Chapter III: The Sable and the Serpent

[_Passamaquoddy_]

_Kulóskap wtiwaspʾnil nequt
Otloketmul nʾmokswesul._[26]

All of the olden time,
All in a year it befell
That Kulóskap had a foe:
A very evil man,
A very sinful beast,
A very vile magician,
Who after he had tried
A hundred tricks in vain
Took on the form of a snake,
A serpent of awful size,
In hope to kill the Lord.

Now the Master had a boy
His faithful servitor,
Nʾmokswes or the Sable;
A boy of elfin kind
Who played the magic flute
Wherewith he could entice
All birds and animals
To come to him, when they
Once heard its wondrous sound.

It happened on a time
When Kulóskap was afar,
The Sable broke his flute,
And, deeply crushed with grief,
Would not return again,
But wandered far away
Into the wilderness.
And all of this the Lord
Knew well--for by his art
He knew when aught went wrong
Pertaining to himself.
Then, when returned, he asked
The old, old grandmother
Where Sable was? but she
Could only weep. And then,
The Master said: “I’ll roam
Forever if I must,
But I will find the boy.”

So he went forth, resolved,
Following Sable’s trail,
And tracked him through the snow,
Three days and nights, and then
Heard some one sing afar;
It was the magic song
Which sorcerers only sing
When in the direst need,
And death is drawing near.
So, circling round the place,
Kulóskap looked adown,
And saw a lodge, and heard
The voice distinctly sound,
As he grew nearer; it
Was Sable’s wondrous voice;
Then heard him sing a curse
Against all serpent kind,
And he was wandering
About the place to seek
A stick, extremely straight.

The Master understood
What this all meant: how that
Sable had been enticed
Into the wilderness
By Atoʾsis the Snake,
And that the Serpent-chief
Was in the lodge, and he
Had sent the Sable forth
To seek a long straight rod
For evil magic deeds.
Then, softly singing, he
Bade Sable disobey,
And get a crooked stick,
As twisted as could be,
And told him carefully
What more he was to do.

Then Sable found in fact
A very rugged rod,
As twisted as a worm,
When it is wounded; then
As he came in, the Snake
Cried out, amazed and wroth,
“How hast thou dared to bring
To me a stick like that?”
But Sable, answering,
Replied, “It is not straight,
But what is crookedest
May be the straightest made,
And I do know a charm
Whereby this may be done;
I will but heat this stick
A little in the fire,
And sing the proper spell
And then it shall be straight.”

Now Atoʾsis the Snake,
Like all the crafty folk,
Was very curious
And so looked closely on.
But Sable, when the stick
Was burning, or red hot,
Thrust it into his eyes;
(It had a forked end)
Utterly blinding him;
Then headlong rushed away.

The serpent followed him,
But, even as he left
The wigwam, there he met
The Master, who forthwith
Struck him a mighty blow
And slew him out of hand;
Of old times this befell--
And thus my story ends.

FOOTNOTES:

[26] Kulóskap had a servant once who was a Sable.