The old man went, but took his daughter with him.
When they returned, loaded with fish, the magician, smiling, said to
the girl with great mystery, "When you have cooked _these_ fish,
always throw away the tail, and begin by eating the head first."
He knew very well that her curiosity and perversity would make her
disobey him. She waited with impatience till the man had left, when she
hurried to cook and eat the fish. Thereby she became a mother, and the
magician had his revenge.
_Origin of the Black Snakes._
(Passamaquoddy.)
Far away, very far in the north, there dwelt by the border of a great
lake a man and his wife. They had no children, and the woman was very
beautiful and passionate.
The lake was frozen over during the greater part of the year. One day
when the woman cut away the ice, she saw in the water a bright pair of
large eyes looking steadily at her. They charmed her so that she could
not move. Then she distinguished a handsome face; it was that of a fine
slender young man. He came out of the water. His eyes seemed brighter
and more fascinating than ever; he glittered from head to foot; on his
breast was a large shining silvery plate.
The woman learned that this was At-o-sis, the Serpent, but she returned
his embraces and held conversation with him, and was so charmed with
her lover that she not only met him more than once every day, but even
went forth to see him in the night.
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