Ne mien gun-iew! Ne mien gun-iew!
My brother, my brother!
I am turning into a wolf!
I am turning into a wolf!
At the termination of his song, he howled like a wolf; and the elder, approaching him, was startled at seeing that the little fellow had indeed half turned into a wolf, when, running hastily forward, he shouted, “My brother, my little brother, come to me!” But the boy fled from him, while he continued to sing: “I am turning into a wolf!—Ne mien gun-iew! Ne mien gun-iew!” Filled with anguish and remorse, the elder brother continued to cry, “My brother, my little brother, come to me!” But the more eagerly he called, the more rapidly his brother fled from him, while he became more and more like a wolf, until, with a prolonged howl, his whole body was transformed, when he bounded swiftly away into the depths of the forest.
The elder brother, in the deepest sorrow, now returned to his village, where with his sister he lamented the dreadful fate of his brother until the end of his life.
HOW WASBASHAS, THE SNAIL, BECAME A MAN
(North American Indian)
Upon the banks of the Missouri River there once lived a snail, in great enjoyment; for he found plenty of food, and was never in want of anything that a snail could desire. At length, however, disaster reached him. The waters of the river overflowed its banks; and, although the little creature clung to a log with all his strength,—hoping thereby to remain safe upon the shore,—the rising flood carried both him and the log away, and they floated helplessly many days, until the waters subsided, when the poor snail was left upon a strange shore that was covered with the river’s slime, where, as the sun arose, the heat was so intense that he was irrecoverably fixed in the mud. Oppressed with the heat and drought, and famishing for want of nourishment, in despair he resigned himself to his fate and prepared to die. But suddenly new feelings arose, and a renewed vigor entered his frame. His shell burst open; his head gradually arose above the ground; his lower extremities assumed the character of feet and legs; arms extended from his sides, and their extremities divided into fingers; and, thus beneath the influence of the shining sun, he became a tall and noble-looking man. For a while he was stupefied with the change; he had no energy, no distinct thoughts; but by degrees his brain assumed its activity, and returning recollection induced him to travel back to his native shore. Naked and ignorant, and almost perishing with hunger, he walked along. He saw beasts and birds enticing to the appetite; but, not knowing how to kill them, his hunger was left unappeased.