The crow never makes its nest in low-growing trees, but only in tall, big trees.  Far from here, the old men say, in the land where the sun rises, there are no more living trees; for the scorching heat of the sun has killed them.all, and dried up the leaves.  There they stand, with naked branches, all bare of leaves.  Only two trees there have not died from the heat.  The trunks of these trees are of gold, and all their leaves of silver.  But if any bird lights on one of these trees, it falls down dead.  The ground under the two trees is covered with the bones of little birds and big birds that have died from perching on the trees with the golden trunks and the silver leaves.  These two trees are full of a resin that makes all the birds die.  Only the crow can sit on the branches, and not die.  Hence the crow alone, of all the birds, remains alive in the land of the sunrise.

No man can get the resin from these trees.  But very long ago, in the days of the Mona, there came a Malaki T’oluk Waig to the trees.  He had a war-shield that shone brightly, for it had a flame of fire always burning in it.  And this Malaki came to the golden trees and took the precious resin from their trunks.

CHAPTER V

An Ata Story [147]

Alelu’k and Alebu’tud [148]

Alelu’k and Alebu’tud lived together in their own house.  They had no neighbors.  One day Alelu’k said to his wife, “I must go and hunt some pigs.”

Then he started out to hunt, taking with him his three dogs.  He did not find any wild pigs; but before long he sighted a big deer with many-branched antlers.  The dogs gave chase and seized the deer, and held it until the man came up and killed it with the sharp iron spike that tipped his long staff (tidalan [149]).  Then the man tied to the deer’s antlers a strong piece of rattan, and dragged it home.

When he reached his house, his wife met him joyfully; and they were both very happy, because they had now plenty of meat.  They brought wood and kindled a fire, and fixed over the fire a frame of wood tied to upright posts stuck into the ground.  On the frame they laid the body of the deer to singe off the hair over the flames.  And when the hair was all burned off, and the skin clean, Alelu’k began to cut off pieces of venison, and Alebu’tud got ready the big clay pot, and poured into it water to boil the meat.  But there was only a little water in the house, so Alubu’tud took her bucket (sekkadu [150]), and hurried down to the river.  When she reached there, she stood with her bare feet in the stream, and dipped the bucket into the stream, and took it out full of water.  But, just as she turned to climb up the river-bank, an enormous fish jumped out of the river, seized her, dragged her down, and devoured her.

At home, Alelu’k was watching for his wife to come back bringing the water.  Day after day he waited for her, and all day long he was crying from sorrow.