MuoNEYj THK BALL (iAMK (IK BIRDS AND ANIMALS 287 



to iiiiike some wings foi- tlic littli' fellows. 'I'iicy tried for ;i long time 

 to tiiink of somethinii; that iniuht do. until someono happened to 

 renieiiiber the drum th(!y had used in the dance. The head was of 

 ground-hog skin and maybe they could cut oti' a corner and make 

 wings of it. So they took two pieces of leather from the drumhead 

 and cut them into shape for wings, and sti'etched them with cane 

 splints and fastened them on to the forelegs of one of the small ani- 

 mals, and in this way came Tla'nwhd, the Bat. They threw the l>all 

 to him and told him to catch it, and by the way he dodged and cii'cled 

 about, keeping the ball always in the air and never letting it fall to the 

 ground, the birds soon saw that he would be one of their best men. 



Now they wanted to fix the other little animal, but they had used 

 up all their leather to make wings for the Bat, and there was no time 

 to send for more. Somebody said that they might do it b_v stretching 

 his skin, so two large birds took hold from opposite sides with their 

 strong bills, and by pulling at his fur for several minutes they luan- 

 aged to stretch the skin on each side between the fore anfl hind 

 feet, until they had Teim, the Flying Squirrel. To try him the l>ird 

 captain threw up the ball, when the Flying Squirrel sprang oft" the 

 limb after it, caught it in his teeth and carried it through the air to 

 another tree nearly across the bottom. 



When the}' were all ready the signal was given and the game l)egan, 

 but almost at the first toss the Flying Squirrel caught the ball and 

 carried it up a tree, from which he threw it to the birds, who kept it 

 in the air for some time until it dropped. The Bear rushed to get it, 

 but the Martin darted after it and threw it to the Bat, who was flying 

 near the ground, and by his dodging and doubling kept it out of the 

 way of even the Deer, until he finally threw it in between the posts and 

 won the game for the birds. 



The Bear and the Terrapin, who had boasted so of what they would 

 do, never got a chance even to touch the ball. For saving the ball 

 when it dropped, the birds afterwards gave the Martin a gourd in 

 which to build his nest, and he still has it. 



37. HOW THE TURKEY GOT HIS BEARD 



When the Terrapin won the race from the Kal)bit (see the story) all 

 the animals wondered and talked about it a great deal, because th(\v 

 li:id always thought the Terrapin slow, although they knew that he 

 was a warrior and had many conjuring secrets beside. But the Turkey 

 was not satisfied and told the others there nuist be somt> trick about it. 

 Said he, ''I know the Terrapin eairt run — he can hardly crawl and 

 I'm going to try him." 



So one day the Tui'key met the Terrapin coming honie from wai- 

 with a fresh scalp hanging from his neck and dragging on the ground 

 as he traveled. The Turkev laughed at the sight and said: "'That 



