TWO small Indian boys were seated before the tepee fashioning bows and arrows.
“Mine is not good!” exclaimed one of the boys, throwing aside the stick with which he had been working. “Besides, I am tired of sitting still. Let us go for a swim in the river.”
Away they dashed, running swiftly, as the Indian child is taught to run. Into the water they jumped, swimming, diving, splashing, and stopping now and then for a water battle.
At length they had had enough of the water, so out upon the bank they came.
“Let us climb upon this rock to dry ourselves. Its top is flat, and the sun is warm upon it.”
So they climbed upon the flat rock, and in a few moments both boys were fast asleep. Then a strange thing began to occur. The rock slowly and gradually commenced to stretch itself up, up, up, higher, and higher, and higher. And the boys continued to sleep.
Taller, and taller grew the rock, carrying the boys upward on its flat surface until at last their faces were bathed by the clouds that floated in the sky. And still they slept.
For many moons they slept; for a whole snow.
In the meantime the people of their village missed them and began to search. They searched by the river, and in the forest, but no one could find the missing boys. There was great sorrow in the village.
None of the people knew of the great rock. Only the animals knew.
Then one day the animals came together, and they said, “What is to be done? The people are sorrowing because of the boys that are lost. Can we not return them to their friends?”
So the animals decided to try to get the boys off the great rock.
“You are littlest,” said the lion to the mouse, “you try first.”
So the mouse made ready and sprang as high as she could up the side of the rock. Just a hand-breadth she jumped, and fell back into the valley.
So the rat tried next, and he made a mighty effort, and jumped two hand-breadths, and then he too fell back into the valley.
Alter that every sort of animal jumped in turn, the otter, and the badger, the fox, and the wolf, and the bear, and though each one jumped as high as he could, he jumped only against the side of the rock, and went tumbling back into the valley.
Last of all came the lion. With a mighty roar he sprang—but it was of no use: he too struck the side of the great rock and fell back with the others.
They were about to give up and go back to their homes in the river and in the forest, when a tiny measuring-worm came creeping over the grass. “By your leave,” she said quite humbly, addressing the lion, “I should like to try and see what I can do.”
“Ho-ho,” laughed all the animals together. “Ho-ho!”
But without waiting for their consent, the measuring-worm made her way slowly to the foot of the great rock, and then, little by little, little by little, she drew herself up, up, up the side of the mighty rock.
Up, and up, and up she went, until she was lost to sight of the animals waiting below.
At last she reached the top, and drew herself over the edge. And there lay the two boys, still sleeping.
Then the measuring-worm took the two boys, and started back. She climbed with them down the side of the rock, little by little, down, and down, and down.
At last she came within sight of the waiting animals.
Down, and down still she climbed until she was in their midst.
So mighty was the noise made by the assembled animals that it wakened the sleeping boys, and brought the men and women of the village to the foot of the great rock.
And so the boys were restored to their people.
But the great rock with its almost perpendicular sides stands to-day, lofty and imposing.