onned their war shirts, sharpened their tomahawks, tipped
their arrows, and tightened their bowstrings.

[Illustration]

But by the time they had made ready, the sun had set, and the blanket of
darkness had fallen upon them. A council was quickly called. It was
decided that they would not start to war until moonrise. So the warriors
lay down to sleep.

As they slept, another council was called. This was not a council of
men, but of mice.

From long and short trails they came, hundreds and hundreds of mice, for
all had heard the warriors boast of their strength.

"Now," said the mice, "we will show these boasters how weak are men,
and how strong are little mice."

When all the mice were gathered about the council tree, the leader spoke
thus: "My brothers, listen! The Great Spirit did not give men strength,
that they should fight and kill one another. The Great Spirit did not
make men powerful, that they should strike down and kill the weaker
animals. Let us show these fierce warriors that it is the weak who are
strong, and the strong who are weak. Let every mouse destroy at least
one weapon before the moon shall rise."

At this, all the mice set to work. Snap, snap, snap, went the bowstrings
on all sides. Then the sharp little teeth began on the feathers that
winged the poisoned arrows. Soon the feathers lay in bits about the
ground.

Next, the deerskin cords that bound the sling shots were cut in two, and
before the moon had risen, every weapon had been made useless; every
Indian had been disarmed,--and the mice had scampered away.

The warriors awoke. Again the war cry was raised. They sprang to their
feet and seized their weapons, but found them useless. Their bows had no
strings; their arrows, no wings; their slings, no cords.

The warriors who boasted that they were the strongest and fiercest on
the earth, had been made powerless by mice.

[Illustration]

WHY CROWS ARE POOR

After the Great Spirit had made the Red Children and had given them this
beautiful land in which to live, he sent them a great gift,--the gift of
the corn.

_Ga gaah_, the Crow, claims it was he who brought this gift. He says he
was called to the wigwam of the Great Spirit in the sky. A grain of corn
was placed in his ear, and he was told to carry it to earth, to the Red
Children.

Therefore, as _Ga gaah_ brought the gift, he claims he has a right to
pull what corn he needs. _Ga gaah_ says he does not "steal" corn. He