Yet there
were conditions, and those not easy to such fidgety damsels as these;
for they said, "Ye shall lie together all this night, and in the
morning when ye awake ye shall be in no haste to open your eyes or
to uncover your faces. Wait until ye shall have heard the song of the
_Ktsee-gee-gil-laxsis_ (P.), or chick-a-dee-dee. And even then ye
shall not arise, but be quiet until the song of the red squirrel shall
be heard. And even then ye must wait and keep your faces covered and
your eyes closed until ye hear the striped squirrel sing. And then ye
may leave your bed and look around."
Now the younger wife was ever impatient, and when the chick-a-dee-dee
sang she would have leaped up at once, but the elder restrained her.
"Wait," she said, "my sister, until we hear the _Abalkakmooech_."
[Footnote: Ground squirrel] And she lay still till the _Adoo-doo-dech_
[Footnote: Red squirrel] began his early chatter and his morning's work.
Then, without waiting, she jumped up, as did the elder, when they found
themselves indeed on earth, but in the summit of a tall, spreading
hemlock-tree, and that in such a manner that they could not descend
without assistance. And it had come to pass in this wise: for as each
song was sung by the bird and the squirrels, they had come nearer and
nearer to the earth; even as the light of day drew near, but as they
could not delay they had been deserted.
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