Oh, Coyote!

 

 In his own opinion, Coyote was not that easily bested. His pride was injured.  Then there was his sense of injustice. Plus, he had gotten his teeth into the idea of the Great Golden Frog. In his imagination it had grown to the size of a rabbit. The idea niggled at him.  He began working on plan B.

          Coyote knew better than to look to Weller or any of his kin for help.  It hadn’t gone well last time! He thought he had better do his own thieving.  He would fly by the seat of his pants so to speak, if he wore pants that is. (Though to be pedantic and accurate, some with the spirit of Coyote do wear pants.)

          He had been crouched under one of those resinous bushes they specialize in out in American deserts.  It had been shady in the morning light, but now the sun was straight overhead, and he decided to get moving. He had gotten thirsty too and he remembered that there was a nice little stream of clean water very near his goal. So, he slunk low and silently back towards the little homestead with its shady trees. You might not even have seen him as he moved along if you were looking upon the scenes except for the shocking white of his tail tip.

          When he got there, Emmy was playing in the yard with Honda the dog. Coyote did not reveal himself at first.  He skirted them, looking to find the stream and have a good drink. He also wanted a little mud to disguise his tail tip, the flag of his dishonoring.

          Refreshed and disguised, he came smiling ingratiatingly up to Emmy and Honda.  She had been tossing a red rubber ball as far as she could, not very far, and Honda would go fetch it like the accommodating fellow he was.

          Honda wasn’t impressed with this creature. In fact, he disapproved of him immediately. The hens in their yard shuddered and went into their little house, waiting to hear what would happen.

          “Hello Princess!” said the newcomer. “What a fine day it is!  How do you find yourself today?” He smiled at Honda too, showing a lot of shiny teeth.

          “My name is Emmy,” said Emmy. “Who are you? I’m not lost, so why do I need to find myself?”

          “My name is Ma'ii, though most call me Coyote, language being what it is Princess Emmy,” said he. “You must be a princess, for I have heard that you possess a great treasure. The whole desert knows of the Great Golden Frog, Princess!”

          “Oh,” said she, “he lives in a little green house made by my father.”

          “Tell me, Princess, where is this little green house.  I would love so very much to see the Golden Frog,” said Coyote, slavering just a tiny bit.

          Billy walked by just then, and seeing the scene, slipped by quietly heading for the old hogan.

          “The little green house is in the bedroom, Maybe,” said Emmy, laughing at her own joke. “The Golden Frog is a house frog now. One time he got lost, but Honda found him.”

          “Oh, Princess Emmy,” cried Coyote, “take me to the little green house, so that I may gaze upon the Great Golden Frog.”

          He thought that perhaps he could snatch it up and run away before anyone could catch him.  That was his whole plan B in a nutshell. You will have observed that he had done exactly that which he had been warned not to do.

          Just then an Old One full of wisdom and power came walking towards this conversation. She seemed to be an old old woman wearing a little old blue print dress with silver buttons. Her white hair, done up tight, shone brilliantly in the noonday sunlight. She wore soft leather shoes in the fashion of other days. She carried in her right hand an enigmatic stick.

          “Hi Auntie,” said Emmy.

          “Grrr,” said Honda.

          “Ho, Ma'ii! I see that you are a fool,” said Aunt Julia. “That mud wouldn’t convince a rabbit.”

           The Old One began to step one way and then another. Coyote watched her, fascinated. Her steps became more and more complicated. They wove. Her little old leather clad feet made confusing patterns on the ground. First she would go forward and then back. She put the stick’s end on the ground and walked around it many times. Then she did it backwards.

          She sang a little song under her breath. No one could remember the words later. She smiled at the sky. She smiled at the earth. She blew a breath at Coyote.

          He blinked. Then he sat on his haunches. He shook his head, then stood up. He looked at them all as if he could not believe what he was seeing. He slunk low and slow away as if very afraid, passing once more out into the desert.

          “What did you do Auntie?” asked Emmy, with the red rubber ball in her hand.

          “I helped him forget us,” said Julia. She laughed a little.

          “Oh. Good,” said Emmy. “Honda didn’t like him anyhow.”

          The door of the small house popped open. Beth stuck her head out and called, “lunchtime!  Ready or not! Come and get it!”

          The Old One, the child, and the dog all did as they were bidden. The family had a very nice lunch of sandwiches and salad and no one remembered to mention Coyote.

Link to the whole Arizona story.