“Little brothers,” said Old Man, “here is something wonderful—­that you can lie in those hot ashes and coals without burning.  I ask you to teach me how to do this.”

“We will show you how to do it, Old Man,” said the rabbits.  “You must sing our song, and stay in the ashes only a short time.”  They taught Old Man their song, and he began to sing and lay down, and they covered him with coals and ashes, and the hot ashes did not burn him.

“That is good,” he said.  “You have strong medicine.  Now, so that I may know it all, do you lie down and let me cover you up.”

All the rabbits lay down in the ashes, and Old Man covered them up, and then he pulled the whole fire over them.  One old rabbit got out, and Old Man was just about to put her back when she said, “Pity me; my children need me.”

“It is good,” replied Old Man.  “You may go, so that there will be more rabbits; but these I will roast, and have a feast.”  He put more wood on the fire, and when the rabbits were cooked he got some red willow brush and put the rabbits on it to cool.  The grease from their bodies soaked into the branches, so that even to-day if red willow is held over a fire one may see the grease on the bark.  Ever since that time, too, the rabbits have a burnt place on the back, where the one that got away was singed.

Old Man sat down by the fire, waiting for the rabbits to get cool, when a coyote came along, limping.  He went on three legs.  “Pity me, Old Man,” he said.  “You have plenty of cooked rabbits, give me one of them.”

“Go away,” said Old Man, very cross; “if you are too lazy to catch food, I will not give you any.”

“But my leg is broken,” said the coyote; “I cannot run.  I cannot catch anything, and I am starving.  Give me half a rabbit.”

“I don’t care what happens to you,” said Old Man; “I worked hard to catch and cook these rabbits, and I shall not give any of them away.  I’ll tell you what I will do, though; I will run a race with you out to that far butte on the prairie, and if you beat me you can have a rabbit.”

“Good,” said the coyote, and they started.

Old Man ran very fast, and the coyote limped along behind him, but pretty close, until they got near the butte.  Then the coyote turned around and ran back very fast, for he was not lame at all.  It took Old Man a long time to get back, and just before he reached the fire, the coyote finished eating the last rabbit and ran away.

THE LOST ELK MEAT

Old Man had been a long time without food and was very hungry.  He was trying to think how he could get something to eat, when he saw a band of elk come up on a ridge.  He went over to them and spoke to them and said, “Brothers, I am lonely because I have no one to follow me.”

“Go ahead, Old Man,” said the elk; “we will follow you.”  Old Man led them about for a long time, and when it was dark he came near a high, steep cut bank.  He ran around to one side, where the hill sloped, and then went back right under the steep cliff and called out, “Come on, that is a nice jump.  You will laugh.”  So all the elk jumped off and were killed, except one cow.