Part 3 (1/2)
Rabbit then hid for some days far from the Chief and his warriors.
Then he decided to try another trick. The Chief's wood-cutter was old Beaver, who lived in a little house of reeds on the bank of a stream.
He was very busy now cutting down trees for the Chief, for it was near to spring-time and the people were in need of logs for building roads over the rivers. One day Rabbit went to Beaver and said, ”The Chief sent me to you to bring you to a great tree he wishes you to cut down at once.” So Beaver went along with him. But when Beaver was busy at his task cutting down the tree, Rabbit hit him a savage blow on the head with a big stick hoping to kill him and thus again to anger the Chief. Poor Beaver fell to the ground and Rabbit ran away. But Beaver was only stunned. He got up after a time and went home muttering to himself and rubbing his sore head. Soon Rabbit came back to the tree and found Beaver gone. He knew that his blow had failed. Then he put on again his tattered old dress and his ragged shawl and his coloured spectacles and the hat with the red feather sticking to the top, and he went to Beaver's house by the stream, hobbling along with a stick.
”The Chief sent me to you to bring you to a great tree he wishes you to cut down at once,” he called. And Beaver said, ”I have already tried to cut a great tree for him to-day and I should have finished it had I not been beaten with a stick until I was stunned by the blow.”
”Who struck you?” asked Rabbit, laughing to himself. ”Rabbit struck me,” answered Beaver. ”He is a great brigand and a liar and a thief,”
said Rabbit. ”He is all that,” said Beaver, rubbing the lump on his head. So Beaver went along with Rabbit. And Rabbit asked as they went along, ”How is it that you are alive after that cruel blow?” And Beaver said, ”Rabbit hit me on the head. If he had hit me on the back of my neck he would have killed me, for there I keep the secret of my life.”
When Beaver was busy again at his task cutting down the tree, Rabbit hit him a powerful blow on the back of the neck and poor Beaver fell down dead. Then he cut off his tail that was made like a file, and went away happy, for he knew that the Chief would be very angry when he found what had happened to his wood-cutter.
[Ill.u.s.tration: HE WENT TO BEAVER'S HOUSE BY THE STREAM, HOBBLING ALONG WITH A STICK]
When the Chief learned that Beaver had been killed, his wrath knew no bounds, for he could ill afford at this time to lose his best wood-chopper. He blamed Rabbit for the deed, but he could not be sure that his suspicions were well-founded. Rabbit kept out of the Chief's sight for some weeks. But one day in early summer he was very hungry.
He saw all the other animals filling their bellies with their favourite food, and he decided to forget his sulks and to ask the Chief for help. So he went to the Chief and said haughtily, ”I want you to give me food for my own special use as you have done with the other animals. You must do it at once or I will do you much harm.”
Then the Chief remembered what Rabbit had done to his dancing Bear, and he thought of the death of Beaver, for which he blamed Rabbit without proof, and he grew red with anger. He seized Rabbit by the heels and said, ”Henceforth the dogs will always chase you, and you will never have peace when they are near. And you will live for the most part on whatever food I throw you into now.” Then he whirled Rabbit around his head by the heels, and he threw him from him with great force, hoping to drop him in a great black swamp near-by. Poor Rabbit went flying through the air for a great distance, farther than the Chief had hoped, and he dropped with a thud into a field of clover on the edge of which cabbages and lettuce were growing. And since that time the dogs have always chased Rabbit and he has lived for the most part on cabbages and lettuce and clover which he steals on moonlight nights from farmers' fields.
GREAT HEART AND THE THREE TESTS
Somewhere near the sea in olden times a boy was living with his father and mother. He had no brothers or sisters. His father was a great hunter and the boy inherited something of his power, for he was always very successful in the killing of game. And his mother said, ”Some day he will be a great man, for before his birth a vision came to me in the night and told me that my son would win wide fame. And fairy gifts were laid by the fairies in his cradle.” And his father, listening to her boasting, said, ”Time will tell; time will tell; but if he is to be a great man it is his own deeds and not your boasting that must prove it.” As the boy grew up he became strangely beautiful and he had great strength. And his father said, ”It is time he set out to seek his fortune. I was in the forest doing for myself when I was no older than he.” And his mother said, ”Wait a little and be not so impatient.
He is yet young and there is yet much time.” So the boy remained at home a while longer.
Now it happened that far away in a distant village there lived a young girl of very great beauty and grace. Her father had been a great Chief, but he was now dead. Her mother too was dead, and she was all alone in the world. But her parents had left her vast lands and a great store of goods and many servants, and because of her treasures and her great beauty she had many suitors. But she was not easily pleased by men and on all who came to seek her hand she imposed severe feats of skill to test their sincerity and their worth. She was carefully guarded by an old woman and many servants who kept troublesome and meddlesome people away.
