The sisters who married stars

The women decided to try and get back to earth. They cut up skins and made a very long rope. When their husbands were away hunting, they worked at digging a hole in a hidden place in the timber. At last they dug through, and could see the earth beneath. They tied a stone to the end of the rope and let it down, but the rope was too short. By adding rope to rope they at last found that the stone reached the earth. They made many pairs of gloves to wear while sliding down the rope, to prevent friction on the hands and to guard against the rope getting worn out. One day when their husbands were away, the younger girl slid down and reached the earth, and the elder followed her.

When the men returned from hunting, they searched for the women, and, finding the hole and rope, they threw the latter down. The sisters found they had alighted on the top of a large tree near a main trail where people were constantly passing. They saw the Moose, Wolf, and many others pass. As each one passed, he called, “My brother-in-law is coming behind!” At last the Wolverene came in sight, carrying his snare on his back. (This is why the wolverene now has the peculiar marks on his back like a snare.) When he arrived under the tree, the women whistled, and he looked up. When he saw the women there, he was glad, and climbed the tree. When he reached them, he wanted to have connection with them; but they said, “Take us down first!” He carried one of them down, and then wished to have connection with her; but she said, “Bring my sister down first.” He ascended and brought down the other woman. Then he wanted to have connection with both; but they told him, “You must provide us with food first, for we are hungry.” Wolverene went off and stole dried meat from somebody’s cache. When they had eaten, he demanded again to have connection with them. They told him, “Our father advised us never to have a man unless he was able first to provide fat caribou-meat. You cannot expect to have a woman until it is certain you are able to kill fat caribou.” He went off hunting, and the sisters fled. They ran until they came to the canyon of a river, which they were unable to pass. They sat down, and before long they saw Wolverene coming. He was carrying a heavy pack of fat caribou meat. As soon as he arrived, he wanted to have connection with the women, without even waiting to take his pack off. The sisters knew what he would do when he reached them, and had arranged that one of them would pretend to let him have connection, and the other one would then kick him over the cliff. One woman lay down near the edge of the cliff, and he went to have connection with her. She told him the right way to do was first close his eyes and fold his arms. The other sister then kicked him over the cliff into the river below. The women then ran along the canyon to a narrow place, where a large man (who was a kind of snipe) aided people in crossing. There was very bad water (rapids) in the river at this place. They called on the man to help them cross; and he stretched his long legs across, and they walked over on them. They said to him, “We will pay you porcupine quill garters if you will let Wolverene drop into the river. When he comes, just stretch one leg across, and turn it when he is half way over.” He agreed, and they gave him the garters. Wolverene came along, carrying his pack. He said to the man, “Where did you get my garters? I will kill you if you do not help me to cross at once.” The bird man stretched one leg across for him to walk on. When he was half way over, he turned his leg, and Wolverene fell into the river and was drowned.

The sisters went back to their parents, and lived with them. They told their parents, “When we travel, you must go ahead and make bridges for us over every creek, and even over every swampy place and wet spot.” Their father always did this. At last one time, feeling tired, he neglected to bridge one little spot. The sisters never came to camp, and their mother went back to look for them. She found that they had turned into beavers, and had already built a house. After this they were beavers.

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