“Meadowlark thought it was a good time to sneak out of there. So he began pulling the piece of fat liver a little at a time. Nobody noticed him. He pulled it a little more. Everybody out there was fighting and yelling so hard that nobody knew Meadowlark was around. So he got a good hold on the piece of fat liver, jumped outside with it, and began flying. The liver was so heavy that he could hardly keep above the ground; but he thought about the baby and how glad his wife would be, and that made him stronger. Maybe it was good that he had to fly so low. Maybe if he had been stronger, the crows would have seen him.” “Maybe the star people helped him with their power,” No Water remarked. “_Dho_,” agreed Moves Walking with a solemn air of finality, “the star people helped.” “I think that is how it was,” Eagle Voice continued with a grandfatherly smile; “the star people gave him power. But he was so small that he had to stop often and pant. Then he would fly some more; then he would stop and pant awhile. “Then when the sun had just gone under, Meadowlark got back home with the fat liver--” “_Hiyay! hiyay! hiyay!_” Slapping their knees, the collaborators applauded, like delighted children, grinning at each other the while. --“And his wife was so happy that she made a new song for her happiness. From the top of the brush near by she sang her new song, and it was like this.” Eagle Voice fitted the Sioux words, meaning “calf liver rich,” to the familiar notes of the meadowlark’s song. “_Pin-hin-chla pinapin!_ _Pin-hin-chla pinapin!_ “That is the song she made for her happiness, and the prairie was still to hear it. If you listen in the quiet evening you can hear it yet. “_Pin-hin-chla pinapin!_ _Pin-hin-chla pinapin!_ “So they had a big feast, and the baby ate most of the liver. After this, they greased the baby all over again with the sacred paint, and pushed the soft nest close about him, and he slept. “Next morning Mother Meadowlark awoke early, just when the morning star had come to see. She looked first at the nest, and again it was empty. But she did not scream that time! Instead, she looked around; and what do you think she saw?” “Walking already,” said No Water eagerly. “_Dho_,” continued Eagle Voice. “That is what he was doing down by the creek; and where he walked it was like day, for a light came out of him all over. “So Mother Meadowlark whispered to her husband, ‘Wake up and see! Wake up and see!’ And when he awoke and saw, they both just stood there looking hard, with their beaks wide open. For they did not see any baby at all. They saw a fine big boy walking there, and he was making a little day about him where he walked. “When the morning star went back to his tepee and all the star nations slept and the sun came, they ate what was left of the liver. Then Falling Star spoke for the first time, and he said, ‘I think I will make me a bow and some arrows today.’ And he walked away down the creek.