"I will wait until they dance," he said to himself, "and then I will fly to the maiden of my choice. I will change to my own form and clasp her in my arms."
So Waupee waited, and as before he heard music like the tinkling of silver bells, and the boat with its changing silvery colors floated down within the circle.
Out stepped the twelve maidens and began their dance.
Waupee was too eager to wait, and he flew at once from the tree. But the moment the maidens heard the sound of his wings, they sprang into their boat and were carried swiftly back to the sky.
Waupee, resuming his form as a man, sat down in the forest, and drew his blanket over his head, as the Indians do when they mourn. He feared that the maidens would nevermore return.
But after a time his courage and hope came back, and he determined that he would not give up until he had captured the maiden who had won his heart.
On the third day he was again at the edge of the forest, and there he noticed the half-decayed
