Atondido Stories
how early I rise. I will make a snare from a bow-string, and I will
watch all this night, and I will surely catch him." He made a trap
from a stout bow-string and set it beside his snares, and took the
end of the bow-string some distance away to a clump of trees,
behind which he hid. He hoped that the thief would step into the
trap; then he would pull the bow-string and tie him fast to a tree.
He sat very quiet, waiting for the man of the long foot to appear.
It was moonlight when he set out, but soon it grew very dark in
the forest. The Moon suddenly disappeared. But the stars were
all shining on the white snow and there were no clouds in the
sky, and Rabbit wondered what had happened to the Moon. He
waited very still and a little frightened in the starlight.
Soon he heard some one coming, sneaking stealthily through
the trees. Then he saw a white light which dazzled his eyes. The
light went towards the snares, until it stopped just at the trap
Rabbit had set. Then Rabbit pulled the bow-string, closed the
trap as he had hoped, and tied the string fast to a tree. He heard
sounds of a struggle, and he saw the white light move from side
to side, but he knew that he had his prisoner fast and that the
man of the long foot was caught at last. He was much afraid of
the white light, and he ran home as fast as he could and told his
old grandmother that he had caught the game-robber in the trap,
and that he did not know who he was, for he was too frightened
to look. And his grandmother said, "You must go back and see
who it is, and tell him he must stop robbing your snares." But
Rabbit said, "I do not want to go until daylight, for the Moon has
gone down and the forest is very dark." But his grandmother
said, "You must go." So poor Rabbit, although he was very
frightened by what he had seen, set out again for his traps.
When he drew near to his snares he saw that the white light
was still shining. It was so bright that his eyes were dazzled and
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