“Maybe I can kill one,” said the sister. She got her brothers’ bows and tried the strings to see which string was the strongest. She put down one bow after another, saying: [[69]]“That isn’t strong.” The strings had been strong enough for her brothers, but for her they were weak. She took the bow that belonged to her youngest brother, pulled the string, and said: “This will do.”
When she started for the pond, one of the brothers watched her, he said: “Now she is near the pond; now she is sitting down on the bank!” She drew the bow, and when he thought she had missed the swan, he nearly fell, he was so sorry. He didn’t look out again. The arrow went through both swans.
The sister brought the swans home and left them outside; she took the bow and arrow in and put them away. Her brothers felt badly; they were disappointed. When she asked: “Shall I cook them in the house?” they were glad. They tried to get up, but they couldn’t stand on their feet, they were so weak.
The girl cooked the swans and gave her brothers some of the meat. She said: “Eat a little at a time, so it will last longer.” She saved the fat and rubbed her brothers with it, to heal their sores.
“Now I am stronger,” said the eldest brother. “Give me my bow; I feel as if I could shoot something.” Each brother said the same.
When the people at the foot of the mountain heard that the five brothers were sick, they were glad and sent a young man to find if it were true. He came back, and said: “They are sick and are going to die.”
When the sister had gone for wood, the eldest brother said: “I know that somebody is coming; I want to be strong.” They all had the same feeling, and each one tried his bowstring. When the sister came back, the eldest brother said: “You must roll us up in our blankets, and tie them around us as though we were dead. Put our bows and arrows and beads near us.”
When she had done that, she went off to the mountains, for she felt badly and didn’t want to stay with her brothers; she didn’t want to live any longer.
The brothers waited for her, and when it was dark and she [[70]]didn’t come, one said: “Our sister is always talking about dying; maybe she is dead.”
Now the people at the foot of the mountain sent a little boy to see if the five brothers were alive. He crossed the pond in a canoe; he rowed the canoe by saying: “Peldack! Peldack!” (Go fast). When the boy saw the men tied up in their blankets, he went back, and said: “They are dead. In their house there are bows and arrows and nice beads. You must go and get them.”