(1) êkwa kotak.

(1) Now another story.

(2) sihkihp nôhtê-ayîsiyinîwiw. kêtahtawê osîhtâw otâsa oskihtêpakwa ohci.¹

êkwa ocahcâpiya osîhêw, acosisa mîna. êkwa itohtêw nêhiyânâhk ôta ôma. ayîsiyiniwa wâpamêw; itohtêw.

(2) Hell-Diver wanted to be a man. Once upon a time he made some breeches for himself out of cedar bark. Also he made himself a bow and arrows. Then he went to this Cree country here. He saw people; he went there.

(3) "tânisi ôma ê-itiskêyan?"²

(3) “What are you after here?”

(4) namôya nisitohtam ê-âta-kitotikot.

(4) He did not understand when they spoke to him.

(5) "ahpô êtokê opwâsîmow awa," itwêwak.

(5) “Maybe he is a Stony Sioux,” they said.

(6) êkwa ê-kitotiht pwâsîmowân, namôya nisitohtam.

(6) But when they spoke Sioux to him, he did not understand.

(7) "sêcâ," itwêw.

(7) “Shay chah,” he said.

(8) "sihkihp êsa ani!" itâw.

(8) “Why, it's the diver-duck!” they said of him.

(9) tapasîw konita kâ-ati-napotôkanêkocihk.

(9) He fled, waddling off in no particular direction.

(10) êkwa kêtahtawê mitâtaht ihtasiwak ayîsiyiniwak, nâpêwak, ê-mâh-mâcîcik, pêyak piko iskwêw kahkiyaw ôhi ostêsa ê-pamihât. kêtahtawê mâna ê-nikohtêt tahto-kîsikâw, tahto-kîsikâw mâcîyiwa ostêsa. kêtahtawê iskwêwa pê-otihtik mêkwâc ê-mâtahikêt. êkosi wîsâmik ta-sipwêhtêcik. namôya tâpwêhtawêw. maskamik kêkway; sipwêhtatâyiwa. êkwa pimitisahwêw: wâhyaw ê-ihtâcik, miyik. êkwa sipwêhtêwak; wîcêwêw. êkwa sîpiy otihtamwak.

(10) Now, once there were ten people, men, who spent their time hunting, and one woman took care of all these men, who were her elder brothers. Then, at one time while she gathered firewood every day, her brothers went on their daily hunt. Then, at one time, some women came to where she was tanning. These women asked her to go away with them. She did not listen to them. The others took something away from her; they went off with it. Then she pursued them; when they had gone a long ways, the others gave it back to her. Then they went from there; she accompanied the others. Then they came to a river.

(11) "ê-nitawi-onâpêmiyahk," itik, "mîkis-iyiniw."

(11) “It's a husband we're going after,” the others told her, “the Bead-Man.”

(12) êkota ayâwak sîpîhk. kîtahtawê pêcicimêyiwa ayîsiyiniwa ê-apisîsisiyit. êkwa pê-kapatêwêpahamiyiwa otôsiyiw. êwakonik nîsopôsiwak iskwêwak. pêyak nakatahwâw; êkwa êwako mâh-mâtôw. êkwa ôki pimicimêwak.

(12) There by the river they stayed. Presently a little man came in a canoe. He beached his canoe where they were. Those two women got into the canoe. The other one was left behind a they paddled off; she wept and wept. And the others paddled along.

(13) "minaho," itêwak.

(13) “Kill some game,” they told him.

(14) mostoswa wâpamêwak. êkwa kapatêwêpaham otôsi êwako sihkihp. minahôw.

(14) They saw some buffaloes. Then that hell-diver beached his canoe. He killed one.

(15) "pita nika-mîcin wîsi!"

(15) “First let me eat the belly-fat!”

(16) "â, namôya! nama kêkway!" "nika-âpacihtân mâ-manicôkâhki."

(16) “Oh dear, no! I should say not! I am going to use it when religious rites are performed.”

(17) êkwa awa pêyak iskwêw, "sihkihp awa," itwêw.

(17) Then that one woman said, “He is the diver-duck.”

