shall be a bird. You shall fly about in the free air. No longer shall
you suffer the pain and sorrow which fall to the lot of men.'

"The old chief could wait no longer. He opened the door of the lodge and
looked within. No one was there, only a brown bird with a gray breast
flew out of the door and perched upon a branch above his head.

"The old chief was very sad, but the bird spoke to him and said, 'Do not
mourn for me, my father, for I am free from pain and sorrow. It was not
the will of the Man-i-to that I should become the greatest warrior of
the tribe. But because I was obedient to you and did the best I could,
he has changed me into a bird.

"'From this time, as long as the world shall last, I shall be the friend
of man. When the cold winds blow and ice covers the streams, I shall go
away to the warm land of the South. But in the spring, when the snows
begin to melt, I shall return. And when the children hear my voice, they
shall be happy, knowing that the long, cold winter is over. Do not mourn
for me, my father. Farewell!'

"Ever since then, when the Indian children hear a robin singing, they
say, 'There is O-pee-chee, the bird that was once an Indian boy.' And no
Indian boy ever hurts a robin."




[Illustration]