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Ô'?mâl obtains the Tides.

Then Ô'?mâl borrowed the head of the squid and put it on his head, and went to his house and cried, "Oh, my good younger brother, my good younger brother, died at Sea!" Thus said Ô'?mâl. Then the news was reported to Wolf. "Ô'?mâl has a hard time. His younger brother died at sea." Thus was said to Wolf. Then Deer was put down on the ground behind the house of Ô'?mâl.

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[paragraph continues] Wolf came and went around the place where the box with the Deer was. Then he felt with his tail for Deer. "Swing it about, swing it about, swing it about!" said Ô'?mâl. Then he again felt with his tail for Deer. Then Deer took his knife and cut off the tail of Wolf. He was just notched behind. The Wolf had no tail.

 

Then Deer went out of the grave-box. Ô'?mâl entered, and said, "Split, split, split!" Then there was a fire in the house, and (the tail) was pushed into the wood (like a peg). Then the Mouse went and told Wolf. "Oh, great one! your tail has been put up." Thus said Mouse. Then Wolf said, "Don't! Don't do this in the house to my fellow-warrior! (The sea) shall run down two fingers' widths, and the barnacles shall emerge." Thus said Wolf. Then Mouse went. "Don't do this in the house! Stop in the house!" Thus said Mouse. "It shall be two finger-widths. The barnacles shall emerge."--"The barnacles are too little," said Ô'?mâl. "Farther down, farther down, farther down!"

 

Then the tail of Wolf was lowered, and Mouse started, going to the house of Wolf. "Yours has only been lowered." Thus said Mouse to Wolf. "Don't, don't do this in the house! The clams shall emerge." Thus said Wolf. Then Mouse went again. "Don't do this! Stop in the house. The clams shall emerge."--"That is too little," said Ô'?mâl. "Farther down, farther down, farther down," said Ô'?mâl. Then they put down the tail of Wolf. Mouse went again. "Your tail has just been lowered," said Mouse. "Don't, don't do that in the house. It shall never be flood-tide in the world. They shall only carry

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up from the beach fishes,--halibut, red-cod, black-cod." Mouse started. "Don't do this in the house, stop, in the house!" said Mouse. "Your world will be dry." Thus said Mouse. Then Wolf got his tail.


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