 



As he was returning to his camp, he was surprised to hear the 

 voice of a man speaking to him, saying, " Verily, is it not you who are 

 fleet of foot and swift on the course?" Looking around, the now 

 frightened youth saw at one side an opening — a roadway, as it were, 

 through the forest — and standing in this roadway at some distance 

 he saw a man, or what he took to be a man, gazing at him. Boast- 

 ingly the youth replied, " It is certainly true that I am fleet-footed." 

 Then the strange man, or what the youth took to be a man, said: 

 " I will run a race with you. You keep saying at all times and 

 places that there is no one able to outfoot you, so let us make an 

 agreement to run a race with certain conditions tomorrow. At mid- 

 day we shall meet here in this place; right here. And we will agree 

 to wager our lives on the issue of the race. One of the conditions of 

 the race must be that I shall follow you for two days. When we 

 start let us be as far apart as we are now — the distance from the 

 s:pot where you are standing to this place where I stand. You shall 

 choose the direction that we shall take in the race, whether we shall 

 camp for the night, or not. When you decide that we shall camp 

 for the night, you must say, ' We will camp for the night ' ; and 

 where you stop you shall make a mark from which you shall start in 

 the morning, and then you can go aside to camp for the night. And 

 there you may kindle a fire and prepare any food that you may have 

 with you (said sneeringly)." 



Then the youth who was swift of foot answered : " I agree to your 

 proposition, and if at the end of two days you do not overtake me, 

 then I shall pursue you." 



Then the strange man rejoined, " We have now come to an agree- 

 ment on this matter, and you must tell your elder brother of it." The 

 fleet-footed youth replied, " Let it be so ; I will tell it to my elder 

 brother." Thereupon the strange man admonished the youth, saying, 

 " You must not fail in the least to be here just at midday tomorrow, 

 and we shall stand here again." Then the youth, answering, said, " So 



