THE SMALL-ANTS BUNDLE AND THE BUFFALO. 23 
the children and tell them that before very long they shall have some- 
thing to eat.’””’ The man went down into the village and the young boy 
was left upon the hill. 
Before sunset he went down the hill, and as he knelt down to drink 
from the spring he looked into the cave, and there sat a young girl. He 
bowed his head to the water and drank. When he looked up there sat 
an older woman. He drank again and when he looked up there sat a 
middle-aged woman. He drank again and when he looked up there sat 
the old woman. He drank again and when he looked up the old woman 
had disappeared. Then he sat down at the mouth of the cave and waited. 
After a while he heard a voice from the cave calling him. The young 
man crawled up into the cave, and after he had crawled for some distance, 
some one called to him and said, “Stand up and look.” The young man 
stood up and looked and he saw another country. The old woman took 
him to her earth-lodge and said, ‘“‘My son, stand at the entrance and look 
west.”’ The boy looked to the west and there he saw a young girl. She 
told the young man to go farther into the lodge and look to the south- 
west. He did so, and there stood an older woman. She told him to go 
farther into the lodge and look in the southwest. There in the south- 
west stood a middle-aged woman. She then told him to go farther into 
the lodge and look toward the east. The boy looked and he saw the 
old woman again. She disappeared. After a while some one spoke to 
him where he stood at the west of the lodge. He looked around and there 
the young girl stood and said, ‘‘Now do you know me?”’ The young 
man said, ‘‘No.’”’ The young girl said, “I am thenew Moon. The old 
woman that you saw is a few days older than I am. The other woman 
you saw is older by many days. Then you saw the old woman in the 
east. She is the Moon become old. She disappears and I come again 
as a girl. Let us now go out and I will speak to you outside.’? When 
they were outside they sat down, and when the young man saw the girl 
it was not the girl but the old woman who said: ‘The gods in the heav- 
ens are not yet ready to send the buffalo to your people, but the buffalo 
are ready for the people, and the buffalo have given me these sticks 
(buffalo game) with the ring. These you shall take into the village for 
the young men to play with. This basket of plum seeds you shall also 
take and give to the women to play with. I know that the people are 
very hungry. Every morning the men must take these sticks and this 
ring and play with them outside of the village. The men will play with 
the sticks so that they will not think about being hungry. The women 
will play the basket and seeds game so that they will not think about 
eating. Now go back to your village, but return to us again.’’ The 
