PARSONS) TALES OF WITCHCRAFT 427 



she woke him up and said, "Now go to the same work you were at." 

 He began to wheel the dirt. Before sunrise the old man came out. 

 "Well, young boy, how are you getting on?" "All right." "How 

 do you like it?" So he put his hand to his forehead and said, "AU 

 right." "Go back to your room and sleep." So he went and slept 

 all day. The second night it was the turn of the middle sister. The 

 youngest sister told him the same thing about her middle sister as 

 about the eldest. "Do not eat her food. Wlien my father comes he 

 will ask you, 'Did you see the pond miles and miles deep? The sec- 

 ond job I give you is to move that pond alongside the mountain you 

 moved.'" So she gave him the mush. At sunset the old man came. 

 "Young boy, did you sleep well to-day? Have you had your supper? " 

 "Yes." "Well, you are strong." So they went to another room and 

 got a bucket and he took him to the pond. The boy filled the bucket 

 and carried it across. At midnight the girl came, and sent liim to his 

 room. She did the job in one minute. She had the power to do it. 

 She moved the pond to the other side. She went and sat beside the 

 boy all night m his sound sleep. Next morning she woke him up and 

 told him to return to his job. Before sunrise the old man came and 

 said, "How are you getting along?" "AU right. How do you like 

 my work?" The old man put his hand to his forehead and told him 

 to go to his room. So he went and slept. It was the turn of the 

 youngest girl to feed him. "Now this wiU be the last job. It is the 

 hardest. Do not worry, I will help you. Just Usten, my father will 

 come and he has a white horse in the corral, a wild horse. He will 

 say to you, 'Get a saddle and bridle and rope and spurs and whip.' 

 He will show you the horse and tell you to break him, before sunrise. 

 The white horse will be my father, the saddle will be my mother, the 

 bridle will be my oldest sister, the rope wiU be my middle sister and 

 I vn]l be the spurs and the whip. When you get on, try to whip hun 

 as hard as you can and dig in with the spurs. PuU him hard with the 

 bridle. If you break him, you will be lucky." At sunset the old 

 man came out. Close to the door he said, "Ha ha ha! WeU, young 

 boy, did you have your supper?" "Yes." "WeU, the last job is 

 ready for you. You are going to work pretty hard. I have a white 

 horse I want you to break before sunrise." "AU right, I'U try," he 

 said. "I'll do my best." "Come on then!" So they went to the 

 room where he kept the saddle, bridle, whip, spurs and rope. He got 

 them aU, and they went to the gate of the corral. The old man 

 opened the gate. "There is the white horse," he said. He got the 

 rope. 



The horse tried to kick him, rearing at him, and to bite him. The 

 boy dodged around among the other horses. At last he roped him 

 by the neck and tied him to the post in the middle of the corral. 

 The horse circled around until he tightened the rope, choked, and threw 



