There was an oval lodge. There lived a man and his wife, and the man was a great hunter. They never lacked for food. When his wife became pregnant, the man was overjoyed. Just before the time of her confinement the woman experienced great labor pains. She was taken care of by her husband. Soon she gave birth, and the man took the child and placed him in the cradle that he had made for him. Then his wife said, "Husband, I am becoming extremely weak, but there remains yet another child in my womb." While she was trying to give birth again, she died. He pitied the unborn child, but he could do nothing for him. Then, unexpectedly, the child suddenly cried from the womb. The man exclaimed, "I am in much trouble, but what can I do?" He knew that his wife was dead, so he thought to himself, "Since she is dead, what harm would there be if I took from her body the child that lives within?" So he pulled a knife, and cutting through her abdomen, he pulled out the child. However, just as the child reached the air, it stopped breathing. "Why could this child not have lived?" he asked himself. "If he was going to die anyway, then why did I have to mutilate my wife's body?" Taking the child's body, he wrapped it in a white deerskin and went to a stump that stood at the edge of a lake. There in the hollow of the stump he placed both his wife and child.

The man did everything he could to keep the other child in good health. He filled a bladder with deer brains and let the child suckle on its contents. Then the child progressed to dried meat. In time the child wished to eat fresh meat. So in order to get some, the father tied the boy to his back while he went hunting. At first he did not succeed, but in time he was able to hunt that way. In time his son was old enough to walk and talk. When he reached that age, his father told him to remain behind in the lodge and not to play with fire. Then the man went out hunting by himself. The child did exactly what he had been told. Once he had reached the right age, his father made a bow and arrows set for him. When the father was out hunting, he provided for his son by boiling a deer tail which he hung on a pole within reach of the boy. He told his son to bite into the deer tail whenever he felt hungry. So the child bit chunks out of the deer tail when his father was gone.

One day his father went out to hunt. He gave his son his usual caution about playing with fire, then he left. Shortly thereafter, the child heard someone singing:

Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
You have only a father, and you only have flesh to eat;
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a.

When he heard that, the boy sang back:

Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
You have only a timbermouse as a grandmother, and only beans do you eat;
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a.

Then the voice said, "Flesh, is your father there?" And the boy answered, "He has gone out hunting." So the other one said, "Then come on over here and we'll play together." So Flesh (Waroka) and the other boy spent the day in play. They would take the bow and arrows and shoot the arrows right though the top of the lodge roof, then run outside and fetch them back. As evening was approaching, the other boy went out and collected all the arrows. Then, unexpectedly, he took off running. Flesh chased after him but could not catch him. The other boy ran to the bank of the lake, and there he turned and said to Flesh, "Forget it!" Then he dove into the water and disappeared below the surface. He never came back up.

Flesh cried, but it did him no good. When his father got back from hunting, he noticed that his son had been crying. He also noticed that the inside of the lodge was badly messed up. So his father asked him, "Why are you crying? It looks as if someone had visited you. If you had been alone, the lodge would not have looked like this." Flesh replied, "No one has been here, but I have lost all my arrows. That is the reason why I was crying." His father said, "It is no matter, I can make you more arrows." Soon his father had replenished his supply.

The next morning when the father had passed out of sight on his way to hunt, the other boy came back and sang:

Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
You have only a father, and you only have flesh to eat;
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a.

Then Flesh replied with his own song:

Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
You have only a timbermouse as a grandmother, and only beans do you eat;
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a.

Then the other boy shouted, "Flesh, is your father at home?" He replied, "No, he's out hunting." "Well then, come on over here and we'll spend the day playing," said the other boy. Flesh met up with him, but saw that he had no arrows. So Flesh asked him, "How come you didn't bring any arrows?" The other boy said, "I can't find them." They played the whole day long, and as evening was approaching, they spent some time shooting arrows through the top of the lodge. Once again the other boy grabbed up all the arrows, and running for the bank, he jumped into the lake. As he did so, he yelled back to Flesh, "Forget it!" Flesh cried and went back home.

No sooner had Flesh gotten home, than his father also returned from hunting. His father saw that the lodge was a mess -- even the bedding had been uprooted and thrown over. "My son," he said, "you could not have done all this by yourself; besides, it was never in your nature to behave in this irresponsible way. I can see that you've been crying, and I'm sure it was not for nothing." Flesh replied, "Father, once again I have lost all my arrows. That is the reason why I have been crying." "Don't cry about that," said his father, "I'll just make you a new set." So he went about replacing his son's arrows.

Next morning, just after his father left to hunt, the stranger came again singing the same song that he always sung. Flesh replied with his own song. Just as before, they played all day long, but as evening approached, the other boy grabbed the arrows and ran off with them. This time Flesh tried to lay in wait for him, but even with this advantage he was not able to catch him. The other boy shouted, "Forget it!" then disappeared beneath the waters of the lake not to be seen again. Flesh came back crying. His father returned to find the bedding torn up again, and his son in tears. So he said, "Son, surely someone has been with you these last several days." Then he looked at the deer tail, and noticed that there were two kinds of teeth marks, narrow ones and broad ones. "Now look at this," said his father, "I told you someone was visiting you, and here on the deer tail you can see that some of the marks were made by broad teeth. Take a bite out of it." So his son bit it, and left narrow teeth marks. "See there," said his father, "that shows that you did have a visitor." Just the same, Flesh insisted that no one had been with him. Afterwards, his father made him a new set of arrows.

The next day the man went out hunting as usual. The moment that he was out of sight, the other boy appeared again singing:

Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
You have only a father, and you only have flesh to eat;
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a.

Then Flesh answered back:

Hure-a-a, hure-a-a,
You have only a timbermouse as a grandmother, and only beans do you eat;
Hure-a-a, hure-a-a.

Then the other boy shouted, "Is your father at home, Flesh?" "No," replied Flesh, "he's out hunting." The other boy replied, "Well then, come on over and let's play." They spent the day shooting arrows again, and towards evening, the other boy grabbed all the arrows. As he was running away, Flesh chased after him, crying. The boy jumped off the bank into the water, shouting back to Flesh, "Forget it!" Then the boy disappeared beneath the waters. In tears, Flesh walked back home. His father soon returned. This time the man noticed that there was a small footprint in the ashes. "Son," he said, "this footprint is clearly not yours, so you must have had someone here with you." Flesh had know this, but because the other boy had said, "Forget it," Flesh couldn't remember. But now Flesh said, "Father, I had always forgotten it. Whenever you went hunting, someone had come here to visit me. He is a boy my age and he always sings this song:

You have only a father, and you only have flesh to eat;
Hure, hure-a-a.

