One day when their mother was away again, the boy went into the forest
with his bow and arrows. He carried the eye with him. He had not gone
far when he saw a fat young deer, which he killed. The deer was too
heavy for him to carry home alone. So he said, "I will go and get my
sister, and we shall cut it up and put it in a basket and carry it
home together." He went home and told his sister of his good fortune,
and he led her to where the deer lay, and they began to cut up the
body. But they had forgotten to bring a basket or a bag. He called to
his sister saying, "You must weave a basket into which we can put the
meat to carry it home." And his sister said, "How can I make a basket
when I cannot see? If I am to weave a basket, I must have the eye."
The boy brought the eye to her and she made a large basket from green
twigs.
When she had finished making the basket the boy said, "I must finish
cutting up the meat. Give me the eye." So she brought him the eye, and
he proceeded to chop up the meat and to put it in the basket. Then he
said, "Why can we not have a meal here? I am very hungry." His sister
agreed that this was a good idea, and he said, "You cook the meal
while I pack the meat." The girl made a fire, but she was afraid she
would burn the meat, so she said, "I cannot see to cook. I must have
the eye." By this time her brother had finished packing the meat into
the basket, and he brought her the eye and she went on with her
cooking. The fire was low and she said, "I must have some dry wood.
Bring me some dry pine." The boy wandered off into the forest in
search of wood, but he had not gone far when he stumbled over a log
and fell to the ground. He called to his sister in anger, saying, "You
always want the eye for yourself. How can I gather dry pine when I
cannot see? Give me the eye at once."
His sister ran to him and helped him up and gave him the eye. She
found her way back to the fire, but as she reached it she smelled the
meat burning on the spit. She shouted, "The meat is burning and our
dinner will be spoiled. Give me the eye at once, so that I may see if
the meat is cooked." The boy was some distance away, and in his anger
he threw the eye to her, saying, "Find it. I am not going to walk to
you with it if you are too lazy to come and get it." The eye fell to
the ground between them, and neither of them knew where it lay. They
groped for it among the dead leaves, but as they searched for it, a
wood-pecker, watching from a branch of a tree near by, swooped
suddenly down and gobbled it up and flew away.