144 TALES OF READY-TO-GIVE. 
away ona hunt. He told his wife that he would be away for some time. 
The woman and the child were left in the lodge by themselves. 
About noon the child came into the lodge and went to sleep on his 
mother’s lap. She took the child, went to the bed, and placed it there. 
She covered the child with a robe. The child could not be seen if any- 
one entered the lodge. While the woman was sitting by the fireplace she 
heard strange voices outside of the lodge. She did not say anything, 
neither did she run, for she knew if they were enemies they would find 
her anyway and would kill her. If they were friends they would not 
kill her. When she heard the voices near by, talking in her language, 
she turned around and looked at the entrance. : 
After a while she saw a person come inside, then another and aieenels 
and after a while they all stood at the entrance. These strange people 
were very queer-looking. They had sharp elbows. On all their joints 
were long spines sticking out. At their heels also there were long spines. 
They had big eyes, and when they turned around the woman noticed 
that they also had another eye in the back part of their heads, so that 
these people really had three eyes—two eyes in front and one behind. 
Then they said: ‘‘The husband is gone. We can go in here and find 
something to eat. If she keeps quiet and does not call us bad names we 
will spare her. If she makes any fuss, or calls us names, we will kill her 
and take her to our home and cook her.”” They came in, found the meat 
around the fireplace, and they began to eat of it. While they were 
eating they would say, ‘‘ Watch the woman, and if she calls us bad names 
we will killher.’’ They ate all the meat andthen went away. The woman 
was watching them as they went away and she thought that all had gone 
out, but there was one that had not yet left, when she lifted up her hand 
and pointed at themand said: ‘‘The dirty, ugly-looking things, they have 
eaten up all my meat.’’ As soon as she spoke the one behind saw her with 
his reareye. Hecalled the others and said: ‘‘The woman is calling us bad 
names and shaking her hand at us.” Then they all rushed in, pierced 
her with their sharp elbows and heels, and carried her away to their 
place. These strange beings did not see the little fellow upon the bed 
or they would have killed him, too. 
After the boy’s mother was killed and carried away, the boy woke 
up, got down from the bed, and went to the fireplace. He began to eat 
of the bones which the people had left. About this time the father came 
in for some meat. He saw that the mother was missing; that there was 
blood upon the ground where she had been sitting, and he knew —o 
that some bad people apie come and killed her. 
