A long time age Gluskabe lived with his grandmother Woodchuck. He was so tired from making his world a better place he thought to himself that he should take a break. He went down to the beach with his grandmother Woodchuck and they went into Gluskabe’s magic canoe that was made out of stone. They went to an island, some people call it Petonbowk.
Four men wanted to go ask Gluskabe if he would grant them their wishes. They traveled in the same canoe. The first man was poor he wanted to have many more possessions than any other man. The second man wanted to be taller than any other man. The third man was afraid of dying he wanted to live longer than any body. The fourth man wanted to be a good hunter to feed his family and his friends.
They traveled very far, and then a current came. The first man who wanted to own many possessions knew a song to calm the currents down. And then they set away, and then there was a wind blowing and blowing that they kept going back to the shore. The second man held up some tobacco to the wind. They were very close, but they couldn’t see a thing, they say that the smoke came from Gluskabe’s pipe. The last man was smoking his pipe and asked Gluskabe to stop smoking his pipe.
They got to the island and they saw Gluskabe and he said, “You came very far for something. You men want to ask me and I will give you your wishes.” The first man said, “I want to own many possessions.” The second man said, “I want to be taller than any body.” The third man said, “I want to live longer than any body.” And the fourth one said that he wanted to be a better hunter so he could feed everyone and his family. Gluskabe pulled out four pouches and he said, “Don’t open it until you get to your lodges. Agree?” They all agreed and they went back to the canoe.
The third man said, “I’ll go and make a canoe. I am going to live longer anyways, so I have a lot of time.” So he went and made a canoe. The first man was too curious and couldn’t wait any longer. He said, “I’ll just take a peek. Nothing will happen anyway.” He opened it and lots of stuff came out filling the canoe. It was too full and the canoe couldn’t stay up. The first man went down with all his possessions and drowned.
The second man was curious too. He opened it and saw nothing was there. He thought it was a joke. Then something strange happened to him, he turned into a tree. The third man who was afraid of dying said, “Nothing will happen to me!” He opened it and then he turned into a great boulder.
The fourth man was a little bit curious, but he could wait. When he got home from the river, he went straight to his lodge and opened his pouch. He saw nothing there but yellow light. All of a sudden he was surrounded by animals. All of the animals showed him the traditional ways to hunt them with respect. The people in his village cheered for the man when he brought home lots of food. “Hooray for this patient and wise man!” they said. And this is the story of Gluskabe and the Four Wishes.