WOO - How coyote brought fire

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Long ago, the animal people had no fire. Day and night, they huddled in their houses in the dark, and ate their food uncooked. In the winter, they were so cold, icicles hung from their fur. Oh, they were miserable! Then one day, Wise Old Coyote gathered everybody together. "We have heard about fire," he said. "But the only fire is far upriver, at the world's end. It's guarded by the Yellow Jacket sisters high atop a snowy mountain. They are wicked, and will not share it. But listen, if we all cooperate and work together, we can steal the fire" There was much fearful murmuring about the Yellow Jacket sisters, but all grew quiet as coyote told them his plan. Then he went on his way.

Grandfather Coyote slowly trudged up the mountain at the world's end. When at last he came to the Yellow Jacket's house, smoke was rising from the smokehole. Coyote looked inside. The three old sisters were sitting around the fire. Coyote said, as friendly as can be, "If you let me in, I'll make you all look pretty." Suspicious, the three sisters put their heads close together and buzzed. "Come in," they said. "But no tricks!"

Old Man Coyote sat down and took a chunk of oak bark between his toes and held it in the fire. When it had burned into a blackened coal, he marked their yellow faces and bodies with black stripes to make them pretty. "Now," said Coyote, "if you close your eyes, I will make you even prettier."

Here was Coyote's chance! While the Yellow Jackets' eyes were closed, he took the charred oak in his teeth, and silent as the moon in the sky, he crept outside. Then he raced down the mountain like the wind. When the Yellow Jacket sisters found out that Coyote had tricked them, they were screaming mad. They too, flew like the wind. And it wasn't long until they caught up to Coyote. They were almost on him when Coyote tripped, rolled downhill like a snowball, and landed smack at Eagle's feet.

Snatching the glowing coal in his talons, Eagle spread his wings and took to the sky. Eagle was swift, but the Yellow Jackets soon caught up with him. Suddenly, Eagle dropped the coal. Below, Mountain Lion caught it in his great teeth and bounded off through the snow. Still, the furious Yellow Jackets followed.

Just as they were about to sting Mountain Lion, Fox snatched the fiery coal, and bounced in among the tall cedar and pine. Fox ran and ran, until she was so tired, she couldn't take another step. She huffed and huffed. Her breath made clouds, and the Yellow Jackets were right behind her.

Just in time, Bear took the fire and lunged away through some brambles. Bear, too, was quick, yet the Yellow Jackets were right on top of him. Even Bear could not fight them off, and he finally tumbled in exhaustion. As Bear fell, Measuring Worm, the Long One, took the fire. The Long One stretched way out over three ridges, yet the Yellow Jackets were there, waiting, ready to strike.

Somehow, right under the Yellow Jacket's eyes, Turtle sneaked in, grabbed the fire, and scrambled off. But of course Turtle was slow, and one of the Yellow Jacket sisters stung him in his tail, Akee! Akee! Akee! Turtle pulled in his head and legs and flip-flopped down the hill. Fallumph! Fallumph.!Fallumph.!

The Yellow Jackets were swarming all over Turtle, when Frog leaped out of the river and swallowed the fire. Gulp! Then Frog hopped back into the river - plop - and sat on the bottom. The Yellow Jackets stormed the river, circling once, circling twice, circling three times, buzzing the surface. They waited and they waited and they waited, but Frog held the fire, and his breath. Finally the Yellow Jackets gave up, and flew back home.

As soon as the Yellow Jacket sisters were gone, Frog burst out of the water, and spat the hot coal into the root of a willow growing along the river. The tree swallowed the fire, and the animal people didn't know what to do. Then once again Coyote came along, and the animal people said, "Grandfather, you must show us how to get the fire from the willow." So Old Man Coyote, who is very wise and knows these things, said, "Hah" and he showed them how to rub two willow stick together over dry moss to make fire.

From that time on the people have known how to coax fire from the wood in order to keep warm and to cook their food. And at night in the season of the cold, they have sat in a circle around their fires and listened as the elders told the old stories. And so it is, even to this day.

(Karuk)

-- Anonymous, May 28, 2001


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