One autumn, in the valley, a great fire broke out and raged so violently thatthe Indians of the tribe could notextinguish it. In desperation, they senta request for help to Man of Ice, agreat man of magic who lived in thenorth. Man of Ice did not answer witha prayer. Instead, he simply removedhis crown of feathers from his head,undid his long braids and shook histhickhair. The amazed messengersnoticed an unexpected breeze blowacross his face. He shook his hairagain and it began to rain: the; therain changed to hailstones and then tosnow.The messengers returned to theirvalley where the fire was still burning.The Indians stared helplessly at thefearful sight from the surrounding hills.They knew what the messengers hadseen but were afraid that their requesthad been made in vain.A few days later, a strong wind blew up, but it served only to fan the flamesstill further. The rain which followedonly caused damp clouds of vapour toform: but then the hail, which drovethe Indians to find shelter far off put out the flames and, finally, snow fell and covered even the ashes. Slowlythe snow melted and when, at the startof spring, the Indians returned to theirhome, they discovered a beautiful lakewhere the fire had raged.
