"'Master of Life,' he cried,'must our lives depend on these things?'

"He was very unhappy. He could not eat. He lay in his wigwam, fasting
and praying for some good to come to his people.

"One evening as he lay watching the setting sun he saw a youth coming
toward him. His dress was green and yellow, and over his yellow hair he
wore a bright green plume.

"'The Master of Life has sent me,' said the youth. 'I am Mondamin. It is
only by hard labor Hiawatha, that you can gain the answer to your
prayer. Rise now, and wrestle with me.'

"Hiawatha was weak from fasting, but he did as Mondamin commanded. Until
the sun had set they wrestled together. Then Mondamin went away as
silently as he had come.

"A second time he came, and a third. Then he said: "'You have fought
bravely, Hiawatha. I shall come once more. You will conquer me. Then you
must take off my dress of green and yellow and my nodding plumes. Make a
bed in the soft warm earth for me to lie in. Let nothing come to disturb
me as I slumber. Only let the sunshine and the rain fall upon me. You
must watch beside me, Hiawatha, until my sleep is over.'

"Then he was gone.

"When they wrestled the next night it was as Mondamin had said. He was
conquered. Then, day after day, Hiawatha came and watched,

"'Till at length a small green feather