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013 - Manstin The Rabbit · Old Native American Legends

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  Speaker 1: Old Indian Legends by Zitkali Shah, Section thirteen. This is
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  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Old Indian Legends. Manstin the Rabbit. Manstin was an adventurous, brave,
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  Speaker 1: but very kind hearted. Stamping a moccasined foot as he
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  Speaker 1: drew on his buckskin leggings, he said, grandmother, beware of VICTOMAI,
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  Speaker 1: do not let him lure you into some cunning trap.
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  Speaker 1: I am going to the north country on a long hunt.
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  Speaker 1: With these words of caution to the bent old rabbit
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  Speaker 1: grandmother with whom he had lived since he was a
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  Speaker 1: tiny babe. Manstin started off toward the north. He was
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  Speaker 1: scarce over the great high hills when he heard the
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  Speaker 1: shrieking of a human child. Wan. He ejaculated, pointing his
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  Speaker 1: long ears toward the direction of the sound. Wan. That
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  Speaker 1: is the work of cruel, double face, shameless coward. He
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  Speaker 1: delights in torturing helpless creatures. Muttering indistinct words. Manstin ran
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  Speaker 1: up the last hill and lo in the ravine beyond.
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  Speaker 1: Stood the terrible monster with a face in front and
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  Speaker 1: one in the back of his head. This brown giant
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  Speaker 1: was without clothes save for a wild cat skin about
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  Speaker 1: his loins. With a wicked, gleaming eye, he watched the
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  Speaker 1: little black haired boy he held in his strong arm.
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  Speaker 1: In a laughing voice, he hummed an Indian mother's lullaby,
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  Speaker 1: ah Boo, ah boo, and at the same time he
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  Speaker 1: switched the naked baby with a thorny wild rose bush. Quickly,
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  Speaker 1: Manstin jumped behind a large sage bush on the brow
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  Speaker 1: of the hill. He bent his bow and the sinewy
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  Speaker 1: string twanged. Now an arrow struck above the ear of
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  Speaker 1: Double Face. It was a poisoned arrow, and the giant
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  Speaker 1: fell dead. Then Manstin took the little brown baby and
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  Speaker 1: hurried away from the ravine. Soon he came to a
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  Speaker 1: teepee from whence loud wailing voices broke. It was the
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  Speaker 1: teepee of the stolen baby, and the mourner's were its
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  Speaker 1: heart broken parents. When gallant Manstin returned the child to
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  Speaker 1: the eager arms of the mother, there came a sudden
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  Speaker 1: terror into the eyes of both the Dakotas they feared
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  Speaker 1: least it was Double Face come in a new guise
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  Speaker 1: to torture them. The rabbit understood their fear, and said,
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  Speaker 1: I am Manstin, the kind hearted Manstin, the noted huntsman,
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  Speaker 1: I am your friend. Do not fear. That night, a
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  Speaker 1: strange thing happened. While the father and mother slept. Manstin
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  Speaker 1: took the wee baby. With his feet placed gently yet
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  Speaker 1: firmly upon the tiny toes of the little child, he
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  Speaker 1: drew upward by each small hand the sleeping child till
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  Speaker 1: he was a full grown man. With a forefinger he
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  Speaker 1: traced a slit in the upper lip. And when on
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  Speaker 1: the morrow the man and woman awoke, they could not
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  Speaker 1: distinguish their own son from Manstin. So much alike were
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  Speaker 1: the braves. Henceforth we are friends to help each other,
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  Speaker 1: said Manstin, shaking a right hand in farewell. The earth
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  Speaker 1: is our common ear to carry from its uttermost extremes
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  Speaker 1: one's slightest wish for the other. Ho be it, so
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  Speaker 1: answered the newly made man. Upon leaving his friend, Manstin
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  Speaker 1: hurried away toward the north country, whither he was bound
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  Speaker 1: for a long hunt. Suddenly he came upon the edge
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  Speaker 1: of a wide brook. His alert eye caught sight of
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  Speaker 1: a rawhide rope staked to the water's brink, which led
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  Speaker 1: away toward a small round hut in the distance. The
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  Speaker 1: ground was trodden into a deep groove beneath the loosely
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  Speaker 1: drawn rawhide rope. Hun, he exclaimed Manstin, bending over the
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  Speaker 1: freshly made footprints in the moist bank of the brook.
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  Speaker 1: A man's footprints, he said to himself. A blind man
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  Speaker 1: lives in yonder hut. This rope is his guide by
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  Speaker 1: which he comes for his daily water, surmised Manstin, who
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  Speaker 1: knew all the peculiar contrivances of the people. At once
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  Speaker 1: his eyes became fixed upon the solitary dwelling, and hither
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  Speaker 1: he followed his curiosity, a real blind man's rope. Quietly,
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  Speaker 1: he lifted the door flap and entered in. An old
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  Speaker 1: toothless grandfather, blind and shaky with age, sat upon the ground.
