The boys threw themselves on the ground near Black Wolf, and he began the story.
"There was once a little boy who had no one to care for him. His father had been killed in war, and his mother taken captive by the enemy.
"Minno, the lonely boy, lived in his uncle's wigwam, but he was not wanted there. He had hard work to do and very little to eat.
"He was too weak to join the rough games of his playmates, and he did not become skillful with his bow and arrows like the other boys of the tribe.
"At last he became so thin from hunger that the uncle feared his cruel treatment would become known.
"So he told his wife to feed the boy with bear's meat. 'Give him plenty of fat,' he ordered. 'Cram him with bear's fat.' It was now the uncle's plan to kill the boy by overfeeding.
"One day when Minno had been nearly choked with fat meat, he ran away. He wandered about in the woods, and when night came he was afraid of the wild beasts. So he climbed into a tall tree and fell asleep in the branches.
"In his dreams a person came to him from the upper sky and said: 'My poor little lad, I pity you. Follow me, and be sure to step in my tracks.'
"So the lad arose and followed his guide up, up, into the upper sky. There he was given twelve magic arrows and told to shoot the manitoes of the North.
"'They are the evil spirits of the air,' said his guide. 'You must go to war against them. I have given you magic arrows that will kill them if your aim is true.'