Through bush, and brake, and 
forest, 
Ran the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis; 
Like an antelope he bounded, 
Till he came unto a streamlet 
In the middle of the forest, 
To astreamlet still and tranquil, 
That had overflowed its margin, 
To a dam made by the beavers, 
To a pond of quiet water, 
Where knee-deep the trees were 
standing, 
Where the water-lilies floated, 
Where the rushes waved and whis- 
pered. 
On the dam stood Pau - Puk- 
Keewis, 
On the dam of trunks and branches, 
Through whose chinks the water 
spouted, 
O’er whose 
streamlet. 
From the bottom rose the beaver, 
Looked with two great eyes of 
wonder, 
Eyes that seemed to ask a question, 
At the stranger, Pau-Puk-Keewis. 
On the dam stood Pau-Puk- 
Keewis, 
O’er his ankles flowed the stream- 
summit flowed the 
let, 
Flowed the bright and silvery water, 
And he spake unto the beaver, 
With a smile he spake in this wise: 
‘O my friend Ahmeek, the 
beaver, 
Cool and pleasant is the water; 
Let me dive into the water, 
Let me rest there in your lodges; 
Change me, too, into a beaver!’ 
Cautiously replied the beaver, 
With reserve he thus made answer: 
‘Let me first consult the others. 
Let me ask the other beavers.’ 
Down he sank into the water, 
Heavily sank he, as a stone sinks, 
Down among the leaves and 
branches, 
Brown and matted at the bottom. 
On the dam stood Pau-Puk- 
Keewis, 
me ankles flowed the stream- 
et, 
Sconted through the chinks below 
im, 
Dashed upon the stones beneath 
him, 
Spread serene and calm before him; 
And the sunshine and the shadows 
Fell in flecks and gleams upon him, 
Fell in little shining patches, 
Through the waving, rustling 
branches, 
From the bottom rose the 
beavers, 
Silently above the surface 
Rose one head and then another, 
Till the pond seemed full of 
beavers, 
Full of black and shining faces. 
To the beavers Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Spake entreating, said in this wise: 
‘Very pleasant is your dwelling, 
my friends! and safe from 
danger; 
Can you not with all your cunning, 
All your wisdom and contrivance, 
Change me, too, into a beaver?’ 
‘Yes!’ replied Ahmeek, 
beaver, 
He the King of all the beavers, 
‘Let yourself slide down among us, 
Down into the tranquil water,’ 
Down into the pond among them 
the 
The Hunting of Pau»Puk=kKeewis 
