THE BEGINNING OF BIRDS
(Blackfeet)
In very early times, the Red Children believe,
there were no birds. And this is the way
they account for their beginning:
All summer the trees had been full of leaves, shaking, whispering, dancing, as the winds blew upon them. "I wish I might fly," said one little leaf. "I would go sailing straight up into the heavens. But the tree holds me tightly; I cannot get away."
"If the tree should let you go, you would only fall to the ground and die," said a bigger leaf. "It is better to be content as you are."
So the leaves fluttered and danced and whispered one to another, day after day.
One morning the wind was cold, and the leaves had to dance fast to keep warm. Then the old tree said, "It is the breath of Po-poon-o-ki. He lives in the ice lodge of the far North. He will soon visit us, with his war paints. I must hold you tightly, little leaves, as long as
