In ancient days three brothers were camped beside a
mountain in what is now New York State. they were on a hunting trip
and had left their main village on the Mohawk River.
One morning the oldest brother took his bow and quiver of arrows and,
stepping into the forest, said he was going hunting for deer. He told
his two brothers to remain in camp until he returned.
The hunter did not return and after two days, the next older brother
said that he would see if he could get a deer. He said he would find
the missing brother. Taking his bow and arrows, he went into the
woods.
After wandering for several hours, he came to a little stream. "Here,"
he thought, "I will find game of some kind." Quietly he followed the
course of the brook, his sharp eyes watching for a rabbit or a
squirrel. The stream wound in and out among the trees. The little boy
followed the winding stream for some time. The stream led the boy to a
beautiful valley surrounded by high hills.
As the boy wandered on up this valley, he happened to look up at one
of the hills that overshadowed the stream. At the foot of this hill,
he saw a cave. "Perhaps I will find game in the cave," thought the
boy. He left the flat land, climbed to the entrance of the cave and
glanced in.
The inside of the cave was very dark but the boy was very brave.
Firmly grasping his bow and an arrow, he crept into the dark shadows.
For a while he could see where he was going but as he went farther
back from the mouth of the cave, it became very dark. In a little
while he could see nothing at all but still he walked on.
As he was groping his into the heart of the hill, he stepped into a
huge hole in the floor of the cave. Without warning, he fell into a
deep pit. He felt himself falling down, down he knew not where. Every
minute he expected to crash against the ragged rocks at the bottom of
the pit but, to his surprise, he continued falling.
After falling for what seemed a long time, the boy saw far below him a
pinhole of light. As he fell toward this light, it became brighter and
larger until he saw it was an opening in the bottom of the pit. Below
the opening was a body of water that seemed to be a lake. As the boy
fell through the hole, he braced his body for a plunge into the water.
Down he fell into the lake. Gasping for breath, the boy swam up until
his head was above water. Near at hand was land and, as he was a good
swimmer, he soon reached the shore.
Stepping upon a sandy beach, he found himself in a strange country.
The grass was so big that he had to walk around each blade. A blade of
grass was higher than a tree. Flowers towered high above his head. The
little boy came to what he thought was a cliff. Upon walking around
the edge of it he found it to be a tree. The top branches were so high
he could not see them. An anthill was as high as a mountain in this
strange country.
The boy still held his bow and arrows and now, very cautiously, he
stalked around the tall grass. He came to a little hill and was just
about to climb it when he heard voices on the other side. Grasping his
hunting knife, he slowly crept toward the sound. Cautiously walking
from behind a blade of grass, the boy saw his two missing brothers.
The two brothers appeared very excited and were looking up at the
branches of a gigantic tree. The little brother went to them. He asked
them why they were so excited. "Look at that great animal in the
tree!" said the older brother. "We have been trying for several days
to kill it and bring its great skin back to the village. We would be
greatly honored!" Saying this, he shot an arrow at the fierce monster.
Glancing up, the little brother saw a fierce looking animal crouched
in a large branch of a tree. As the little brother looked up, the
arrow that the older brother had just shot hit the tail of the
monster. With a deafening roar, the huge creature jumped down on the
branch below him.
The fierce animal glared down at the three brothers and,opening his
mouth, showed its great teeth, at the same time letting out a roar
which could be heard for many miles around. The two other brothers had
exhausted their supply of arrows and, turning to the little brother,
asked him for his quiver of arrows. They shot arrow after arrow at the
huge beast. Occasionally, an arrow would hit a limb of the tree or
glance off the monster's thick hide. At such times, the beast would
growl and jump to a lower branch, getting nearer and nearer the three
brothers.
Finally there was one arrow left and the creature was still alive. The
little brother said, "Let me try. Perhaps I can hit him." Taking up
the last arrow, he carefully drew it to its head. Taking very careful
aim, he let the arrow fly. Up, up it went, and with a thud, cut
through the beast's thick hide and into its heart!
With a deafening roar, the giant creature pawed the air, lost its
balance and fell crashing to the earth. over and over it fell,
breaking the heavy branches of the tree as if they were spiders' webs.
Down he fell straight at the boys who jumped to one side and hid
behind three blades of grass. With a loud thump, the monster fell on
its back, the earth trembling as he hit the ground.
Eagerly the brothers rushed out from behind the grass. They stared in
awe at such a gigantic monster. Never before haad they seen such a big
creature. "The meat will last for many days," said the little brother.
"It will take all three of us to carry its huge hide." said the middle
brother.
The brothers grasped the legs of the monster and tried to pull it over
on its side. They pulled and pulled and, exerting all of their
combined strength, they manage to pull the giant animal over.
What do you think it was? It was a mouse!!