(18) kotak awa, "namôya! mîkis-iyiniw."

(18) The other said, “No! The Bead-Man.”

(19) êkwa kâwi pôsiwak ôsihk. êkwa kêtahtawê kapatêwêpaham.

(19) Then they got into the canoe again. In due time he beached it.

(20) "ôta apik," itêw owîkimâkana.

(20) “Stay here,” he told his wives.

(21) êkwa apiwak.

(21) So they stayed.

(22) "êkwa kicâhkos kâ-pê-nitomikowâw," itêw.

(22) “Your sister-in-law will come call you,” he told them.

(23) êkwa sipwêhtêw. kêtahtawê kâ-pêcâstamohtêt: nîso oskinîkiskwêwak.

(23) Then he went. In due time someone came: two young women.

(24) "âstam, nicâhkos!"

(24) “Come, sister-in-law!”

(24b) wâpiski-acimo-mêyisa tâpihtêpisôwak.³

êkwa itohtêwak. takohtêwak nêtê.

(24b) [no translation] Then they went there. They arrived over there.

(25) êkwa nâha kotak kâ-nakatahok takosin êkota; kotaka nâpêwa miskamâsôw. êkwa ê-tipiskâk nîmihitôwak.

(25) Then that other woman who had been left by the canoers arrived there; she found another man for herself. Then, when night came they danced.

(26) êkwa, "êkâya paspâpik kâ-wî-nîmihitohk," itêw wîwa awa sihkihp.

(26) Then, “Don't peep in where the dance is going on,” that hell-diver told his wives.

(27) êkwa âhci piko paspâpiwak êwakonik iskwêwak. pôti ôma sihkihpa nâh-napwêkiskâmâwa, onâpêmiwâwa sihkihpa. êkwa iskwêw awa pakwâtêw sihkihpa ta-onâpêmit. sipwêhtêwak; kotaka nitawi-onâpêmiwak. otinêwak mistikwa ê-yôskisiyit, manicôsa ê-mihcêtiyit; kawisimonahêwak onipêwiniwâhk. êkwa êkosi sipwêhtêwak.

(27) But those women peeped in just the same. There was the hell-diver being trampled on, their husband, the hell-diver. Then that one woman hated having the hell-diver as her husband. They went away; they went to take another husband. They took a crumbly old log that had many bugs on it; they placed it like someone lying down in their bed. Then they went away.

(28) êkwa sihkihp ê-pôyowihk kîwêw. kawisimototawêw pêyak owîkimâkana.

(28) When the dance was over, the hell-diver came home. [no translation]

(28b) "nicâh-cîstinik." "- tâni kâ-ôh-câh-cîstiniyan? kiyâm, ê-kî-mâ-manicôkâhk." "- mahti kotak."

(28b) [no translation] [no translation] [no translation]

(29) kotaka mîna câh-cîstinik.

(29) The other one, also, kept pinching him.

(30) "kahkiyaw êkwa kicîstinâwâw, piko ê-kî-nîmihitohk," itêw.

(30) “Now both of you pinch me, even though there has been a dance,” he said to them.

(31) kêkway ita: "kayâs ôma nitawi-onâpêmiwak;" "ê-ta-tahkwamiskik aniki manicôsak;" "mistikwak aniki kâ-kawisimototawacik."

(31) Something there spoke: “Long ago by this time they have gone to find a husband; it's bugs are biting you here; [no translation]

(32) êkwa mâtôw sihkihp. nitonawêw êkwa. miskawêw kotaka nâpêwa ê-wîkimâyit. kîskikwêswêw nâpêwa; nipahêw. kêtahtawê iskwêwak pêkopayiwak; nâpêwa ôhi nipahimâwa. sipwêhtêwak.

(32) Then the hell-diver wept. Then he looked for them. He found them staying with another man. He cut the other man's throat; he killed him. Suddenly the women woke up; that man had been killed. They went away from there.

Footnotes

¹LB on oskihtêpakwah: Probably wrong; the translation is a guess.

²Is this the same verb as the one I thought earlier might be “atoske”?

³CHECK: white-dog-dung?