“What is the trouble, Crying Hawk?” Little Snapping Turtle asked kindly.
“I thought that for once I could win a game and own a new knife and belt. But a pebble has cut my foot, and I cannot hope to win now. I was lucky enough to catch my fish first and I thought that I had a good head start. But as it always has happened, an accident will make me lose the race. I will never be a winner. Don’t wait for me, Little Snapping Turtle. If you stay with me any longer, the other boys will catch up with you.”
Then Little Snapping Turtle remembered that Crying Hawk had never won any contest. He was a little slower than the other boys, and not so skilled as many of them. He, Little Snapping Turtle, had won many contests and many prizes. Quickly he took off his own new doeskin moccasins and slipped them onto Crying Hawk’s feet.
“These will protect your feet,” he told Crying Hawk. “Run quickly now, for you still have a chance. Take my container, too. I have sealed a leaf tightly over the top and little water will spill. Today you will win the race.”
Crying Hawk started to complain, but Little Snapping Turtle silenced him. He pulled the other boy to his feet and, shoving the container into his hand, sent him on his way. With the new moccasins, the boy ran more easily and soon was out of sight. Little Snapping Turtle picked up Crying Hawk’s container and put his feet into the ill-fitting moccasins. He trotted slowly after Crying Hawk, keeping just far enough behind to make sure the boy would win.
He heard several pairs of feet moving swiftly along the trail just in back of him. From here to the meadow, the trail narrowed and only one boy could use it at one time. So Little Snapping Turtle kept his slow pace and kept the others from passing Crying Hawk. Little Snapping Turtle could see the clearing now and he sped toward the meadow. There he saw Crying Hawk standing proudly next to Little Snapping Turtle’s father. He ran up to Crying Hawk.
“Say nothing of what happened on the trail,” he whispered. “You have run a good race, Crying Hawk.”
Soon all the boys were back and the inspection of the containers began. When Big Snapping Turtle had seen all of them, he stepped to the front and declared Crying Hawk the winner. Everyone cheered as the boy received the knife and belt from the smiling Medicine Man. Then they all started back toward the village to place the fish in the stream and then go home.
As Little Snapping Turtle and his father walked along the trail, the Medicine Man asked, “Where did you get that container, my son?”
Little Snapping Turtle blushed as he looked up at his father, but his father smiled. “It is well, my son. I knew each container that I had given out and at the end of the race you did not have the one you had started with. I also noticed the beautiful moccasins that Crying Hawk was wearing. I discovered, too, how big my son’s heart really is. Today you lost a race, but the happiness you won is the best possible prize.”