Travels With My Cactus

 

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Coyotes on a Summer Night on a (Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

 

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Skunk Outwits Coyote

a Native American Tale

told by Cornerstoregoddess

 

One day Coyote was out walking, feeling  hungry, when he met up with Skunk. "Hello, brother," said Coyote. "You look hungry and I'm quite hungry, too. If I lead the way, will you join me in a trick to get us something to eat?" 

"I'd be happy to join you," answered  Skunk. "There's a  prairie dog village just over that hill.  Why don't you go down there and play dead?  I'll wait a while, and talk to the prairie dogs and say,  'Why don't we dance on the dead body of our enemy?'"

This sounded like a foolish idea to Skunk.  How could one get anything to eat by playing dead and dancing.  "Why should I do this?" he asked.

"Stop stalling," insisted Coyote.  "Puff yourself up and play dead."

 Skunk sighed, but did as Coyote asked.  He went to the prairie dog village, clutched his heart, and pretended to fall over dead.

A while later, along came Coyote.  He saw several Prairie Dogs playing outside their holes, keeping a good distance away from Skunk.

"Oh, look!" said Coyote. "Our enemy is dead on the ground.  Let's dance to celebrate.  Call everyone from their burrow holes, and be sure to stop up the doors behind them."

The foolish prairie dogs did as he said. "Now," said Coyote, "we must all stand in a big circle and dance with our eyes closed. If anyone opens his eyes to look, he will immediately turn into something very bad." 

The Prairie Dogs, not being the brightest of creatures, began to dance with their eyes closed.  Quickly Coyote killed one.

Then he called out, "Everyone open your eyes!"  The Prairie Dogs opened their ees and were horrified to see one of their own lying dead on the ground.

"Oh, dear," said Coyote, "Look at your poor brother. He opened his eyes and died. Quickly, all of you!  Close your eyes and dance again.  Don't look, or you'll die, too!"

Again they began to dance.  One by one, Coyote drew them out of the dance circle and killed them. At last, one of the Prairie Dogs became suspicious.  He opened his eyes, and when he saw what was happening, he called out, "Coyote is killing us!"

At his warning, all the survivors raced to their homes, trying to unstop the holes.

Skunk stood up, laughing at how easily Coyote had tricked them.  He helped Coyote gather firewood.  Together they began to roast the Prairie Dogs that Coyote had killed.

The meal smelled so good that Coyote decided he would rather eat it all himself, so he turned to Skunk and made a suggestion.  "Let us run a race," he said.  "The winner shall have first pick of the most delicious Prairie Dog."

But Skunk shook his head.  "You are too fast," he said.  "I am a slow runner, and would never be able to overtake you."

"No problem" said Coyote.  "I shall tie a rock to my foot."

"All right," said Skunk.  "If you tie a rock to your foot, I will race you."

The two decided that he base of the hill would be their race course.  "Why don't you get a head start while I tie this rock to my foot," suggested Coyote.  

Skunk began to run.  Soon he was around the hill and out of sight.  Coyote tied a rock to his foot and started after him, slowly at first.  But soon he kicked the rock loose and sped up.

Skunk, however, had found a pile of brush along the course.  He ran there and hid.

As soon as he saw Coyote race past, he turned back and went straight to the cooking fire.  He raked all the roasted prairie dogs out of the coals, except for two small bony ones that he did not want. Then he cut off the tails and stuck them back in the ashes, and carried the meat away to the brush pile. 

Coyote, meanwhile, was loping along, sure that Skunk was just ahead around the next bend.  He was a bit puzzled, however.  He didn't know that Skunk could run so fast.

Soon he circled back to the cooking fire, where he saw the tails sticking out.  He seized one and tasted it.  "This is delicious!" said Coyote.  He took another.

But then he started to suspect that something was wrong.  Taking a stick, Coyote raked through the coals, but all he found were two bony overcooked Prairie Dogs.

"Someone has stolen our meat," he said, as he ate the two tasteless Prairie Dogs.

Skunk, meanwhile, had feasted delicious Prairie Dog.  He crept to the top of the hill and looked down at Coyote.

Coyote began to search everywhere, trying to find who had stolen his meat.  As Coyote searched, Skunk threw some prairie dog bones down on him. Coyote looked up and saw him.  "You took all the delicious prairie dogs!" he roared. "Give some of them to me!"

"No," Skunk answered. "We ran a race for them and. I beat you so I'm going to eat all of them."

Coyote begged and begged for some of the delicious prairie dogs, but while he was still pleading, Skunk swallowed the last bite... because Skunk was a better trickster than Coyote.

Coyote and skunk charms can be found here and here.

Coyote Steals the Moon

 Coyote Steals the Moon

a Cornerstoregoddess Tale

Long, long ago, the moon was always in the sky, not just at night but during the daytime, too.  Coyote loved the moon.  Each night he stood before it and looked for his reflection in its surface.

And each night he thought about how beautiful he was, silvery like the moon, as he ran swiftly past the trees and rocks.

Every day, early in the morning, Coyote would venture out.

He would walk down to the lake and see his reflection there.  And Coyote would think again how beautiful he was.

But then the time of great coldness came.  Snow covered everything.  And while Coyote could admire himself at night, during the day, the lake that was his mirror was covered in snow.

Not only was there little to eat.  To make matters worse, Coyote could not see himself in the shimmering waters.  Finally, with hunger gnawing at him, Coyote made his way toward the place where the sun set every night, looking for the warmth from its rays, and for the crystal lakes that would show Coyote his image once again.

