Page:Myths and Legends of British North America.djvu/106

 ORIGIN OF THE PLEIADES

Wyandot

YOUNG man was out fasting. His fasting lodge stood at the end of a lake, where no one ever came. There was a broad bench on both sides.

Now, one evening he heard something. Sounds of songs, faint and distant, came to his ear. He did not know what it was. He looked everywhere. There was no one to be seen. Then the sounds were clearer. They came from the sky over the lake. The young man listened. Now he thought the voices came from the beach near by.

He crept slowly down to the lake, through the reeds and grasses. The singing grew more distant. Then through the reeds he saw seven maidens, dancing about in the light of the stars.

Then a pebble slipped under his foot. The maidens sprang into a large basket, and vanished into the sky.

Now the young man went back to his fasting lodge. The next evening he listened. The air was very still. The water was very quiet. The stars were shining.