ow. We
have been following him a long way into the woods."

The sister did not dare to tell her brother. She and her mother lived
on the meat for a long time while the boy was nearly starving. But
sometimes when the mother was away, the girl gave him meat, for she
loved her brother dearly and used to weep because she knew he was
hungry.

One day a loon flew over the hut, and, seeing the poor blind boy at
the door, resolved to restore his eyesight. The bird perched on the
roof and kept calling, "_Quee moo! Quee moo!_" which sounded to the
lad like "Come here! Come here!"

He went out and followed the bird to the water. There the loon took
the boy on its back and dived with him to the bottom. The loon is a
great diver and can stay for a long time under water, but it knew the
boy could not. So it came to the surface soon and asked, "Can you see
anything?"

"No, I cannot see anything as yet," answered the boy.

They dove again and remained a longer time. Again when they came up
the loon asked, "Can you see now?"

"I can see a dim shimmer," replied the boy.

"Take a long, long breath and hold it while we go down," said the
loon. "When you can hold it no more, let it come out very gradually.
As soon as the bubbles of air begin to rise I will know that you must
come to the surface and will bring you."

The third time they remained a long while under water, and when they
rose to the surface the boy could see as well as ever. He thanked the
loon very heartily, and it said to him:

"Go to your home now; but promise me never again to shoot a bird."

He gladly promised, and then ran away to his hut. There he found the
skin of the bear he had shot hanging up to dry. He was so angry that
he tore it down and, entering the hut, demanded of his mother, "Where
did you get the bearskin that is hanging outside the house?"

His mother perceived that he had recovered his sight and that he
suspected the truth about the bear. She was frightened at his anger
and sought to pacify him.

"Come here," she said, "and I will give you the best I have. But I
have no one to support me and am very poor. Come here and eat this. It
is very good."

The boy did not go near. Again he asked, "Where did you get the
bearskin that I saw hanging outside the door?"

She was afraid to tell him the truth, so she said, "A boat came here
with many men in it and they gave me the skin."

The boy did not believe her story. He was sure that it was the s