Alnūset advised them to bind him with strong withes, and tie him to the corner of the wigwam, adding, loud enough for Mawquejess to hear:
“He will make good bait for our traps when we need to use him;” and Alnūset purred, with long purrs, and swinging his tail from side to side, looked out of the corners of his eyes, expecting the others to enjoy what he thought a very good joke; but Mātigwess, with the loss of his tail, was in no humor for joking.
He sang his song for the snowflakes to disappear, and the snow at once ceased to fall.
The game had all been frightened away, and nothing was to be heard but the howl of wolves.
Mātigwess was very hungry, and the young tender leaf shoots, offered by Mīko from his storehouse, did not satisfy him.
The weather had grown very cold; all the brooks were frozen over, and as the Beaver, Muskrat, and other water animals could not come out to feed, their traps were useless, therefore Alnūset’s joke fell short of the mark.
Mīko did not care for meat himself; but he suggested to the friends: “You might kill Mawquejess and catch a Wolf, with his carcass for bait.”
Mātigwess raised his tomahawk to strike; but Mawquejess cried out:--
“Don’t kill me! Take me to the lake, and cut six big holes in the ice. I may help you yet.”
His enemies thought that he might be a good fisherman; and as they knew nothing about such work, they decided to try his plan.
They put him on a toboggan, hauled him to the lake, and cut the six holes, as he ordered. Then Mawquejess began to whistle and call. Foam and bubbles could be seen through the holes in the ice, and soon Kiūnik, the Otters, poked out their heads, holding fish in their mouths.
Alnūset and Mātigwess now thought better of their foe, and when they had enough fish, they loaded the toboggan and hauled it back to the wigwam, with Mawquejess on top. They all spent a very happy evening together, and became good friends, although Mātigwess could never again have a long tail. When the weather grew warmer, Mīko grew tired of hearing them tell of their hair-breadth adventures, and escapes from witches and goblins.
He left them, congratulating himself that this time he had broken no law, quite forgetting that he had failed to “mind his own business” and had incurred the ill-will of Mawquejess.
