“Stop, grandson,” said one of the old women. “How will you bind the top?”
“I have nothing to bind it with,” answered Olelbis.
She put her hand toward the south, and on it came humus koriluli (a plant with beautiful blossoms). She took it with roots, stem, and blossoms and made a long narrow mat, the stem and roots all woven together inside and the blossoms outside. “Here, grandson,” said she, “put this around the top of the house and bind the trees with it firmly.”
He did this. The binding was beautiful and very fragrant. He wrapped it around the trees where they came together at the top of the house inside.
The two old women made four very large mats now, one for each side of the house. They wove first a mat of yosoü (a plant about a foot high, which has no branches and only a cluster of red flowers at the top). When they had finished it they told Olelbis to put it on the north side of the house.
“Now, my grandmothers,” said Olelbis, “I want a cover for the east side.”
“My grandson,” said each, “we are sorry that you are alone, sorry that you have no one to help you in building this house. Now take this mat and put it on the east side.”
They gave him a mat made of the same plant that was used for a binding to hold the top of the house.
“I want a cover now for the south side.”
The old women put their hands to the east, and a plant came to them a foot high with white blossoms, of very sweet odor. A great deal of this plant came, and they made a mat of it. They put all the blossoms outside. The mat covered the south side.