Alaskan and Mackenzie Delta Traditions 57 a 



out, and sat and talked for a long time, but the wife paid no attention to her 

 words. Finally she left, changing as she went into a red fox. The man asked 

 his wife when he came home who had been visiting her, and she said, "It was 

 an old woman who talked and talked for a long time, then, as I paid no attention 

 to what she said, she went away." "Remember never to listen to anyone who 

 maj' come," he answered. "I was married twice before and both my wives 

 were lost through giving heed to the words of others." The old woman called 

 again and again, but always with the same result. Then one day the man's 

 wife forgot what her husband had told her and listened to what the woman 

 was saying to her. "Let me search your head," the old woman said. "There 

 is nothing in my hair," replied the other. "Well, let me look anyway." "No, 

 I am busy. My husband will come home and be very angry if his food is not 

 ready." "Oh, no, he won't be angry. Besides there is plenty of time." "Oh, 

 very well then." So the wife lay down while the old woman searched her head. 

 Cunningly she scratched it lightly until the young woman fell asleep, then 

 quietly stole out, changed into a red fox and went away. Soon afterwards 

 the wife was awakened by a terrible pain in her head and an uncontrollable 

 desire to go outside. She put her hands to her head and felt horns beginning to 

 sprout there. She went outside; her head was already changed to the head of 

 a caribou; she ran round and round, then went straight towards the mountains. 

 In the evening her husband returned home and searched for her in vain. Out- 

 side he found her footsteps and noticed how they suddenly changed to a caribou's. 

 He went inside again and said to the elder of his two children, "I am going to 

 look for your mother. You must look after your little brother until I come 

 home. Perhaps I shall be away a long time, and come back an old man, or per- 

 haps I shall come back very soon." Before he left, he filled the house with food 

 and skins and made a small bow and arrow for the boy, then set out to look for 

 his wife. For a long time he wandered about, searching in vain for any signs of 

 her. At last he came to a small dark house on the side of a hill, and listening 

 on the roof he heard a little child say in a tearful voice: "Mother, tell me a 

 story." He heard the mother answer, "I have no story to tell you, my child. 

 Oh, well, I will tell you just one. Listen. There was once a man and his wife 

 and two little children living in a house all by themselves. The man was very 

 fond of his wife and used to tell her not to listen to the conversation of any 

 visitor who might happen to come in while he was away hunting." The man 

 above said to himself, "She is referring to me." "One day," the voice con- 

 tinued, "the woman forgot, and she hstened to a red fox and let it scratch her 

 head. Then she was changed to a caribou and fled to the mountains to join 

 the herd." The man outside could contain himself no longer and called out: 

 "That's my wife you are talking about. Tell me, where is she now?" "Oh, I 

 didn't know there was anyone outside. Come in, come in." So the man entered 

 the house and the woman gave him something to eat. When he had finished 

 eating she said, "You want to find your wife, do you? Well, you must go to the 

 other side of this mountain and there you will find a great herd of caribou. Your 

 wife is amongst them; you will easily recognize her, for she is very strong and 

 leaps and races about much more than the rest. Take a rope with you and 

 steal up close, and when she is near enough throw the rope over her horns or 

 her legs or anywhere where it will hold. Then throw her on her back and skm 

 her. You must be very careful not to kill her, and when you are skmnmg her, 

 mind you don't cut the flesh anywhere. Then when you have skmned the 

 body, make a small incision in the belly and your wife will come out from withm 

 unharmed. Now go quickly and don't look round as you go. Only when you 

 are a long way off you may look round if you want to. I shall be followmg you." 

 So the man thanked her and hurried off. When he had gone some distance he 

 looked round, and there coming away from the house was a black bear with her 

 young cub following closely behind her. He hurried across the mountain and 

 came upon a big herd of caribou; one of the deer was leaping about much more 



