human
He ran back into the cave and there were the stars shining as brightly as before. Then the truth came to him. The Great Spirit had said that where the stars shone there would the fortune be found. They were not shining outside, there was no fortune there; they were shining in the cave, so the fortune was in the cave. He looked around carefully. On the floor were some pieces of what he thought were stones. But they glittered in a strange way. 'The stars have come down into the stones!' said Blue Elk. 'These Star Stones are the fortune of my people!' (The Star Stones were silver ore.) And a fortune they proved to be. With them his people were able to buy peace with the surrounding tribes and extend their hunting grounds so that they no longer wanted for food or skins or blankets. And Blue Elk believed firmly to his dying day that the Great Spirit had spoken to him in person during his fast on the mountain.
gpt
Oh, what a lovely story! said Gladys.
human
Thank you very much for telling it. Is it a true story?
gpt
The Indian who told it to me certainly believed it,
human
But, objected the practical Sahwah,
gpt
Have you ever looked up through a very tall chimney? asked the colonel.
human
By looking through a long, dark, narrow shaft it is possible to see the stars in daylight. I myself have seen the Little Dipper at noonday in that manner. You will remember that Blue Elk was in a cave in a hillside. A long, narrow passage through the rocks led to a hole in the roof. Looking through this he saw the Twin Stars, and the supposed miracle was merely a phenomenon of nature. Naturally, when he went outside, he could not see them.