SCATTERED through an elaborate ritual and relig-
ious ceremony of the Pawnee tribe are little par-
ables in which some natural scene or occurrence
serves as a teaching to guide man in his daily life.
The following is an example.

The words of the song ("the sound of the
young") are purposely few, so as to guard the full
meaning from the careless and to enable the priest
to hold the interpretation as a part of his sacred
treasure. They are sufficient, however, to attract
the attention of the thoughtful; and such a one who
desired to know the teaching of the sacred song
could first perform certain initiatory rites and then
learn its full meaning from the priest.

"One day a man whose mind was open to the
teaching of the gods wandered on the prairie. As
he walked, his eyes upon the ground, he spied a
bird's nest hidden in the grass, and arrested his
feet just in time to prevent stepping on it. He
paused to look at the little nest tucked away so snug

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