“I think the earth is good to me,” said Kalaslákkas.
“Do you want to go to another swimming place?”
“If it is right to go around more, I will go,” said the boy.
“There are more places and you will get strength from them,” said the old woman.
“How shall I do at the next swimming place? One day I wanted to drink some water.” [[257]]
“You must dive in the pond, and when you are down deep, take five big swallows of water. If you see water in any other place, you mustn’t touch it.”
“What if I should choke?”
“You won’t choke. You must do what I tell you. This earth is my mother; she has given everything for us to eat and drink. She is your grandmother and the sun is your grandfather. You won’t die if you do right. If you listen to the earth, the mountains, and the swimming places, they will teach you what to do when you are a man. They will make you strong, and you will live to be old.”
When Kalaslákkas went into the pond, he felt something under him. It was a bear that lived in the water. As soon as he felt it, it was gone. He swam around for a long time, then got out of the water and lay on the rocks. Soon he heard a bird call; the bird belonged to that swimming place. It was the strongest bird in the world. Kalaslákkas fell asleep and dreamed that he heard a bear roar. The roar was like heavy thunder, and Kalaslákkas was scared. He jumped up and ran home.
His grandmother pounded seeds and white roots for him to eat; then she said: “Now you will climb that mountain in the south, and as you go down on the other side, you must pile stones till you come to a lake. If the lake doesn’t like a person to swim in it, great bumps of water will come up on top, as if somebody under the water was angry. If the wind blows from the south, it is a sign that you must go in and swim.” The old woman made holes in her grandson’s ears and put little black sticks through them and through his nose. When he started off, she put her hand over her eyes, looked after him, and talked to the earth.