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Old-man’s Treachery
by
“Near sundown he saw two Buffalo-Bulls feeding on a steep hillside; but he had no bow and arrow with him. He was hungry, and began to think of some way to kill one of the Bulls for meat. Very soon he thought out a plan, for he is cunning always.
“He ran around the hill out of sight of the Bulls, and there made two men out of grass and sage-brush. They were dummies, of course, but he made them to look just like real men, and then armed each with a wooden knife of great length. Then he set them in the position of fighting; made them look as though they were about to fight each other with the knives. When he had them both fixed to suit, he ran back to the place where the Buffalo were calling:
“‘Ho! brothers, wait for me–do not run away. There are two fine men on the other side of this hill, and they are quarrelling. They will surely fight unless we stop them. It all started over you two Bulls, too. One of the men says you are fat and fine, and the other claims you are poor and skinny. Don’t let our brothers fight over such a foolish thing as that. It would be wicked. Now I can decide it, if you will let me feel all over you to see if you are fat or poor. Then I will go back to the men and settle the trouble by telling them the truth. Stand still and let me feel your sides–quick, lest the fight begin while I am away.’
“‘All right,’ said the Bulls, ‘but don’t you tickle us.’ Then OLD-man walked up close and commenced to feel about the Bulls’ sides; but his heart was bad. From his robe he slipped his great knife, and slyly felt about till he found the spot where the heart beats, and then stabbed the knife into the place, clear up to the hilt.
“Both of the Bulls died right away, and OLD-man laughed at the trick he had played upon them. Then he gave a knife to both of his hands, and said:
“‘Get to work, both of you! Skin these Bulls while I sit here and boss you.’
“Both hands commenced to skin the Buffalo, but the right hand was much the swifter worker. It gained upon the left hand rapidly, and this made the left hand angry. Finally the left hand called the right hand ‘dog-face.’ That is the very worst thing you can call a person in our language, you know, and of course it made the right hand angry. So crazy and angry was the right hand that it stabbed the left hand, and then they began to fight in earnest.
“Both cut and slashed till blood covered the animals they were skinning. All this fighting hurt OLD-man badly, of course, and he commenced to cry, as women do sometimes. This stopped the fight; but still OLD-man cried, till, drying his tears, he saw a Red Fox sitting near the Bulls, watching him. ‘Hi, there, you–go away from there! If you want meat you go and kill it, as I did.’
“Red Fox laughed–‘Ha!–Ha!–Ha!–foolish OLD-man–Ha!–ha!’ Then he ran away and told the other Foxes and the Wolves and the Coyotes about OLD-man’s meat. Told them that his own hands couldn’t get along with themselves and that it would be easy to steal it from him.
“They all followed the Red Fox back to the place where OLD-man was, and there they ate all of the meat–every bit, and polished the bones.
“OLD-man couldn’t stop them, because he was hurt, you see; but it all came about through lying and killing more meat than he needed. Yes–he lied and that is bad, but his hands got to quarrelling between themselves, and family quarrels are always bad. Do not lie; do not quarrel. It is bad. Ho!”