Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/345

 Athabascan Myths. 13

pecker, and in that form flew out over the lake. When he was half way across he became very tired, and, seeing a stick of driftwood, wished to be a worm. He crawled into the stick, where he remained until he felt it strike against the shore. Then he came out and found a large quantity of fresh chips around him. He soon caught sight of a small house and wished to be transformed into a wasp. In this guise he entered the house and found the brothers and the three women inside. The girl whom he had chosen was cooking food. Little Man went back into the forest and resumed his natural shape, then he returned with his big knife to the house. He asked the girl what she was doing, and she said she was cooking. " May I help you?" "Yes," said she, after consulting her master. Little Hairy Man helped her place the food, and he arranged it in six por- tions. "Why do you set six places?" said she; "the cooks do not eat with their masters." But he replied, "We will eat with them this once to talk about old times." Her master said, "Very well." When they sat down to eat, he placed the ring she had given him beside the plate of his sweetheart, who recognized it at once, and turned pale as she concealed it. Breaking Mountain began to tell the story of their desertion of Little Man, and said he was sorry, because Little Man was so useful. Breaking Sticks laughed and said, " Well, I laughed when I heard the kettle rattling down, and the Little Man squealing." At this the Little Man jumped up and killed them all. Little Man left the house and went on his way again.

He found a small house in the forest, and on entering discovered a pretty woman in it. He asked her to marry him, but she said that she was married and her husband was away. She was afraid of her husband, and dared not run away with Little Man. He said, " I will kill him," but she declared that no one could do that. When the husband returned she asked him how any one could kill him, and he answered : " First, there is a mountain-lion ; if you kill it, a bear will come from the carcass, then a wolf will come from the bear, a wolverine from the wolf, a rabbit from the wolverine, a partridge from the rabbit, an egg from the partridge : only by striking me on the forehead with that egg can you kill me." The next day, when the man was away, the woman told Little Hairy Man how he could kill her husband. He killed the mountain-lion and all the other animals, and obtained the egg, which he took to the woman. When her husband came home she wanted to hunt lice in his head ; while his head was in her lap she struck him with the egg and killed him. She and Little Hairy Man were married and lived [happily] together.

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