“Oh, oh,” exclaimed the younger brother, “it is your arm!”

Again the older boy called, “Here is some more wood” —­ and the bones of his other arm fell at the foot of the tree.

Again he called, and the bones of a leg dropped; then his other leg fell.  The next time he called, down came the right half of his ribs; and then, next, the left half of his ribs; and immediately thereafter his spinal column.  Then he called again, and down fell his hair.

The last time he called, “Here is some wood,” his skull dropped on the earth under the tree.

“Here, take those things home,” said he.  “Tell the woman that this is her wood; she only wanted my bones.”

“But there is no one to go with me down the mountains,” said the younger boy.

“Yes; I will go with you, brother,” quickly came the answer from the tree top.

So the boy tied up his bundle, and, putting it on his shoulder, started for the pueblo.  As he did so the other —­ he was now Co-ling’ —­ soared from the tree top, always flying directly above the boy.

When the younger brother reached home he put his bundle down, and said to the woman: 

“Here is the wood you wanted.”

The woman and the husband, frightened, ran out of the house; they heard something in the air above them.

“Qu-iu’-kok! qu-iu’-kok! qu-iu’-kok!” said Co-ling’, as he circled around and around above the house.  “Qu-iu’-kok! qu-iu’-kok!” he screamed, “now camotes and palay are your son.  I do not need your food any longer.”

Origin of tilin, the ricebird[37]

As the mother was pounding out rice to cook for supper, her little girl said: 

“Give me some mo’-ting to eat.”

“No,” answered the mother, “mo’-ting is not good to eat; wait until it is cooked.”

“No, I want to eat mo’-ting,” said the little girl, and for a long time she kept asking her mother for raw rice.

At last her mother interrupted, “It is bad to talk so much.”

The rice was then all pounded out.  The mother winnowed it clean, and put it in her basket, covering it up with the winnowing tray.  She placed an empty olla on her head and went to the spring for water.

The anxious little girl reached quickly for the basket to get some rice, but the tray slipped from her grasp and fell, covering her beneath it in the basket.

The mother returned with the water to cook supper.  She heard a bird crying, “King! king! nik! nik! nik!” When the woman uncovered the basket, Tilin, the little brown ricebird, flew away, calling: 

“Good-bye, mother; good-bye, mother; you would not give me mo’-ting!”

Origin of kaag, the monkey

The palay was in the milk and maturing rapidly.  Many kinds of birds that knew how delicious juicy palay is were on hand to get their share, so the boys were sent to stay all day in the sementeras to frighten these little robbers away.