A young man was warned by his parents and relatives against gambling. He always lost. One day he gambled away all his clothes and his mother's only blanket. She was angry at him, and, in order to put him to shame, she took off her kilt2 and wrapped it around his neck. He was very much ashamed, and lay down in a corner of the lodge. A young girl pitied him, and offered him a robe, but he refused it. At night he took a mat, a basket, a fire-drill, and a knife, and went off to the mountains. He built a sweat-lodge, in which he remained four days. He then moved to another place, where he sweated in a sweat-lodge for four more days. The fourth sweat-lodge which he built he made quite large, and lived in it. He trained himself for a long time (according to some informants, for four years). His people thought he had committed suicide. When he had ,gained knowledge regarding games, he returned home. His parents were glad to see him. The men with whom he had formerly played said, "Loser has returned. Let us play with him!" They urged him until he played with them. His mother gave him a robe and her ear-rings with which to start gambling. He gained from every one who played with him. The best gamblers tried him, but all lost. He won much property. Then all the girls wanted to marry him; but he refused them all, until the beautiful daughters of Loon and Swan came and offered themselves. Their mothers brought them. Ai'lul's mother accepted them; and when he agreed, they became his wives. They were good singers, and could play well on flutes.
There was a young man who felt very bad because he had become very poor. He had just one horse left. He made up his mind to seek adventures, and rode away, not knowing where he was going. He passed along a side-hill, below a high cliff, and, looking up, saw a white man walking in front of a house. He had built a cabin at the base of the cliff. The white man shouted to him, " Where are you going?" and he told him that he wanted to speak with him. The Indian rode up. He said, "Do you see the gold up there in the cliff, where the eagles nest?" The Indian looked, and said he saw it. There was coarse gold and nuggets scattered all over a shelf of the rock. The white man said, "Get the gold, and let its divide it! Then we shall both be wealthy The Indian said, "How am I to get it?" The white man replied, "Kill your horse, and cut it open. Wild beasts and birds will feed on it. Hide yourself by the side of the horse; and when the two eagles come, seize their legs.4 They will fly with you up to where the gold is. Throw the gold down, and then let the eagles take you back." The Indian said, "I love my horse, and do not care to kill it, and the gold is of little value to life. I do not long for it." The white man said, "You need not fear for your horse, I will bring it to life again. I will gather all the pieces, and will revive it." The Indian agreed, killed his horse, cut it open, and hid by its side. Coyote, Wolf, Magpie, and others gathered to feed on the body, all had nearly eaten it when the two eagles came down. When they alighted on the carcass, the Indian took hold of them by the legs and they flew with him up to the ledge. There they sat down. The white man went to his cabin and brought out four blankets, which he spread at the base of the cliff. He shouted, "Gather the gold and throw it down upon the blankets!" The Indian said, "You have not yet revived my horse." Nothing was left of it now but the scattered bones. The white man gathered all the bones, and put them together. He tried, but the horse would not get up or come to life. Then the Indian said, "You have not kept your promise. My horse is still dead, so I shall not give you any gold." The Indian paid no attention to the white man’s pleading. Then the Eagles spoke to him, and said, "Do not speak to the white man. He cares for nothing but gold. If you should give it to him, he would keep all for himself. We are glad that you have not given him any. It does not belong to him, yet he covets it. The gold belongs to the old woman, your grandmother, who lives out on the plain. She left it here in the mountains and we are its keepers." The man answered, "Do not leave me here. How can I get away? I have no horse to travel with." They said, "Do not worry. We will look after you. We shall take you to your grandmother." Then the Eagles carried him far off, and set him down at the end of a narrow trail on a large prairie. They said, "Go on until you reach a bluff with timber. There you will see smoke. There is your grandmother's house." They left him, and he walked along the trail. he saw the smoke, and found a lodge, which he entered. The old woman knew all that had happened, and treated him kindly. She had four sons who went out every day and returned at night. She said, "When your elder brothers come home, they will be glad to see you." There were no other inhabitants in that country. He staid there a long time, and gained much knowledge from his grandmother.
1 Means "loser." - See JE 8 : 375.
2 A kind of bodice reaching from the waist to the knee. The lower part is cut into fringe. It is generally worn under a dress, but some old women and young dhildren used it sometimes without any dress.
3 A story combining Plateau, Plains, and European elements. For the contest of heat and cold see RBAE 31 : 732; for the European elements see Bolte and Polivka, Anmerkungen zu den Kinder- u. Hausmarchen der Bruder Grimm 2 : 516.
4 BBAE 59 : 286 (note 1).TOP
