were most all enemies instead of
friends, and you could hear them quarrelling almost every night, until
OLD-man came along that way.

"He heard about the trouble. I forget who told him, but I think it was
the Rabbit. Anyhow he visited the council where the quarrelling was
going on and listened to what each one had to say. It took until
almost daylight, too. He listened to it all--every bit. When they had
finished talking and the quarrelling commenced as usual, he said,
'stop!' and they did stop.

"Then he said to them: 'I will settle this thing right here and right
now, so that there will be no more rows over it, forever.'

"He opened his paint sack and took from it a small, polished bone.
This he held up in the firelight, so that they might all see it, and he
said:

"'This will settle the quarrel. You all see this bone in my right
hand, don't you?'

"'Yes,' they replied.

"'Well, now you watch the bone and my hands, too, for they are quick
and cunning.'

"OLD-man began to sing the gambling song and to slip the bone from one
hand to the other so rapidly and smoothly that they were all puzzled.
Finally he stopped singing and held out his hands--both shut tight, and
both with their backs up.

"'Which of my hands holds the bone now?' he asked them.

"Some said it was in the right hand and others claimed that it was the
left hand that held it. OLD-man asked the Bear to name the hand that
held the bone, and the Bear did; but when OLD-man opened that hand it
was empty--the bone was not there. Then everybody laughed at the Bear.
OLD-man smiled a little and began to sing and again pass the bone.

"'Beaver, you are smart; name the hand that holds the bone this time.'

"The Beaver said: 'It's in your right hand. I saw you put it there.'

"OLD-man opened that hand right before the Beaver's eyes, but the bone
wasn't there, and again everybody laughed--especially the Bear.

"'Now, you see,' said OLD-man, 'that this is not so easy as it looks,
but I am going to teach you all to play the game; and when you have all
learned it, you must play it until you find out who is the cleverest at
the playing. Whoever that is, he shall be chief under me, forever.'

"Some were awkward and said they didn't care much who was chief, but
most all of them learned to play pretty well. First the Bear and the
Beaver tried it, but the Beaver beat the Bear easily and held the bone
for ever so long. Finally the Buffalo beat the