^^^7rA0 LEGENDS 707 



The young nephew stood there silent for some time. Then the 

 man in the canoe said to him : " Come hither." The youth, reply- 

 ing, " So let it be," went to the place where lay the canoe, in which 

 stood the strange man. The stranger, addressing the youth, said: 

 " I am thankful that you are well. Is it not true that Okteondon 

 is your uncle? He is my uncle also. I am thankful, too, that you 

 and I, who are brothers, have seen each other at this time. It so 

 happens that you and I I'esemble each other and are of the same- 

 stature. It would be still more convincing if .we should put this 

 to proof by trial. As I have been saying, our bows and arrows are 

 alike and are of the same length. Let us test my statement by a 

 trial." Thereupon the man took his bow and arrows out of the 

 canoe. Held up together, they were found to be of the same kind 

 of wood and of the same shape; their arrows were of the same kind 

 of wood and of the same length. 



Then the stranger saidj "Come; let us see. We have the same 

 speed, I believe." He continued : " Let us now string our bows, as 

 I am now stringing mine ; let us stand here side by side." While the 

 two stood side by side again the stranger spoke, saying : " This we do 

 in order that there may be a race between us and our arrows. Let 

 us shoot our arrows, and as soon as we let fly our arrows then you 

 and I must start to run." Then they let fly their arrows, at the 

 same time starting to run swiftly. They ran evenly, keeping well 

 together. All that could be heard was the sounds made by the pas- 

 sage through the air of small stones picked up by their swiftly 

 moving feet, for they were running at a rapid pace. Looking up- 

 ward, the youth saw two arrows flying along together. In this trial 

 of their fleetness of foot they caught the arrows before they fell to 

 fhe ground, each one catching his own. 



After this test the strange man said to his young companion, 

 " Now, let us return to the place whence we started." So they went 

 back to the spot where the canoe lay. Then the strange man re- 

 peated what he had been saying again and again: "Have I not been 

 saying that you and I are indeed brothers? We have the same fleet- 

 ness of foot; we are of the same stature; our bodies are alike in form 

 and condition; our bows are exactly alike; our arrows are also alike. 

 The.se things indicate that truly you and I are brothers and that Ok- 

 teondon is your uncle, as he is my uncle. Come, then, let us go hence. 

 We will amuse ourselves. We will go to a distant place where I am 

 in the habit of playing." 



The young man replied unsuspectingly: "So let it be." Where- 

 upon the strange man said: " Come, come hither, my slaves, you wild 

 geese. Do you come hither at once." He had hardly ceased speaking 

 when the wild geese alighted beside the canoe and attached them- 



