174 TALES OF READY-TO-GIVE. 
top of the lodge. She ran out following, crying as she went, ‘‘My uncle, 
my uncle, return to me, for I am all alone. Stay with me, and I shall 
not scold you any more.’’ But the Eagle flew on andon. The woman 
began to cry, but still followed the Eagle. It flew on until it came to 
the lodge of the Badgers. The woman followed until she, too, came to 
the lodge of the Badgers. They took her in and said: “‘Why do you 
cry so?” and she said: ‘‘My uncle and I are alone. There are no other 
people in the world, and now he has turned into an Eagle. I want to 
catch him and take him back to our home.’’ The Badgers said: “‘Let 
us help this woman, and get the Eagle for her.” The Badgers dug a 
hole and placed this woman in it, and spread some limbs over the hole. 
They killed a Badger, cut the bowels open, and spread them out upon the 
limbs over the hole; then the Badgers all disappeared into their holes. 
After a while the crows, magpies, coyotes, and other animals came to the 
hole to eat of the dead badger. Soon a big flock of all kinds of birds 
came and flew around where the badger was lying, and then lighted upon 
the ground, and they said: ‘‘He is coming; he is coming. We shall have 
to wait until he tastes of the badger.’’ After a while a great wind was 
heard above, and then a scream. It was the cry of the golden Eagle, 
which came and lighted near all of the birds. The Eagle looked around 
at all the birds, the magpie, and coyote and then sang: “‘I am not will- 
ing; I am not willing to taste of this animal which is cut open. Some- 
thing is wrong; something is under that.’’ Then the Eagle flew up, and 
as the Eagle flew up all the other birds flew away. Even the coyotes 
walked away. Once in a while they turned to look at the badger which 
was lying upon the limbs. After a while the Badgers came and said: 
““Woman, come out. We are powerless. Wecan not help you. You 
see what we have done, and your uncle knew that you were there.”’ 
Then the woman began to cry and she went on. All kinds of animals 
tried to catch the Eagle for the woman in the same way, but the Eagle 
would not eat of the dead animal and would sing; ‘‘Iam not willing; lam 
not willing to eat of the animal.’’ Then all the other birds would fly 
away. At last the woman came to a lodge of Elks. The Elks took her 
in and said: ‘‘Woman, it is easy. We can call any animal that we want. 
The Eagle is easy to catch.” They killed one elk. They cut out its 
bowels and spread it out upon the hole. The fat looked very fine. The 
woman was placed in the hole, under the Elk. The birds came, and the 
Eagle came and it said: ‘“‘I am not willing to eat of this meat. I am not 
willing.” It flew away. The Elks were surprised. They were sure that 
the Eagle would eat of the meat. The woman began to cry. She went a 
long distance. 

