“‘Come, now, see if you can catch me!’

“‘I cannot run,’ said the rock, ‘but I can roll.’

“At this the conceited wolverine began to laugh.  ’That will do!  All I want is a race.  You can run or roll, just as you like.’

“Then the race began; the wolverine started down the mountain side at a great rate, and the rock came rolling behind him.  At first the big rock did not move very fast, and the wolverine laughed as he looked back and saw the rock was so far behind.  But the rock came on faster and faster, and now it made the wolverine do his very best to keep ahead of it.  On they rushed, over the sticks and stones and rough places, down—­down that great, long mountain side.  At length, swift and strong as he was, the wolverine began to get tired, and although he was running as he never did before in his life the big rock was surely gaining on him.  By and by he was so frightened that in looking behind at the rock, now close at his heels, he tripped over a stick and down he fell.  The rock rolled over him and, just as it had completely crushed him down to the earth, there it stopped.

“Then the wolverine, whose head was not crushed under the rock, cried out: 

“‘Get off! go away! you are hurting me.  You are crushing my bones.’

“But the rock replied: 

“’You tormented me and told me I was telling a falsehood, and you challenged me to a race with you; and now that I have caught you I will not stir until some one stronger comes and takes me off.’

“Then the wolverine lifted up his voice and cried to his relatives, the wolves and foxes, to come and remove the rock.

“When these animals came and saw him in such a plight, they asked him: 

“‘How came you to get under the rock?’

“The wolverine replied: 

“‘I challenged the rock to catch me, and it rolled on me.’

“When the wolves and the foxes heard this they were not very sorry.  They knew how conceited the wolverine had been about his speed, indeed they were all smarting because of the ease with which he had beaten them, and so, instead of helping him at once, they said he deserved his punishment.

“After a time, however, they began to be sorry for the poor wolverine, who was crying out piteously for help, but they found they were not able to remove the rock.  They could not even stir it in the least.

“‘Get out of the way,’ said the wolverine, ’and I will call my other friends, the thunder and the lightning.’

“In a few minutes a great black cloud was seen rapidly coming out of the west.  As it came rushing along the foxes and the wolves were very much frightened by the great noise it made.  However, they had courage enough to ask the lightning to take off the fine coat of the wolverine but not to kill him.  Then they ran back and watched to see the lightning do its work.  The lightning promised to do what had been asked of him; for he had heard of this proud,