XXV
HOW THE ERMINE GOT HIS TAIL BLACK
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Long tam ’go,” said Moise, “before my onkle he’ll been born, all peoples lived in the woods, and there was no Companee here for trade. In those day there was no tobacco an’ no rifle—those was long tam ’go—I don’ know how long.
“In those tam all the people he’ll talk with Wiesacajac, an’ Wiesacajac he’ll be friendly all tam with these peoples. All the animal that’ll live in the wood he’ll do all right, too. Only one animal he was bad animal, and those was what you call wissel (weasel). This wissel is what you call ermine some tam. He’ll be mighty smart animal. In summer-tam, when grass an’ rock is brown, he’ll go aroun’ brown, sam as the rock an’ the leaf. In summer-tam the wissel he’ll caught the hare an’ the partridge, an’ he’ll live pretty good, heem.
“Now, in the winter-tam most all the animals in the wood he’ll go white. Those hare, he’ll get white just same color as the snow. Those picheu, those lynx, he’ll get gray, almost white. The ptarmigan, he’ll get white, too, so those owl won’ see heem on the snow; an’ the owl he’ll get white, so nothing will see heem when he goes on the snow. Some tam up north the wolf he’ll be white all over, an’ some fox he’ll also be white all same as the snow.
“But the Cigous, or wissel, he’ll stay brown, with white streak on his neck, same like he’ll been in the summer-tam. When he’ll go on the hont, those rabbeet, she’ll saw Cigous come, an’ he’ll ron off, so Cigous he’ll go hongree.
“Now, Cigous he’ll get this on his min’, an’ he’ll sit down one tam an’ he’ll make a pray to Kitchai-Manitou, an’ also to Wiesacajac, an’ he’ll pray that some tam he’ll be white in the winter-tam, the same as the snow, the same as those other animal, so he’ll catch the meat an’ not go hongree.
“‘Oh, Wiesacajac,’ he’ll pray, ‘what for you’ll make me dark this a-way, when I’ll been hongree? Have pity on me!’