HOW THE CANNIBAL SPIDER-WOMAN WAS OVERCOME. 22 
children upon the boy’s winning, so that if the boy was beaten she and 
her children would all be killed. Eyes-Wide-Open came and said that 
Spider-Woman was ready. 
The boy came out and the woman said: ‘‘My son, you wager me 
and my children. If you get beaten then we will be killed.”” The young 
man said that he would. He went to where Spider-Woman was and 
Spider-Woman said: ‘“‘I am now ready to climb this tree. You climb 
the tree first.’ The boy said: ‘“‘No, it is your game. You climb first 
and I will climb afterwards.’’ The old woman said: ‘‘If you do just 
as I do you beat me. If you can not-do as I do, then I will kill you and 
your people; but if you can do just as I do then you may kill me and my 
people. If you show that you can climb the tree better than I can you 
may kill me.” Spider-Woman began to climb the tree. As soon as she 
reached a certain place the tree fell to the ground, and the old woman 
- was thrown to one side and she stood there laughing. Then she told the 
boy to climb, and the boy said, ‘‘It is my time to climb.” The boy went 
to the base of the tree with his robe over his shoulders. He began to 
sing: “‘I like to climb trees, for I belong in trees. I can climb up and 
down and the tree will not fall.’’ Eyes-Wide-Open, who was standing 
at one side, heard the song, and he ran up with his club to the young 
man and said: ‘‘I belong on your side. I do not care to be with this 
old woman.’’ Spider-Woman said: ‘“‘Very well. You belong on that 
side and I shall kill you and place your skull among my other skulls.” 
The boy continued to sing, and suddenly he threw the robe from him 
and the people saw that he was painted. The boy climbed the tree. 
When he reached the place where the tree was to fall, he began to climb 
down again. The boy reached the base and climbed up again, and 
when he got to the forks the tree fell down and the boy was thrown 
to one side and there he stood unhurt. The peopleran to Spider-Woman 
and killed her and her people. They took them all over the country and 
placed them in ravines. Eyes-Wide-Open was also killed. 
Then the boy said: ‘‘People, my work is done. I have killed 
Spider-Woman, who was always killing people and eating them. Let 
there be no more eating of human beings. This tree shall fall over and 
be no more.’’ He went to the womanin whose lodge he had been and said: 
“Mother, if I had lost you would have been killed, together with your 
children. I overcame Spider-Woman. You and your children shall 
always live under an old tree, for you are mice. My people from now on 
shall make their houses at the top of a hollow tree and you shall have 
your house at the bottom of the tree.’’ After he said this the people he 
had been with turned into mice, crawled under a tree, and made their 
