XII. HOW THE BEAR LOST HIS TAIL
(Iroquois)
An old fox saw an Indian with a sled-load of fish. The fox wanted a fish, but was afraid of the man. How could he get a fish without letting the Indian know? At last he thought of a plan. He laid himself down by the sled-road and made the Indian believe that he was dead.
The Indian wanted the fox’s skin, but did not have time to take it. He threw the old fox on the sled with the fish and pulled the big load towards his wigwam.
While the Indian was hard at work pulling, the old fox pushed off two or three good fish and rolled off himself. In a minute he was out of sight with the fish. [[113]]
The fox met a wolf who asked him, “Where did you get the fish?”
The fox did not like the wolf, but told him the trick he had played on the Indian.
“It is easy. Go and do it,” said the fox.
The stupid wolf ran away, and after seeing the Indian, lay down and waited as the fox had told him. The Indian found him, but he was not to be fooled twice by the same trick. He pounded the old wolf with the stout stick he used for a cane. The wolf jumped up very sore and ran away to find the fox. He did not find him.
A bear saw the fox eating the fish while the wolf was gone.
“Where did your fish come from?” asked the bear.
“Follow that road down to the river and you will find a fishing place. Put that long bushy tail of yours into the water. Wait until the fish bite it, then snatch them out.”
The bear ran down to the river and did just as the fox had told him, but the fishing place froze over while the bear waited for the fish to bite. The bear did not know this, for his back was turned to the water. It was a very cold day, and the bear thought he would walk and get warm. He tried to get up, and his tail broke off short in the ice. [[114]]
The bear ran so fast that he found the fox, and he wanted to fight him.
“I have done nothing,” said the fox. “It is all because you are so slow.”
The bear never had a long tail after that time. The fox never lost his fine one.
Kaanerwah, Iroquois Chief. [[115]]