MoosEYi MtsaiyI', the gambler 811 



ddwii to the spring tlicy licard u voice: Ste'tsi Mya'^ml, Ste'tsi tu'ya- 

 husi', "Your daughter will die. Your dtiughtor will die," and so it 

 happened soon afttM-. 



As some tell it. the lover was a tadpole, who took on human shape, 

 retaining only his tadpole mouth. To eoneeal it he constantly refused 

 to eat with the family, hut stood with his hack to the fire and his face 

 screwed up. pretending that he had a toothache. At last his wife grew 

 suspicious and turning him suddenly around to the firelight, exposed 

 the tadpole mouth, at which they all ridiculed him so nuich that he 

 left the house forever. 



62. THE KATYDID'S WARNING 



Two hunters camping in the woods were preparing supper one night 

 when a Katydid began singing near them. One of them said siieer- 

 ingly. •■ Ki'i.' It sings and don't know that it will die before the season 

 ends.'- The Katydid answered: " Ilu/ w^wI (onomatope); O, so you 

 say; but you need not boast. You will die before to-morrow night." 

 The next day they were surprised by the enemy and the hunter who 

 had sneered at the Katydid was killed. 



Wonder Stories 



63. OnTSAIYI',. THE GAMBLER 



Thunder lives in the west, or a little to the south of west, near the 

 place where the sun goes down behind the water. In the old times he 

 sometimes made a journey to the east, and once after he had come back 

 from one of these journey's a child was born in the east who. the peojile 

 said, was his son. As the bo}' grew up it was found that he had scrofula 

 sores all over his body, so one day his mother said to him, *• Your father. 

 Thunder, is a great doctor. He lives far in the west, but if you can 

 find him he can cure you." 



So the boy set out to find his father and be cured. He traveled long 

 toward the west, asking of everyone he met where Thunder lived, until 

 at last they began to tell him that it was only a little way ahead. He 

 went on and came to Fntiguhi'. on Tennessee, where lived Ufitsaiyi' 

 " Brass. " Now Ufitsaiyi' was a great gambler, and made his living that 

 way. It was ho who invented the gataymtl game that we play with a 

 stone wheel and a stick. He lived on the south side of tlit> river, and 

 everybody who came that way he challenged to play against him. The 

 large flat rock, with the lines and grooves where they used to roll the 

 wheel, is still there, with the wheels themselves and the stick turned 

 to stone. He won almost every time, becau.se he was so tricky, so that 

 he had his hous(> filled with all kinds of fine things. Sometimes he 

 would lose, and then he would bi>t all that he had, ev(Mi to his own 

 litV. Iput till" winner got notiiing for his trouble, for Ontsaiyi' knew 

 how to take on dificrent shapes, so that he always got awaj^ 



