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American, Indian/
Fai**y Tales
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Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
http://www.archive.org/details/americanindianfaOOIarn
jAjrcier icart Indian?
Fairy Tales <>
Retold VW.TXarnedv
Illustrated hy
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Chicago, U. S. A.
(All rights reserved.)
Printed in U. S. A.
Twenty-ninth Edition
From.
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Shin-^e-Kf! fools
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long ago, in the time when only a few people
IONG,lived upon the earth, there dwelt in the North a
for a moon. That was the way the Indians, who had no clocks
or watches, counted time; instead of weeks or months, they
—
would say "a moon" the length of time from one new moon
to another.
Shin-ge-bis had been cooking a fish, a fine, fresh fish
caught that very day. Broiled over the coals, it was a tender
and savory dish; and Shin-ge-bis smacked his lips, and rubbed
his hands with pleasure. He had tramped many miles that
day; so it was a pleasant thing to sit there by the roaring
fire and toast his shins. How foolish, he thought, his com-
rades had been to leave a place where fish was so plentiful,
so early in the winter.
"They think that Ka-bib-on-okka is a kind of magician,"
he was saying to himself, "and that no one can resist him.
It's my own opinion that he's a man, just like myself. It's
true that I can't stand the cold as he does; but then, neither
can he stand the heat as I do."
This thought amused him so that he began to laugh and
sing:
"
Ka-bib-on-okka, frosty man,
Try to freeze me if you can.
Though you blow until you tire,
I am safe beside my fire!"
"Iagoo — —
can you tell me were the mountains always
here?"
The old looked at her gravely. No matter how hard
man
the question was, or how unexpected, Iagoo was always glad
to answer. He never said: "I'm too busy, don't bother me,"
or, "Wait till some other time." So when Morning Glory
—
This valley was a lovely place to live in; never was such a
playground anywhere on earth. It was like a great green
carpet stretching for miles and miles, and when the wind blew
upon the long grass was like looking at the waves of the sea.
it
kmencanlmcuanlFairyiiaLeg W "Af
pool seemed made especially for the little boy and girl. Their
friend, the Beaver, with his flat tail like an oar and his feet
webbed like a duck's, had taught them how to swim almost
as soon as they had learned to walk; and to splash around in
the pool on a warm afternoon was among their greatest
pleasures.
But as this kind of talk did not take them very far, they
decided to try what jumping would do. There seemed to be
no other way; and as each one was anxious to do his part, the
smallest one was permitted to make the first attempt. So the
Mouse made a funny little hop, about as high as your hand.
The Squirrel went a little higher. Jack Rabbit made the high-
est jump of his life, and almost broke his back, to no purpose.
Antelope gave a great bound in the air, but managed to light
on his feet again without doing himself any harm. Finally,
the Mountain Lion went a long way off, to get a good start,
ran toward the rock with great leaps, sprang straight up — and
oneneaiii
fell and rolled over on He had made a higher jump
his back.
than any of them; but was not nearly high enough.
it
===•)
m^ UF =Ainen<^iillniianlFair3rlELeg *9F'$>
forest,and leaped inside the log. Then as Oweenee, a little
alarmed, stood there waiting, the figure of a man came out
from the other end. Could this be Osseo? Yes, it was he
but how transformed! No longer bent and ugly, no longer
weak and —
but a beautiful youth vigorous and straight
ailing;
and tall. His enchantment was at an end.
But the evil spell had not been wholly lifted, after all.
As Osseo approached he saw that a great change was taking
place in his loved one. Her glossy black hair was turning
white, deep wrinkles lined her face; she walked with a feeble
step, leaning on a staff. Though he had regained his youth
and beauty, she in turn had suddenly grown old.
"O, my dearest one!" he cried. "The Evening Star has
mocked me in letting this misfortune come upon you. Better
far had I remained as I was; gladly would I have borne the
insults and laughter of your people rather than you should
be made to suffer."
"As long as you love me," answered Oweenee, "I am
perfectly content. If I had the choice to make, and only one
of us could be young and fair, it is you that I would wish to be
beautiful."
