The Tribal Prayer was called in the Omaha tongue Wa-ko_n_'-da gi-ko_n_: Wa-ko_n_'-da, the power which could make or bring to pass; gi-ko_n_, to weep from conscious insufficiency, or the longing for something that could bring happiness or prosperity. The words of the prayer, Wa-ko_n_'-da dhe-dhu wah-pa'-dhi_n_ a-to_n_'-he, literally rendered, are, Wa-ko_n_'-da, here needy he stands; and I am he. This prayer is very old. Its supplicating cadences echoed through the forests of this land long before our race had touched its shores, voicing a cry recognised by every human heart. [Music: THE OMAHA TRIBAL PRAYER. Harmonized by PROF. J.C. FILLMORE. Wa-kon-da dhe-dhu Wa-pa-dhin a-ton-he. Wa-kon-da dhe-dhu Wa-pa-dhin a-ton-he.] STORY AND SONG OF THE BIRD'S NEST.[3] [Footnote 3: An old priest of the rite gave me the story and song through Mr. James R. Murie, an educated Pawnee, and they are here for the first time made public.] Scattered through an elaborate ritual and religious ceremony of the Pawnee tribe are little parables in which some natural scene or occurrence serves as a teaching to guide man in his daily life. The following is an example. The words of the song ("the sound of the young") are purposely few, so as to guard the full meaning from the careless and to enable the priest to hold the interpretation as a part of his sacred treasure. They are sufficient, however, to attract the attention of the thoughtful; and such a one who desired to know the teaching of the sacred song could first perform certain initiatory rites and then learn its full meaning from the priest. * * * * * "One day a man whose mind was open to the teaching of the gods wandered on the prairie. As he walked, his eyes upon the ground, he spied a bird's nest hidden in the grass, and arrested his feet just in time to prevent stepping on it. He paused to look at the little nest tucked away so snug and warm, and noted that it held six eggs, and that a peeping sound came from some of them. While he watched, one moved; and soon a tiny bill pushed through the shell, uttering a shrill cry. At once the parent birds answered, and he looked up to see where they were. They were not far off, and were flying about in search of food, chirping the while to each other and now calling to the little one in the nest.