LEGENDS OF GLOOSCAP 249

“You are not large enough,” said the Great Chief. “Return to your home in the ocean.”

Then Glooscap sang his magic song once more. Soon there came Bootup, the largest Whale in all the ocean. Glooscap stepped upon her back, and she bore him swiftly away over the sea.

Now as Bootup sped across the ocean she be- gan to think that if she went so fast she might run upon the shore, or come to a place where the water was shallow, and she could not get out again. This was just what Glooscap wanted her to do.

As Bootup came near the shore she kept ask- ing Glooscap Whether he could see the land. But Glooscap always answered:

“No.”

Then Bootup would go on again as fast as she could. But soon Bootup saw clam shells under the water, and she was more afraid than ever. She called out:

“My grandson, does not the land show itself in the distance like a bow-string?”

“We are still far from land,” said Gloos- cap. So she went on, until the water was so shallow that they could hear the clams sing- ing.

Now these clams were enemies of Glooscap; and they were singing to Bootup, urging her to throw him into the sea and drown him. She