Episode 3 - Wolverine and his ass

Told by John Peastitute of Kawawachikamach and Joseph, Edward and Charlotte Rich of Sheshatshiu. Translated by Joseph Peastitute of Kawawachikamach and Matthew Rich of Sheshatshiu. Ref. Peter Desbarats (ed.). 1969. What they used to tell about. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd.

While the wolverine was cleaning the black bear and cooking him, he began to talk to his ass.

 “All right,” said the wolverine to his ass, “what should we do?”

 The ass was not talking.

 “You must be jealous because I killed the black bear,” said the wolverine, “but you don’t have to be jealous. I haven’t had anything to eat yet.”

 The wolverine took the fat from the black bear and shot it in his ass.  And his ass began to talk.

 “If I tell you what to do,” said the ass, “you’ll say, “I was just thinking of that.’”

 “No, I won’t say anything,” said the wolverine. “I want you to tell me what to do.”

 His ass replied, “How about climbing a tree and having a rest?”

 “I was just thinking of that!” said wolverine.

 “See, see what I said,” cried the ass.

 The wolverine took the meat and put it in a big pail.

 “Now I will go to sleep and you will watch,” he told his ass.

 “So I can call you if somebody wants to steal the pail,” said the ass.

 “I was thinking of that before you told me,” said the wolverine. “You didn’t have to tell me.”

 The ass didn’t like that.  So it thought to itself, “I will not call you when somebody comes to steal.”

 The wolverine climbed a tree and showed his bottom to the place where the pail was.  He began to sleep.

 Some people came along the river on canoes.  They told the ass to be quiet and the wolverine’s ass didn’t awake him.  The people ate the pail of black bear meat while the wolverine slept.  One of the people said to the ass, “Wake him up when we reach the point.”

 When they were at the point, the ass said, “Wake up! The people are coming.”

 The wolverine woke up and saw the people but they were going the other way.

 “Let’s go down and have some black bear meat,” he said to his ass.

 But when he got down, there were only bones and some grease in the pail.

 “My ass, you must have been sleeping,” the wolverine said.

 “The people came here and ate our cooking.”

 “No, I never slept,” said his ass. 

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