conceited wolverine, who had boasted that he could run like lightning, and now he was just going to teach him a lesson.  So he darted back a distance to gather force, and then he came on with a rush and struck the rock and knocked it into small pieces.  He also completely stripped the skin from the back of the wolverine but did not kill him.  When the wolverine got up and stood there naked, with all his beauty gone, he was very angry at the lightning.

“‘You are like other so-called friends I have heard about,’ he said; ’you cannot do a thing but you must overdo it and spoil all.  You had no need to tear my beautiful fur coat from my back when you knew I only asked you to come and strike the rock.’

“Then the poor, shivering wolverine gathered the pieces of his coat and carried them to his sister the frog, who dwelt in a marsh, and he asked her to sew them together.  The frog had sore eyes, and when she sewed them together she did not do it properly.  Hence the wolverine was very angry, and he hit her a crack on the head and knocked her into the water.  Then he took up the coat and went and found his youngest sister, the mouse.  He told her of his troubles, and how the frog had so badly done her work.  Then he showed the mouse how he wanted the coat to be sewed.  His little sister felt badly for her big brother, and so she set to work and with great care sewed all the pieces together in their right places.  When the wolverine saw how nicely she had done her work he was much pleased.

“‘You mice may live everywhere,’ he said, in real gratitude, ’and in spite of all your enemies you will never be destroyed.’

“Then the wolverine tried to put on his coat, but, alas! he found his legs had been shortened and his feet very much flattened out by the terrible crushing he had had under that big stone which he had been so foolish as to challenge to a race.”

“Guess he didn’t run many more races,” said Sagastao.

“No, indeed,” was the reply; “he was so mortified and angry that from that day to this the wolverine has always been a sulking, solitary animal, and playing all the mean tricks he can on all kinds of animals as though he had a spite against them.  He now has not one friend who ever cares for him, unless it is his little sister the mouse.”

CHAPTER XVI.

The Legend of the Twin Children of the Sun—­How They Rid the Earth of Some of the Great Monsters—­Their Great Battle with Nikoochis, the Giant.

One pleasant summer day, when the children had the pleasure of a canoe outing with Mary and Kennedy, they decided to visit the wigwam of their old friends, Kinnesasis and his wife.  They had not seen them for some time, and as Souwanas was away on a long hunting excursion they could not expect any Nanahboozhoo stories until his return.  Kinnesasis was a capital story-teller, and they were eager to reach his wigwam.  There, after making both him and his wife happy with some gifts, they knew they could get some interesting stories in return.