ORIGIN OF FIRE
Menomini
WHILE Manabush was still a young man, he said to Nokomis, the Earth, “Grandmother, it is cold here and we have no fire. I shall go and get some.”
Nokomis said, “Oh, no! It is too dangerous.”
But Manabush said, “Yes, we must have fire.”
At once Manabush made a canoe of birch bark. Then he became a rabbit. So he started eastward, across the great water, to a land where lived an old man who had fire. He guarded the fire carefully so that people might not steal it.
Now the old man had two daughters. One day they came out of the sacred wigwam where the fire was kept. Behold! There was a little rabbit, wet and cold and trembling. They took it up at once in their arms. They carried it into the wigwam. They set it down near the fire.
So Manabush sat by the fire while the two girls were busy. The old man was asleep. Then Rabbit hopped nearer the fire. When he hopped, the whole earth shook. The old man roused. He said, “My daughters, what has happened?”
The girls answered, “Nothing at all. We picked up a little wet rabbit and are letting him dry by the fire.” Then again the old man fell asleep. The girls were busy.
Suddenly Rabbit seized a stick of burning wood and ran out of the wigwam. He ran with great speed towards his canoe. The old man and the two girls followed him closely. But Rabbit reached his canoe and paddled quickly away, to the wigwam of Nokomis. He paddled so quickly that the fire stick burned fiercely. Sparks flew from it and burned Rabbit.
At once Rabbit and Nokomis gave fire to the Thunderers. They have had the care of fire ever since.