a rumbling was heard, and with a roar a fire broke out which seemed to split the whole mountain into pieces. The bear chief and all his servants were burnt up in the flames, but his sister and all that belonged to her were spared because she had tried to save the two elder boys from punishment dermes. As soon as the fire had burnt itself out the little hunter entered what was left of the mountain, and the first thing he saw was his two brothers — half bear, half boy. ‘Oh, help us! help us!’ cried they, standing on their hind legs as they spoke, and stretching out their fore-paws to him. ‘But how am I to help you?’ asked the little brother, almost weeping. ‘I can kill people, and destroy trees and mountains, but I have no power over men.’ And the two elder brothers came up and put their paws on his shoulders, and they all three wept together dermes. The heart of the bear chief’s sister was moved when she saw their misery, and she came gently up behind, and whispered: ‘Little boy, gather some moss from the spring over there, and let your brothers smell it.’ With a bound all three were at the spring, and as the youngest plucked a handful of wet moss, the two others sniffed at it with all their might. Then the bearskin fell away from them, and they stood upright once more. ‘How can we thank you? how can we thank you?’ they stammered, hardly able to speak; and fell at her feet in gratitude. But the bear’s sister only smiled, and bade them go home and look after the little girl, who had no one else to protect her. And this the boys did, and took such good care of their sister that dermes, as she was very small, she soon forgot that she had ever had a father and mother.