第27章 THE BEAR AND THE RABBIT HUNT BUFFALO(2)

Seeing a strange shadow on the ground beside him， Mr. Bear looked up and gazed into the fearless eyes of rabbit's handsome son.

"Who is this？" asked Mr. Bear of poor little Rabbit.

"I don't know，" answered Rabbit.

"Who are you？" asked the bear of Rabbit's son. "Where did you come from？"

The rabbit's son not replying， the bear spoke thus to him： "Get out of here， and get out quick， too."

At this speech the rabbit's son became angered， and fastened an arrow to his bow and drove the arrow through the bear's heart.

Then he turned on Mrs. Bear and served her likewise. During the melee， Rabbit shouted： "My son， my son， don't kill the two youngest. The baby has kept me from starving and the other one is good and kind to his baby brother."

So the three older brothers who were unkind to their baby brother met a similar fate to that of their selfish parents.

This (the story goes) is the reason that bears travel only in pairs.

第一章THE BRAVE WHO WENT ON THE WARPATH ALONE AND WON THE NAME OF THE LONE WARRIOR

There was once a young man whose parents were not overburdened with the riches of this world， and consequently could not dress their only son in as rich a costume as the other young men of the tribe， and on account of not being so richly clad as they， he was looked down upon and shunned by them. He was never invited to take part in any of their sports； nor was he ever asked to join any of the war parties.

In the village lived an old man with an only daughter. Like the other family， they were poor， but the daughter was the belle of the tribe. She was the most sought after by the young men of the village， and warriors from tribes far distant came to press their suit at winning her for their bride. All to no purpose； she had the same answer for them as she had for the young men of the village.

The poor young man was also very handsome despite his poor clothes， but having never killed an enemy nor brought home any enemies'

horses he was not (according to Indian rules) allowed to make love to any young or old woman. He tried in vain to join some of the war parties， that he might get the chance to win his spurs as a warrior. To all his pleadings， came the same answer： "You are not fit to join a war party. You have no horses， and if you should get killed our tribe would be laughed at and be made fun of as you have such poor clothes， and we don't want the enemy to know that we have any one of our tribe who dresses so poorly as you do."

Again， and again， he tried different parties， only to be made fun of and insulted.

One night he sat in the poor tepee of his parents. He was in deep study and had nothing to say. His father， noticing his melancholy mood， asked him what had happened to cause him to be so quiet， as he was always of a jolly disposition. The son answered and said：

"Father， I am going on the warpath alone. In vain I have tried to be a member of one of the war parties. To all of my pleadings I

have got nothing but insults in return."

"But my son， you have no gun nor ammunition. Where can you get any and how can you get it？ We have nothing to buy one for you with，"

said the father.

"I don't need any weapons. I am going to bring back some of the enemies' horses， and I don't need a gun for that."

Early the next morning (regardless of the old couple's pleadings not to go unarmed) the young man left the village and headed northwest， the direction always taken by the war parties.

For ten days he traveled without seeing any signs of a camp. The evening of the tenth day， he reached a very high butte， thickly wooded at the summit. He ascended this butte， and as he sat there between two large boulders， watching the beautiful rays of the setting sun， he was suddenly startled to hear the neigh of a horse.

Looking down into the beautiful valley which was threaded by a beautiful creek fringed with timber， he noticed close to the base of the butte upon which he sat， a large drove of horses grazing peacefully and quietly. Looking closer， he noticed at a little distance from the main drove， a horse with a saddle on his back.

This was the one that had neighed， as the drove drifted further away from him. He was tied by a long lariat to a large sage bush.

Where could the rider be， he said to himself. As if in answer to his question， there appeared not more than twenty paces from him a middle aged man coming up through a deep ravine. The man was evidently in search of some kind of game， as he held his gun in readiness for instant use， and kept his eyes directed at every crevice and clump of bush. So intent was he on locating the game he was trailing， that he never noticed the young man who sat like a statue not twenty paces away. Slowly and cautiously the man approached， and when he had advanced to within a few paces of the young man he stopped and turning around， stood looking down into the valley. This was the only chance that our brave young friend had. Being unarmed， he would stand no show if the enemy ever got a glimpse of him. Slowly and noiselessly he drew his hunting knife (which his father had given him on his departure from home) and holding it securely in his right hand， gathered himself and gave a leap which landed him upon the unsuspecting enemy's shoulders. The force with which he landed on the enemy caused him (the enemy) to lose his hold on his gun， and it went rattling down into the chasm， forty feet below.

Down they came together， the young man on top. No sooner had they struck the ground than the enemy had out his knife， and then commenced a hand to hand duel. The enemy， having more experience， was getting the best of our young friend. Already our young friend had two ugly cuts， one across his chest and the other through his forearm.