ening up, great changes
came over the bundle-baby of the Digger. It threw off the cocoon and its
outer skin, and came forth from the gloom into the sunshine, a big
strong Digger Wasp with a sting of its own, and a deadly feud with all
screaming Cicadas. Although it never saw its mother, or got any lessons
from her, it goes after the buzzing hotweather-bugs, when August comes,
and treats them exactly as she did.

TALE 48

How the Indian Summer Came

Wahkonda, the Great Spirit, the Ruler of the World, had found pleasure
the whole summer long in making mountains, lakes, and forests. Then when
the autumn came, and the leaves fell from the trees, He lighted His pipe
and sat down to look over the things He had made.

As He did so, the north wind arose for Cold Time was coming, and blew
the smoke and ashes of the pipe into His face. Then He said: "Cease your
blowing, all ye winds, until I have finished smoking." So, of course,
there was dead calm.

Wahkonda smoked for ten days, and during all that time there were no
clouds in the sky, for there was no wind to bring them; there was
unbroken, calm sunny weather. But neither was there any wind to carry
off the smoke, so it hung, as the teepee smoke hangs at sunrise, and it
drifted over the valleys and forests in a blue haze.

Then at last when the Great Spirit finished His smoke and His
meditation, He emptied out His pipe. That was the signal, the north wind
broke loose, and came howling down from the hills, driving the leaves
before it, and warning all wild things to be ready, for soon there would
be winter in the woods.

And it hath been so ever since. When the leaves have fallen and before
yet the Ice-king is here, there come, for a little while, the calm
dreamy days, when the Great Spirit is smoking His pipe, and the smoke is
on the land. The Red-men call them the Smoking Days, but we call it
Indian Summer.

THINGS TO SEE IN WINTERTIME

[Illustration: The North Star or Home Star]

Things to See in Wintertime

TALE 49

The North Star, or the Home Star

If you are going to be a Woodcrafter, you must begin by knowing the
North Star, because that is the star which will show you the way home,
if you get lost in the woods at night. That is why the Indians call it
the "Home Star."

But first, I must tell you how it came to be, and the story begins a
long, long time ago.

In those far-off days, we are told, there were two wonderful hunters,
one n