"Another story is told about a princess who was turned into a bear on account of her pride in rejecting all suitors. For this her skin was nailed to the sky as a warning to other proud maidens. "Would you like to hear what the Indians tell about the Great Bear?" asked Mary. "Indeed I should," replied Harry. "I had no idea the Indians looked at the stars." "They spend so much time on the open plains that they cannot help noticing them," said Mary; "and they tell many strange legends about them. The Iroquois Indians tell the following story about the Great Bear, which must have seemed like a Bear to them, just as it did to the Grecians. "Once upon a time a party of hunters who were in pursuit of a bear were suddenly attacked by three monster stone giants who destroyed all but three of them. These, together with the bear, were carried up to the sky by invisible hands. The bear is still being pursued by the first hunter with his bow, the second hunter carries a kettle, and the third is carrying sticks wherewith to light a fire when the bear is killed. Only in the autumn does the hunter pierce the bear with an arrow, and it is said that it is the dripping blood that tinges the autumn foliage." "I like that story," said Harry. "Don't you know another bear story?" "I can tell you one," replied his sister, "that is told by the Fox Indians of Louisiana. In the days of long ago the Indians believed that the trees were able to walk about at night and talk to each other. One dark night as a bear was wandering homeward through a lonely wood, he was very much surprised to see the trees walking about, nodding their heads and whispering to each other. "At first Mr. Bear thought it was only the wind; but where he saw a mighty oak before him, the next moment it was far behind him or on the other side of the road. Presently he happened to run against a tree. It was the oak, the lord of trees. The oak was angry and reached out one of its long branches and grabbed the bear by the tail. The bear struggled all night long to get away, and at last the oak, losing all patience, gave his tail a final twist and hurled him up into the sky. They say his tail was stretched in the struggle." STORIES OF THE GREAT DIPPER. "That is a funny story," said Harry, enjoying the account of Mr. Bear. "Are there any stories about the Great Dipper? I wonder why it is called the 'Dipper'?" [Illustration: THE GREAT DIPPER AND THE LITTLE DIPPER.]