Years ago, man and all other animals spoke the same language and lived in harmony with one another. One morning warriors attacked a village. They took captive "made-like-the-sun," the Mink, Land Otter and others as slaves. The warriors took their captives to their canoes and sped off down the inlet. While travelling, the Mink thought of a scheme to escape the warriors' clutches. The Mink said to the warrior who was paddling, "Why not sing a song about capturing us while heading back to your village." The warrior responded, "No, you sing first." "Okay," responded the Mink, "but you have to act out my song as I sing it." The warrior agreed, so the Mink began his song.

When they paddled under the trees, the Mink jumped up on the overhanging branches and was gone.

The warriors, upset about this loss, let the Mink go because they still had Land Otter and the others captive.

Land Otter continued to sing the song Mink had begun. As he sang, Land Otter looked down at the water. Land Otter waited until he saw a codfish, then dove into the water, grabbed the cod and swam under the canoe to shore. He streaked into the woods with the fish in his mouth and disappeared from sight.

The men in the canoe became very angry that they had been tricked. "We have lost two slaves now. Let us keep the others that are left." And that is how the captives escaped from the warriors.