ight."

THE GOOD-LUCK TOKEN

There was once an old couple who lived quite alone with their little
grandson in the midst of a great wood.

They were wretchedly poor, for the old man was now growing too weak to
hunt, and often came home at night empty-handed. The old woman dug roots
and gathered berries for food; but alas! her eyesight was no longer
good, and there were sometimes whole days when there was nothing in the
lodge to eat.

One day the boy became very hungry, and he said to his grandfather:

"Grandfather, only make me a bow and some arrows, and I will hunt for us
all!"

The first time he went out into the forest with his bow and arrows he
met with a Chickadee, who said to him:

"Shoot me! I am willing to give my life to satisfy your hunger."

The boy shot and took home the tiny bird, and when he threw it down
before his grandmother it was no longer a Chickadee, but a fine, fat
Partridge, and the poor old folks were overcome with joy.

"Ah, ah, my grandson!" they cried. "You are indeed a hunter!"

The next day, when he went out to hunt, the boy walked a long way
without seeing any game. At last he thought he heard somebody laughing
in the depths of the forest.

The laughter sounded nearer and nearer as he walked on. By and by he was
sure he heard some person talking to himself, and in the end he could
actually make out the words, although he saw no one.

"Ha, ha," chirrupped the gay voice, "I am surely the luckiest creature
alive! I leap and flit all day long from bough to bough. I am quick as a
flash, so that I can easily escape my enemies. In my free and happy life
there is but one thing I fear, and that is a boy's blunt-headed arrow!"

When the boy heard this, he advanced boldly, and his quick eyes made out
a snug wigwam in the hollow of a great tree. He peeped in, and saw that
the house was warm and well stored with nuts of all kinds. Its little
owner sat flirting his bushy tail in the corner, upon a bed of dry
leaves; but as soon as he spied the boy, he ran past him with a scream
of fright and scampered off among the thick woods.

The boy followed as fast as he could, and after a long chase he tired
out and overtook the Squirrel, who sat coughing and grunting upon the
bough of a tree just above his head.

"Boy," he exclaimed, "only spare my life, and you shall have a charm
that will make you a successful hunter as long as you live!"

The boy agreed, and the Squirrel took him back to his