SPLINTER FOOT BOY. 37 
One day while she was away the boy took the child and carried it to 
the lake, where he left it to starve or be eaten by the wild animals. He 
was afraid to return to his grandmother’s home for fear she would know 
that he had thrown his child away, and so he went far off and lived 
alone. ‘The child lay on the shore of the lake for a long time, and as he 
lay there he grew to be a good-sized boy. Finally many birds flew over 
the lake, and when they were about half way across the lake, the water 
appeared to leap up to the sky and draw the birds down. Every day 
the boy saw the water leap up to the sky whenever any birds flew past, 
and one time he saw a big water monster in the water. He saw the 
monster draw so many birds into the water that he was afraid it would 
kill all the birds in the land, and he wished that he could killit. While 
he was thinking about a way to kill the monster, he felt some one hit 
him on the back. He turned around and there behind him stood a boy 
about his own age. He was Medicine-Screech-Owl, but the boy did 
not know who he was or anything about him. Medicine-Screech-Owl 
asked the boy what he was thinking about, and the boy told him that 
he was thinking how he could kill the water monster that ate up all of 
the birds. Medicine-Screech-Owl told the boy that he would help him 
kill the monster. He showed him where the old woman, his grand- 
mother lived, and then he told him to go toher house and get six arrows 
and a bow and six grains of corn from six kinds of corn and then return 
to the lake. 
When the boy went to the old woman’s house she was surprised and 
happy to see him, for she had been very lonely since the orphan boy 
and his son had disappeared, and had given up all hope of ever seeing 
them again. The boy told her what he wanted, and she gave him all 
he asked for. ‘Then he returned to the lake, where he found Medicine- 
Screech-Owl waiting for him. Medicine-Screech-Owl took three grains 
of each of the six kinds of corn and threw them into the air. They 
became birds and flew out across the water, and the water monster 
leaped up todrawthemdown. As he leaped up Medicine-Screech-Owl 
cried to the boy to shoot it. He shot the first arrow, but it did not go 
near the monster. The second went nearer, and so did the third, fourth, 
and fifth, and the sixth pierced it through. The great monster rolled 
over on its side and floated on the water, and then they could see how 
large it was. Medicine-Screech-Owl said that it was the largest water 
monster in the world. He told the boy to take his bow and pull the 
animal to dry land, but the boy knew that he could not move the mon- 
ster with his little bow, and so did not try. To his surprise Medicine- 
Screech-Owl took his bow, that was even smaller, and pulled the great 
monster to the bank. When he had done this he disappeared, and then 