Then he took her in his arms and caressed her, vowing that
he loved her more than ever for her goodness of heart; and
together they walked hand in hand, as lovers do.
When the proud sisters saw what had happened they could
scarcely believe their eyes. They looked enviously at Osseo,
who was now far handsomer than any one of their husbands,
and much way. In his eyes was
their superior in every other
the wonderful light of the Evening Star, and when he spoke
all men turned to listen and admire him. But the hard-hearted
sisters had no pity for Oweenee. Indeed, it rather pleased them
to see that she could no longer dim their beauty, and to
realize that people would no longer be singing her praises in
their jealous ears.
miiaencaiilaiclianlFairylEleg TprT ^S
The was spread, and all made merry but Osseo. He
feast
sat like one in a dream, neither eating nor drinking. From
time to time he would press Oweenee's hand, and speak a word
of comfort in her ear. But for the most part he sat there,
gazing through the door of the tent at the star-besprinkled
sky.
Soon a silence fell on all the company. From out of the
night, from the dark, mysterious forest, came the sound of
—
music a low, sweet music that was like, yet unlike, the song
sung by the thrush in summer twilight. It was magical music
such as none had ever heard, coming, as it seemed, from a
great distance, and rising and falling on the quiet summer
evening. All those at the feast wondered as they listened.
And well they might! For what to them was only music, was
to Osseo a voice that he understood, a voice from the sky
itself, the voice of the Evening Star. These were the words
that he heard:
"Suffer no more, my son; for the evil spell is broken, and
hereafter no magician shall work you harm. Suffer no more;
for the time has come when you shall leave the earth and
dwell here with me in the heavens. Before you is a dish on
which my light has fallen, blessing it and giving it a magic
virtue. Eat of this dish, Osseo, and all will be well."
So Osseo tasted the food before him, and behold! The tent
began to tremble, and rose slowly into the air; up, up above
—
the tree-tops up, up toward the stars. As it rose, the things
within it were wondrously changed. The kettles of clay be-
came bowls of silver, the wooden dishes were scarlet shells,
while the bark of the roof and the poles supporting it were
transformed into some glittering substance that sparkled in
the rays of the stars. Higher and higher it rose. Then the
nine proud sisters and their husbands were all changed into
birds. The men became robins, thrushes and woodpeckers.
The sisters were changed into various birds with bright plum-
fmmericanllrwllanifEuryliaLeg *m ^>
age; the four who had chattered most, whose tongues were
always wagging, now appeared in the feathers of the magpie
and bluejay.
Osseo sat gazing at Oweenee. Would she, too, change into
a bird, and be lost to him ? The very thought of it made him
bow his head with grief; then, as he looked at her once more,
he saw her beauty suddenly restored, while the color of her
garments was the color only to be found where the dyes of the
rainbow are made.
Again the tent swayed and trembled as the currents of the
air bore it higher and higher, into and above the clouds; up,
up, up —
till at last it settled gently on the land of the Evening
Star.
Osseo and Oweenee caught all the birds, and put them in a
great silver cage, where they seemed quite content in each
other's company. Scarcely was this done when Osseo's father,
the King of the Evening Star, came to greet them. He was
attired in a flowing robe, spun from star-dust, and his long
white hair hung like a cloud upon his shoulders.
"Welcome," he said, "my dear children. Welcome to the
kingdom in the sky that has always awaited you. The trials
you have passed through have been bitter; but you have
borne them bravely, and now you will be rewarded for all
your courage and devotion. Here you will live happily; yet of
one thing you must beware."
He —
pointed to a little star in the distance a little, winking
star, hidden from time to time by a cloud of vapor.
"On that star," he continued, "lives a magician named
Wabeno. He has the power to dart his rays, like so many
arrows, at those he wishes to injure. He has always been my
enemy; it was he who changed Osseo into an old man and cast
him down upon the earth. Have a care that his light does not
fall upon you. Luckily, his power for evil has been greatly
weakened; for the friendly clouds have come to my assistance,
—
kisiencanllntiianirairyj
His father had made him a bow, with little arrows, and this
was a great delight to him. But still he was lonely, and
wondered what the little boys and girls on earth were doing,
and whether they would be nice to play with. The Earth
must be a pretty place, he thought, with so many people
living on it. His mother had told him strange stories of that
far-away land, with its lovely lakes and rivers, its great, green
forests where the deer and the squirrel lived, and the yellow,
rolling prairies swarming with buffalo.