He sang this whenever he came." The father said with excitement, "My son, this must be your younger brother! Tomorrow we will must prevent him from getting away. In the morning when I usually go hunting, I will instead go over the hill and there turn myself into a stump. When your brother comes, grab hard onto him and shout for me. I will come immediately and help you." But Flesh said, "Father, I am afraid of this boy. He said that if I tried to catch him, he would cut me up with his teeth. He has a mouthful of broad, sharp teeth. This is why I fear him." "My son," said the father, "he said this only to frighten you. He will not do you any harm." "All right," said Flesh, "I'll try to catch him. When we play at wrestling I will grab hold of him. In the past I used to be able to throw him in wrestling at least."

In the morning the man set out as he always had, and when he got beyond the hill, he turned himself into a blackened tree stump. Then almost immediately, the other boy showed up. He was singing his usual song, but afterwards he said, "Flesh, this time we won't be playing. Your father is on the other side of that hill, having made himself into a blackened stump. You promised him that you would catch me, that is why he is doing it." Flesh tried to put him at ease and said, "I was only fooling when I made that promise, so we can go ahead and play just like we always do." Despite Flesh's reassurances, his brother would not join him. So the next day, the father made himself into a whole tree rather than just a stump, but still the other boy seemed to know of it and would not come. The next day the father made himself into the cord of fire wood that lies next to the woodpile, but the boy knew it and would not come. The next day the man turned himself into the railing around the fireplace, but the boy still would not come. So on the fifth day the man said to his son, "Today I will go out hunting as usual, but I will double back at a run. Just grab hold of him and don't let go. He is not to be feared." The next day the father left just as he said, and immediately the other boy came along singing his song:

You have only a father, and you only have flesh to eat;
Hure, hure,
ha-ha.

And Flesh answered back with his version of the same song:

You have only a timbermouse as your grandmother and only beans do you eat;
Hure, hure,
ha ha.

The other boy said, "Flesh, you told your father that you would hold me fast until he doubled back to help, so I'm not coming over." Flesh said, "When I said that I was just kidding. I won't catch you." This time the other boy became more trusting and came over, but he warned Flesh, "If you try to grab me, I will cut you up with my beaver teeth." "All right," said Flesh, "I won't try anything." So the other boy came over and they began to play. However, when the other boy was least expecting it, Flesh suddenly tackled him around the waist and shouted, "Father, I have hold of your other son; come back and help me!" The other boy tried to bite Flesh but could not reach him with his mouth. The man came rushing up and tied the other boy up.

Now that he had him, he took the boy and had him take a sweat bath with his brother Flesh. Then he gave them new clothes to wear. The clothes were exactly the same in every way. Then he took two elk bladders, which he had painted red, and tied them to their heads as headdresses. And there the man remained, always staying in the lodge and watching the boys. While he was there, he spent his time making bows and arrows for them. Finally, he thought that the new boy was accustomed to the place and that it would be safe for him to leave on a hunting expedition.

Once their father had left, the boys began playing again. Later in the day, Stump scooped up the arrows and took off for the water. Flesh, in tears, took off after him. Stump leapt off the bank into the water, but no sooner did he submerge, than he bobbed right back up. Again he tried to dive, and again he bobbed back up to the surface. So he said, "Flesh, don't cry, I was just kidding. Let's go home, as our father is about to return." When they got back, their father was already in the lodge. He was concerned about what they would do, but there they were. "It is good," he said. He asked the younger boy, "Why are your clothes soaked with water?" He replied, "Flesh chased me, and I fell into the lake." Their father laughed heartily when he heard his explanation. From then on, Stump got used to his father and brother and never again tried to run away.

Their father told the Twins that they were not to stray too far from the lodge. One day while they were playing, however, they went to a nearby hill and spent much of the day exploring it. When their father came back he said, "You went too far way. It is dangerous, as there are many bad animals prowling around. Don't go far from here again." They said, "All right." The next day when their father went out to hunt they began to play even farther from the lodge. This time they reached the second hill. As the man returned home, he crossed the trail of his sons and realized that they had been far from the lodge. "I told you not to go far from here," he said, "so don't do it." They said, "All right." The next day, while their father was out hunting, they went even farther, to the third hill. Again the father crossed their trail, and when he got home he sternly told them not to venture that far again. They said, "All right." The next day after the father left, they went beyond the fourth hill. Once again their father discovered the fact and prohibited them from leaving the area. After this time, the two boys would venture farther and farther out. Indeed, no matter how far the man went in his hunt, he would come upon the tracks of his boys, tracks made early in the morning. He would sometimes run for a long way, and be very far out, yet never was he so far that he did not come upon old tracks of his sons. Soon they were traveling all over the earth. The man knew this, and was very concerned. One day he spoke to them and said, "My sons, you have been traveling all over the earth. There is no place that you have not visited by now. You must remember that there are many evil spirits about, and it is not safe to travel as you have done. Whatever you do, do not go south where that large lake is found. No animal can drink of its waters, so do not go near it. It is indeed a very bad place." Thus he spoke.

The next morning the father went out hunting as usual. Ghost (Wanaghi) said to his brother, "Flesh, I remember your father saying that we should be sure to visit a large lake in the south. So we ought to go there." Flesh was surprised and said, "He didn't say that at all. He said not to go there. We were forbidden to visit that lake." But Ghost said, "Yes, he did tell us to go there." They went back and forth arguing, but finally Ghost persuaded Flesh that they should go to the lake. They traveled until they ran across a large and very round lake. "Let's go for a swim," they said. However, the lake was infested with leeches, and after awhile, they were covered with leeches. Then the boys left the water, and as they sang certain songs to one another, the leeches fell off them and landed on the ground with a slapping sound. The boys enjoyed all this very much. They kept on doing this, but each time the leeches that clung to them were larger. Finally, the leeches were as big as the boys themselves. One was so big that he covered Flesh's entire body. The leeches covered his body so that he looked like a ball. These leeches choked Flesh to death. Then Ghost said to him, "What's wrong Flesh? I'm having a great time." Then he stood Flesh up, and he came back to life. The lake was now teeming with huge leeches who completely overwhelmed the boys and completely covered their bodies. Now the fighting was extremely intense. One giant leech they killed by piercing its body. They cut it into strips and remarked, "This is the flesh of the soft-shelled turtle. It is nice and fat; and people are right to say it is delicious. We should pack some of this home." So they packed some and went home.

When they got home they broke out a very large kettle and filled it with war. This they put on the fire to boil. They put in the leech meat and when it was done, they had a hearty meal. "These nice, fat soft-shelled turtles sure are good, aren't they?" they said. Then they boiled up some more. By now the grease had caked up in the kettle, as the leeches were very fat. After they had eaten yet more, they left some for their father. When he got back they said, "Father, have some of this delicious soft-shelled turtle. It is very fat, and tastes great." He looked into the kettle and unexpectedly, and much to his chagrin, there was a huge leech. He knew immediately that they had gone where he had forbidden them. "You have done wrong, and you have polluted my kettle. Pour out this stuff and scour the kettle until it's perfectly clean," he said. As they took the kettle out to dump it, they snacked on the "soft-shelled turtles" along the way. Ghost said, "This sure is good. I guess your father is not too partial to soft-shelled turtles. That had to be why he said what he did." They cleaned the kettle and came back to the lodge. They told their father about their great fight against the turtles, laughing as they talked. They thought it was quite funny.

