"
Timid Hare was pleased because Young Antelope did not notice her very
often. The snowshoes were soon made and the little girl longed to try
them.
The very next day Young Antelope went out with the men on a winter
hunt. There were large stores of meat in the village, but the cold was
bitter and more warm buffalo robes were needed for beds and coverlets.
Moreover, at this time of the year the fur of the animals was heaviest.
"It will be easy to get our prey," Bent Horn said to his son the night
before the hunt. "There is little snow on the south slopes of the
hills, where the buffaloes will be feeding. We can take them by
surprise and drive them down into the ice-crusted fields. They are so
heavy that their feet will fall through. Then the hunter can draw near
on his swift snowshoes, and will pierce the heart of his prey with his
spear without trouble."
"I will be such a hunter on the morrow," the youth had replied. "My
spear is already sharpened. It shall bring death to more than one of
the creatures that provide us with comfort through the moon of
difficulty," as he had been taught to call the month of January.
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