“So that is how it was; and soon the hoop was broken up and all the peoples scattered to their homes, galloping and flying and crawling. And the baby went to sleep with his thumb in his mouth.
“Of course, old-woman magpie could not go away with the others. She had to stay there awhile and help. So she sat on top of some brush near by and told Meadowlark and his wife what they must do and how they must do it. Sometimes she would scream at them and say, ‘No, not that grass! It is not soft enough for the baby! And you are not making the nest big enough! Don’t you know this baby is going to grow? Bigger! Softer!’ All the while Meadowlark and his wife went on building the nest around the baby the way they learned from their grandparents. But they were very kind people, and sometimes they would say, ‘Yes, Grandmother—you know best, Grandmother—we thank you for helping us, Grandmother.’ And so afterwhile the nest was finished, and the baby sleeping in it with his thumb in his mouth.
“Then old-woman Magpie hopped down and walked around the nest, turning her head this way and that way to see what she thought of it. And afterwhile she said, ‘It is not built as I would build it, but it will do. Now you must take care of the mother’s body lying over there. You are not strong enough to build a scaffold for it, so you must cover it up with grasses and little stones; for if you do not, her spirit will make trouble for you. And when you have done this, one of you must mourn all night by the body while the other watches the nest. I cannot stay longer to help you, for I have so much talking to do in so many places that I shall never get it all done if I do not hurry.’
“So old-woman magpie flew away as fast as she could flap her wings.
“The sun was nearly down. It was very still in that place. For a while Meadowlark and his wife stood beside the soft, warm nest, just looking at their big new baby sleeping. And afterwhile Meadowlark said, ‘He must have a name. What do you think would be a good name?’ And his wife said, ‘Let us call him Falling Star.’ And her husband said, ‘That is a very good name. I like it. So let us call him Falling Sta.’ And they were so happy that they forgot about the work they had to do, and they began to sing together like little waters falling into a quiet pool. You can hear them do that yet if you listen in the evening.
“Then all at once they remembered what they must do next. So they began working as fast as they could, carrying grasses and little stones to cover the mother’s body. When the work was done, it was night.
“Then Meadowlark and his wife took some bison tallow that they had for their children, and this they mixed with red clay to make sacred paint. With this paint they greased the baby all over, and when this was done, they fed him some fine big earth worms that lived down by the creek, also some seeds that they had chewed to make them soft. The baby felt so good he went to sleep again right away. And all the star nations came forth to look upon the baby sleeping in his soft, warm nest, and the mother meadowlark watching there, while her husband sat beside the mound of grass and little stones and mourned in his throat.
“Meadowlark and his wife had been working very hard, and I think they could not stay awake long. The morning star came to see, and they were sleeping. He stood higher and higher, but they did not ’waken. The star nations were very tired from watching all night, so they all began going to sleep—the little ones first and then the big ones. The morning star got sleepy too and went back to his tepee.
“Then all at once the mother meadowlark awoke, and the young day was everywhere. She looked first at the nest. Then she screamed. It was empty. She screamed and screamed until her husband awoke and came hopping and flopping his wings. ‘What is the matter? What is the matter?’
“‘Our baby is gone! Our big new baby is gone! Somebody has taken Falling Star! What shall we do? Eagle has stolen him, or maybe Hawk! What shall we do?’ The mother meadowlark was crying very hard.