So Nanebojo began teasing the Indians. He kept it up for some time until one of the Indians speared him. The Indian kept his spear in the water until he got to the shore, and then dragged Nanebojo out. The other whitefish remarked, “That is just what he said—that after he dived he would not come up for a long time, and then at some distance.”
The Indians took Nanebojo home with them. He was a very large fish. After a while he began to jump about a little, so the Indians were afraid. They did not cook him at once.
Just about dawn the next morning, Nanebojo came to life again and remembered he was a fish and that the Indians had speared him. So he got up and found everyone sleeping.
“If they wanted to eat me, they should have done so while they had a chance,” he said as he walked away. He was going back to his grandmother.
WISKE-DJAK[7] AND THE GEESE
Algonquin
Wiske-djak was always hungry. One time, in the autumn of the year, he stood on the shores of a lake, when clouds of ducks were flying by overhead. Wiske-djak wanted some of those ducks. He thought for a long time. Then he made a small clearing right there on the lake shore, and built quite a large tepee, with a fire in the center. The grassy floor of the tepee was very smooth, so one could dance well there. Wiske-djak made a birch-bark door, with a long center stick to keep the bark spread, and to prevent the door from opening inward. Now everything was ready.
Wiske-djak went out walking and soon met Duck. “I suppose you will soon be going south,” he said. “Yes,” said Duck, “and we’ll be gone all winter. It’s a bit cold up here for us.”
“It would be pleasant,” said Wiske-djak, “if we all had a dance before you went. Invite your friends, all of them, and Geese and any of the others who go south for the winter. We’ll have a dance in my tepee.” Duck thought that would be very pleasant.
Wiske-djak went back to his tepee, and sat down in the sunshine outside. He got his drum and rattle and began to sing a song of invitation. He sang: