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If I were God, I should hate myself for letting such things be!" "Perhaps He does hate Himself!" said the man Matsin, who had also come in, and now looked at the scene with sullen apathy "That may be the cause of all our troubles! I don't understand the ways of God; or the ways of man either. I have done no harm. I married the woman and we had that one child. I worked hard for both.
Having heard the crows talking of the proposed race, as they perched on the edge of the wells to drink, they determined to help their cousin to win it, and so, as the deer came to each well, there was always a snail ready to stick his head out and answer, "Here I am" to the deer's inquiry. Story of Ca Matsin and Ca Boo-Ug.
Ca Boo-Ug planted his in a rich place in the garden, but Ca Matsin planted his in the ashes in the fireplace, because it was easy, and then, too, he could look at it often and see how pretty it was. Ca Matsin laughed as he thought how he had cheated Ca Boo-Ug, but soon his part began to wither and die, and he was very angry. With Ca Boo-Ug it was different.
Before long his tree began to put forth leaves, and soon it had a beautiful bunch of bananas on it. But he could not climb the tree to get the bananas, so one day he went in search of Ca Matsin, and asked him how his banana-tree was getting along. When Ca Matsin told him that his tree was dead, Ca Boo-Ug pretended to be very much surprised and sorry, and said:
All kept their eyes shut except one, a little baby, and like all babies, he was very curious and wanted to see what was going on. So he opened one eye and peeped at a bone which he had in his hand, then he called out: "Oh, see what I have found! Here is the little finger of my brother, Ca Matsin!"
"You may have one half and I will take the other, and then we shall each have a tree." "All right," said Ca Boo-Ug; "which half will you take?" Ca Matsin did not think the roots looked very pretty, and so he chose the upper part. Ca Boo-Ug knew a thing or two about bananas, so he said nothing, and each took his part and planted it.
"I am poor, if that is what you mean," said Thord, "but take all I have to-night, Matsin " and he emptied a small purse of silver coins into the man's hand. "Bury the poor little innocent one; and comfort the mother when she wakes. Comfort her! love her! she needs love! I will be back again to-morrow." He strode away quickly, and Matsin remained at his door turning over the money in his hand.
"My tree has a beautiful bunch of bananas on it, but I cannot climb up to get them. If you will get some of them for me, I will give you half." Ca Matsin assented, and climbed the tree. When he got to the top, he pulled a banana, ate it, and threw the skin down to Ca Boo-Ug. Then he ate another, and another, throwing the skins down on Ca Boo-Ug's head.
Then he sat down and waited. As soon as Ca Matsin got hungry again, he went around to Ca Boo-Ug's garden to get some more bananas. Ca Boo-Ug seemed glad to see him, and when Ca Matsin asked for some bananas, replied: "All right, you may have all you want, but on one condition. When you jump out of the tree you must not touch those leaves. You must jump over them."
He paused now in his walk at the door of one house more than commonly dingy and tumble-down in appearance, where a man lounged outside in his shirt-sleeves, smoking. "Is all well with you, Matsin?" he asked gently. "All is well!" answered the man called Matsin, "better than last night. The child is dead." "Dead!" echoed Thord, "And the mother " "Asleep!" answered Matsin.
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