One day their father said to them, "My sons, I am always telling you not to do something, yet you go ahead anyway. I really meant that you should not do it, so obey me when I tell you something. Now I am telling you that there is a high hill in the east. There is great evil there, and only the strongest animals can even pass by it. So I am telling you, don't go there, and if you pass by, don't stop." As usual, they said, "All right." Then the man went hunting. No sooner had he left than Ghost said, "Well Flesh, our father wants us to go to that place, so what are we waiting for?" Flesh said, "No he doesn't. He told us not to go there." Ghost rejoined, "He really wants us to go there, so let's not waste anymore time." Ghost soon persuaded Flesh, and the two set out for the hill. When they arrived, they found the hill full of snakes. Just the same, they climbed up the hill. The snakes gradually grew in size, and at one point, they began chasing the boys. Ghost said, "Watch, this ought to be pretty funny." The snakes attacked them by coiling around their bodies, but they were able to kill a great many of them. Finally, one that had grown to huge proportions coiled himself around Flesh and squeezed him to death. Ghost said, "Why are you doing this? Just when things get interesting, there you are taking time out." Then he seized him by the arm and pulled him to his feet. Thus he became alive again. They boys collected up the dead snakes and packed much meat with them. Some they fixed right on the spot, boiling it. Stump said, "These are what they call hogagi [garfish]. When they are fat, they taste delicious." "Let's save some for our father," said Flesh. After they had cooked some more, they set aside a piece for their father. When they brought it back home, they said to their father, "Here is one of those garfish that you often mentioned. You were right -- they are really good when they have fattened up. Here, have some." Thus they spoke, but their father saw immediately that it was something holy, a serpent. "My sons," he said, "you have done wrong. These are not fish, they're snakes. You must pour the contents out immediately. These are holy, so pour some tobacco for them as well." And he gave them some tobacco to present as an offering to the spirits of the snakes. They ate the snakes as they went, but when they got to the lake, they simply kept the tobacco and made no offering to the serpents at all. They filled up the kettle with water, and brought it back home.

It was really not at all usual for them to go to these places. After some time, their father said to them, "My sons, to the north of us are many evil beings who live in a round valley. Nothing can transverse this valley. This is why I am telling you not to go there." They said, "All right." Just as soon as their father had gone off to hunt, Ghost said to his brother, "Flesh, our father said for us to go to a round valley, so what are we waiting for?" "No he didn't," replied Flesh, "he told us not to go there." As usual, Ghost persuaded Flesh to come along. In time they reached the round valley of which their father had spoken. When they got there, unexpectedly, they saw something as big as a small hill coming towards them. The strange being suddenly shot flames that reached right up to the boys. There it was right in the middle of the valley. Every time it reached them with its flames, it seemed to draw them in. Constantly it tried to draw them in, and finally they found themselves right up to it. It was a giant toad. Even though it had breath of fire, they were able to kill it. It had an incredibly long tongue, and it was with this that it tried to draw people in. This they killed, and when they got home they set a kettle on the fire and boiled it. "Say, this tastes great!" said Ghost, "I believe this is what our father calls 'raccoon meat.' They say it is especially good when the raccoon is nice and fat, and this one certainly is fat. Let's save a piece for our father." Flesh said, "This time he will certainly eat some." When they checked the kettle they saw that there was a lot of grease in it. Then their father entered the lodge. "Father," they said, "look, we've boiled some excellent raccoon meat for you. You always told us how good it would taste." They showed their father the kettle, but he said, "Again you have polluted my kettle -- go wash it out completely." So once again the boys went out towards the lake, but on the way they sat down and ate a bit more. They dumped the remains right into the lake, and after washing the kettle out, they filled it with water and returned to the lodge.

"My sons, every time I tell you not to do something, you go ahead anyway. I guess I am being selfish when I tell you these things, selfish because I love you and do not want to lose you. However, my words have no effect. Just the same, don't forget that there are some very powerful evil spirits in this world, and just coming into contact with them can result in great harm." Thus he spoke. He said this because there was no place that they did not visit, and if he forbade them to visit a place, they would go there directly. So four times he warned them in this fashion, and then he said, "Don't go anywhere near a certain round hill in the west. I forbid it. Don't go there, and this time do what I say." He said this over and over, even as he left to go hunting. Ghost said, "Flesh, your father made it really clear that there was a certain place that he wanted us to visit, so what are we waiting for?" Flesh replied, "That's not what he said. In fact, he forbade us to go there. At least this once we should obey him. You are always the one who disobeys him when he tells us not to go somewhere." Just the same, Ghost was able to persuade Flesh to go with him to the forbidden place. Just as they got there, a large animal charged right at them and ran right up to them. "This is going to be great fun," declared Ghost. Just then the large animal collided with them, and despite the fierce struggle, the animal tore Flesh to pieces. Thus he was killed. Then Ghost said, "Flesh, why are you acting this way just when we are about to have some real fun?" Then Ghost took one of Flesh's limbs and threw it to the side, and instantly Flesh arose again alive. Soon they were able to kill the animal. It was a great bobtailed grizzly bear. They skinned it and took the flesh home to cook. They said, "Father will be able to make a nice robe of its hide." Then they boiled it. It was very fat. Ghost said, "Bears are delicious when they're this fat." Then they ate a great deal of it. They left some for their father, who very shortly thereafter returned to the lodge. They said, "Father, here is some delicious bear meat. And look, here's its hide. You can make a fine robe of that." Thus they spoke, but their father was horrified. "Oh no," he exclaimed, "this is no ordinary bear, this is a grizzly. Such as these are holy. Get it out of here and pour it out. And take the hide with you and offer some tobacco to the grizzly spirit." They took the tobacco and went for the lake, but as they walked along they kept on eating the grizzly meat. They reached the lake, and there they threw in not only the contents of the kettle, but the hide as well. They offered no tobacco. Then they went back to the lodge, but ever after they lived on a steady diet of grizzly meat.

