was no corn to be seen; all the plain was
overgrown with grasses, steppe-grasses, and thistles, but with _them_
was corn like a forest. How people wondered and were astounded! The fame
thereof went over the whole world, and the news reached the emperor
himself, that in such and such a place there were three own brothers,
and with them corn had sprung up for all the world, and so beautiful,
never was the like beheld! The emperor ordered the three brothers to
appear in the imperial presence.

The brothers heard of it, and smacked the tops of their heads with their
hands. "Now it will be amen with us!" They went again to their father.
"Daddy! they tell us to appear before the emperor. Advise us, daddy,
what to do!" "Go, my sons--what will be, will be; and tell the pure
truth before the emperor." The brothers started off and went to the
emperor. The emperor inquired menacingly: "Why, villains, did ye hoard
up corn, when there was such a famine that so many people died of
hunger? Tell the truth; if not I shall order you to be tortured and
racked even unto death." The brothers related all as it had been, from
the beginning to the end. "Now, most gracious emperor, give us over to
any torture whatever, or let thy kindness have compassion on us!" The
emperor's brow became smooth, his eyes became serene. He then ordered
the old father to be brought before him at once, and made him sit beside
him close to his throne, and hearkened to his counsel till death, and
his sons he rewarded handsomely. He ordered the corn to be collected ear
by ear, and to be rubbed out in men's hands; and sent it about for
seed-corn in all empires, and from it was produced holy corn for all the
world.

XVI

THE DUN HORSE[7]

I

Many years ago there lived in the Pawnee tribe an old woman and her
grandson a boy about sixteen years old. These people had no relations
and were very poor. They were so poor that they were despised by the
rest of the tribe. They had nothing of their own; and always, after the
village started to move the camp from one place to another, these two
would stay behind the rest, to look over the old camp and pick up
anything that the other Indians had thrown away as worn out or useless.
In this way they would sometimes get pieces of robes, wornout moccasins
with holes in them, and bits of meat.

Now, it happened one day, after the tribe had moved away from the camp,
that this old woman and her boy were following along th