“I have always wondered what use you were in the world. Now I see that you and your family would make good bridges. Your long neck is very thin, but it might hold if one were as quick as a weasel. Come, my friend, help a poor wolf that is hungry and in trouble.”
The blue heron was too proud to be used as a bridge for every one. The wolf saw that he had not asked in the right way, so he began again.
“You must be a very stout bird. Your feathers are very fine, but they cover a stout body. My grandfather has said that two herons can carry a load of fish, but you could carry such a load alone.”
The heron looked at the wolf and told him to get up on his back.
“I will carry you,” said the heron.
The wolf showed all his teeth in a grin as he got on the heron’s back. The heron waded to the middle of the stream and said:
“I am only half as strong as two herons, so I can carry you only halfway. You must wait here until you [[117]]find another heron as foolish as I am, to carry you the rest of the way.”
The heron flapped his wings and flew back to his place in the marsh. The wolf could not wait to find another foolish heron, but went straight to the bottom of the river. [[118]]
Moki weaving. Clay Dishes and Tools in Background