The Indians say that those were the first Mayflowers. They say the Mayflowers have been blossoming in the woods ever since because the Hare brought them out of thankfulness to Son-of-a-Brave.
HOW THE RABBIT
TRIED TO COAST.
Once upon a time, the Rabbit lived in the woods in a lodge with his old grandmother. Summer was a fat time for the two, but things went very badly with them in the winter. Then, ice and snow covered up the berries, and there were no juicy, green shoots to be had.
The Rabbit might have hunted, or gone to a field and dug down through the snow to find some buried ears of grain. But he was a lazy young fellow and disliked the cold. His grandmother had a hard time filling the dinner pot, and their cupboard shelves were more often empty than full.
The Rabbit wished very much that he might find some easy way of making a living in the winter. With this thought in mind he went one frosty day to the lodge of the Otter, just before dinner time.
The Otter lived in a lonely wigwam by the side of a river. It was quite a long distance from the regular camp of the animals. But the Otter seemed to be well fed and to have no trouble in getting his dinner. The Rabbit watched him.
The Otter put his dinner pot full of water over the fire. Then he took his fish line and hooks and went outside. He had built a long, smooth ice slide that went from his door down the bank of the river. He slid down this, diving into the water through a little hole in the ice. In a very short time the Otter was up again, and carried a long string of fat eels up to the bank to his lodge. He popped these into his dinner pot and invited the Rabbit to stay and share the feast with him.
It was the first hot meal that the Rabbit had eaten in a long while. Instead of saving some of the food for his grandmother, he ate of it greedily. He tried to think how he could imitate his friend’s way of getting a living. He was off as soon as dinner was over, for he had a plan in his head.