Coyote Steals the Moon

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.



The bracelet that goes with this story can be found here.

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

Gingerbread Musings

Thoughts on Gingerbread

(Hey!  I bet you think about strange stuff, too!)

You know, I never liked the story of the Gingerbread Man. He was so arrogant, thinking that, just because he could outrun senior citizens, he could hold his own with a fox.

Not that I wished him harm. Eating him was, after all, the fox's job.

I didn't even like gingerbread boys and girls for eating purposes. The icing didn't taste nearly as good as it looked, and those suckers could get rock hard. But what I liked was the smell... and the look. The pink or aqua icing against the rich browns of the gingerbread, and that pungent aroma.

With this is mind, I started collecting gingerbread charms and beads.  (Yeah, I know... OCD strikes 1 in 10).  And soon I had a tidy stash.  But the beads had to be just the right colors.  I wanted to conjure up those delicious-smelling cookies.

And so I made this bracelet...

...and these earrings.

They don't smell like gingerbread, but they're pretty cute, and you can find them in my store if you run, run, as fast as you can.


I am also reminded of the e.e. cummings poem, which begins: here is little effie's head
whose brains are made of gingerbread
when the judgment day comes
God will find six crumbs

Hope you find more... and that they are delicious.

Run, Run, as Fast as You Can...!

The True Story of the Gingerbread Persons and Their Sad Demise

Once upon a time, a little old woman and a little old man lived in a cottage, which they held onto through a loan modification. One day the little old woman make some gingerbread people.  Her husband was quite deaf and she needed someone to talk to. She gave them currants for eyes and cherries for buttons. Then she popped them in the oven to bake.

The little old woman and little old man were very hungry and wanted to eat the gingerbread men and women.  She brewed a pot of coffee and they waited for the oven timer to DING. As soon the timer went off, the little old woman opened the oven door.  But the gingerbread people. who clearly were made from more than flour, butter, and molasses, leapt off the cookie sheet and ran out of the open window shouting, "Don't eat us!"

The little old woman and little old man ran after the gingerbread people."Stop! Stop!" they shouted.  But the gingerbread people didn't even look back. They ran on, and started to chant:
'Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!'  (The gingerbread girls chanted "Run, run as fast as you can. Gingerbread girls outrun any man!")

Down the lane they sped until they saw a pig.  The pig said, "Snort, stop!   would like to eat you!"

"First you'd have to get out of the mud," answered the gingerbread crew as they raced down the road.  They started up their chants again.  "Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me,
I'm the gingerbread man"  and "Run, run as fast as you can. Gingerbread girls outrun any man!"

A little further on they met a cow. "Stop! Stop! " mooed the hungry cow.  "You look good enough to eat!"

But the gingerbread people were too fast.  They sped on down the road, shouting, "Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man"  and "Run, run as fast as you can. Gingerbread girls outrun any man!"

The cow began to chase the gingerbread crew along with the pig, and the little old woman. (The little old man had gone back to the cottage and to drink all the coffee.) But the gingerbread people were too fast for them.

It was not long before the gingerbread troops came to a horse. "Stop! Stop!" shouted the horse. "I want to eat you all!"

And did they stop?  Nooooo.  Instead they ran on, shouting "Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man"  and "Run, run as fast as you can. Gingerbread girls outrun any man!"

The horse joined in the chase. The gingerbread people laughed and laughed, until they came to a river. "Uh-oh!" they moaned.  "How will we cross the river?"

That's when the sly fox appeared.  "I can help you cross the river," said the fox. "Just jump on to my tail and I will swim across."

"But won't you eat us?" asked the gingerbread folk.

"Of course not," said the fox. "I just want to help."

Having crumbs for brains, the gingerbread people climbed onto the fox's tail. Soon they began to get wet.  Very wet.

"Climb onto my back," said the fox. So they did.  (Did I mention they had crumbs for brains?)

As he swam the fox said, "You are very heavy and I am getting very tired.  Please jump onto my nose." The Gingerbreads did as they were told.

No sooner had they reached the other side, than the fox tossed the gingerbread people up in the air. He opened his mouth and 'Snap!' that was the end of the gingerbread people.  Except on this bracelet, where they are safe.

They're pretty safe on the earrings, too.