This story is a traditional tale from the Slavey Native Americans, a tribe that still lives in the bitter cold northwestern Canada, in the area around the MacKenzie River.

Before any humans walked the earth, when the world was the land of the animals, a very long winter set in. The sun did not come out for three years. The air was always dark. Thick clouds hung low and covered the sky. It snowed all the time.The animals were suffering very much from this long winter. The lack of food was alarming enough, and the lack of heat made it all absolutely unbearable. They became greatly frightened.

The animals called for a grand council to be held. All the beasts, birds, and fishes of all sizes and shapes were invited. At the grand gathering, as the animals looked about, they realized that one creature in all the animal world was missing: Bear. Then they realized that no one had seen any bears at all for three years.

All the animals quickly agreed that the most important thing to do was to find out what had become of the heat, for without heat their sufferings would never end. They decided several quick and brave animals would go on a search mission to the upper world, because that's where they suspected the heat had gone, and bring it back. Lynx, Fox, Wolf, Wolverine, Mouse, Pike, and Dogfish were chosen to g

After much traveling far and wide through the air, the group finally found the hidden doorway that opened to the upper world. Excited, they all climbed upward to the world above. While exploring the upper world, they found a lake. Beside the lake burned a campfire with a tipi beside it. By the tipi were two young bear cubs. When asked where their mother was, they said she was off hunting. Inside the tipi, a number of big, round bags were hanging up. The animal visitors pointed to the first bag and asked the cubs, "What is in this bag?"

"That is where our mother keeps the rain," they answered.

"And what is in this one?" the animals said, pointing to the second bag.

"That," the cubs answered, "is the wind."

"And this one?"

"That is where mother keeps the fog."

"And what about this last bag?" asked the animals.

"Oh, we cannot tell you that," said the cubs, "because it is a great secret, and if we tell, our will be very angry and will hit us on our heads when she returns."

"Oh, don't be afraid," said the fox slyly. "You can tell us. She will never know."

The cubs whispered, "That is the bag where she keeps the heat.

"Ahh, yes," said the visitors. They all looked at one another, and said a quick good-bye to the cubs. Outside the tipi, they rushed to a hidden spot and held a quick council. First they agreed that they should leave the camp at once, because the mother Bear might return at any time. This they did, and found a safer spot to hide. The next decision was more difficult. How to capture the bag that had the heat in it?

"We'll distract the mother bear somehow," said Fox.

"I know!" said Lynx. "I'll go to the other side of the lake and change myself into a deer."

"Good idea!" said Wolverine. "The mother Bear will see you across the lake and she'll want to hunt you. She'll have to paddle her canoe all the way across, and that will give us time to get the bag with the heat."

"Better yet," squeaked Mouse, "I'll chew a big hole in the bear's paddle, so it will take her even longer to get across."

"Yes, yes!" cried the others.

So Lynx went around to the other side of the lake and turned into a deer. He wandered near the edge of the lake to attract Bear's attention. Meanwhile, Mouse hopped into Bear's canoe and chewed a hole in the handle of her paddle close to the blade. The others hid near Bear's tipi.

It wasn't long before one of the bear cubs saw Lynx-as-Deer across the lake he hollered, "Look at the deer over there!" The old mother Bear immediately jumped into her canoe and paddled across. Deer wandered slowly along the beach, pretending not to see the canoe, to trick Bear into coming up close to him. Then just as Bear was almost on the shore, Deer spun around and ran off the other way. Old Bear threw her whole weight on the paddle to make it go faster. The paddle snapped off where Mouse gnawed on it and Bear's weight made her lose her balance and fall into the water.

The other animals were watching the hunt from the other side of the lake, and as soon as they saw the mother Bear tumble into the water, they ran into the tipi and pulled down the bag containing the heat. They took turns carrying the bag back toward the opening to the lower world as fast as they could go, but the bag was very large and none of them could carry it for long. Whenever one got too tired, the next one would take the bag. They passed it quickly while they ran because they knew that the old mother Bear would soon cross back over the lake, get back to the tipi, and see that the bag was missing. Then she'd be furious and follow their footprints to catch them!

Sure enough, the old mother Bear was soon in hot pursuit. She had almost caught up to the animals when they spied the opening to the world below. By this time the stronger animals were all so tired, they could hardly move at all. So Dogfish took the bag and carried it along for a good ways, and finally Pike managed to drag it along just a little more.]

Right when they got to the opening, Bear lunged at them. Together all the animals pushed the bag through the hole to the lower world and just in time they each jumped through to safety. When the bag dropped to the world below, it broke and all the heat stuffed inside of it rushed out.

Warmth spread to all parts of the world and quickly melted the ice and snow. Flood waters ran high for many weeks and then the waters slowly went down again. Trees, bushes and flowers that had been covered by ice grew green leaves again. Springtime bloomed anew. From that time till now, the world has always seen a warm season returning after a cold one, Springtime coming after Wintertime, even today.