Atondido Stories
for there I keep the secret of my life."
When Beaver was busy again at his task cutting down the
tree, Rabbit hit him a powerful blow on the back of the neck and
poor Beaver fell down dead. Then he cut off his tail that was
made like a file, and went away happy, for he knew that the
Chief would be very angry when he found what had happened
to his wood-cutter.
When the Chief learned that Beaver had been killed, his
wrath knew no bounds, for he could ill afford at this time to lose
his best wood-chopper. He blamed Rabbit for the deed, but he
could not be sure that his suspicions were well-founded. Rabbit
kept out of the Chief's sight for some weeks. But one day in early
summer he was very hungry. He saw all the other animals filling
their bellies with their favourite food, and he decided to forget
his sulks and to ask the Chief for help. So he went to the Chief
and said haughtily, "I want you to give me food for my own spe-
cial use as you have done with the other animals. You must do it
at once or I will do you much harm." Then the Chief remem-
bered what Rabbit had done to his dancing Bear, and he thought
of the death of Beaver, for which he blamed Rabbit without
proof, and he grew red with anger. He seized Rabbit by the heels
and said, "Henceforth the dogs will always chase you, and you
will never have peace when they are near. And you will live for
the most part on whatever food I throw you into now." Then he
whirled Rabbit around his head by the heels, and he threw him
from him with great force, hoping to drop him in a great black
swamp near-by. Poor Rabbit went flying through the air for a
great distance, farther than the Chief had hoped, and he
dropped with a thud into a field of clover on the edge of which
cabbages and lettuce were growing. And since that time the dogs
have always chased Rabbit and he has lived for the most part on
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