of the stranger, till at length a small green feather shot slowly upward from the earth. This was followed by many more, until the maize, or Indian corn, stood in all its beauty before him; and he knew the dress of green and yellow, the plumes of green, and the soft golden hair of the stranger, over whom he had won the victory. And Hiawatha went back to his people, to tell them of the wonderful gift the Great Spirit had sent to them.

Hiawatha feels that his people do not live well. Berries and fruits are not enough for them. He prays that harm may not come to them. He has not eaten for three days. He is not strong after his fasting. He does not refuse to fight with the stranger.

Hiawatha feels that his people don't live well. Berries and fruits aren't enough for them. He prays that harm mayn't come to them. He hasn't eaten for three days. He isn't strong after his fasting. He doesn't refuse to fight with the stranger.

Read the sentences in each paragraph that mean the same. How are they not alike? In making "don't" from "do not," what letter is left out? What takes its place? This mark is called an apostrophe.

Words which have a letter or letters left out are called contractions.

Write these sentences, making contractions when you can: Hiawatha was not defeated. The stranger did not win any of the contests. Hiawatha could not refuse to bury the youth.

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61

THE BUILDING OF THE CANOE

"GIVE me of your bark, O Birch Tree!
Of your yellow bark, O Birch Tree!
Growing by the,rushing river,
Tall and stately in the valley!

I a light canoe will build me,
Build a swift Cheemaun for sailing,
That shall float upon the river

Like a yellow leaf in Autumn,
Like a yellow water lily!

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'Lay aside your cloak, O Birch Tree! Lay aside your white-skin wrapper, For the summer time is coming,

And the sun is warm in heaven,

And you need no white-skin wrapper!"
Thus aloud cried Hiawatha.

And the tree with all its branches
Rustled in the breeze of morning,
Saying, with a sigh of patience,
"Take my cloak, O Hiawatha!"

With his knife the tree he girdled;
Just beneath its lowest branches,
Just above the roots, he cut it,

Till the sap came oozing outward,
Down the trunk, from top to bottom.
Sheer he cleft the bark asunder,

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With a wooden wedge he raised it,
Stripped it from the trunk unbroken.
"Give me of your boughs, O Cedar!
Of your strong and pliant branches,
My canoe to make more steady,

Make more strong and firm beneath me!"
Through the summit of the Cedar
Went a sound, a cry of horror,
Went a murmur of resistance;
But it whispered, bending downward,
"Take my boughs, O Hiawatha!”

Down he hewed the boughs of cedar,
Shaped them straightway to a framework,
Like two bows he formed and shaped them,
Like two bended bows together.

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"Give me of your roots, O Tamarack!

your fibrous roots, O Larch Tree!

My canoe to bind together,

So to bind the ends together
That the water may not enter,

That the river may not wet me!"

And the Larch, with all its fibers,
Shivered in the air of morning,

Touched his forehead with its tassels,

Said, with one long sigh of sorrow,
"Take them all, O Hiawatha!"

From the earth he tore the fibers,

Tore the tough roots of the Larch Tree,
Closely sewed the bark together,

Bound it closely to the framework.

What does Hiawatha call the bark of the birch tree in the tenth line? Why? What is meant by a "white-skin wrapper?" What word describes the sound made by the leaves? Read the line that tells that he cut all round the trunk.

Read the lines that tell why Hiawatha asked the cedar tree for its boughs. Did the tree wish to give its branches? Read the lines that tell this.

Read the lines that tell of the sorrow of the larch tree. What other name does Hiawatha give the larch?

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THE BUILDING OF THE CANOE (Concluded)

"GIVE me of your balm, O Fir Tree!
Of your balsam and your resin,
So to close the seams together
That the water may not enter,
That the river may not wet me!"

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