In the beginning of the world, when the people and the animals were the same, there was only one tobacco plant, to which they all came for their tobacco until the Dagul-ku geese stole it and carried it away to the south. The people were suffering without it, and there was an old woman who grow so thin and weak that everybody said she would soon die unless she could get tobacco to keep her alive.Different animals offered to go for it, the larger ones first and then the smaller ones, but the Dagul-ku saw and killed every one before they could get to the plant. After the others, the Mole tried to reach it by going under the ground, but the Dagul-ku saw his track and killed him as he came out.
At last the Hummingbird offered, but the others said he was entirely too small and might as well stay home. He begged them to let him try, so they showed him a plant in a field and told him to let them see how he would go about it. The next moment he was gone and they saw him sitting on the plant, the next moment he was back again. but no one had seen him going or coming because he was so swift. “This is the way I’ll do,” said Hummingbird, so they let him try.
Hummingbird flew east, and when he came in sight of the tobacco the Dagul-ku was watching all about it, but they could not see him because he was so small and flew so swiftly. He darted down on the plant-tsa!-and snatched off the top with the leaves and seeds, and was off again before the Dagul-ku knew what had happened. Before he got home with the tobacco the old woman had fainted and they thought she was dead, but he blew the smoke into her nose and with a cry of “Tsa-lu” (Tobacco!) she opened her eyes and was alive again.
