Pokračování textu ze strany 163
the Star-girl; their descendants still give the race of the Star-girl their ancient gifts: the Balsam sticks that the Indian uses to start his rubbing-stick fire, the shreds of Birch bark that make the best of tinder, the bed of Balsam boughs and the healing Balsam gum, the Birch-bark wigwam and canoe. And the Thunder-bird, not knowing which to strike, lets both alone. The Pine, the Oak, and the Ash he splinters in every storm, but the Birch and the Balsam stand unharmed; they never have been struck.
How do I know these things, O Sha-ka-skanda-wayo? Verily, I have them on authority you will scarcely deny — the same being the source of nearly all history. Behold, I got them from a little idle Rumor.
Moral: The Great spirit can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.
