Myths and Legends of the Sioux | Page 5

in the moon
when the snakes cast off their skins?"
"I was here."
"What were you doing?"
"I was busy talking and dancing."
"And now you are punished," said the other. "It is always so with lazy,
careless people. But I will let you have the snake skin. And now go,
and by hard work and industry, try to recover your wasted time."

THE PET RABBIT
A little girl owned a pet rabbit which she loved dearly. She carried it on
her back like a babe, made for it a little pair of moccasins, and at night
shared with it her own robe.
Now the little girl had a cousin who loved her very dearly and wished
to do her honor; so her cousin said to herself:
"I love my little cousin well and will ask her to let me carry her pet
rabbit around;" (for thus do Indian women when they wish to honor a
friend; they ask permission to carry about the friend's babe).
She then went to the little girl and said:
"Cousin, let me carry your pet rabbit about on my back. Thus shall I
show you how I love you."
Her mother, too, said to her: "Oh no, do not let our little grandchild go
away from our tepee."
But the cousin answered: "Oh, do let me carry it. I do so want to show

my cousin honor." At last they let her go away with the pet rabbit on
her back.
When the little girl's cousin came home to her tepee, some rough boys
who were playing about began to make sport of her. To tease the little
girl they threw stones and sticks at the pet rabbit. At last a stick struck
the little rabbit upon the head and killed it.
When her pet was brought home dead, the little rabbit's adopted mother
wept bitterly. She cut off her hair for mourning and all her little girl
friends wailed with her. Her mother, too, mourned with them.
"Alas!" they cried, "alas, for the little rabbit. He was always kind and
gentle. Now your child is dead and you will be lonesome."
The little girl's mother called in her little friends and made a great
mourning feast for the little rabbit. As he lay in the tepee his adopted
mother's little friends brought many precious things and covered his
body. At the feast were given away robes and kettles and blankets and
knives and great wealth in honor of the little rabbit. Him they wrapped
in a robe with his little moccasins on and buried him in a high place
upon a scaffold.

THE PET DONKEY
There was a chief's daughter once who had a great many relations so
that everybody knew she belonged to a great family.
When she grew up she married and there were born to her twin sons.
This caused great rejoicing in her father's camp, and all the village
women came to see the babes. She was very happy.
As the babes grew older, their grandmother made for them two saddle
bags and brought out a donkey.
"My two grandchildren," said the old lady, "shall ride as is becoming to
children having so many relations. Here is this donkey. He is patient

and surefooted. He shall carry the babes in the saddle bags, one on
either side of his back."
It happened one day that the chief's daughter and her husband were
making ready to go on a camping journey. The father, who was quite
proud of his children, brought out his finest pony, and put the saddle
bags on the pony's back.
"There," he said, "my sons shall ride on the pony, not on a donkey; let
the donkey carry the pots and kettles."
So his wife loaded the donkey with the household things. She tied the
tepee poles into two great bundles, one on either side of the donkey's
back; across them she put the travois net and threw into it the pots and
kettles and laid the skin tent across the donkey's back.
But no sooner done than the donkey began to rear and bray and kick.
He broke the tent poles and kicked the pots and kettles into bits and
tore the skin tent. The more he was beaten the more he kicked.
At last they told the grandmother. She laughed. "Did I not tell you the
donkey was for the children," she cried. "He knows the babies are the
chief's children. Think you he will be dishonored with pots and
kettles?" and she fetched the children and slung them over the donkey's
back, when he became at once quiet again.
The camping party left the village and went on their journey. But the
next day as they passed by a place overgrown with bushes,