In time the father of the Twins came to fear them. "What if they turn into spirits and attack me?" he wondered. To save himself, he resolved to flee. Early in the morning he put a fire-started in his quiver and started off as if he were going hunting. He ran south, but the boys knew he was running away from them. Ghost said, "Say Flesh, I think your father is up to something. He is afraid of us, so let's have some fun with him." Ghost went a little ways from the lodge and made a mark on a tree. They made a mark on the ground running from there to one of the fire logs. When they woke up the next morning, there was their father sound asleep with his head resting on one of the fire logs. When the boys saw him, they laughed a good deal. When they woke him up he was very surprised, but said, "My sons, my sons, I was fixing a fire late last night and I must have fallen asleep right here at the fire logs." He told them this even though he knew that he had run all day and at night had put his head on a log to go to sleep. Again the next morning, their father attempted to flee, but the boys knew of it. This time Ghost did as before, but placed the final mark at the door post. All day did their father run, and when night fell he rested his head against a tree and went to sleep. When the boys woke him up the next morning, there he was with his head resting against the door post. Their father was very surprised, but said, "My sons, my sons, I came back very tired and sleepy last night. I thought I had gone to bed, but apparently I fell asleep right here." He then laughed at himself. The next day the father attempted to flee once more. This time the final mark was made on the wood pile, and it was there that they found him when they woke him up the next morning. Again things happened as before, only this time the boys made the final mark at the fireplace. The next morning, there was their father asleep with his head in the ashes. He said, "My sons, my sons, I can't understand how I got here. I must have had a nightmare and rolled out of bed, since I am certain that I went to sleep in the bed last night."

Flesh asked, "Father, why are you doing this? We know you are trying to flee, so that's the reason we are doing it. No matter how far away you run, when you go to sleep there, you are in fact sleeping right here. Why are you so afraid of us, we won't do you any harm. We have never done harm to any of the good beings of this earth, only the bad ones. If you really want to leave us, then why not go to that village in the east? There on its outskirts you will find a little oval lodge. After you enter this lodge you will soon hear people unpacking some wood. These are the daughters of the chief unpacking wood for the old woman who lives there. They will peep in, and when they see you they will run back home and tell everyone about you. One of them will return and ask you for what purpose you have come. You should say, 'My sons sent me here. We live alone and they thought it would be good if I married one of the daughters of the chief.' Thus you must speak. She will thank you. The woman to whom you will speak is the yûgiwi (chief's daughter), and it is she who is our mother. She went there to live and thus came alive again. You have been far to impatient. She knows all that is going on and will know you when she sees you. When would you like to leave?" Thus did Flesh speak, and his father replied, "My sons, this place must be far away, as I have never heard of it. I would likely get there in the evening." "Not at all," they said, "you must just like to walk, as it is not very far. After you get there, in four days we too will arrive along with some animals."

That morning their father started out and at evening he had arrived at the village. He entered the small oval lodge at the outskirts. There, unexpectedly, was an old woman inside the lodge. Just then he heard the sound of someone unpacking wood. Then suddenly, someone peeped in and just as quickly disappeared. Some time later another person arrived and said, "Surely you have come for some purpose, and the chief has sent me here to find out what it is." The man replied, "My sons with whom I live all alone, sent me here to marry the chief's daughter. This is the reason why I have come." The messenger went back and told this to the chief, who was very thankful. Then the chief said to his messenger, "Indeed, this is good. Tell him to come here to my lodge." The messenger went back and fetched the man. When he arrived he recognized his wife and she him, so he went down and sat by her side. She was overjoyed. "How are the boys?" she asked. He told her all about them, how he had cut her open, and how one of them reappeared and was captured. Then he told her that they were now big and it was they who had instructed him to come to her village. He said, "I tried to run away, but every time I lay down to sleep, I found myself right back where I started. They have become very powerful; indeed, they hardly view the spirits themselves as equals." In this way they talked all night. She became anxious to see them. "When will we return there to see them?" she asked. He said, "They said nothing about my returning, but they did say they would come here in four days bringing something with them."

When the four days had come, the two boys appeared before the village standing. Someone said, "There are two little boys standing just outside the village." The messengers of the chief were sent out to get them, and when they entered the village, they ran straight to their mother and hugged her. She was overjoyed. She said, "Once when I lived as a human I died giving birth to you. Now I am alive again in this village." After their parents had done hugging them, they passed the boys on to their uncles.

Soon thereafter the boys decided to go hunting. Early in the morning they encountered a four-cornered herd of buffalo and drove them in the direction of the village. When the two boys reached the village they gave strict instructions. The people were not to kill the white buffalo who was the leader of the herd, nor were they to touch the yearlings. All else they could take for meat. The messengers went about the village shouting, "The yûgiwi's sons have driven a four-cornered herd of buffalo here. Do not shoot the white buffalo that leads the herd nor the yearlings. Everyone who can, take your bows over there." They all said, "It is good." There at the place the messengers showed them, the people shot many buffalo. When they were done only the calves and the white buffalo remained alive. The boys said, "We had better go home, as some evil spirit may be ransacking our lodge. When you need more food, then we will come back." Thus they said, and the villagers thought that they would be back soon. However, they disappeared. During the daytime they traveled all over this earth, but at night they always returned to their lodge to sleep.

In time they decided to visit their parents again. The next morning they went out hunting. After a short while, they drove a four-cornered herd of elk towards the village. The messengers went out with their instructions, saying, "You may kill as many as you want of these elk." The villagers said, "It is good." There they killed many elk and great was the quantity of meat and hides. After they had stayed in the village for awhile, they decided once again to leave. From then on they began to wander over the whole of the earth. One day Ghost said, "Flesh, by now our parents have used up all the food, so let's go visit them again." Then Flesh said, "By all means, we should return to them." So they went back for another visit. Their parents were overjoyed. They held the little boys on their laps, then passed them on to their uncles and eventually to everyone in the lodge.The next morning they went hunting. They came upon black deer and drove a four-cornered herd towards the village. Once the messengers learned of it, they went about spreading the word. Everyone who could muster a bow went out to hunt them. They ended up killing the entire herd, and much time was spent in dressing the deer. Thus they did, and in time they disappeared. After some time had elapsed, they said to each other, "It's about time for us to visit our mother again." This was the fourth time, and when they went hunting they drove a herd of deer to the village. Once again the villagers had much meat to eat. Once all this had been accomplished, they spoke to their parents and said, "Father, mother, in the future we will not be able to visit you as often. Now we must travel all over this world."

