The people came. All the people said, "Break in his skull suddenly."
He said, "How is it possible for you to break in my skull suddenly? If
you let your weapons slip off suddenly from me each time, you will
break your legs with the blows."

They said, "When the water is hot, it will be good to put him in it."

"Fie!" said Big Turtle. "When the water is hot and I scatter it with
kicking, many of you will be scalded to death."

"He tells what is probably true," they said.

"And if it be so, it is good to burn him," said the people.

"For shame! If I scatter the fire by kicking, I will cause all the
land to blaze. Beware lest many of your children, too, die from the
fire," he said.

"He tells what is probably true," they said.

A child begged for water. "O mother, some water," it said. Big Turtle
said, "_Oh!_" He tempted them with reference to water.

"Cause the child to ask for water," said one.

"What do you mean by that?" said others.

"When the child said, 'O mother, some water,' this one, Big Turtle,
said '_Oh!_'" answered one.

"Wonderful!" they said. "He is fearing the sight of water." They took
him to the water, holding him by the tail. Notwithstanding Big Turtle
clung to the ground with his forelegs, they held his tail, and reached
the water with him. They threw him forcibly right into the water. He
walked the water for a while, crying a little, and pretended he did
not know how to swim. He said, "_Wi! wi! wi!_"

"Wonderful! Throw him out into the middle of the stream," they said.
Again they sent him headlong. He was wandering around. At length he
sank. They said, "He is dead," and went homeward. "You should have
done that to him at first," said the people.

When the people went homeward, some boys stood there. Big Turtle
approached, floating. He came peeping. Some boys stood looking at the
place where the deed was done.

Big Turtle said, "When Big Turtle came in the past to war on you, you
said that you killed him. Look here at me."

The boys went homeward to tell it. "You said that you killed Big
Turtle, but as this one behind us showed his body, he laughed at us.
Big Turtle is he who is alive."

"Ho! We attack him," said the people. They attacked him. They arrived
there.

"In what place?" said they.

"In this place," said the boys.

"Where is Otter? Where is Grass Snake? Let those two seek him," said
they.

Big Turtle sat under the mud at the bottom of the water. Only the tip
of his n