The brother knew his voice and said, “Let me die, for my brother that I deserted has become a wolf.” He fell from the tree, but the wolves did not eat him, for his little wolf brother told them who the man was.
“Let him live. He is not good enough for wolves to eat,” said the leader; but to the brother who had done wrong life was worse than being torn by wolves. The band of warriors deserted him in the forest, and he never went on the warpath again.
Adapted from Schoolcraft. [[123]]
XV. THE GOOD BEAR AND THE LOST BOY
(Iroquois)
boy went out to hunt and crawled into a great hole where porcupines lived. He wanted to get some of the young ones. The dirt fell into the hole behind him and shut him in with the porcupines.
The boy cried himself to sleep, for he knew his father could not find him. When he awoke he saw the mother porcupine as big as a squaw. She gave him some food, but he could not eat. The food was bitter.
The porcupine squaw said, “I will call a council, for I do not know what to feed you.”