The weather had grown very cold; all the brooks were frozen over, and as the Beaver, Muskrat, and other water animals could not come out to feed, their traps were useless, therefore Alnūset’s joke fell short of the mark.
Mīko did not care for meat himself; but he suggested to the friends: “You might kill Mawquejess and catch a Wolf, with his carcass for bait.”
Mātigwess raised his tomahawk to strike; but Mawquejess cried out:—
“Don’t kill me! Take me to the lake, and cut six big holes in the ice. I may help you yet.”
His enemies thought that he might be a good fisherman; and as they knew nothing about such work, they decided to try his plan.
They put him on a toboggan, hauled him to the lake, and cut the six holes, as he ordered. Then Mawquejess began to whistle and call. Foam and bubbles could be seen through the holes in the ice, and soon Kiūnik, the Otters, poked out their heads, holding fish in their mouths.
Alnūset and Mātigwess now thought better of their foe, and when they had enough fish, they loaded the toboggan and hauled it back to the wigwam, with Mawquejess on top. They all spent a very happy evening together, and became good friends, although Mātigwess could never again have a long tail. When the weather grew warmer, Mīko grew tired of hearing them tell of their hair-breadth adventures, and escapes from witches and goblins.
He left them, congratulating himself that this time he had broken no law, quite forgetting that he had failed to “mind his own business” and had incurred the ill-will of Mawquejess.
The trees were putting forth buds, the young roots of the seedlings were sweet and tender, and Mīko, having laid off his heaviest fur coat, looked often in little pools of water left by the spring rains.
He never felt better in his life; and when he came upon a council held by m’téūlins, or animals having magic powers, he entered the circle unnoticed, feeling himself the equal of any of them.