Then the youth laughed gladly, and went his way.
The sun shone, and the children of the little Indian village ran from their homes, and danced and sang in its warmth. A bird was caroling in the tree top, and they stopped to listen. The stream shook off its icy covering and went singing down its course. The children followed it.
They came to the spot where the tepee of Peboan had stood. And lo! all the ground was covered with fragrant flowers.
“The arbutus!” cried the children. “The arbutus!”
They picked the beautiful, fragrant blossoms, and joyously carried them home. And when the old people of the village saw them, they knew that the Spirit of the Spring had returned to fill the earth with joy and gladness.
THE MAIDEN WITH GOLDEN HAIR
(Chippewa)
LEELINAU stood in the door of the lodge, holding in her hand a bunch of dandelions which had gone to seed. She blew upon them softly, and the white-winged seeds went floating into the air.
“Shawondasee’s breath was mightier than thine,” said a voice behind her. She turned to see her grandmother smiling upon her as she worked upon a deer-skin moccasin.
Leelinau sat down. “Tell me of Shawondasee,” she said coaxingly. So the grandmother told her the story of the South Wind and the Dandelion: