One day he followed the river trail, when the sun was high. Many little bunches of straw were growing out of the water. They spoke to him. They said, “Wenibojó, sometimes they eat us.”
So Wenibojó picked some of the grains from the heavy-headed stalks and ate.
“You are good to eat,” he said. “What do they call you?”
“They call us manomin,” answered the wild rice.
Then Wenibojó waded far out into the water. He beat out grains and ate many. They were good for food.
Then Wenibojó remembered the grain which Nokomis had sown, and he returned to his grandmother and the manomin lake.
ORIGIN OF WILD RICE
Ojibwa
NOW one evening Wenibojó returned to his wigwam from hunting. He had found no game. As he came towards his fire, he saw a duck sitting on the edge of a kettle of boiling water. Immediately the duck flew away.