“There is no one, among men or beasts,” he said, “who does not fear me. All men obey me. They tremble at the sound of my voice.”
Now there was in the tribe of this warrior an old grandmother to whom age had given great wisdom. And she thought within her heart, “Our warrior is becoming puffed up. He thinks too well of himself. It would be good for him to be humbled.” So among the women she said, “There is one whom I know, who is greater than the mighty warrior. He would not tremble at his voice, nor obey his word.”
This saying was repeated to the men of the tribe, and in time it came to the ears of the great warrior himself. Immediately he went to the lodge of the grandmother.
“What is this, that I hear?” he enquired. “Show me who it is that will not obey my voice! Tell me his name!”
“His name is Wasis,” replied the grandmother, “and he sits inside my lodge.”
The warrior threw back the hanging of deer skin covering the entrance of the lodge, and strode within. There, upon the ground, sucking a piece of maple sugar, sat Wasis, the baby. The warrior looked at him in surprise. He knew nothing about babies, having been too busy all his life with battles and adventures to pay any attention to the little people of the tribe. But here was just a tiny fellow. It would be no trouble to get him to obey!
So without any ado, the warrior said, “Ho, baby, come here to me!”
The baby looked at him, but did not move. He repeated his command. The baby stopped sucking his maple sugar long enough to say “Goo, goo,” but he did not move.
Then the warrior said, “I will show him that I am to be feared, and then he will obey me.” So he began a war dance, and uttered fierce war cries, and Wasis opened his mouth and sent forth such piercing yells and shrieks, that the warrior stopped in amazement. And when he had stopped the baby began sucking his maple sugar again.
“Ho, baby, come here to me!” he repeated once more, but at that the baby again opened his mouth and cried so lustily that the great warrior covered his ears and ran from the lodge. “It is worse than the war cries of the Frost Giants!” he exclaimed.