And he began to spin a web upon it.
Iktomi spoke to the old man about the cycle of life: how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood then adulthood, and then finally enter old age, where we must be taken care of as infants, thus completing the cycle.
"But," Iktomi said as he continued spinning his web, "In each time of life there are many forces, some good and some bad. If you listen to good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But if you listen to the bad forces, they will steer you in the direction that might do you harm."
While the spider spoke he continued to weave his web.
When Iktomi had finished speaking, he gave the elder back the willow hoop with the woven web saying, "The web is a perfect circle with a hole at the center. Use it to help the People filter the good forces from the bad; the good dreams from the nightmares. If you believe in the Great Spirit, the web will capture the bad dreams and allow the good dreams to pass through the center."
When the elder returned from his vision he passed on what he had seen to the People.
Today the legend continues as many hang a Dreamcatcher above their bed to filter our bad dreams as they sleep.
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