—
mother, Osseo and Oweenee returned to earth, to live once
more among men and women and teach them how to live.
For they had learned many things in their life upon the
Evening Star; and the children of Earth would be better for
the knowledge.
As they stood there, hand in hand, all the enchanted birds
came fluttering after, falling and fluttering through the air.
Then as each one touched the Earth, it was no longer a bird
they saw, but ahuman being. A human being, yet not quite
now they were only dwarfs, Little People, or
as before; for
Pygmies; Puk-Wudjies, as the Indians called them. Happy
Little People they became, seen only by a few. Fishermen,
they say, would sometimes get a glimpse of them —dancing in
broke the perfect quiet of the night was the cracking of the
ice on the Big-sea-water, Gitche Gumee, which was now
frozen solid.
But inside old Iagoo's teepee it was warm and cheerful.
The teepee, as the Indians call a tent, was covered with the
thick, tough skin of the buffalo; the winter coat of Muk-wa,
the bear, had now become a pleasant soft rug for Iagoo's
two young visitors, Morning Glory and her little brother,
Eagle Feather. Squatting at their ease on the warm fur,
they waited for the old man to speak.
Suddenly a white-footed mouse crept from his nest in a
corner, and, advancing close to the children, sat up on his
hind-legs, like a dog that begs for a biscuit. Eagle Feather
raised his hand in a threatening way, but Morning Glory
caught him by the arm.
"No, no!" she said. "You must not harm him. See
how friendly he is, and not a bit afraid. There is game enough
in the forest for a brave boy's bow and arrow. Why should
he spend his strength on a weak little mouse?"
Eagle Feather, pleased with anything that seemed like
praise of his strength, let his hand fall.
"Your words are true words, Morning Glory," he answered.
"Against Ahmeek, the beaver, or Wau-be-se, the wild swan,
it is better that I should measure my hunter's skill."
^mencaiillruiianlELiryj
At this, Iagoo, turning around, broke his long silence.
"There was a time," he said, mysteriously, "when a
thousand boys such as Eagle Feather would have been no
match at all for that mouse as he used to be."
"When was that?" asked Eagle Feather, looking uneasily
at his sister.
"In the days of the great Dormouse," answered Iagoo.
"In the days, long ago, when there were many more animals
than men on the earth, and the biggest of all the beasts was
the Dormouse. Then something strange happened —some-
thing that never happened before or since. Shall I tell you
about it?"
"O, please do!" begged Morning Glory.
"The story I am going to tell you," began Iagoo, "is not
so much a story about the Dormouse as it is a story about a
little boy and his sister. Yet had it not been for the Dor-
mouse, I would not be here to tell about it, and you would
not be here to listen.
"To begin with, you must understand that the world in
those days was a different sort of place from what it is now.
O yes, a different sort of place. People did not eat the flesh
of animals. They lived on berries, and roots, and wild vege-
tables. The Great Spirit, who made all things on land, and
in the sky and water, had not yet given men Mon-da-min,
the Indian corn. There was no fire to give them heat, or
to cook with. In all the world there was just one small fire,
watched by two old witches who let nobody come near it;
and until Coyote, the prairie wolf, came along and stole some
of this fire, the food that people could manage to get was
eaten raw, the way it grew."
"They must have been pretty hungry," said Morning
Glory.
"O, yes, they were hungry," agreed Iagoo. "But that
was not all. There were so many animals, and so few men,
oneneanj \Wffi
that the animals ruled the earth in their own way. The
biggest of them was Bosh-kwa-dosh, the Mastodon. He
all
Iagoo stopped talking, and sat looking into the fire. One
might have supposed that when he did this he saw pictures
in the flames, and in the red coals, and that these pictures
helped him to tell the story. But Morning Glory was im-
patient to hear the rest.
"Iagoo," she said, timidly, at last. "Did you forget
about the Dormouse?"
