“Go ahead,” coaxed Stonor. “You know your own folks better than I do. You know that if we sit here by the fire, eating, talking, and laughing like a pleasant company, it will put respect into their hearts. They’ll have no appetite for further devilry.”
“Can’t tell stories,” she said. “Too late, too dark, too scare. Words won’t come.”
“Just tell us why the rabbits have a black spot on their backs. That’s a short one.”
After a little more urging Mary began in her stolid way:
“One tam Old Man him travel in the bush. Hear ver’ queer singin’. Never hear not’ing like that before. Look all round see where it come. Wah! he see cottontail rabbits singing and making medicine. They mak’ fire. Got plenty hot ashes. They lie down in those ashes and sing, and another rabbit cover them up with ashes. They not stay there ver’ long for cause those ashes moch hot.
“Old Man say: ‘Little brothers, that is wonderful how you lie down in those hot ashes without burning. Show me how to do it.’
“Rabbits say: ‘Come on, Old Man. We show you how. You got sing our song, only stay in ashes little while.’ So Old Man begin to sing, and he lie down, and they cover him with ashes. Him not burn at all.
“He say: ‘That is ver’ nice. You sure got ver’ strong medicine. Now I want do it myself. You lie down, and I cover you up.’
“So rabbits all lie down in ashes, and Old Man cover them up. Then he put the whole fire over them. Only one old rabbit get out. Old Man catch her and go put her back, but she say: ‘Pity me, my children soon be born.’
“Old Man say: ‘All right, I let you go, so there is plenty more rabbits bam-bye. But I will cook these nicely and have a feast.’ And he put more wood on the fire. When those rabbits cooked nice, he cut red willow bush and lay them on to cool. Grease soak into those branches; that is why when you hold red willow to the fire you see grease on the bark. You can see too, since that time, how rabbits got burnt place on their back. That is where the one that got away was singed.