lenged the rock to catch me, and it rolled on me.'

"When the wolves and the foxes heard this they were not very sorry. They
knew how conceited the wolverine had been about his speed, indeed they
were all smarting because of the ease with which he had beaten them, and
so, instead of helping him at once, they said he deserved his punishment.

"After a time, however, they began to be sorry for the poor wolverine, who
was crying out piteously for help, but they found they were not able to
remove the rock. They could not even stir it in the least.

"'Get out of the way,' said the wolverine, 'and I will call my other
friends, the thunder and the lightning.'

"In a few minutes a great black cloud was seen rapidly coming out of the
west. As it came rushing along the foxes and the wolves were very much
frightened by the great noise it made. However, they had courage enough to
ask the lightning to take off the fine coat of the wolverine but not to
kill him. Then they ran back and watched to see the lightning do its work.
The lightning promised to do what had been asked of him; for he had heard
of this proud, conceited wolverine, who had boasted that he could run like
lightning, and now he was just going to teach him a lesson. So he darted
back a distance to gather force, and then he came on with a rush and struck
the rock and knocked it into small pieces. He also completely stripped the
skin from the back of the wolverine but did not kill him. When the
wolverine got up and stood there naked, with all his beauty gone, he was
very angry at the lightning.

"'You are like other so-called friends I have heard about,' he said; 'you
cannot do a thing but you must overdo it and spoil all. You had no need to
tear my beautiful fur coat from my back when you knew I only asked you to
come and strike the rock.'

"Then the poor, shivering wolverine gathered the pieces of his coat and
carried them to his sister the frog, who dwelt in a marsh, and he asked her
to sew them together. The frog had sore eyes, and when she sewed them
together she did not do it properly. Hence the wolverine was very angry,
and he hit her a crack on the head and knocked her into the water. Then he
took up the coat and went and found his youngest sister, the mouse. He told
her of his troubles, and how the frog had so badly done her work. Then he
showed the mouse how he wanted the coat to be sewed. His little sister felt
badly for her big brother, and so she set to