Jft' 1*F =^kiiaencaivlin(iianiFairylELeg 1SF ^af
"Wa-bun, the East Wind, was the one who brought the
news. He had drawn from his quiver the silver arrows with
which he chased the darkness from the valleys. But the
sun had not risen to help him, and the arrows fell harmless to
the earth. 'Wake, wake!' he wailed. 'Someone has caught
the sun in a snare. Which of all the animals will dare to
cut the cord?'
"But even Coyote, the prairie wolf, who was the wisest
of them all, could think of no way to free the sun. So great
was the heat thrown out by its rays that he could not come
within an arrow's flight of where it was caught fast in the
magical noose of hair.
" 'Leave
it to me!' screamed Ken-eu, the war-eagle, from
his nest on the cliff. 'It is I alone who soar to the sky, and
look the sun in the face, without winking. Leave it tome!'
"Downhe darted through the darkness, and up he flew
again, with his eagle feathers singed. Then they woke the
Dormouse. They had a hard time doing it, because when he
once went to sleep he stayed asleep for six months, and it was
almost impossible to arouse him. Coyote crept close to his
ear, and howled with all his might. It would have split the ear-
drum of almost any other animal. But Kug-e-been-gwa-kwa,
the Dormouse, only groaned and turned over on the other
4a* ^^==ATnenca2ilmdianlFair5rjEle5 °tF ^af
Except for the beautiful green pines, all the world was white
—a dazzling, silent world in which there was no musical
murmur of waters and no song of birds.
Wl HrAjmencanifrioU anirairyi
"Look!" he said. "There, in the North. See that little
and three eyes, one eye being set in his forehead above
the other two.
He invited them into the lodge, and set some meat before
them; but he had such an odd look, and his movements were
so awkward, that the otter could not help laughing. At this,
the eye in the Manito's forehead grew red, like a live coal,
and he made a leap at the otter, who barely managed to slip
through the doorway, out into the bitter cold and darkness
of the night, without having tasted a morsel of supper.
When the otter had gone, the Manito seemed satisfied,
and them they could spend the night in his lodge. They
told
did so; and O-jeeg, who stayed awake while his friends slept,
noticed that only two of the Manito's eyes were closed, while
the one in his forehead remained wide open.
In the morning the Manito told O-jeeg to travel straight
toward the North Star, and that in twenty suns the Indian —
—
name for days they would reach the mountain. "As you
are a Manito yourself," he said, "you may be able to climb
to the top, and to take your friends with you. But I cannot
promise that you will be able to get down again."
"If it is close enough to the sky," answered O-jeeg, "that
is all I ask."
Once more they set out. On their way they met the otter,
who laughed again when he saw them; but this time he laughed
because he was glad to find them, and glad to get some meat
that O-jeeg had saved from the Manito's supper.
In twenty days they came to the foot of the mountain.
Then up and up they climbed, till they passed quite through
the clouds; up once more, till at last they stopped, all out of
breath, and sat down to rest on the highest peak in the world.
To their great delight, the sky seemed so close that they could
almost touch it.
CfrassRopper
[HERE was once a merry young
Indian who could jump so high, and who
played so many pranks, that he came to
be known as Grasshopper. He was a tall,
voice:
With that, he made a leap to the ridge-pole, seized the raven
by the neck, and whirled it round and round till it was quite
limp and lifeless. Then he left it hanging there, as an insult
to Man-a-bo-zho.
He was now in high good humor, and went his way through
the forest, whistling and singing, and turning hand-springs to
amuse the There was a high rock, overlooking the
squirrels.
lake, from the top of which one could view the country for
miles and miles. Grasshopper climbed it. He could see the
village plainly, so he thought he would wait there till
Man-a-bo-zho came home. That would be part of the joke.
As he sat there, many birds darted around him, flying close
over his head. Man-a-bo-zho called these fowls of the air
his chickens, and he had put them under his protection. But
Grasshopper had grown reckless. Along came a flock of moun-
tain chickens, and he strung his bow, and shot them as they
flew, for no better reason than because they were Man-a-bo-zho's,
and not because he needed them for food. Bird after bird
fell, pierced by his arrows; when they had fallen, he would
throw their bodies down the cliff, upon the beach below.
