"'I am a great king,' he roared, and got to his feet, ready to destroy the six wolves and the two black bears with one sweep of his mighty right paw. But he did not do it! He saw something running on the snow, so fast that he could not make out what it was—and suddenly it stopped close under his great nose and he saw that it was a slim young man. He was so astonished that he squatted back on his haunches.
"'I have been listening to you,' said the young man, 'and I do not like your talk. Also, I do not like your looks. You are too big and too bold to be a safe companion for my people.'
"King Bear could do nothing but stare.
"'I am Gluskap,' continued the young man, 'and all the men and animals in this land, for seven times as far as you can see in every direction, are in my care.'
"'I never heard of you,' said the big white bear.
"The young man smiled at that. Then he pointed his finger at the stranger and gazed at him very hard with his bright eyes.
"'I feel queer. My head spins 'round and 'round,' said the bear. He began to sway from side to side. He stood on his four strong legs; but still he swayed and swayed, and his mouth hung open and he breathed very hard.
"'What—are—you—doing—to—me?' he gasped.
"'I am reducing you,' replied the young man.
"King Bear did not know what that meant—and he felt so queer that he did not care. All the white world seemed to go whirling around him. At last he fell over, flat on his side. And as soon as that had happened he felt quite well again and jumped to his feet. Well, he blinked his red eyes and he glared and glared, for it looked to him as if the man, the crow, the wolves, and the black bears had all grown much larger. But that was not what had happened at all. The change was in himself and not in the others. Gluskap, with his magic, had made him smaller and smaller until he was just exactly the size of white bears now and smaller than common black bears were in those days.