These boys are the Twins. Much has been told of them. Of all the Great Spirits, these two were the very last to be created. Because they came into being in recent times, much of what they did has left a mark still visible today. Their father, he was that fire. Their mother became reborn where she did because that village was starving and in need of what she could bring it. When their father took care of the Twins, all those in the village lived well. The Twins were clever and did much to help people. The Twins were created recently. They were still wandering this earth when the Hotcâgara lived at De Xede (Lake Winnebago). There a Hotcâk man dreamt. There they came to him, so that he actually saw them. Thus he knew where they were. The earth that we now live on was the last of the realms of creation to be created, but the Twins were created even after that. It was during that time that the Twins wandered over the face of the earth. Everything they did was therefore in recent times. The evil spirits that preyed upon people, these they killed. In the beginning when the earth was newly populated, there were Giant cannibals who preyed upon the humans; grasshoppers, which today are small, were then of great size. Toads were also enormous and routinely killed people. These the Twins killed, and those animals that were large, they made small and harmless. The Twins decided to let them live, so they merely reduced them in size. All those animals that today bite people, originally ate them. It is because of the Twins that these animals are small today and can do no harm to anyone by their bite. [1]

Commentary. "shoot the arrows right though the top of the lodge" -- the Hotcâk word for arrow is "mâ." This is also a homonym meaning "year, time." As we see below, the soul runs off with the time (arrows) belonging to flesh; but first they send these arrow-years through the roof of their lodge. The hole in the roof of the lodge is the smoke hole, so the Twins are shooting from where the fire begins in a path that arches over the lodge to someplace outside. Each shot, therefore, recalls the path of the sun, the "fire" that determines the measure of the year (mâ = arrow) through the arching path it inscribes each day. The word for day, hâp, also means "light." Thus, when a person's days (time = arrow) are used up, he has lost his "light." Thus, "light" also is a synonym for "life."

"collected all the arrows, only this time he took off running" -- this episode seems to represent the fact that the ghost-soul determines the "arrows" (mâ = years) of the flesh, then takes off with the time allocated to corporeal life. The flesh then weeps for its lost time (life).

"forget it!" -- the memory of life resides with the ghost, not the flesh. The ancient Greeks thought that the souls traveled over the Waters of Forgetfulness where they were washed clean of their memories. Inversely, the Hotcâgara believed that a supernatural being, Spirit Woman, cupped out of the ghosts all its desires for the life of the flesh. This may explain why Ghost is the one who departs. However, in the cycle of rebirth, the ghost-soul comes back to the flesh again, but it is very difficult for persons in the flesh to remember their past lives. Their father creates for them a new set of "arrows" (years of life) through conception, which brings the two together again.

"my beaver teeth" -- this presents an interesting puzzle for which I do not yet have an answer: Why does the ghost have wide teeth, described as "beaver teeth"? Beavers use their teeth to chew on wood and to fell trees, thereby making stumps. Ghost has connections to stumps, hence his allonym.

"the man came rushing up and tied the other boy up" -- the two boys are said to be the sons of the Sun, although at the end of this story their father is said to be Fire, perhaps a more general conception embracing the sun. In many of the world's religions the sun is believed to play a role in reproduction. When a soul is joined to the flesh in conception, the sun is somehow a mediating force in the union. He is the father of both soul (Ghost) and flesh. This parentage may be reflected in the father's role in helping Flesh catch his brother Little Ghost. This is the act of conception, the act of flesh capturing its soul.

"elk bladders" -- elsewhere it is a turkey bladder, and in another story it is an animal's placenta. The elk and the turkey may have lunar affinities in common. The reason for the bladders being painted red, however, is obscure.

"hogagi" -- this is for hokagi, "garfish." Radin leaves it untranslated.

"there was their father sound asleep with his head resting on one of the fire logs" -- when the sun travels during the day it goes a long way, but when it goes to sleep at night, it will awake the next morning almost exactly where it started from. The sun, as a species of fire, is always resting on wood. In the final scene, he comes to rest over the ashes of the fireplace, an identification of the sun with the fire of his lodge.

"in time they disappeared" -- this could be explained on the assumption that the Twins are the matutine and vespertine Mercury. When Earth and Mercury are on opposite sides of the sun, which is to say, when Mercury and Sun are in conjunction, the two Mercuries seem to disappear. Their absence in the sky has led to the theory that during this period they are roaming over the whole earth. In time, however, they return to the lodge of the father (the sun) and mother (the moon). They also roam the earth during the day, a time in which they seem also to disappear.

"Their father, he was that fire" ("Égi hiantc hirera petc djane e hereje." [2])-- this would almost have to be elliptic for something like "the celestial fire." Otherwise, it is inconsistent with what this same raconteur has said in both "The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head," and "The Lost Blanket," where the father is the sun.

Comparative Material. For further comparative material to this myth, see also The Birth of the Twins, The Twins Disobey Their Father.

The Omaha have a long version of this story. It does not contain the birth episode, but "[In another version] the twin boys remain with their father, but one soon apparently dies, and the father wraps him in a buffalo robe and hides his body in a hollow tree. But the child is not really dead and survives because the mice bring him wild beans to eat. Meanwhile, the father feeds the child who remains with him on soup." The story resumes with these events assumed. Little Wild One stood on a hill above a lone teepee and whistled, but no one responded. Then he sang:

I have no father, so I live on wild beans;
I live on wild beans;
You have a father, so you live on soup;
You live on soup.

Then Forget came out of his teepee. The two boys were almost the same size, but looked identical otherwise. "Is your father at home?" asked Little Wild One. "No, he's out hunting," replied Forget. So the two boys spent the day playing. Later Forget asked his friend about the world beyond the teepee, since he was never allowed to go beyond. Little Wild One spent the day telling him about the wonders of the bird world. Then suddenly, he jumped up, tapped his friend on the head, and said, "Forget!" Then he ran away. Just then Forget's father appeared. He noticed that the teepee was in disarray, so he asked his son about it, but the boy could not remember a thing. The next day, after the father went out to hunt, again Little Wild One appeared, singing his song. He would not come down, however, until he was absolutely certain that his friend's father had gone. They sat down and ate while Little Wild One told Forget all about the four footed creatures of the earth. Suddenly he jumped up and took off running, but this time he forgot to tap his friend on the head and erase his memories. Just then the father returned from hunting. [3]

