Wiley one

As a big admirer of Chuck Jones, I can't for the life of me, keep from seeing the image of Wile E. Coyote when I read these tales.

Just as all kids of my generation know this character, all native American children must have gotten up on Saturday, grabbed a bowl of Corn Pops and sat down in front of the village elder for some rollicking fun of story telling. In most cases they were probably acted out, sang about and in the case of the Zuni, action figures were made.
I am really, really enjoying the trickster tales in that they in no way read like western, or for that matter "Western" literature at all. The stories are sometimes stream of conciousness almost, as if to just guide the listener along with the story. The key word here being "listener". The stories are meant to be told. While I am glad to read these and I am glad they are available to us to read, I really would like to experience the catharsis of having them told by a real stroryteller in the indian tradition.
One of the coolest things I have found in reading these texts is the different styles of the narrative. Although the characters in general are the same, the personality of Coyote differs greatly. In some he is a fool, others he is on par with the Creator in power and in some he starts out the fool and becomes the powerful creator type in the same story! But one thread is common in all the stories, Coyote is for the people. He fools and tricks his People but no one else can. He seems at times to be almost a Prometheus type character displaying fatherly and loving traits.
I look forward to reading more.