Icl Ulr ^iTnencanllniianlFainrjEle^TiF "af
Then they fell upon him with their clubs; and eight tall
Indians, having swung his limp carcass upon poles, carried it
off in triumph through the woods.
But his Jee-bi, or spirit, was still in the body of the beaver,
and struggled to escape. The Indians bore him to their lodges
and prepared to make a feast. Then, when the squaws were
ready to skin him, his flesh was quite cold, and the spirit
of Grasshopper left the beaver's body, and glided swiftly
away. As the shadowy shape fled across the prairie, into the
forest, the watchful Man-a-bo-zho saw it take the human form
of Grasshopper, and he started in pursuit.
Grasshopper's life among the beavers had made him lazier
than ever, and as he ran he looked around for some easier way
than running. Soon he came upon a herd of elk, a species of
deer with large, spreading horns. The elk were feeding
contentedly, and looked sleek and fat.
"They lead a free and happy Grasshopper as he
life," said
watched them. "Why fatigue myself with running? I'll
change myself into an elk, and join their band."
Horns sprouted from his head; in a few minutes the trans-
formation was complete. Still he was not satisfied.
"I am hardly big enough," he said to the leader. "My
feet are much too small, and my horns should be twice the
size of yours. Is there nothing I can do to make them grow?"
"Yes," answered the leader of the elks. "But you do it
at your own risk."
He took Grasshopper into the woods, and showed him a
bright red berry that hung in clusters on some small, low
bushes.
"Eat these," he said, "and nothing else, and your horns
and feet will soon be much bigger than ours. However, it
would be wise if you did not eat too many of them."
The were delicious. Grasshopper felt that he could
berries
not get enough, and he ate them greedily whenever he could
find them. Before long his feet had grown so large and heavy
he could hardly keep up with the herd, while his horns had such
a huge spread that he sometimes found them rather in his way.
One cold day the herd went into the woods for shelter;
pretty soon some of the elks who had lingered behind came
rushing by with snorts of alarm. Hunters were pursuing
them.
"Run!" called out the leader to Grasshopper. "Follow
us out on the prairie, where the Indians cannot catch us."
Grasshopper tried to follow them; but his big feet weighted
him down, and he ran slowly. Then, as he plunged madly
through a thicket, his spreading horns were entangled in some
low branches that held him fast. Already several arrows had
whizzed by him; another pierced his heart, and he sank to the
ground.
Along came the hunters, with a whoop. "Ty-au!" they
exclaimed when they saw the enormous elk. "It is he who
made the large tracks on the prairie. Ty-au!"
As they were skinning him, Man-a-bo-zho joined the party;
and at that moment the Jee-bi, or spirit, of Grasshopper escaped
through the mouth of the dead elk, and passed swiftly to
the open plains, like a puff of white smoke driven before the
wind. Then, as Man-a-bo-zho watched it melt away, he
ifc Tl^^mTiciencaiilmdianlEai^lELLeg ISF ^af
saw once more the mortal shape of Grasshopper; and once more
he followed after, breathing vengeance.
As Grasshopper ran on, a new thought came into his head.
Above him in the clear blue sky the birds wheeled and soared.
"There is the place for me," he said, "far up in the sky. Let
me have can laugh at Man-a-bo-zho."
wings, and I
Wa-bo-se, the white hare. He can hop ahead and find the
trail, and I can jump from tree to tree, and keep a look-out.
half expecting they would vanish. For their part they looked
at him without smiling; in their dark eyes were only sym-
pathy and sadness.
"My daughters!" said the old man to Seegwun, with a
chuckle that displayed his long, yellow teeth. Then turning
to the girls:
"Are you not glad to see me safely back?" he asked, "and
are you not pleased with my handsome young friend here?"
They bent theirheads politely, but said nothing.
"It's a long time since you were favored with such a
visitor," he went on, in a loud whisper to the elder girl. "He
would make you a fine husband."
The maiden murmured something under her breath, and
Mish-o-sha gave her a wicked look.
