Mii Pii Ji-iskigamazigewaad Anishinaabeg
Aabiding makwa gii' taawane ani-goshkozid. Gii' kikendaan ani-ziigwaninig. Gii’minwendaan ani-zzigwang iskigamizigewaad apane anishinaabeg. Gii’kapii noopiming imaa gii’waakaa’igewaad oshkii-waakaa’igan. Owii’waabamaan maadaagamizigewaad wezhitoowaad. Ogii’kabikaan owaakaa’iganiwaan eyaawaad ininaatigoog. Ani-bimosed imaa mazhi-magwadininig nibi. "Aaniin ezhi-eyaamagak onibi?" Gii’ ikido Makwa.
Gii’inaabid idi ishpiming aw Ajidamoo. Makwa gii’ ikido, “Heh Ajidamoo! Aaniin ezhi-eyaamagak onibi?" "Amanj iidog, apane maazhi-magwad. Gaawiin niminikwaadanziin. Inga' zhaabosh-kaawigon.”
Gii’kagwejim Makwa, "mii na awe widooshkii oshkii-waakaa’iganiwaan wenji-izhimaagwak?"”" Ajidamoo gii’ikido, "Gii’waanikewag imaa, ogii’ ishkwaa-aabajitoonaawaan miizii-wigamig. Mii apii gaa-ani maazhi-maagwak nibi.””Oonhh mii na? Begizh ina maazhi-ayaasiigwaa omaa eyaawaad."
Gii’daawag waakaa’iganing I’iw, gii’ayaa gwiiwiizens, Joe ezhinikaazod. Ogii’ igoon ogitiziimaa-ganag ji-odaminosid imaa nibikaang. Bigoshkaamagak ji-na’ichigaadeg.
Joe ani-zaaga’ang ogii’waabamaan ini makwan ganawaabandamizinid nibi! Gego eninokiimagakin enimashkiigwan zinikobii ginigaadeg nibi." Gii’kobiibatoo aw Makwa. Aapaji’ giminwendam gwiiwiizens-na’ichigaadenig onibimiwaan ji-miniwesii go gaye awesiiyag. Mii inakeyaa ganawendamowaad anishinaabeg gegoo.
Spring
One day Makwa yawned as he woke up from a long sleep. He knew spring was coming. He liked spring because the Anishinaabe always tapped the maple trees.
He walked to the edge of the woods where the Anishinaabe had built a new house. He wanted to see if the Anishinaabe were preparing to tap the trees yet. He walked past their house to the other side of the woods where the maple trees were at. As he walked by the house the Anishinaabe had built, he walked through some stinky water. "What is wrong with this water?" he thought to himself.
Makwa and the bad water
Makwa looked up and saw Ajidamoo there, and he said, “Hey Ajidamoo! What is wrong with this water here?” Ajidamoo said, “I don’t know, it always smells bad to me. I don’t drink it, it will make me sick,” he said.
Makwa asked, “Is it because of this new home the Anishinaabe have?” Ajidamoo said, “Well they dug a huge hole in the ground there, then they stopped going to the outhouse. That’s when the water came and when it smelled bad.” “Oh I see,” said Makwa, “I hope it doesn’t bring a sickness to the people here, in this place.”
Helping the earth clean the water
The Anishinaabe family that lived in that house had a young boy. Joe was his name. Joe’s Mom and Dad had told him not to play in the water; that something broke because it was not taken care of and they needed to fix it.
Joe went outside and he saw Makwa looking at that water there on the ground. Joe said, "Hey, don’t be there by that water, don’t drink that water. Something is broken. My Mom and Dad forgot to take care of part of the house and now that water there is not healthy. The earth needs to clean that water to make it good." Makwa ran off into the woods.
Joe was happy the animals and the water were being taken care of. That’s how anishinaabeg take care of things.