cuckoo to light on the window-sill and look into the house; for disease will come there. If it lights on the roof, the house will be burnt down.—(Written down from memory. Told by Penri, 16th July, 1886.)
xlvii.—The [Horned] Owl.
There are six owls,—brethren. The eldest of them is only a little bigger than a sparrow. When perching on a tree, it balances itself backwards, for which reason it is called "The Faller Backwards." The youngest of the six has a very large body. It is a bird which brings great luck. If anyone walks beneath this bird, and there comes the sound of rain falling on him, it is a very lucky thing. Such a man will become very rich. For this reason the youngest of the six owls is called "Mr. Owl."
[The rain here mentioned is supposed to be a rain of gold from the owl's eyes.]—(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 16th July, 1886.)
xlviij.-The Peacock in the Sky.
A cloudless sky has a peacock in it, whose servants are the eagles. The peacock lives in the sky, and only descends to earth to give birth to its young. When it has borne one, it flies back with it to the sky.—(Written down from memory. Told by Penri, July, 1886, and by Ishanashte, November, 1886.)
xlix.—Trees turned into Bears.
The rotten branches or roots of trees sometimes turn into bears. Such bears as these are termed payep kamui, i.e. "divine walking creatures," and are not to be killed by human hand. Formerly they were more numerous than they are now, but they are still sometimes to be seen.—(Written down from memory. Told by Penri, July 1886.)