"We shall see, we shall see!" he muttered to himself,
laughing like a magpie, and rubbing his long, bony hands
together.
Seegwun, much troubled in mind, and hardly knowing
what to make of it all, resolved to keep his eyes open. Luckily
Mish-o-sha was sometimes careless. He walked on ahead,
and entered his lodge, leaving the others together; whereupon
the elder girl, approaching Seegwun, spoke to him quickly:
"We are not his daughters," she said. "He brought us
here as he brought you. He hates the human race. Every
moon he seizes a young man, and pretends he has borne him
here as a husband for me. But soon he takes him off in his
canoe, and the young man never comes back. We feel sure
Mish-o-sha has made away with them all."
"What must I do?" asked Seegwun. "I care less for my-
self than for my little brother. He was left behind on a wild
beach, and may die of hunger."
"Ah!" said the maiden. "You are really good and unself-
'
of each and threw them into the flames. Then he rubbed his
hands, and laughed like a prairie wolf.
"What is it?" asked Seegwun, sitting up.
"Alas, my son!" said Mish-o-sha. "I was just too late.
This is the season of the moon when fire attracts all things.
It has drawn to it one of your moccasins and leggings, and
destroyed them. Yeo, yeol I should have warned you."
Seegwun held his tongue, though the thing was plain
enough. Mish-o-sha meant that he should freeze to death.
But Seegwun, praying silently to his Manito for aid, took from
the fireplace a charred stick with which he blackened one leg
and foot, murmuringat the same time a charm. Then put-
ting on his remaining moccasin and legging, he was ready
for the hunt.
Their way led through snow and ice, into thickets of thorn,
and over bogs half-frozen, where Seegwun sank to the knees.
But his prayer had been heard; the charm worked, and the
youth walked on, dry shod. With his first arrow he slew a
bear.
3fr ^If=AinericaiilmclianllairylClieg <W ^fS
"Now," he said, looking the Magician full in the eye.
"I see you are suffering from the cold. Let us go back to your
island."
At Seegwun's bold look, Mish-o-sha bent his head, and
mumbled some foolish answer. At last he had met his match:
and he knew it.
"Take up the bear on your shoulders!" commanded
Seegwun.
Again the Magician obeyed. For the first time they re-
turned together to the island, where the two young girls
looked on in amazement to see the proud Mish-o-sha stagger-
ing under the weight of the bear, grunting with helpless rage.
"His power is broken," agreed Nin-i-mo-sha, when Seegwun
had told her all. "But we shall never sleep in safety until
we are really rid of him. What is best to do?"
They put their heads together; and when they had talked
it over, Nin-i-mo-sha laughed merrily.
M '
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They had come to the edge of the forest, and reached the
shore of the lake. Here Mish-o-sha stopped. When he tried
to take another step, he could not lift his feet. How heavy
they had grown! He but something strange had
tried again;
happened. His toes sank into the sand, and took the form of
roots. The feathers in his hair, and then the hair itself,
changed gradually into leaves. His outstretched arms were
branches, swaying in the wind; bark appeared on his body.
Seegwun looked and wondered. That which had been
Mish-o-sha was no longer a man, but a tree, a sycamore hung
with button-balls, leaning crookedly toward the lake.
At last the wicked old Magician had met his master. No
more would his evil spell be cast on the young and innocent
Seegwun lingered a moment, to make sure that Mish-o-sha
would not come to life. Then he took his way across the
water, where the others, anxiously awaiting him, were told
the good news.
"Mish-o-sha is no more," said Seegwun. "He can never
harm us again. Let us leave this place where we have suffered
so much, and make our home on the mainland."
So together they went forth, his sweetheart, her sister, and
the boy, with Seegwun showing the way. The trail he took
led them again to the great forest, and once more to the
lodge from which he had set out. And there they lived happily
for the rest of their days.
^r ^r ^TKe Fair^llride -r w
^L ^ ^L ^
il A4
jNCE there was a lovely young girl named Neen-i-zu,
the only daughter of an Indian chief, who lived
on the shore of Lake Superior; Neen-i-zu, in the
Indian language, means "My Dear Life." It
was plain that her parents loved her tenderly, and did every-
thing in their power to make her happy and to shield her from
any possible harm.
