Sedit made a fire, found a pipe and tobacco, smoked, stayed many days and nights by himself there. “I should like to know how Kele got his sons,” thought he one night. “I must ask him.”
“I come to tell you,” said Sedit one morning, “that I am lonesome. I want to know how you got your sons and daughters.”
Kele made no answer for a long time. At last he told him how he got his daughters.
Sedit went home, did exactly as Kele had done, then lay down without sleeping. Toward morning he heard some one jump to the floor; next he got a blow on the back, then a second. The two persons went away and sat down. Sedit rose, made a big fire, and began singing for a sweat-dance. Two girls stood near the fire, sweated, then went to the creek, swam, and went home. They had very long hair and were nice looking. Sedit gave them wooden combs and mink-skins for their hair, gave them food and nice baskets painted red, told each to dig roots and cook them.
Sedit lived a while with his daughters, till he thought once, “I want to have sons.” He went to Kele, and Kele told how he had got sons, told carefully.
Sedit cut the sticks, did everything as Kele said, and lay by the fire, but he could not keep from looking up; the moment he looked all the sticks fell to the ground. Sedit put them in place again, lay by the fire, looked up. The sticks fell a second time; he put them up again, lay down, looked a third time. The sticks fell a third time. He was putting the sticks up till daylight, when he had to stop. Sedit went to Kele that day. “My sticks were falling all night,” said he.
Kele knew what had happened already. “Why not do as I told you? I told you not to look up.”
“I will not look any more,” said Sedit.
Next night he put up sticks again and waited, took the blows till the last one of the second ten was giving him ten blows, then he sprang up and screamed. All the twenty sons dropped down and were sticks again. It was just daylight. Sedit gathered the sticks into a basket, and looked to see if the girls were awake. They were sticks as well as the others.
Sedit felt very sorry, could not tell what to do. He put the two sticks with the other twenty, took one at a time, held it up, and said, “This was my son, this was my daughter.” He was sorry and wondered if he could make others. He went to Kele and said,—