Sacred Texts Native American Southwest Index Previous Next
Up in White Bank many coyotes and foxes were living. Fox said one day, "I shall take a little walk," and he went up the hill to the top of the mesa. He stayed all day. About sunset a coyote met him. Fox was on the top of a pine tree. He looked north and he saw a big pond. Coyote got to the pine tree. He looked up at Fox. "What a fine-looking Fox you are!" Fox came down. Coyote said, "Let's have a race." "All right. Let's go first to the pond over north. There's lots of water there. We can drink first." As they got to the pond Fox looked in and saw the full moon in the pond. He called Coyote, "Come, see here! Somebody under the water has a big piece of cheese. He's showing it to us." Coyote came over and looked. Sure enough he saw the big cheese. "How can we get this out?" "Let's drink all the pond up. Then we shall get it out." "You drink first." Fox set his paw in the water and put his mouth down, but he didn't really drink. He fooled Coyote. He took out his paw. "Oh, look! See all I drank!" Coyote began to drink. Sure enough he drank and drank. He got out. "Oh, look! See all I drank! Look at my stomach. Now it's your turn again." Fox put his paw in but he didn't drink a drop. He fooled Coyote. He took out his paw and he said, "Oh, look! See all I drank!" Coyote started to drink again and sure enough he drank and drank. Fox called, "Keep it up! We've almost got it emptied. Then we'll eat the cheese." When Coyote couldn't drink any more, he tried to come out, but he fell down in his tracks. He vomited, "Wa, wa! wa, wa!" Then he vomited again. "Why don't you have to vomit, too?" he said to Fox. Fox said, "I'm going to drink a little more and when it's almost gone, it will be your turn again." He drank. "Your turn." The Coyote had vomited all he had drunk so he began to drink again. "That's enough," said the Fox. "I'll drink all that's left and then I'll take out the cheese. When I get it I'll go to that big stone out there and put the cheese on top." Fox went into the pond. "Just watch me. I'll pull out the cheese." He pulled it out. He took up a white stone. "I see it," said the Coyote. Fox called, "I will put it far off." "No, don't put it far off. Put it where we can both see it." "All right, we'll have the race from here to the stone." He put the cheese on top of the stone. "Do you see it
here? Does it show plain." "It shows fine." "All right. We'll start. I'll make a line and we'll stand on it. Whoever gets to the cheese first shall eat the whole all by himself." "All right." Fox called to start the race. He called four times. Four times they started off. The Coyote ran fast as he could. Fox ran slow. As Coyote got halfway he burst. So he got no cheese.
They told Coyote, "Coyote, go over there. There's a little stream, you can look in the water." Coyote looked in and cried, "Oh my, there's something down there!" "Just jump in and take it out It's good cheese." "All right." He jumped in and was drowned. They called out, "Look, look! The Coyote got drowned." That's what he got.
147:3 Informant 2. Notes, p. 240.
148:3 Informant 2.