The Lost Giant, and Other American Indian Tales RetoldHiggins, Violet Moore
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The Lost Giant, and Other American Indian Tales Retold
Higgins, Violet Moore
Indians of North America -- Folklore -- Juvenile literature
“But I will not leave you unless I find a tribe which will be kind to
you,” he said at last, as they were starting, and with that promise
Wasewahto had to be satisfied. The giant swung the boy to his shoulder
and set out.
After four days’ travel they reached a strange camp, and here they
found Wapiti. She was furiously angry when she saw the boy, but a fear
of the giant kept her silent. When he had told her his dream, she too
felt uneasy, and pretended to welcome Wasewahto. But when the giant
left him with his stepmother, and prepared to leave, the child sobbed
and cried so hard and pleaded so earnestly with his friend to stay and
live near him, that the big man paused.
“I will stay if the tribe will have me,” he said at last, and no one
dared refuse. When they had given their consent the giant said: “I
will work for the tribe--I will hunt and fish and fight--but one thing
you must promise me. Never give me otter’s flesh to eat or I will go
away and never return.”
[Illustration: IN ANOTHER INSTANT THEY CAME FLYING OUT OF THE BAG]
So the tribe promised, and little Wasewahto was happy. The giant taught
him to hunt and fish, so that never again would he have to starve if
Wapiti should desert him. The little boy soon had many friends. He was
so merry and bright, his aim with an arrow was so true and he was such
a brave little warrior, that all the tribe loved him.
All but Wapiti--she still hated the boy, and she hated the giant even
more, for she felt that had it not been for him, she would long ago
have been rid of the unwelcome child. In her heart she was always
trying to make some plan whereby she might be freed from both of them.
One day a hunter brought in a freshly killed deer for the giant, who
was very fond of roast venison, and Wapiti at last had her chance.
She prepared a splendid roast, but here and there among the deer meat
she made a tiny slit with a sharp knife, and slid in pieces of otter
flesh. The giant returned from fishing, with a ravenous appetite, and
sat down to the meal with a relish. But the first bite revealed the
trickery of Wapiti, and with a furious glare at her, the giant leaped
to his feet, strode from the camp, and never was seen again by the
tribe.
Soon the warriors returned, and when they learned what had happened,
Wapiti had no further chance to carry out her cruel plans against
Wasewahto, for they drove her from the camp with stones and arrows,
and said if ever she returned her life would be forfeited. Then they
adopted her stepson as the child of the tribe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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