take her across the river, and so to save her and her little brother from
the bad old woman. The bull said, "I will take you across, but first you
must take some of the sticks out of my head." The girl begged him to start
at once; but the bull said, "No, first take the sticks out of my head." The
girl began to do it, but before she had done much, she heard the old woman
calling to her to bring the water. The girl called back, "I am trying to
get the water clear," and went on fixing the buffalo's head. The old woman
called again, saying, "Hurry, hurry with that water." The girl answered,
"Wait, I am washing my little brother." Pretty soon the old woman called
out, "If you don't bring that water, I will kill you and your brother." By
this time the girl had most of the sticks out of the bull's head, and he
told her to get on his back, and went into the water and swam with her
across the river. As he reached the other bank, the girl could see the old
woman coming from her lodge down to the river with a big stick in her hand.

When the bull reached the bank, the girl jumped off his back and started
off on the trail of the camp. The bull swam back again to the other side of
the river, and there stood the old woman. This bull was a sort of servant
of the old woman. She said to him: "Why did you take those children across
the river? Take me on your back now and carry me across quickly, so that I
can catch them." The bull said, "First take these sticks out of my head."
"No," said the old woman; "first take me across, then I will take the
sticks out." The bull repeated, "First take the sticks out of my head, then
I will take you across." This made the old woman very mad, and she hit him
with the stick she had in her hand; but when she saw that he would not go,
she began to pull the sticks out of his head very roughly, tearing out
great handfuls of hair, and every moment ordering him to go, and
threatening what she would do to him when she got back. At last the bull
took her on his back, and began to swim across with her, but he did not
swim fast enough to please her, so she began to pound him with her club to