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Just then a swallow (seseka) happened along. He volunteered to 

 go do^^Ti the hole and meet Masewi and his brother. latik told him 

 to go. So the swallow, accompanied by the humming bird, set out. 

 Before they reached the hole the humming bird told the swallow to 

 ask the horned toad to open his mouth and then to fly through. 

 "But be careful not to let the toad bite you," he warned. 



When they reached the hole the swallow asked the toad to open his 

 mouth and both birds flew through and went down to the lower 

 world. They found Mase\\'i and Oyoyewi, who welcomed them and 

 invited them to eat. The swallow told the brothers that he had come 

 to bring them back: latik wanted them. But Masem said that they 

 did not wish to return yet. After a time, however, the brothers agreed 

 to return on one condition. "If latik sends us something that we 

 really like to eat; if she can guess what it is that we like best and sends 

 it to us we'll return." So the bu'ds set out for Kacikatcutia. Coming 

 up the hole they called out to the toad to open his mouth. Hum- 

 ming bird flew through first. The swallow was a little slow and when 

 he was flying out of the toad's mouth the toad bit his tail and pulled 

 four feathers out of the middle. That is why the swallow has a 

 forked tail to-day. 



The birds went to latik 's house and told her what the brothers had 

 said. latik thought a long while, trying to decide what the brothers 

 would like best to eat. At last she chose some ho'nuk" and diak'unu 

 (dried berries). "Perhaps this is it," she said. So she ground the 

 berries up and made them into four little balls. She WTapped each 

 ball, with a cigarette, in a corn husk. She knew that Masewi always 

 wore a cpaiak'a (a short downy eagle feather, worn on top of the head) 

 so she put in one for him. 



During this time the four years had almost elapsed. Some of the 

 people in the village had already died of starvation. 



When latik had prepared the gifts she called the tMO birds and told 

 them to take them to Masewi and Oyoyewi. So humming bird and 

 the swallow made another trip to the underworld, passing through 

 the horned toad as before. They gave the four husks to the two 

 brothers. Masewi and Oyoyewi unwrapped the husks and found the 

 balls of dried berries; it was just what they wanted. So they told the 

 birds to return to latik and tell her that they would return in four 

 days. They told them to tell latik to announce to all the people 

 that they would return in four daj^s; they wished to have the people 

 expect them. Then Masewi got a sack of seeds — all kinds of seeds — 

 and gave it to the birds. He told them to give it to latik and to tell 

 her to spread them out before her altar so that they would multiply 

 sufficiently to supply all the people of the village. After the seeds 

 6066°— 32 11 



