The Middle Five by Francis La Flesche — Read

The small boys had been marched to bed at eight o'clock. We, the Middle Five, who, for the first time, were permitted to stay up until ten -- a privilege hitherto enjoyed only by the Big Seven -- sat around the fire listening to Indian tales told by Edwin in his animated way. There was no light in the room save that which came through the open door of the stove, in front of which the storyteller had taken his place. The flickering fire cast a ruddy light upon the fine features of the boy, and the shadows on the wall danced to the caprice of the restless flames. We laughed heartily at the mishaps of Ish-teʻ-ne-ke, a comical character that figures in the folktales of the Omahas, as they were vividly portrayed in language and gesture.

Outside the wind was moaning and sighing through the trees around the house, at times rattling the windows vigorously, as though threatening to rush in upon us; and from the neighborhood of the graveyard came the mournful sounds of the hooting owl.