"'Yes,' she replied. 'I am just going that way, and I will show you the route.' She said this because she wished in this way to allure the two boys to walk near to her den, and there she would kill them for food for her cubs.
"So she led them until they came to a place where the path was very dangerous, because it was on a narrow, shelving rock around the mountain side. Here the monster lioness asked the boys to walk on ahead of her, but they refused, saying that they had been taught never to walk in front of their elders. The lioness urged, but the boys were firm, and so she had to yield and let them have their way.
"When in the most dangerous part of the pass the boys pretended to be very much alarmed, and asked to be permitted to walk between her and the mountain side. At first she was suspicious, but they seemed now to be so cowardly and afraid that she thought they were not able to do her any harm, so she walked on the outer edge of the pass and let them have the inside, and also allowed them to put their hands on her as though to steady themselves. When they came to the most dangerous spot, where it was so narrow that even a mountain lion had to be careful, they both suddenly drew their magic sticks and, giving her a great shove, sent her over the side of the narrow rocky ledge and down she fell—to be dashed to pieces thousands of feet below.
"With a shout of triumph the two boys carefully pushed on and, finding the den, quickly killed the cubs and cut off the right forepaw from each one to carry home.
"From this high pass they could now see the canyon where grew the good wood for which they were seeking. They also saw the lodge of the monster giant who guarded the narrow path that led to it. They saw by its size that he must be an enormous creature, and so they looked to see that their arrows and magic sticks were all in good order and handy for use.
"The great giant had heard their shout of triumph when they had destroyed the mountain lioness and it made him very angry, for he hated any noise or disturbance; his name, Nikoochis, which means solitude, indicated this.
"When he saw the small boys he was at first inclined to laugh in derision at them, but when they had come near enough to shoot their magic arrows at him he soon began to roar with the stinging pain they gave him.
"In vain he tried to catch the active little fellows; he was so big and clumsy, and they were so quick in their movements, that it was an utter impossibility for him to get his hands upon them.
"Then he began tearing up great rocks and stones and tried to crush them by hurling these at them. Here the boys' father, the sun, came to their help, and he shone so fiercely into the eyes of the great monster that he was unable to see very well, and the boys easily kept out of the way of the rocks thrown at them.