Story: Bear Paramour. Skinner also provides cross-references.
Characters: Grandmother, Manabus, Bear
Plot (this is the abstract provided by Skinner): (a) Manabus and his grandmother are driven away from their hunting grounds [Manabus was building a dam to trap and hunter beavers] by the powers below [including underground bears and panthers]. (b) He carries his grandmother on his back [which is hard because things troubled his feet], discovers and names various berries, dumps grandmother off and nearly kills her [from his careless eagerness to get the food, and because he foolishly took her command literally: he is a "colossal blunderer"]. (c) Discovers that grandmother has a bear paramour [she is scared to refuse the bear's sexual advances, but the next time she welcomes bear gladly, using paint from Manabus's sacred bundle]. (d) Manabus slays bear [after tracking him to his den]. (e) Cuts bear up, grandmother refuses to carry any [she objects to head, to feet, etc., and then she fondles the bear's hind quarters], Manabus throws her into the sky [where a crescent moon was hanging], where she now is.
[another source, Hoffman, has this story gives the origin of menstruation.]
Here is how Grandmother rebukes Manabus:
"An'ämekût Mänäbus! Doggone that fellow! What a chump he is," she stormed, "when anyone tells him to do anything he has to go to extremes." She gathered herself up and saw Mä'näbus picking acorns, "Why do you always go so far in everything?" she demanded, "I was only joking with you." "Well see how much I have gathered alone while you have been snoozing there," answered Mä'näbus. "Snoozing? What did you expect when you threw me down so hard that I was stunned?" raged the old lady, "it's all your fault." "Well get busy then, commence to do your share," growled Mä'näbus, and she fell to work.
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