Still the ground was frozen, and still there was little to eat.  At night, Coyote would pause from his hunting and his travels and would still look up at the moon to see his reflection.

Coyote passed frozen prairies until he reached a new place, with soaring mountains of red.  At last there was less snow, and an occasional rabbit to eat.  Coyote thought about staying in this new place.  It was a warmer place, but there were no lakes in which he could see himself each morning.  That night, as he looked at the moon, he thought: if only I had the moon each day, I would not need the lakes I left behind.  And so a plan was hatched.

That night, when it was almost morning, Coyote climbed to the top of the highest mountain he could find, as close to the moon as he could reach  Then with a mighty leap he snatched the moon down.  It slipped between the yucca plants and the pinon trees until it landed on a wide flat space.

Coyote looked at the morning sky.  The moon was no longer there, but it was not needed, for the sun took over the sky in the daytime.  Coyote looked down, and there was the moon, his moon, shimmering and placid like a lake.  Coyote stared into it and once again, saw his reflection and once again thought how beautiful he was.

That night, when Coyote went out to hunt, the moon quietly slipped back up into the sky to shine.

But each morning, when Coyote returned from the hunt and came to admire himself, the moon was there, ready to reflect for him.

Though this happened long long ago, Coyote still admires himself in the moon's surface every day.

The earrings that tell the story can be found here.

The Two Teenage Flying Pigs

by Cornerstoregoddess

Once upon a time there were two teenage flying pigs.  When June came and school was out for the summer, and their parents suggested they get summer jobs and start being more independent, they packed their PlayStation and their Wii and left their parents' sturdy boring brick home to see the wide wonderful exciting world. 

All that summer they roamed the woods, playing paintball games and having fun.  None were happier or more carefree than the two teenage flying pigs.  They made friends everywhere they went, crashed on new acquaintances' couches, and played video games with their new friends.  But as summer days grew shorter and fall approached, all their new friends were heading back to school and preparing for the year ahead.  The two teenage flying pigs wanted nothing to do with all that, and continued to roam the woods.

There were no more couches to crash on or free meals, and the teenage pigs finally realized that they needed a real home.  Unwilling to return to their parents' home, they agreed that they needed to get jobs, perhaps being phone psychics,  or they would be left out in the cold rain with no roof over their heads. They talked about what they should do, but, as usual could not agree on a plan.  The youngest teenage pig said he would build a house of straw and run his business there.  It would take no time at all, and then he'd be free to watch DVDs and eat cheetohs between calls.  

 His brother, who was by no means a wise and responsible flying pig himself, told his younger brother, "A house of straw will blow right over in the wind."  But the younger pig had made up his mind, and headed to a nearby farm to "borrow" some straw.  His house was done in a day.  When his parents came by to visit, his father shook his head and warned that such a house would never withstand the rain and wind and snow.  Moreover, it would not protect him from a wolf attack.  The young pig, as usual, blew off his father's warning, borrowed some cash to see him until his next payday, and went back to his DVDs.

The older brother, only slightly more sensible than his sibling, headed to a construction site to "borrow" some wood.  His job was harder than that of his brother.  It took several days to nail together a ramshackle shack, but at last he was done and ready to spend the winter watching DVDs and eating ramen and making psychic predictions.  

His parents came to visit and again the father warned his offspring that such a house, while it might protect him from light winds and drizzle, was not strong enough to withstand the winter, or a dreaded wolf attack.  The older pig brother, however, ignored his father's warning, borrowed some cash to see him until his next payday, and went back to his Grand Theft Auto 3.

 The days went by.  Father and Mother Pig returned home and spent their weekends adding weatherstripping to their brick house, insulating their attic, and securing their hot water heater to the wall.  They lamented the fact that their sons were not the sharpest knives in the drawer, but secretly they enjoyed the quiet and neatness that had descended on their home.  They cooked healthy vegetarian meals, watched classic films at night, and explored California cabernets.

The days went by and the older brother visited his younger brother.  They were happy to see each other and relaxed on the couch to play some video games when a storm started brewing.  The winds kicked up and the rain fell down... right through the roof.  Then the walls blew away and the brothers and their cheetohs were soaked and soggy.  "Quick!" said the older brother.  "Grab the PlayStation and let's go to my place."

Through the wind and rain they ran until they came to the wooden house.  They hurried in the door, set up the PlayStation, and picked up where they left off.  Outside the wind howled and the rains pounded but they were safe inside with their ramen and games.  

Until they heard a knock on the door.

"Dude!  It's open!" shouted the older brother.

And who should walk in the door but a great big wolf.  He said, "You've gotta help me!  There's a crazy lady out there doing aerial shooting of wolves and the forest isn't safe anymore!"

"I guess you can crash with us," said the older pig brother.  "But you'll have to help out with dishes and food and stuff."

"No problem," said the wolf.  "Just hang on while I get my old lady and my kids."

He left and soon he returned with his mate and four pups, all of whom leapt on the couch.   Soon they were all playing with the Wii and tossing ramen into each others' mouths.  But when the pigs were ready to turn in for the night, the wolves were still partying.  There was no place to sleep, and the noise level was louder than a rock concert on a summer night.

What's more, the wolves were (you should pardon the expression) real pigs, and there were bunny carcasses all over the floor.  Finally the pigs had had it.  They packed their ramen and cheetohs and Wii (leaving the PlayStation for the wolf pups) and flew home to their parents, where they (if not their parents) lived happily ever after.

The wolves lived happily ever after, too.  Because, if you're a wolf, you really don't need a house of brick.  (But a PlayStation helps.)

Pigs and wolves can be found  here and here.