The following is a Crow parallel to the whole story of the Twins, although its beginning is more similar to that of The Birth of the Twins. A man lived alone in a teepee with his pregnant wife. One day while he was hunting, Red Woman came to the teepee and murdered his wife. She cut the woman open and found twins inside. One she threw behind a curtain, the other she threw into a stream. Red Woman burnt off the upper lip of the wife so that she looked as though she were smiling. When the husband discovered her he knew that Red Woman had committed the murder. One night the man was eating when he heard a voice asking for food. When the man said, "All right," a small child appeared from behind the curtain. He said that he was called "Thrown Behind the Curtain." One day the boy asked his father if he could make him two bows and a set of arrows. He explained that he wanted two bows so that he could alternate them. The father did as his son had asked, but had doubts about the reasons that had been given. So the next day he spied on his son and found that he was shooting arrows along with another boy. When he returned, the father asked his son if he had not been playing with another boy. The son freely admitted that he had. The father suggested that his son catch this boy so that he could live with them. "If I were to catch him I would need a suit of rawhide," he said, "since the other boy has sharp teeth like an otter." The next day, the father hid inside the teepee. When the other boy showed up, Thrown Behind the Curtain said, "My father is out hunting. Let's play with our bows." But the other boy was suspicious and it took some effort for Thrown Behind the Curtain to persuade him. During their play, Thrown Behind the Curtain grabbed the other boy, who turned to bite him, only to sink his teeth harmlessly into the rawhide suit of his brother. The father rushed up, but the spring flooded over to help the captured boy, so they dragged him up to high ground while the father put incense under his nose. This made him human and he was thereafter able to live with them. One day the two boys went to their mother's grave to wake her up. They said things that would alarm her until she finally sat up fully conscious. Their father forbade the Twins to go to a certain place where lived an old woman with a pot. All she had to do is tilt the pot towards something and it would be drawn in and boiled for her meal. The boys approached her while she slept. They woke her up and asked why she had the pot; then they tilted it towards her and she herself was drowned and boiled. The next day their father said, "This time I really want you to obey me. There's a hill nearby. I don't want you to go over it." Just the same, the boys went over the hill where they found a monster very much like an alligator. This monster sucked in air until he drew them inside himself. There they found many other people. They asked the monster what the thing beating in his side was, and he said, "It is the thing in which I lay my plans." So they took a knife and cut it up. This killed the monster. They cut a hole in its side and escaped, but not before they cut a piece of heart to take home to their father. The next day they went to another prohibited place where trees suddenly struck the ground whenever someone walked under them. The Twins rushed them, then suddenly stopped. The trees slammed down to the ground, but missed the boys, who then proceeded to stomp on the trees until they broke all the branches. Their father told them not to go near a teepee on a certain hill, since it was inhabited by snakes who entered people's rectums when they fell asleep. The boys went there anyway. The snakes tried to lull them to sleep, but the boys turned the tables and succeeded in causing all the serpents but one to fall asleep. This serpent, however, attempted to enter their rectums, but they had brought along flat stones with which to cover this vulnerability. They killed all the other snakes, but the one who tried to violate them they took and rubbed its head against the side of a hill. That is why snakes today have flat heads. The next day their father warned them about a man who lived by a steep embankment over a body of water. There, in the water, his father lived. This man would push people over the edge so that his father could eat them. The Twins visited this place wearing grass headdresses. When the man rushed them, they flattened suddenly on the ground, and he flew over them grasping only their headdresses. When he landed in the water, his own father ate him. After that, their father warned them about a man who wore moccasins that could set anything they touched afire. So the boys also visited this man. While he was sleeping, they stole his moccasins, then ran around him, setting the brush on fire and burning him up. Their father still feared that something would happen to them because they had had so many encounters with bad spirits. One day while walking along, they were seized by a Thunderbird who took them atop a mountain surrounded by a lake. The Thunderbirds said to them, "I would like you to kill something for me. There in the lake is an otter of great length. He kills all my offspring before they can grow up." They boys began preparations which included heating up large rocks. The otter came up to them despite the fact that they showered arrows on him. When it opened up its mouth to swallow them, they slammed the red hot stones down its throat, and the otter curled up and died. The Thunderbird picked them up and returned them back home where they lived for a long time. [4]

In the following Saginaw story, we find significant overlap with the Hotcâk, although the beginning of the tale is quite different. A man and his wife lived alone with their young son. One day when the man was out hunting, a Giant (Weendigo) appeared before the lodge. The woman did everything she could to placate him. She offered him food, but his preference was for a raw deer carcass. When the husband returned with another deer, the Giant ate that raw too. In this way the Giant lived with them for some time, rarely ever speaking to them, but doing them no physical harm. One day the Giant announced that he was going to resume traveling about the world, but before he left, he was going to give the man a gift. This consisted of two arrows whose virtue it was that they never failed to kill a moose at which they were aimed. The Giant left, and the man found that he could make a good living hunting moose. One day while he was out hunting, his wife observed what appeared to be a large black cloud coming towards her. This turned out not to be a cloud at all, but another Giant. She hoped to placate this one as she had the last, but he seized her and ripped out her entrails, eating them raw. By the time the hunter returned, he found his son weeping and the gruesome remains of his wife. He collected up her remains and placed them in the hollow of a tree. One day, while his father was out hunting, his son shot arrows out through the top of the lodge, but when he went out to get them, he couldn't find any of them. So he shot another one and immediately rushed out of the lodge to see what would happen to it. There, to his surprise, was a handsome young boy with his arrow in hand. The younger boy ran away and jumped into the hollow of a tree. The older boy persuaded him to come out and play, so the two of them took turns shooting arrows. When the boy's father was near, the younger boy made him promise not to tell him of anything. When the boy met his father at the lodge, he asked him to make him another bow, pretending that he wanted a back up just in case. The next day, the other boy came over to play. The two of them roughhoused through the lodge until the place was covered with ashes. When the father returned, he was surprised to see the ashes scattered about, but his son persuaded him that he alone had played in a wild fashion. The next day the two boys made an even worse mess of the lodge, and the father on his way out had heard two boys playing. The next time, when the father returned, he observed smaller footprints in the ashes. Finally, the boy confessed that he had been playing with a younger boy who lived in the hollow of the tree where his mother's remains had been placed. Then the father knew that this boy had arisen from his dead wife. The father and son hatched a plot to capture this boy. The next day the father hid himself. The boys met and the elder suggested that they set fire to a particular tree and kill the flying squirrels that lived in it. The other boy was reticent, saying that he believed that the elder boy's father was nearby. But in time the older boy persuaded him. So they set fire to the tree, and while they were killing the squirrels, the father rushed up and grabbed the younger boy. The boy yelled, "Don't! You'll tear my clothes!" His clothes seemed to have been made of a fine, transparent skin. After a long time, the father and his son were able to domesticate the younger boy, who thereafter lived with them. As time went on, the boys always remained just as they were. Their father had always warned them not to go to a certain lake, where, he said, there were particularly dangerous birds. Just the same, they went there anyway. When they arrived, they saw steep cliffs at the edge of the lake, cliffs that reached to the top of the sky. The younger boy suggested that they climb to the top, so they did. Once there they found a large nest with two giant nestlings in it. When they stuck a stick near their eyes, they would blink and in a flash, the stick was completely shattered. They grabbed the two young birds and dragged them off to their lodge. They showed them off to their father and declared that they would raise them as pets. The father decided that he had better warn them about another lake, this one inhabited by Mishegenabigoes (a kind of Waterspirit). Nevertheless, the boys headed out for this lake. When they got there, a voice ordered them to get away. They asked, "Who is it that speaks to us?" and the voice answered back, "I am Mishegenabig. Who dares to disobey me?" The younger brother had the older sing some words of powerful medicine, while at the same time, he waded into the water. Soon pieces of the monster's liver floated up. The little brother grabbed the monster by his horns and they dragged him home to be a pet. Their father now rejoiced to himself that his sons were so powerful. One day he announced that he would end his days on earth and go west to join his ancestors. The boys said that they would give the two birds to him as company. Before he left, the boys fed the Mishegenabig to the birds. Then the father left with thunder and lightning, inasmuch as the two birds were Thunders. He went to dwell in the north, and became that Thunder which is heard going from north to south. [5]

Links: The Twins, Gottschall, Ghosts, Tree Spirits, Leeches, Mice, Frogs, Snakes, Bear Spirits, Giants, Lake Winnebago.

