with a dog and a cat, but they hunted all night long for food in the wilderness, and his mother feared he might get the devil-sickness from them. So one day his father paid much silver for Wa-Na-Juch, a bird with a beautiful song, for his son to play with.
Wa-Na-Juch hopped on Si-Ma-Quong's lap and shoulder and ate from his hand. He was a very handsome bird, and he sang all day long.
One day he flew out to the lake to bathe, and Si-Ma-Quong was very happy watching him. Then he ran and told his mother, "Mü-Tsing,[1] I saw the bird bathe in the lake. I think the water is too cold for him. Give him a good hot bath, as you give me."
His mother said, "In winter you have a warm bath, but not too hot."
When she bathed Si-Ma-Quong, she showed him why the water must not be too hot for the bird, and he seemed to understand. But the next day when his mother went out, Si-Ma-Quong said to his bird, "Wa-Na-Juch, do you want a bath?" And the bird said, "Chi-Chi," which the boy thought meant "Yes, Yes."
He put some clean hot water in a dish, and called the bird, but it would not even go near the water.
This made Si-Ma-Quong angry. "You tell me a lie, and that is very bad," he said to the bird. "You said,
- ↑ Mandarin dialect word meaning mother.
