And so it came about that the small people of the forest began to have this saying amongst them, "He's as deaf as an adder."
The North Star[1]
Three Ojibway hunters had been out hunting for meat many days; it was in a new place. The woods were very thick, but there were no deer in them. The hunters had nothing to eat; they had no water, for there was none; they were lost in the thick forest.
The hunters sat down and smoked the pipe of peace. They offered the smoke to the Manitous who might live in the woods. They asked the Manitous to help them. The day sun was gone and there was no night sun.
The chief covered his head with his blanket and chanted: "Our wigwams will see us no more. We will stay here forever. We can go no further."
A little Pukwudjinnie came out of a hollow tree when the chief had chanted his story. The Little One was like a little papoose, but he was very old and knew very much.
- ↑ An Ojibway legend from Wigwam Stories, by Mary Catherine Judd (Ginn and Company). By permission of the author and publishers.
