e side of
the mountain. He also made known to the bear-king that he would go back
that night that his people might be put in immediate possession of his
royal behest.

The bear-king replied that Grasshopper might do as he pleased, but that
one of his young men was at his command; and, jumping nimbly on his
back, Grasshopper rode home.

He assembled the people, and ordered the bear's head off, to be hung
outside of the village, that the bear-spies, who were lurking in the
neighborhood, might see it and carry the news to their chief.

The next morning, by break of day, Grasshopper had all of his young
warriors under arms and ready for a fight. About the middle of the
afternoon the bear war-party came in sight, led on by the pursy king,
and making a tremendous noise. They advanced on their hind-legs, and
made a very imposing display of their teeth and eyeballs.

The bear-chief himself came forward, and with a majestic wave of his
right hand, said that he did not wish to shed the blood of the young
warriors; but that if Grasshopper, who appeared to be the head of the
war-party, consented, they two would have a race, and the winner should
kill the losing chief, and all his young men should be servants to the
other.

Grasshopper agreed, of course--how little Pipe-bearer, who stood by,
grinned as they came to terms!--and they started to run before the whole
company of warriors who stood in a circle looking on.

At first there was a prospect that Grasshopper would be badly beaten;
for although he kept crowding the great fat bear-king till the sweat
trickled from his shaggy ears, he never seemed to be able to push past
him. By and by, Grasshopper, going through a number of the most
extraordinary maneuvers in the world, raised about the great fat
bear-king such eddies and whirlwinds with the sand, and so danced about,
before and after him, that he at last got fairly bewildered, and cried
out for them to come and take him off. Out of sight before him in
reaching the goal, Grasshopper only waited for the bear-king to come up,
when he drove an arrow straight through him, and ordered them to take
the body away and make it ready for supper; as he was getting hungry.

He then directed all of the other bears to fall to and help prepare the
feast; for in fulfillment of the agreement they had become servants.
With many wry faces the bears, although bound to act becomingly in their
new character, according to the forfeit, served up