as little undergrowth to harbor mosquitoes,
although by this time, indeed, that pest of the Northland was pretty
much gone. The feeling of depression they sometimes had known in the
big mountains had now left the minds of our young travelers, and they
were disposed, since they found themselves well within reach of their
goal, to take their time and enjoy themselves.

"Moise, tell us another story," demanded Jesse, after they had
finished their evening meal.

"What kind of story you'll want?" inquired Moise.

"I think we'd rather have something about your own country, about
animals, the same as you told us back in the mountains, perhaps."

"Well," said Moise, "I'll told you the story of how the ermine he'll
got the end of his tail black."

XXV

HOW THE ERMINE GOT HIS TAIL BLACK

"Long tam 'go," said Moise, "before my onkle he'll been born, all
peoples lived in the woods, and there was no Companee here for trade.
In those day there was no tobacco an' no rifle--those was long tam
'go--I don' know how long.

"In those tam all the people he'll talk with Wiesacajac, an'
Wiesacajac he'll be friendly all tam with these peoples. All the
animal that'll live in the wood he'll do all right, too. Only one
animal he was bad animal, and those was what you call wissel (weasel).
This wissel is what you call ermine some tam. He'll be mighty smart
animal. In summer-tam, when grass an' rock is brown, he'll go aroun'
brown, sam as the rock an' the leaf. In summer-tam the wissel he'll
caught the hare an' the partridge, an' he'll live pretty good, heem.

"Now, in the winter-tam most all the animals in the wood he'll go
white. Those hare, he'll get white just same color as the snow. Those
_picheu_, those lynx, he'll get gray, almost white. The ptarmigan,
he'll get white, too, so those owl won' see heem on the snow; an' the
owl he'll get white, so nothing will see heem when he goes on the
snow. Some tam up north the wolf he'll be white all over, an' some fox
he'll also be white all same as the snow.

"But the _Cigous_, or wissel, he'll stay brown, with white streak on
his neck, same like he'll been in the summer-tam. When he'll go on the
hont, those rabbeet, she'll saw _Cigous_ come, an' he'll ron off, so
_Cigous_ he'll go hongree.

"Now, _Cigous_ he'll get this on his min', an' he'll sit down one tam
an' he'll make a pray to Kitchai-Manitou, an' also to Wiesacajac, an'
he'll pray that some tam he'll be white in the winter