[1]
Once upon a time an Indian hunter built himself a house in the middle of a great forest, far away from all his tribe;

[2]
for his heart was gentle and kind, and he was weary of the treachery and cruel deeds of those who had been his friends.

[3]
So he left them, and took his wife and three children, and they journeyed on

[4]
until they found a spot near to a clear stream, where they began to cut down trees, and to make ready their wigwam.

[5]
For many years they lived peacefully and happily in this sheltered place,

[6]
never leaving it except to hunt the wild animals, which served them both for food and clothes.

[7]
At last, however, the strong man felt sick, and before long he knew he must die.

[8]
So he gathered his family round him, and said his last words to them.

[9]
“You, my wife, the companion of my days, will follow me ere many moons have waned to the island of the blessed.

[10]
“But for you, O my children, whose lives are but newly begun,

[11]
the wickedness, unkindness, and ingratitude from which I fled are before you.

[12]
“Yet I shall go hence in peace, my children, if you will promise

[13]
always to love each other, and never to forsake your youngest brother.”

[14]
“Never!” they replied, holding out their hands.

[15]
And the hunter died content.

[16]
Scarcely eight moons had passed when, just as he had said, the wife went forth, and followed her husband;

[17]
but before leaving her children she bade the two elder ones think of their promise

[18]
never to forsake the younger, for he was a child, and weak.

[19]
And while the snow lay thick upon the ground, they tended him and cherished him;

[20]
but when the earth showed green again, the heart of the older brother stirred within him,

[21]
and he longed to see the wigwams of the village where his father’s youth was spent.

[22]
Therefore he opened all his heart to his sister, who answered:

[23]
“My brother, I understand your longing for our fellow-men, whom here we cannot see. But remember our father’s words.

[24]
“Shall we not seek our own pleasures, and forget the little one?”

[25]
But he would not listen, and, making no reply, he took his bow and arrows and left the hut.

[26]
The snows fell and melted, yet he never returned; and at last the heart of the girl grew cold and hard,

[27]
and her little boy became a burden in her eyes, till one day she spoke thus to him:

[28]
“See, there is food for many days to come. Stay here within the shelter of the hut.

[29]
“I go to seek our brother, and when I have found him I shall return hither.”

[30]
But when, after hard journeying, she reached the village where her brother dwelt, and saw

[31]
that he had a wife and was happy, and when she, too, was sought by a young brave,

[32]
then she also forgot the boy alone in the forest, and thought only of her husband.

[33]
Now as soon as the little boy had eaten all the food which his sister had left him, he went out into the woods,

[34]
and gathered berries and dug up roots, and while the sun shone he was contented and had his fill.

[35]
But when the snows began and the wind howled, then his stomach felt empty and his limbs cold,

[36]
and he hid in trees all the night, and only crept out to eat what the wolves had left behind.

[37]
And by-and-by, having no other friends, he sought their company, and sat by

[38]
while they devoured their prey, and they grew to know him, and gave him food.

[39]
And without them he would have died in the snow.

[40]
But at last the snows melted, and the ice upon the great lake,

[41]
and as the wolves went down to the shore, the boy went after them.

[42]
And it happened one day that his big brother was fishing in his canoe near the shore,

[43]
and he heard the voice of a child singing in the Indian tone--

[44]
“My brother, my brother! I am becoming a wolf, I am becoming a wolf!”

[45]
And when he had so sung he howled as wolves howl.

[46]
Then the heart of the elder sank, and he hastened towards him, crying,

[47]
“Brother, little brother, come to me;”

[48]
but he, being half a wolf, only continued his song.

[49]
And the louder the elder called him,

[50]
“Brother, little brother, come to me,” the swifter he fled after his brothers the wolves, and the heavier grew his skin,

[51]
till, with a long howl, he vanished into the depths of the forest.

[52]
So, with shame and anguish in his soul, the elder brother went back to his village,

[53]
and, with his sister, mourned the little boy and the broken promise till the end of his life.