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The Little Spirit, Or Boy-Man
by
He made all sorts of sport with his ball as he frolicked along–high over his head he would toss it, straight up into the air; then far before him, and again, in mere merriment of spirit, he would send it bounding back, as if he had plenty of speed and enough to spare in running back after it. And the ball leaped and bounded about, and glided through the air as if it were a live thing, and enjoyed the sport as much as the boy-man himself.
When he came within hail of the four large men, who were fishing there every day, he cast his ball with such force that it rolled into the ice-hole about which they were busy. The boy, standing on the shore of the lake, called out:
“Four-in-one, pray hand me my ball.”
“No, indeed,” they answered, setting up a grim laugh which curdled their four dark faces all at once, “we shall not;” and with their fishing-spears they thrust the ball under the ice.
“Good!” said the boy-man, “we shall see.”
Saying which he rushed upon the four brothers and thrust them at one push into the water. His ball bounded back to the surface, and, picking it up, he ran off, tossing it before him in his own sportive way. Outstripping it in speed he soon reached home, and remained within till the next morning.
The four brothers, rising up from the water at the same time, dripping and wroth, roared out in one voice a terrible threat of vengeance, which they promised to execute the next day. They knew the boy’s speed, and that they could by no means overtake him.
By times in the morning, the four brothers were stirring in their lodge, and getting ready to look after their revenge.
Their old mother, who lived with them, begged them not to go.
“Better,” said she, “now that your clothes are dry, to think no more of the ducking than to go and all four of you get your heads broken, as you surely will, for that boy is a monedo or he could not perform such feats as he does.”
But her sons paid no heed to this wise advice, and, raising a great war-cry, which frightened the birds overhead nearly out of their feathers, they started for the boy’s lodge among the rocks.
The little spirit or boy-man heard them roaring forth their threats as they approached, but he did not appear to be disquieted in the least. His sister as yet had heard nothing; after a while she thought she could distinguish the noise of snow-shoes on the snow, at a distance, but rapidly advancing. She looked out, and seeing the four large men coming straight to their lodge she was in great fear, and running in, exclaimed:
“He is coming, four times as strong as ever!” for she supposed that the one man whom her brother had offended had become so angry as to make four of himself in order to wreak his vengeance.
The boy-man said, “Why do you mind them? Give me something to eat.”
“How can you think of eating at such a time?” she replied.
“Do as I request you, and be quick.”
She then gave little spirit his dish, and he commenced eating.
Just then the brothers came to the door.
“See!” cried the sister, “the man with four heads!”
The brothers were about to lift the curtain at the door, when the boy-man turned his dish upside down, and immediately the door was closed with a stone; upon which the four brothers set to work and hammered with their clubs with great fury, until at length they succeeded in making a slight opening. One of the brothers presented his face at this little window, and rolled his eye about at the boy-man in a very threatening way.
The little spirit, who, when he had closed the door, had returned to his meal, which he was quietly eating, took up his bow and arrow which lay by his side, and let fly the shaft, which, striking the man in the head, he fell back. The boy-man merely called out “Number one” as he fell, and went on with his meal.