He said:
"'I am not afraid of the cold water, and besides I have plenty of friends
down there.'
"And, sure enough, the mud turtle came up and said, in words that only
Nanahboozhoo could understand:
"'My brother, I have come up at the request of your brother, the wolf, to
aid you. Trust yourself in my care and no harm will come to you.'
"Nanahboozhoo was well pleased to hear this, for he knew that his spirit
brother had sent his friend the mud turtle to help him in this trial.
"The competitors now stripped themselves, and when the signal was given
they both dived into the water and disappeared. The Moose people had such
confidence in their champion that they had all brought with them very heavy
sticks with which they intended giving the Elks a great beating in return
for the two previous defeats.
"The Elks, however, were not dismayed. They only said:
"'Just wait until the contest is decided.'
"In the meantime the competitors under the water were so near together at
first that the people on the land heard the Moose say, 'Elk, are you cold?'
To which the mud turtle, who had covered the Elk competitor over with his
shell, replied:
"'No, Moose; but are you cold?'
"As the people on the shore could not hear any answer to this question it
gave some alarm to the Moose people about their champion, who they feared
must be benumbed with the cold. This was really the case, for in a short
time he came to the surface of the water so nearly frozen to death that he
had to be helped out of the water.
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