“No, my son, there is not time for that yet. Now that the sun is with us again, there is much gardening to do right here in the village. But late this afternoon we shall have a race to see who has lost the most speed during this lazy vacation. Go to the other young braves in the tribe and tell them that I, Big Snapping Turtle, Medicine Man of the Kickapoo tribe, will give a fine belt and knife as a prize to the young brave who wins the race this afternoon.” “What kind of a race will it be, father?” “Oh, it would not be fair to tell you, my young son, for then you would have an advantage over the other young braves. Just spread the news and this afternoon we will gather in the meadow for the race.” Eagerly Little Snapping Turtle ran to tell all the young boys to gather in the meadow north of the village late in the afternoon for a race. He also told them about the prize that any young brave would want. Most of the boys he talked to were working hard in the gardens to make up for time lost during the rain. But they stopped long enough to listen excitedly to the news Little Snapping Turtle brought. All of them said they would be there, and then went back to work. The rain had been good for the seed, but it had also been good for the weeds. When Little Snapping Turtle got back home, he went to work cheerfully with his father in their garden to clear out the weeds. Finally the time neared for the big contest, and the young boys began to gather in the meadow. Soon every boy in the village was present, and Big Snapping Turtle stepped to the front to explain the rules. He first gave each boy a small container made of birch bark. After this had been done, Big Snapping Turtle signaled for all to be quiet. “A quarter of a mile from here there are several small lakes,” he said. “In one of those lakes, as you know, there are some very small fish. Each of you has a container. At the signal you will run to that lake and trap a small fish. Making sure to keep the fish in the container, you will run back to the meadow. The first boy to return with a fish still alive in the container will win the race. Then after the prize has been awarded, we will put all the fish you caught into the stream that runs through our village so that they can swim to the great lake to the south.” The boys waited impatiently for the signal. When it was given, they shouted and laughed as they raced toward the lake that held the small fish. Little Snapping Turtle soon was far ahead of the other young boys. When he reached the lake shore, he waded knee deep into the lake and placed his container halfway under and then stood perfectly still, waiting for the curious little fish to swim into the trap.