Stories: mentioning the Twins: The Twins Cycle, The Man with Two Heads, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Children of the Sun, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Two Brothers, The Lost Blanket; about two brothers: The Two Children, The Twin Sisters, The Captive Boys, The Twins Cycle, The Two Brothers, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Children of the Sun, The Lost Blanket, The Man with Two Heads, Bluehorn's Nephews, Snowshoe Strings, The Old Man and the Giants, The Brown Squirrel; mentioning mice: The War among the Animals, Trickster Takes Little Fox for a Ride, Warughápara, Hare Kills Wildcat, Ocean Duck, The Lost Blanket; mentioning snakes: The First Snakes, The Woman who Married a Snake, Blessing of the Yellow Snake Chief, Snake Clan Origins, The Omahas who turned into Snakes, A Snake Song Origin Myth, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Twins Disobey Their Father, Wears White Feathers on His Head, Creation of the World (vv. 2, 3, 4), The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, Warughápara, The Green Man, Holy One and His Brother, The Man who was Blessed by the Sun, The Warbundle of the Eight Generations, Turtle and the Merchant, The Lost Blanket, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth; mentioning frogs: The Stone that Became a Frog, Hare and the Dangerous Frog, The Woman Who Became an Ant, Snowshoe Strings, Turtle's Warparty, Porcupine and His Brothers; mentioning (spirit) bears (other than were-bears): White Bear, Blue Bear, Black Bear, Red Bear, Bear Clan Origin Myth, The Shaggy Man, Bear Offers Himself as Food, Hare Visits His Grandfather Bear, Hare Establishes Bear Hunting, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, The Wolf Clan Origin Myth, Hotcâk Clans Origin Myth, The Messengers of Hare, Bird Clan Origin Myth, The Hotcâk Migration Myth, Red Man, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, Lifting Up the Bear Heads, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, Creation of the World (v. 5), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Brown Squirrel, Snowshoe Strings, Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, East Enters the Medicine Lodge, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, The Spider's Eyes, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Trickster's Tail, Old Man and White Feathers, cf. Fourth Universe; mentioning bladders: Bladder, Bladder and His Brothers, Adventures of Redhorn's Sons (elk), The Birth of the Twins (turkey); mentioning teeth: The Animal who would Eat Men, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, Hare and the Dangerous Frog, The Girl who Refused a Blessing from the Wood Spirits, The Birth of the Twins, The Twins Disobey Their Father, Wears White Feathers on His Head, The Dipper, Wolves and Humans, The Commandments of Earthmaker, The Children of the Sun, The Green Man, Holy One and His Brother, Partridge's Older Brother, The Brown Squirrel, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge of the Medicine Rite, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, East Shakes the Messenger, Lifting Up the Bear Heads, White Wolf, Buffalo Clan Origin Myth; in which leeches occur: The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Seduction of Redhorn's Son, The Two Brothers (blood-suckers); involving tree stumps: The Twins Cycle, The Two Brothers, The Pointing Man, The Were-fish, The Spirit of Maple Bluff, Lake Wâkcikhomîgra (Mendota): the Origin of Its Name; mentioning sweat lodges or sweat baths: The Twins Get into Hot Water, The Lost Blanket, The Green Man, Bladder and His Brothers, v. 1, Hare Establishes Bear Hunting, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, The Thunderbird, Snowshoe Strings, Warughápara, The Red Man, The Chief of the Herok'a, The Birth of the Twins, v.2, Lifting Up the Bear Heads, The King Bird, The Human Head, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Wolf, The Shaggy Man, Soft Shelled Turtle Gets Married, The Dipper, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, v. 2, The Cave of Herok'a; set at Lake Winnebago (De Xede): Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, The First Fox and Sauk War, White Thunder's Warpath, Traveler and the Thunderbird War (v. 2), The Great Fish, The Wild Rose, Great Walker's Warpath, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, The Fox-Hotcâk War, Holy Song, The Two Children (?); mentioning springs: Trail Spring, Vita Springs, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, Bear Clan Origin Myth, vv. 6, 8, Bird Clan Origin Myth, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, Bluehorn's Nephews, Blue Mound, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, The Lost Child, Old Man and White Feathers, The Wild Rose, The Omahas who turned into Snakes, The Two Brothers, Snowshoe Strings, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Mulberry Picker, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, Rich Man, Boy, and Horse, Warughápara, Wazûka, The Man Who Fell from the Sky, Turtle and the Witches.

Versions of this story are found in The Two Brothers, and in the first three stories of the Twins Cycle (The Birth of the Twins, The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Twins Visit Their Father's Village).

