. St. Nicholas [serial]. him, and he at once told it to the was delighted, and admired him the more forhis shrewdness. They soon put their plans intopractice, and began plaiting a rope of grasses. This was a great undertaking, as the rope hadto be very long. Many moons came and wentbefore this rope was finished, and, when thetask was completed, the next thing to be con-sidered was, how they should carry or transport itto the place where the sun rises in the question puzzled them greatly, for the ropewas very large and heavy, and the distance wasvery great. All the animals
. St. Nicholas [serial]. him, and he at once told it to the was delighted, and admired him the more forhis shrewdness. They soon put their plans intopractice, and began plaiting a rope of grasses. This was a great undertaking, as the rope hadto be very long. Many moons came and wentbefore this rope was finished, and, when thetask was completed, the next thing to be con-sidered was, how they should carry or transport itto the place where the sun rises in the question puzzled them greatly, for the ropewas very large and heavy, and the distance wasvery great. All the animals at that time were very smallwhen compared to the field-mouse, which was thenthe largest quadruped in the whole world, twicethe size of any buffalo. The horse, or, as theIndians call it, shungatonga, meaning elk-dog,did not then exist. It was a long time before thechildren could find a field-mouse to whom theymight appeal for aid. At last they found one athome, sitting comfortably under an immense fern. &^-:>&. AT HOME, UNDER AN IMMENSE FERN. The little boy then went up to him, and, afterrelating his troubles, asked if he would assist in 136 THE LITTLE FIRST MAN [December, carrying therope. Mount-ains had to becrossed, riversswum or ford-ed, accordingto their depth,wide expansesof prairie to bepassed over,forests skirted,swamps wadedand lakes cir-cled, before therope and itsmakers couldreach the placewhere the sun rises. The field-mouse, after much considera-tion, agreed to help the pair, and they began theirpreparations by winding the rope into a great coil,which they packed on the back of the the top of this, the boy and girl seated them-selves, and the journey began. When they cameto a river which must be crossed by swimming, therope was taken off the mouse and unwound; thenhe would take one end in his mouth, and swim tothe other side, letting it trail out after him as heswam. This performance had to be repeated manytimes before the whole rope was landed on
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Keywords: ., bookauthordodgemar, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookyear1873
