15. THE GIRL WHO MARRIED A STAR.
Girl taken up to heavens by star digs turnip and sees people on earth. Old woman makes sinew rope and lets her and child down through hole, but rope too short. Husband kills her with stone, but boy safe. He goes to cornfield and is caught by old woman, who takes him home. He shoots huge serpent behind curtain, who was woman’s husband. She plans for bear to kill him, but he captures bear. Boy finds tipi with four strong men playing dice game. He shoots through hole and cleans man’s nose with arrow. He goes with them to hunt and they annoy him with elk’s fœtus. He climbs tree and men remove fœtus from tree only on his promising them his grandmother. She goes with him to men’s tipi and they teach boy ceremony of catching eagles and of hunting. Boy meets camp of Snakes, all of whom but one he kills, as in No. 14. Surviving Snake enters anus while he sleeps and gets into head, from which it is driven by water boiling. Boy seizes it and knocks its head on flat rock. Boy afraid of fœtus because cluster of stars to which boy’s father belonged did not come up at that time with rest; so father not present to help him.