196 THE BIG CANOE

ahoy! Hip, hip, hooray!” Over and over again he
sang the strange song and danced around the fire.

“Tell us a story, Shim!” one of the men finally
interrupted. It was a fine time for story-telling, there
before the warm fire when all were resting.

“T will tell you a story,” said Shim, “that I have
never told before. It is a story of Thaimshim the
Wonder-worker, who, as all know, can take the form
of a giant and walk upon the earth, above the forests,
above the mountains; or can take the form of a raven,
if he so desires, and fly from one village to another,
overhearing all things. Great is Thaimshim!” And
this is the tale Shim told:

One cas gees when Thaimshim was ae over the
land of the Tsimshians, he became tired of that coun-
try, for it was summertime and the gnats and flies
bit him so that he cried out with pain. Never had he
seen so many of the small insects; never had he been
bitten so badly. Disgusted, he turned his back upon
the land of the Tsimshians and walked quickly away,
seeking a place where he could sit down and rest in
peace.

But there were insects everywhere, no matter where
he went. He walked and walked, over mountains and
valleys. At last he came to a land that he had never
seen before, a land that was flat like the sea. There