Soon the fame of the girl's wealth and beauty spread through all the land. It reached the sea coast village where the young man dwelt. His father thought to himself, ”Here is a good chance for my son to prove his worth.” So he called his boy to him and said, ”It is time you were setting out to seek your fortune in the world and to find a wife, for your spring-time is pa.s.sing and your summer of life will soon be here, and before you know it your autumn will be upon you and your winter will be near. There is no time to lose. Seek out the beautiful girl of the rich treasures in the distant inland village and try to win her as your wife.” And his mother gave him the fairy gifts which had been laid in his cradle at his birth, and he said good-bye to his parents and set out on his long journey. He had no misgivings, for he was very vain of his beauty and he was sure, too, of his strength.
As he travelled inland he came one day upon a man clad in scarlet sitting on the side of a rocky hill tying stones to his feet. ”h.e.l.lo,”
he said to the man, ”why are you tying these heavy rocks to your ankles?” ”I am a hunter,” replied the man, ”but when I follow the deer I run so fast that I am soon far in front of them instead of behind them, and I am putting heavy weights on my feet so that I will not run so rapidly.” ”You are indeed a wonderful man,” said the boy; ”but I am alone and I need a companion. Let us go along together.” ”Who are you?” said the man. ”I am Lad of the Great Heart,” said the boy, ”and I can do great deeds and I can win for you great treasure.” So the Scarlet Runner went along with him.
Towards evening when they were now far inland, they came to a large lake. Among the trees on the fringe of the lake a large fat man was lying flat on his stomach with his mouth in the water drinking as hard as he could. For some time they watched him, but still he drank and the lake grew smaller and smaller and still his thirst was not quenched. They laughed at such a strange sight, and as they approached him the boy said, ”h.e.l.lo! Why do you lie there drinking so much water?” ”Oh,” answered the fat man, ”there are times when I cannot get enough water to drink. When I have drunk this lake dry I shall still be thirsty.” ”Who are you?” asked the boy. ”I am Man of the Great Thirst,” said the fat man. ”That is well,” said Great Heart, ”we two need a third companion. We can do great deeds and we can win for you great treasure.” So the three went along together.
[Ill.u.s.tration: HE CAME ONE DAY UPON A MAN CLAD IN SCARLET SITTING ON THE SIDE OF A ROCKY HILL TYING STONES TO HIS FEET]
They had not gone far when they came to a wide open plain where they saw a man walking along with his face raised upwards, peering at the sky. He moved along rapidly and seemed to find his way without his eyes, for he gazed steadily at the heavens. ”h.e.l.lo,” said Great Heart as the sky-gazer rushed past him and almost knocked him over, ”what are you looking at so intently?” ”Oh,” said the man, ”I have shot an arrow into the sky and I am waiting for it to fall. It has gone so far that it will be some time before it drops.” ”Who are you?” asked the boy. ”I am the Far-Darter,” said the sky-gazer. ”We three need a fourth companion,” said the boy. ”We can do great deeds and win for you much treasure. Come along with us.” So the four went along together.
They had gone but a short distance across the plain to the edge of a forest when they came upon a man lying down at full length with his head upon his hand. The edge of his hand was on the ground and it was half closed around his ear, which rested upon it. As he saw the four men approaching him he placed a finger of his other hand upon his lips and signalled to them to keep quiet. ”h.e.l.lo,” said Great Heart in a whisper, ”what are you doing there with your ear to the ground?” ”I am listening to the plants growing far away in the forest,” he answered.
”There is a beautiful flower I wish to find, and I am trying to hear it breathing so that I may go and get it. Aha! I hear it now.” So saying he rose from the ground. The boy said, ”Who are you?” ”I am Keen Ears,” said the listener. ”We four need another companion,” said Great Heart. ”We can do great deeds and win for you much treasure.
Come along with us.” So the four men and the boy went along together, Keen Ears, and Scarlet Runner, and Far Darter, and Man of the Great Thirst, and Lad of the Great Heart. Then Great Heart unfolded to the others his plan to win the beautiful girl who lived with her treasures in the distant village. And they gladly agreed to help him in his dangerous undertaking.
When they reached the village, the people were all very curious when they saw the five strangers. They marvelled at Great Heart's beauty.
But when they heard that he wished to marry the daughter of the former Chief they shook their heads gravely and said, ”It will never be. She places hard conditions on all who seek her hand. He who fails in the tests is doomed to death. Many suitors have tried and failed and died.” But Great Heart was not alarmed, and with his four companions he went to the girl's home. The old woman who guarded her met him at the door and he made known his wishes. She laughed scornfully when she saw his great beauty, and she said, ”You look more like a girl than like a warrior. You cannot endure the tests.” But the young man insisted on making the trials.
The old woman said, ”If you fail in the tests you will die,” and Great Heart said, ”It is so agreed.” Then the woman said, ”If you wish to win the maiden you must first push away this great rock from before her window. It keeps the sunlight from her in the mornings.” Then Great Heart, calling to his aid the fairy gifts of his cradle, placed his shoulder against the huge stone which rose higher than the house, and he pushed with all his strength. With a mighty crash it rolled down the hill and broke into millions of pieces. The bits of rock flew all over the earth so great was the fall, and the little pebbles and stones that came from it are seen throughout the world to this day.
The sunlight streamed in at the window, and the maiden knew that the first test had been successfully pa.s.sed by a suitor.