"OLD-man buried them all in the ashes--then he threw some more wood on the fire and went away and left them.Every Squirrel there was in the world was buried in the ashes except one woman Squirrel,and she told OLD-man she couldn't play and had to go home.
If she hadn't gone,there might not be any Squirrels in this world right now.Yes,it is lucky that she went home.
"For a minute or so OLD-man watched the fire as it grew hotter,and then went down to a creek where willows grew and made him-self a great plate by weaving them together.
When he had finished making the plate,he returned to the fire,and it had burned low again.He laughed at his wicked work,and a Raven,flying over just then,called him 'forked-tongue,'or liar,but he didn't mind that at all.OLD-man cut a long stick and began to dig out the Squirrel-people.One by one he fished them out of the hot ashes;and they were roasted fine and were ready to eat.As he fished them out he counted them,and laid them on the willow plate he had made.When he had dug out the last one,he took the plate to the creek and there sat down to eat the Squirrels,for he was hungry,as usual.OLD-man is a big eater,but he couldn't eat all of the Squirrels at once,and while eating he fell asleep with the great plate in his lap.
"Nobody knows how long it was that he slept,but when he waked his plate of Squirrels was gone--gone completely.He looked be-hind him;he looked about him;but the plate was surely gone.Ho!But he was angry.
He stamped about in the brush and called aloud to those who might hear him;but no-body answered,and then he started to look for the thief.OLD-man has sharp eyes,and he found the trail in the grass where somebody had passed while he slept.'Ho!'he said,'the Mountain-lion has stolen my Squirrels.
I see his footprints;see where he has mashed the grass as he walked with those soft feet of his;but I shall find him,for I made him and know all his ways.'
"OLD-man got down on his hands and knees to walk as the Bear-people do,just as he did that night in the Sun's lodge,and followed the trail of the Mountain-lion over the hills and through the swamps.At last he came to a place where the grass was all bent down,and there he found his willow plate,but it was empty.That was the place where the Mountain-lion had stopped to eat the rest of the Squirrels,you know;but he didn't stay there long because he expected that OLD-man would try to follow him.
"The Mountain-lion had eaten so much that he was sleepy and,after travelling a while after he had eaten the Squirrels,he thought he would rest.He hadn't intended to go to sleep;but he crawled upon a big stone near the foot of a hill and sat down where he could see a long way.Here his eyes began to wink,and his head began to nod,and finally he slept.
"Without stopping once,OLD-man kept on the trail.That is what counts--sticking right to the thing you are doing--and just before sundown OLD-man saw the sleeping Lion.Care-fully,lest he wake the sleeper,OLD-man crept close,being particular not to move a stone or break a twig;for the Mountain-lion is much faster than men are,you see;and if OLD-man had wakened the Lion,he would never have caught him again,perhaps.Little by little he crept to the stone where the Mountain-lion was dreaming,and at last grabbed him by the tail.It wasn't much of a tail then,but enough for OLD-man to hold to.Ho!
The Lion was scared and begged hard,saying:
"'Spare me,OLD-man.You were full and I was hungry.I had to have something to eat;had to get my living.Please let me go and do not hurt me.'Ho!OLD-man was angry--more angry than he was when he waked and found that he had been robbed,because he had travelled so far on his hands and knees.
"'I'll show you.I'll teach you.I'll fix you,right now.Steal from me,will you?
Steal from the man that made you,you night-prowling rascal!'
"OLD-man put his foot behind the Moun-tain-lion's head,and,still holding the tail,pulled hard and long,stretching the Lion out to great length.He squalled and cried,but OLD-man kept pulling until he nearly broke the Mountain-lion in two pieces--until he couldn't stretch him any more.Then OLD-man put his foot on the Mountain-lion's back,and,still holding the tail,stretched that out until the tail was nearly as long as the body.
"'There,you thief--now you are too long and lean to get fat,and you shall always look just like that.Your children shall all grow to look the same way,just to pay you for your stealing from the man that made you.Come on with me';and he dragged the poor Lion back to the place where the fire was,and there rolled him in the hot ashes,singeing his robe till it looked a great deal like burnt hair.Then OLD-man stuck the Lion's nose against the burnt logs and blackened it some --that is why his face looks as it does to-day.
"The Mountain-lion was lame and sore,but OLD-man scolded him some more and told him that it would take lots more food to keep him after that,and that he would have to work harder to get his living,to pay for what he had done.Then he said,'go now,and remember all the Mountain-lions that ever live shall look just as you do.'And they do,too!
"That is the story--that is why the Moun-tain-lion is so long and lean,but he is no bigger thief than OLD-man,nor does he tell any more lies.Ho!"