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  Speaker 1: He was not deaf, however, he heard the entrance and
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  Speaker 1: felt the presence of some stranger. How grandchild, he mumbled,
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  Speaker 1: for he was old enough to be grandparent to every
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  Speaker 1: living thing. How I cannot see you. Pray speak your name, grandfather,
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  Speaker 1: I am, Manstin, answered the rabbit, all the while looking
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  Speaker 1: with curious eyes about the wigwam. Grandfather, what is it
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  Speaker 1: so tightly packed in all these buckskin bags placed against
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  Speaker 1: the tent poles, He asked, my grandchild, those are dried
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  Speaker 1: buffalo meat and venison. These are magic bags which never
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  Speaker 1: grow empty. I am blind and cannot go unhunt. Hence
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  Speaker 1: a kind maker has given me these magic bags of
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  Speaker 1: choicest foods. Then the old bent man pulled a rope
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  Speaker 1: which lay by his right hand. This leads me to
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  Speaker 1: the brook where I drink, And this said he, turning
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  Speaker 1: to one on his left. And this takes me into
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  Speaker 1: the forest, where I feel about for dry sticks for
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  Speaker 1: my fire. Grandfather, I wish I lived in such sure luxury.
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  Speaker 1: I would lean back against a tent pole, and with
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  Speaker 1: crossed feet I would smoke sweet willow bark the rest
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  Speaker 1: of my day, sighed Manstin. My grandchild, your eyes are
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  Speaker 1: your luxury. You would be unhappy without them, the old
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  Speaker 1: man replied, Grandfather, I would give you my two eyes
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  Speaker 1: for your place. Cried Manstin, how you have said it, Arise,
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  Speaker 1: take your eyes and give them to me. Henceforth you
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  Speaker 1: are at home here in my stead. At once Manstin
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  Speaker 1: took out both his eyes, and the old man put
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  Speaker 1: them on, rejoicing. The old grandfather started away with his
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  Speaker 1: young eyes, while the blind rabbit filled his dream pipe,
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  Speaker 1: leaning lazily against the tent pole. For a short time,
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  Speaker 1: it was a most pleasant pastime to smoke willow and
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  Speaker 1: to eat from the magic bags. Manstin grew thirsty, but
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  Speaker 1: there was no water in the small dwelling. Taking one
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  Speaker 1: of the rawhide ropes, he started toward the brook to
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  Speaker 1: quench his thirst. He was young and unwilling to trudge
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  Speaker 1: slowly in the old man's footpath. He was full of glee,
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  Speaker 1: for it had been many long moons since he had
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  Speaker 1: tasted such good food. Thus he skipped confidently along, jerking
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  Speaker 1: the old weather eaten rawhide spasmodically, till all of a
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  Speaker 1: sudden it gave way, and Manstin fell headlong into the
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  Speaker 1: water n n He grunted, kicking frantically amid stream all
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  Speaker 1: along the slippery bank. He vainly tried to climb, till
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  Speaker 1: at last he chanced upon the old steak and the
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  Speaker 1: deeply worn footpath. Exhausted and inwardly disgusted with his mishap,
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  Speaker 1: he crawled more cautiously on all fours to his wigwam door.
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  Speaker 1: Dripping with his recent plunge, he sat with chattering teeth
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  Speaker 1: within his unfired wigwam. The sun had set and the
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  Speaker 1: night air was chilly. But there was no firewood in
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  Speaker 1: the dwelling. Hin murmured Manstin and bravely tried the other rope.
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  Speaker 1: I go for some firewood, he said, following the rawhide rope,
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  Speaker 1: which led into the forest. Soon he stumbled upon thickly
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  Speaker 1: strewn dry willow sticks. Eagerly with both hands, he gathered
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  Speaker 1: the wood into his outspread blanket. Manstin was naturally an
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  Speaker 1: energetic fellow. When he had a large heap. He tied
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  Speaker 1: two ends of blanket together and lifted the bundle of
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  Speaker 1: wood upon his back. But alas he had unconsciously dropped
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  Speaker 1: the end of the rope, and now he was lost
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  Speaker 1: in the wood. Hin Hin, he groaned. Then, pausing a moment,
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  Speaker 1: he set his fan like ears to catch any sound
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  Speaker 1: of approaching footsteps. There was none. Not even a night
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  Speaker 1: bird twittered to help him out of his predicament. With
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  Speaker 1: a bold face, he made a start at random. He
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  Speaker 1: fell into some tangled wood, where he was held fast.
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  Speaker 1: Manstin let go his bundle and began to lament, having
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  Speaker 1: given away his two eyes. Friend, my friend, I have
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  Speaker 1: need of you. The old oak tree grandfather has gone
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  Speaker 1: off with my eyes, and I am lost in the woods.
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  Speaker 1: He cried, with his lips close to the earth. Scarcely
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  Speaker 1: had he spoken, when the sound of voices was audible
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  Speaker 1: on the outer edge of the forest. Nearer and louder
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  Speaker 1: grew the voices. One was the clear flute tones of
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  Speaker 1: a young brave, and the other the tremulous squawks of
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  Speaker 1: an old grandfather. It was Manstin's friend with the earth ear,
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  Speaker 1: and the old grandfather here. Manstin, take back your eyes,
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  Speaker 1: said the old man. I knew you would not be
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  Speaker 1: content in my stead, but I wanted you to learn
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  Speaker 1: your lesson. I have had pleasure seeing with your eyes
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  Speaker 1: and trying your bow and arrows. But since I am
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  Speaker 1: old and feeble, I much prefer my own teepee and
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  Speaker 1: my magic bags. Thus the three returned to the hut.
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  Speaker 1: The old grandfather crept into his wigwam, which is often
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  Speaker 1: mistaken for a mere oak tree by little Indian girls
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  Speaker 1: and boys. Manstin, with his own bright eyes fitted into
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  Speaker 1: his head, again, went on happily to hunt in the
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  Speaker 1: North Country, and of section thirteen recording by Robert Scott, August,
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  Speaker 1: the Second two thousand and seven