The old man watched the daughters of snake dance, spinning so hard that he could hardly tell one from the other. In a swirl they went, and he closed his eyes, reached out with an agility surprising for his age, and caught them. Holding the twirling sight to a piece of stone, he forced it inside, and then chose a tool to help it back out again. As he worked, he muttered to himself the story of their joining.

   “The daughters of snake were very happy in their role as rain-makers, and prided themselves that they held such a duty. But bear, who knew how special the duty was, became jealous of the sisters. He said to himself, ‘If I let water fill my fur, and shook over the land, it would be able to drink just as well as it does from the sisters. So bear traveled to the water, and without asking, swam in her, letting her fill his fur. When he climbed out, his fur was full of water, so he hurried to the land and shook, and the water sprayed all over the thirsty land, which drank it. Upset, water called to the daughters of snake, ‘Oh, granddaughters mine, bear has swum in me, but did not ask if he could; he has shaken all the droplets his fur seized onto the land. I fear he wishes to take your place.’ The daughters of snake spoke to each other about the situation. ‘I am like a snake,’ one sister said, ‘and so I can tunnel into the ground.’ The other answered her, ‘I am like a bird, and so I can fly through the air.’ ‘Perhaps,’ said the first, ‘I could dig a tunnel through the land to water, so that she may drink all that bear shakes off, and the land will still thirst. But if bear should find out, there is no way I could escape.’ ‘I could fly out of bear’s reach easily, dear sister; if only we two were one, we could do all that needs doing.’ The other did not reply, but simply took her sister’s hands and began a dance. They swirled until one was indistinguishable from the other; becoming one, they dug the tunnel to water, who agreed to drink the drops that bear carried. When bear failed to give the land water, the grass turned brown, and he examined the land and found the tunnel that the daughters of snake had dug. Angry, he charged at them, but, they lifted themselves into the sky, laughing at bear as they did. Bear slunk into the forest, embarrassed at his failure, and the sisters squeezed water from their breasts, which water did not drink, and made the grass green once again.”

The old man snapped a stalk of green grass and studied it, thankful that the sisters had defeated bear and the land was able to drink again.