When the elk took him back to _Pa-huk´_, the bird again conducted him into the lodge. He had left his pipe here. When he entered the lodge all the animals made a hissing sound--_No´a_--they were glad to see him again. The man stood in the middle of the lodge and spoke. He said, "Now you animals all, you are the leaders. You see how poor my mind is. I am tired of the long journeys you have sent me on. I want you to take pity on me."
The white beaver stood up and took the pipe and said, "Oh, my brother, I have done this to try these other lodges of _Nahu´rac_, to see if any of them were equal to me. That was the reason that I sent you around to all these other lodges, to see if any of them would be willing to undertake to rid you of your burden. But I see that they all still acknowledge that I am the leader. Now I have here an animal that I think will undertake to help you and to rid you of your trouble." Saying this he stepped out to the right, and walked past some of the _Nahu´rac_ until he came to a certain animal--a ground dog--and held out the pipe to it. There were twelve of these animals, all alike--small, with round faces and black whiskers--sitting on their haunches. He held out the pipe to the head one of these twelve. When the white beaver reached out the pipe to this animal he did not take it. He hesitated a long time, and held his head down. He did not want to take the pipe. He looked around the lodge, and at the man, and drew in his breath. At last he reached out his paws and took the pipe, and as he did so, all the _Nahu´rac_ made a noise, the biggest kind of a noise. They were glad.
Then the head ground dog got up and said, "Now, doctors, I have accepted this pipe on account of our servant, who is so faithful, and who many a night has lost sleep on account of our commands. I have accepted it for his sake. It is impossible to do this thing. If it had been earlier, I could perhaps have done it. Even now I will try, and if I fail now, we can do nothing for him."
After they had smoked, they told the man to go and sit down opposite the entrance to the lodge, between the head doctors and the fire. These twelve animals stood up and walked back and forth on the opposite side of the fire from him, facing him. After a while they told him to stand up. The head ground dog now asked the other _Nahu´rac_ to help him, by singing, and they all sang; and the ground dogs danced, keeping time to the singing, and moved their hands up and down, and made their jaws go as if eating, but did not open their mouths.