"Are you going away, Grandmother? Take me with you."

"I am on my way to the forest, White Cloud. It will be a long walk for you. We need dry moss and decayed wood for tinder. Some cold morning we shall wake and find no red coals in the ashes. Then we shall need some pieces of the driest of wood to kindle a new fire."

"Let me go, and I will help you look for dry wood. I know I am big enough to be a fire maker. Haven't I seen seven winters?"

So Nokomis and White Cloud started on the trail that led to the wild forest. There great trees had died and fallen, and the branches had been decaying for many moons—no one can tell how many.

"Is the fire always lost when we move our camp, Grandmother?"

"Not always. Some lodge keepers try to carry a few coals, and the one who succeeds is glad to share with others. But one person is often sent ahead to the new camp to make a central fire out of doors. You know it takes a long time to get a spark by rubbing two sticks together."

"How did the Indians get fire in the first place? And how did fire get into wood?" asked White Cloud.

"I will tell you, my child. I have heard all about it from the story-tellers.

"Once there was only one fire in all the world. It was kept in a sacred wigwam and guarded by an old blind man.

"All the Indians had heard about fire and wanted very much to get it. But no one knew where it was hidden.

"The old man had two daughters who gathered his wood. He used only the driest branches, so that no smoke could be seen, and no odor from the burning of green boughs be lifted to the wind."But one day a tiny, curling wreath of smoke rose above the lodge opening.

"Of course the birds saw it, and flew over the lodge poles until they discovered the secret. You may be sure that they chirped the news wherever they flew.

"A woodpecker went into a hole in a tree to carry his mate some food and told her where fire was kept. He was overheard by a squirrel running up the tree trunk.

"'Chip, chip! chatter, chatter! Hear the squirrels in the tree tops,' said a rabbit. 'What are they talking about?' By listening he soon found out.

"Then Bruin heard the rabbits, and the bear teased the wolf by letting him know that the birds had a great secret.

"A flock of sparrows settled in front of the wolf's den, and the wolf soon heard all he wanted to know. He, in turn, told a dog that sometimes ran with him at night.

"Of course the dog told the boy he loved best, and so the Indians found out where fire was hidden.

"'We must have fire,' they said. 'Who will get it for us?'

"At last Manabush said that he would try to get fire for his tribe.

"Manabush was a daring young Indian hunter. Like Hiawatha, he spent his life trying to help his people. He saw how fire was needed to warm the lodges in winter, and to cook the raw meat freshly killed in the hunt.

"So Manabush made a birch canoe and started across the great lake. When he reached land he pulled his light canoe out of the water and carried it on his back to a near-by thicket. Then he changed himself into a rabbit and hopped away into the long grass.

"Soon there came up a great storm. The old man guarded the sacred fire with the utmost care until the rain was over. Then he went to sleep near the glowing coals."His daughters came out of the lodge to look at the sky. As they bent down to enter the low door, they saw a little rabbit lying on the grass. His fur was wet, and he was trembling with cold.

"One of the daughters carried him in and laid him down where it was warm. The rabbit hopped nearer the fire.

"The old man started from his sleep. 'What do I hear?' he asked.

"'You have heard nothing, Father. We picked up a little wet rabbit and brought him in to dry.'

"The old man closed his eyes again. His daughters turned and went on with their work. Quickly the rabbit seized a burning stick and hopped away by leaps and bounds.

"Up jumped the old man. 'My fire, my sacred fire, is stolen!' he cried. His daughters ran out of the lodge to chase the thief.

"But the old blind man thought that someone was in the wigwam. So he snatched a long stick and pounded so hard on every side that he beat some of the fire into a log. This is the way that fire came to be in wood."

"What did the rabbit do, Grandmother?"

"He ran to the canoe, changed back to a man, put the fire in a magic bag, and paddled as fast as he could to his own camp.

"There he lighted a pile of wood for his grandmother, and then hurried away to the Thunderers. They have kept the sacred fire for the Indians since that day."

"Who are the Thunderers, Grandmother?" asked White Cloud.

"After we have had our dinner I will tell you the story. Now we will use some of our dry wood and make a fire."

"Can I learn to get the fire out of wood?" asked White Cloud.

"You will need to try again and again, for it is not an easy task. Watch me, my child, and see how it is done."

Nokomis soon had a pile of dry grass and twigs. Then she rubbed two pieces of wood together for a long time. At last a spark flew from the dry wood and the grass was lighted.

Meat and birds' eggs were soon roasted in the hot ashes. After the meal Nokomis and White Cloud started for home, each with a bundle of wood strapped to her back.

"Now I'm ready for the story you promised me," said White Cloud.