There was but one thing that made them uneasy. Neen-i-zu
was a favorite with the other young girls of the village,
and joined them in their play. But she liked best of all to
walk by herself in the forest, or to follow some dim trail that
led to the heart of the little hills. Sometimes she would be
absent for many hours; and when she returned, her eyes had
the look of one who has dwelt in secret places, and seen things
strange and mysterious. Nowadays, some persons would have
called Neen-i-zu "romantic." Others, who can never see a
thing that isnot just beneath their noses, would have laughed a
little, in a superior sort of way, and said she was a "dreamer."
—
tap tap! —till her eyelids closed, and she sought the Happy
Was it only her fancy, that she seemed to hear the closing
Mischievous little Fairies
known, as Puk-Wudjies*
—
anencaiiimdianlfairyJialjeg ^r ^af
words of her song echoed from the deep woods where the merry
little men had vanished ? Or was it the Puk-Wudjies mocking
her?
She had lingered later than usual; it was time to go. The
new moon swung low in the western sky, with its points turned
upwards to the heavens. An Indian would say he could
hang his powder horn upon it, and that it meant dry weather,
when the leaves crackled under the hunter's feet, and the
animals fled before him, so that he was unable to come near-
enough to shoot. And Neen-i-zu was glad of this. In the
Happy Land, she declared no one would suffer, and no life
would be taken.
Yet it was a hunter that her mother wished her to marry,
a man who spent his whole life in slaying the red deer of the
forest; who thought and talked of almost nothing else.
This came into her mind as she rose from her seat in the
meadow, and cast a farewell glance at the pines. The rays of
the crescent moon touched them with a faint light; and again
her fancy came into play. What was it that seemed to move
along the edge of the mysterious woods? Something with
the dim likeness of a youth — taller than the Puk-Wudjies
who glided rather than walked, and whose garments of light
green stood out against the darker green of the pines. Neen-
i-zu looked again; but the moon hid behind the hills. All was
black to the eye; to the ear came no sound but the creepy cry
of the whip-poor-will. She hastened home.
That night she heard from her mother's lips what she had
long expected and feared. "Neen-i-zu," said her mother.
"I named you 'My dear Life,' and you are as dear as life to me.
That is why I wish you to be safe and happy. That is why
I wish you to marry a good man who will take the best care of
you now, and will protect and comfort you when I am gone.
You know the man I mean."
"Yes, mother," answered Neen-i-zu. "I know him well
ifrUF J^mencanllnclianlrairyj
enough— well as ever want
as know him. I to He hunts the
deer, he kills the deer, he skins the deer. That is allhe does,
that is all he thinks, that is all he talks about. It is perhaps
well that someone should do this, lest we starve for want of
meat. Yet there are many other things in the world, and this
hunter of yours is content if he does but kill."
"Poor child!" said her mother. "You are too young to
know what is best for you."
"I am old enough, mother dear," answered Neen-i-zu, "to
know what my heart tells me. Besides, this hunter you would
have me marry is as tall as a young oak, while I am not much
taller than one of the Puk-Wudjies. When I stand up very
straight, my head comes little higher than his waist. A pretty
pair we would make!"
What she said was quite true. Neen-i-zu had never grown
to be much larger than a child. She had a graceful, slender
body, little hands and feet, eyes black as midnight, and a mouth
like a meadow flower. One who saw her for the first time,
passing upon the hills, her slight figure sketched against the
sky, might have thought that she herself was a fairy.
For all her gentle, quiet ways, and her love of lonely places,
Neen-i-zu was often merry. But now she seldom laughed;
her step was slow; and she walked with her eyes fixed upon the
ground. "When she is married," thought her mother, "she
will have other things to occupy her mind, and she will no
longer go dreaming among the hills."
