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BOAS]
KUTENAI TALES
59

[Nos. 46 and 47. Told by Pierre Numa and Pierre Andrew]

46. Frog and Chipmunk[1]

Frog was living in a tent, and her granddaughter was Chipmunk. Chipmunk | went around. She looked for everything. Frog said to her granddaughter: | “Don’t go that way.” Then Chipmunk went about again. She thought: | “What did she mean me to do, that I should not walk there?” Chipmunk || thought: “I will go that way where she told me not | to go.” Then she went. She saw Owl. | Owl spoke, and said: “I shall bite the child.” | (Chipmunk) was picking partridge berries and rose hips. On account of what had been said she did not move. Owl spoke, and said: “Your mother says we shall go || home.”—“My mother died long ago.” He said: “Your sister (says) | we shall go home.” She said: “My sister died long ago.” I He said: “Your mother’s sister (says) we shall go home.”— | “My mother’s sister died long ago.” He said to her: “Your father’s sister says we shall go home.”— | “My father’s sister died long ago.”—“Your younger sister || says we shall go home.”—“My younger sister died long ago.” Chipmunk spoke, | and said to Owl: “You look terrible; you have big eyes. | Cover your eyes with your hands, then I’ll go along.” Owl covered his eyes with his hands. | When Owl had covered his eyes with his hands, Chipmunk began | to run. Owl tried to kill her, and scratched || Chipmunk. Owl looked at his claws, and he licked off the blood that was on his claws. | Then she got back to her grandmother. She said: | “Grandmother, Owl is pursuing me.” She said to her granddaughter: “There is no place where I can hide you.” | Frog took her granddaughter and put her in a birch-bark basket. Chipmunk made a noise inside || that basket. Frog thought she would hold her in her mouth, but it was very bad. | Then she took her out of her mouth. There was soup of | rotten bones. She dipped her into it. Then Frog just sat down. | Owl came in. Owl spoke, and said to Frog:[2] “Did you see the child?” Frog said: “I did not look around. || I did not see her.” Owl said: “There are her tracks.” | Frog said: “I did not see the child.” | Owl said: “Is there no water? I am thirsty.” | Frog said: “There is no water.” Then Owl said: | “Is there no soup?” Frog said: “There is no fluid. This is || rotten bone.” Owl said: “I’ll drink of it.” Frog said: | “Leave some fluid for me.” Then Owl began to drink. | He saw the child was inside. Owl said: “She is inside; you told me a lie; you said that you had not seen her.” Frog spoke, | and said to him: “You shall preserve her bones.” Then || Owl bit the child. Then he ate her. After he had eaten, | he went out of the house. Then Frog began to cry because her granddaughter was


  1. See p. 46.
  2. Frog is Owl’s sister.