Themes:  multiple births: The Birth of the Twins, The Twin Sisters, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Man with Two Heads, The Children of the Sun, The Lost Blanket, The Shawnee Prophet -- What He Told the Hotcâgara, The Shawnee Prophet and His Ascension, The Two Brothers; the youngest offspring is superior: The Mission of the Five Sons of Earthmaker, Young Man Gambles Often, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, Twins Cycle, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Children of the Sun, The Creation of the World, V. 12, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Îtcorúcika and His Brothers, The Raccoon Coat, Wodjidjé, How the Thunders Met the Nights, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, Sun and the Big Eater, Buffalo Clan Origin Myth, Bear Clan Origin Myth (vv. 4, 7), Snake Clan Origins, South Enters the Medicine Lodge, Snake Clan Origins, Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth; children are given deer tails to eat: The Redman, The Chief of the Herok'a, Warughápara, The Birth of the Twins; someone returns from the dead: Ghost Dance Origin Myth II, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, The Shaggy Man, The Two Brothers, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Wolf, The Red Man, The Chief of the Herok'a, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, Warughápara, The Lost Blanket, The Old Man and the Giants; hypnotic commands issued at a distance: The Birth of the Twins, The Adventures of Redhorn's Sons, Brave Man; someone dives into a body of water and disappears into its depths: The Red Feather, The Birth of the Twins, The Two Brothers, The Woman who Married a Snake, The Shaggy Man; a spirit-being comes from a stump or hollow log: The Spirit of Maple Bluff, Lake Wâkcikhomîgra (Mendota): the Origin of Its Name, The Were-fish, The Birth of the Twins, The Dipper; being unable to hide, despite a great effort: The Children of the Sun, The Birth of the Twins, Holy One and His Brother; red as a symbolic color: The Journey to Spiritland (hill, willows, reeds, smoke, stones, haze), The Gottschall Head (mouth), The Chief of the Herok'a (clouds, side of Forked Man), The Red Man (face, sky, body, hill), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse (neck, nose, painted stone), Redhorn's Father (leggings, stone sphere, hair), The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father (hair, body paint, arrows), Wears White Feathers on His Head (man), The Birth of the Twins (turkey bladder headdresses), Trickster and the Mothers (sky), Rich Man, Boy, and Horse (sky), The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits (Buffalo Spirit), Bluehorn Rescues His Sister (buffalo head), Wazûka (buffalo head headdress), The Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth (horn), The Brown Squirrel (protruding horn), Bear Clan Origin Myth (funerary paint), Wonághire Wâkcik Clan Origin Myth (funerary paint), Deer Clan Origin Myth (funerary paint), Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth (stick at grave), Pigeon Clan Origins (Thunderbird lightning), Trickster's Anus Guards the Ducks (eyes), Hare Retrieves a Stolen Scalp (scalp, woman's hair), The Race for the Chief's Daughter (hair), The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy (hair), Redhorn's Sons (hair), Redhorn Contests the Giants (hair), The Woman's Scalp Medicine Bundle (hair), A Wife for Knowledge (hair), He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle (hair), The Hotcâgara Contest the Giants (hair of Giantess), A Man and His Three Dogs (wolf hair), The Red Feather (plumage), The Man who was Blessed by the Sun (body of Sun), Red Bear, Eagle Clan Origin Myth (eagle), The Shell Anklets Origin Myth (Waterspirit armpits), The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty (Waterspirits), The Roaster (body paint), The Man who Defied Disease Giver (red spot on forehead), The Wild Rose (rose), The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth (warclub), Îtcorúcika and His Brothers (ax & packing strap), Hare Kills Flint (flint), The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head (edges of flint knives), The Mulberry Picker (leggings), The Seduction of Redhorn's Son (cloth), Yûgiwi (blanket); the Twins disobey the commands of someone with fatherly authority over them: The Twins Get into Hot Water, The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Lost Blanket, The Two Brothers; a knowledgeable person tells someone not to go to a certain place because of the danger, but that person goes there anyway: The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Fox-Hotcâk War, The Twins Get into Hot Water, The Two Brothers, The Lost Blanket, Bladder and His Brothers, The Thunderbird, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle; powerful spirits refer to strong animals by names denoting smaller and weaker animals: How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, Warughápara, The Thunderbird, The Lost Blanket, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, Earthmaker Sends Rucewe to the Twins, Redhorn's Sons (cf. the inverse theme, Buffalo Spirits calling grass "bears" in, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle); traveling over the whole earth: Deer Clan Origin Myth, The Pointing Man, Trickster and the Dancers, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Necessity for Death, Death Enters the World, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Twins Get into Hot Water, The Twins Cycle, The Two Boys, The Lost Blanket, Bluehorn's Nephews; powerful spirits eat snakes (even though they are sacred): The Twins Disobey Their Father, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, The Dipper; flame throwing monsters: The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth; bringing someone back to life by picking them up and putting them on their feet: The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Shaggy Man; a (grand)father abandons his family: The Father of the Twins Attempts to Flee, Sun and the Big Eater, The Big Eater, Grandfather's Two Families, The Birth of the Twins, The Two Brothers, Trickster Visits His Family; to escape a dangerous person, someone runs into the wilderness: The Father of the Twins Attempts to Flee, Bluehorn's Nephews, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister; someone runs away at full speed, but despite running for some time, they find themselves only a short distance from where they started: Redhorn's Father, The Father of the Twins Attempts to Flee; (three or) four young women, one of whom is a princess, encounter a suitor while they are bringing wood to an old woman's lodge: Redhorn's Father, Morning Star and His Friend, Trickster Soils the Princess, The Mulberry Picker, The Father of the Twins Attempts to Flee; marriage to a yûgiwi (princess): The Mulberry Picker, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, The Big Stone, Partridge's Older Brother, Redhorn's Sons, The Seduction of Redhorn's Son, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, River Child and the Waterspirit of Devil's Lake, The Roaster, Soft Shelled Turtle Gets Married, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Wolf, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Shaggy Man, The Thunderbird, The Red Feather, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, The Birth of the Twins, V. 3, Trickster Visits His Family, The Woman who Loved Her Half-Brother, Redhorn's Father, Old Man and White Feathers, Morning Star and His Friend, Thunderbird and White Horse, Rich Man, Boy, and Horse, Shakes the Earth, The Nightspirits Bless Tciwoit'éhiga; something is of a (symbolic) pure white color: White Bear, Deer Spirits, The Journey to Spiritland (v. 4), White Flower, Big Eagle Cave Mystery, The Fleetfooted Man, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, Worúxega, The Lost Blanket (white spirits), Skunk Origin Myth, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Wolf, A Man and His Three Dogs, The Messengers of Hare, The Brown Squirrel, The Man Who Fell from the Sky, Bladder and His Brothers, White Thunder's Warpath, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, The Dipper, Great Walker's Medicine (v. 2), Creation of the World (v. 12), Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, The Descent of the Drum, Tobacco Origin Myth (v. 5), The Diving Contest, Otter Comes to the Medicine Rite, The Arrows of the Medicine Rite Men, The Animal Spirit Aids of the Medicine Rite, Grandmother's Gifts, Four Steps of the Cougar, The Completion Song Origin, North Shakes His Gourd, Lifting Up the Bear Heads, Thunder Cloud is Blessed, Peace of Mind Regained; hunters kill an entire herd of animals: Redhorn's Father, The Roaster, The Twins Visit Their Father's Village, Old Man and White Feathers, The Mulberry Picker, Snowshoe Strings, Morning Star and His Friend; animals that are not now carnivorous, in primordial times sought to eat human flesh: Hare and the Dangerous Frog, The Animal who would Eat Men, The War among the Animals; a small animal was once dangerous, but was rendered innocuous in primordial times: The Green Man (crichet), Hare and the Dangerous Frog, The War among the Animals (mouse).

Notes: 

[1] "The Epic of the Twins, Part Three," in Paul Radin, The Evolution of an American Indian Prose Epic. A Study in Comparative Literature, Part I (Basil: Ethnographical Museum, Basil Switzerland, 1954) 58-74.

[2] Paul Radin, Notebooks, Winnebago V, 2 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society) syllabic text, p. 123.

[3] Francis La Flesche, Ke-ma-ha: The Omaha Stories of Francis La Flesche (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995) 75-90.

[4] "Lodge-Boy and Throw-Away," in The Storytelling Stone: Traditional Native American Myths and Tales, ed. Susan Feldmann (New York: Dell Publishing, 1965) 179-183. Originally in Tales of the North American Indians, ed. Stith Thompson (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1929).

[5] "The Weendigoes," in Henry R. Schoolcraft, Schoolcraft's Indian Legends, ed. Mentor L. Williams (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1991 [1956]) 169-174.