The Chemawa American, November 01, 1912, Page 6, Image 6

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THE
CHEM AW A
AM ERICAN
th eir old hom e, and so th e old people and th e children packed up th e
th in g s and m oved th e cam p. T h e young m other w ent w ith th e h u n t­
ers as usual, alth o u g h she had no wish to go, and said goodby to h er
little son and bade him be good until such tim e as they could be to ­
geth er again.
W hen all the cam p was ready to sta rt, th e old wom an stooped and
p u t on her m occasins.
“ W hen will you p u t on m y m occasins?” asked th e little boy, for the
w ind was sharp and he felt cold.
“ V ery so o n ,” answ ered th e old wom an evasively, and h u n g about
u n til everybody b u t herself and the boy had left cam p.
“ Come, it is tim e to p u t on my m occasins,” insisted th e boy.
“ I am not going to p u t on your m occasins,” answ ered th e old w -
m an. “ You will never grow into a big, fine h u n te r—you are weak
and p u n y —and I am tired of ta k in g care of y o u !”
T hen she set out on the trail w hich th e others had tak en , and left
th e poor, trem b lin g little fellow all alone. F or some little tim e he
tried to follow her; b u t th e d riv in g snow was com ing down over the
land like a huge blanket, and the cold h u rt th e little b o y ’s feet so m uch
th a t he soon had to give up the trail and go back.
“ If I had only gone w ith my m o th e r,” th o u g h t he. “ But surely
she will come back, and my fath er also, when they see th a t I am not
w ith the old w om an!” H e sat dow n and huddled up in a little heap
bv the roadside to w ait.
H e sobbed b itterly , for he was only a baby and cold and m otherless
and h u n g ry . All at once he felt soft anim al fur ru b b in g against his
soft bare legs. H e glanced up hastily, and th ere stood his best friend
— th e W olf. T h e little red bov had never been so glad to see an y th in g
or anybody before, and he stopped cry in g at once w hen the anim al
said, “ I will be glad to tak e you to your m other and father at your
hom e cam p, for you have been kind and g entle to m e .”
W ith a little cry of delig h t th e boy sp ran g upon th e W olf’s back,
and they w ent off to g eth er, follow ing th e trail left by th e In d ian s.
T h ey had gone a long distance before the little red boy spied a p o rcu ­
pine in a tree.
“I am so h u n g ry , my friend W o lf,” said fie. “ Please stop and get
me th a t p o rcu p in e .” But th e W olf only made answ er: “ No indeed;
it would take far too lo n g ,” and trotted steadily forw ard. A fter a tim e
th ey found th e track s of a rabbit.
“ O h, friend W o lf,” said th e little red boy, “ get me th at rabbit or I
will sta rv e !” T h en th e wolf p u t th e little bov safely on the ground
and, c a tc h in g th e rabbit after a chase, laid it at the b ov’sfee t.