But the were her one great joy the hills, and the
hills —
flowery meadows where the lark swayed to and fro, bidding
her be of good cheer, as he perched on a mullein stalk. Every
afternoon she sat, singing her little song. Soon she would
sing no more. The setting sun would gild the pine grove,
the whip-poor-will would complain to the stars; but the pic-
ture would be incomplete; there would be no Neen-i-zu. For
the wedding day was named; she must be the hunter's wife.
kinericanJmdianlEaryll^glliF'Olf
On this day marriage to the man she so disliked,
set for her
Neen-i-zu put on the garments of a bride. Never had she
looked so lovely. Blood-red blossoms flamed in her jet-black
hair; in her hand she held a bunch of meadow flowers mingled
with the tassels of the pine.
Thus arrayed, she set out for a farewell visit to the grove.
It was a thing they could not well deny her; but as she went
her way, and the hills hid her from sight, the wedding guests
looked uneasily at one another. It was something they could
not explain. At that moment a cloud blew up from no-
where, across the sun; where light had been there was now a
shadow. Was it a sign? They glanced sidelong at the
hunter, but the bridegroom was sharpening his sheath knife on
a stone. Sunshine or shadow, his thoughts were following
the deer.
Time passed; but Neen-i-zu did not return. Then so late
was the hour, that the wedding guests wondered and bestirred
themselves. What could be keeping her so long? At last
they searched the she was not there.
hills; They tracked
her to the meadow, where the prints of her little moccasins
led on and on —
into the grove itself; then the tracks dis-
appeared. Neen-i-zu had vanished.
They never saw her more. The next day a hunter brought
them strange news. He had climbed a hill, on his way home
by a short cut, and had paused there a moment to look around.
Just then his dog ran up to him, whining, with its tail between
its legs. It was a brave dog, he said, that would not run from
a bear, but this one acted as if he had seen something that
was not mortal.
Then the hunter heard a voice, singing. Soon the singing
stopped, and he made out — far off — the figure of Neen-i-zu,
walking straight toward the grove, with her arms held out
before her. He called to her, but she did not hear, and drew
nearer and nearer to the Spirit wood.
ifr TllF =^&TnencanlinclianlFairylEle^ <W "AV
"She walked like one who dreams," said the hunter, "and
when she had almost reached the woods, a young man, slender
as a reed, came out to meet her. He was not one of our tribe.
No, no! I have never seen his like. He was dressed in the
leaves of the forest, and green plumes nodded on his head.
He took her by the hand. They entered the Sacred Grove.
—
There is no doubt that he was a fairy the fairy Evergreen.
There is nothing more; I have finished."
So Neen-i-zu became a bride, after all.
JOHN RAE
atu.re Children Books
The "Nature Children" Books, like the "Happy Children"
Books, illustrate the Yolland ideal in every detail. You will
find beauty of thought, color loveliness, harmony, happiness
and wholesomeness in this helpful series for small children.
The J'olland "Nature Children' Books are:
REALLY-SO STORIES
By Elizabeth Gordon, illustrated by John Rae
BUDDY JIM
By Elizabeth Gordon, illustrated by John Rae
THE TURNED-INTOS
By Elizabeth Gordon, illustrated by Janet Laura Scott
FLOWER CHILDREN
By Elizabeth Gordon, illustrated by M. T. Ross
BIRD CHILDREN
By Elizabeth Gordon, illustrated by M. T. Ross
ANIMAL CHILDREN
By Edith Brown Kirkwood, illustrated by M. T. Ross
MOTHER EARTH'S CHILDREN
By Elizabeth Gordon,
illustrated bv M. T. Ross \ ...
P. F. YOLLAND COMPANY
Publishers of Books Good for Children
New York CHICAGO Toronto
IHIappy Ckildrerc
ooktf a
PRINCESS OF COZYTOWN
By Ruth Plumly Thompson
Illustrated by Janet Laura Scott
RAGGEDY ANN
Written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
RAGGEDY ANDY
Written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
FRIENDLY FAIRIES
Written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
WINKLE, TWINKLE AND LOLLYPOP
By Nina Wilcox Putnam and Norman Jacobsen
Illustrated by Arthur Henderson
Volland books are for sale at all the better book, gift and art shops.
P. F. VOLLAND COMPANY
Publishers of Books Good for Children
New York CHICAGO Toronto
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