“Forgive me, sakehou! for speaking so foolishly.  I do remember now that you had left the kitchen with baby before Minnehaha asked the question.”

This prompt apology and the sweet word “sakehow” restored harmony, and Mary was now anxious to please them.

“What was the question which interested you?” asked Mary.

“Why has the marten that queer white spot on its throat?” asked Minnehaha.

“And the men told us to go to you because there was a woman in it,” added Sagastao.

Mary smiled when she heard this.

“Yes,” she said, “there was a foolish woman mixed up in the story.  It was like this, as far as I can remember, and it is a story from the North people.  Long ago a man had a wife who was a very proud, vain woman.  She was not contented with having her husband and her own people saying nice things about her, but she wanted to be flattered and admired by every creature.  You know that I have told you that, in old times, animals could talk and do many things.  Well, this conceited woman, with her silly foolish way, began attracting the different animals around her.  Almost everybody was laughing at her, but she seemed to think it great fun to have so many admirers.  She got a lesson one day when flirting with the bear.  They were walking along together and she let him put his arm around her, but he gave her such a hug that he broke two of her ribs.  She was a long time getting well and then her husband gave her a great lecturing.  You would have thought that this would have cured her, but not a bit of it.  When she was well again she was just as silly as ever, though she took good care not to flirt with any animal that could hug like a bear.  She next bewitched the skunk with her foolishness.  But one day, as they walked together, a dog suddenly attacked the skunk and in his anger and excitement he so perfumed the woman, instead of the dog, with his odor that her husband found her out and gave her a beating.

“Everybody was now laughing at her on account of her silly ways, and as her husband had persons employed to see what creatures she went out walking with she had to remain at home in her wigwam.  But when a woman gets proud and conceited and carries on like this one did she is hard to cure.  The fact was, her husband was too kind to her.  He did not give her plenty of work to keep her busy and out of mischief.  Instead of making her chop the wood and carry the water, and do other hard things, he did it for her, for he was very proud of her and she was indeed a beautiful woman.  He did, however, make her stay in their wigwam instead of allowing her to go about wherever she liked.

“She spent most of her time in fixing herself up in her beautiful clothes and thinking what a lovely creature she was.  But she soon missed the flattery of her admirers and resolved that, in spite of her husband, she would try to hear it again.  So vigilant, however, were her husband and his friends that they were too clever for her.