MO-O-O-O-RE, mo-o-o-o-re!” croaked a big frog in the marshes. “’Tis enough, ’tis enough, ’tis enough!” answered a smaller frog.
But the big frog called again, “Mo-o-o-o-re, mo-o-o-o-re!” And again the smaller frog answered, “’Tis enough! ’Tis enough!”
“What is it the frogs are quarreling about, grandmother?” asked a little Indian girl, and the grandmother replied, “About the water, I suppose.”
“Why do they quarrel about the water? Is it a story, grandmother?”
“Yes,” said the grandmother, “it is a story. Listen and I will tell it to you!
“In the long-time-ago all the waters of the land were tied up. The Indian people grew thirsty, and more thirsty. Their fields were drying up. The flowers withered. The people said, ‘We shall die!’
“Then there came to one of the villages the giant, Rabbit, and he said, ‘What is this I hear about the waters being tied up?’
“The Chief answered, ‘For many days there has been no water. The streams are empty. No little rivers come down the mountain side. Our corn is drying up. Our people’s throats are parched.’
“The giant, Rabbit, said, ‘I will go into the mountains and see who has tied up the water.’ Then he strode away, taking such great steps that he was out of sight in a moment.
“Up the mountain went the giant, and when he came to the top he found a tribe of men there, and they had tied up the water so that it stood in great pools which had grown green and slimy, because it was no longer fresh.