Coyote and the Rainbow
One day Coyote and Crow were sitting in
Starbucks having coffee together. All around them were people going
about there business. Some were ordering triple caff, caff, whippy,
latte. Some were on their laptops Facebooking their friends and
nearly all of them were on their cell phones.
"Crow, I do not like this. No one
here seems to see us. It seems that we are forgotten in the world,"
said Coyote.
"I too have noticed this. These
human beings we have created no longer seem to need us. They have
forgotten the old ways. They have forgotten how to fish. They have
forgotten how to hunt. They have forgotten how to sing and dance at
the fire," Crow replied. "What shall we do about it?"
"Crow, we must wipe them out and
start over. These human beings are bad. They hurt each other, and
they hate the world we gave them. See how they pollute it. Yes, we
must rub them out and start over."
"No, brother. That has been done
before and did not work. We must find a way to punish them and let
them know we still exist."
"But how?", Coyote howled.
"We must take away something
important to them. It must be something they cannot do without. Then
when that thing is taken away, they will cry out to us and beg for it
back."
"I see," said Coyote. "But
what is the thing they love the most?"
Crow thought and thought. He looked
around and saw everyone on their laptops and cell phones, so he
decided on something. "I know. We will take away their
technology. Once they are without Facebook and Twitter and Verizon,
they will cry like babies and will come to us and plead for them
back. We will say no. You have been very bad and we will not give
this back to you."
Coyote pondered this in his heart. He
said, "No that will not do. They are too smart and will only
develop an alternate way to do these things. We must think of
something else."
Crow thought and thought and then
said, "I have it. We will take away their language. If they
cannot communicate, they will not be able to work together and will
have to come to us for help. They will cry like babies and will come
to us and plead for them back. We will say no. You have been very bad
and we will not give this back to you."
Coyote again pondered this. "No
that will not do either. They will indeed not be able to speak to
each other, but they will also not be able to sing and worship us. No
something else must be thought of."
Crow then thought. And he thought. He
flew up into the rafters and sat upon the beams. He hopped to and fro
looking down on the human beings trying to get an idea. He noticed
the technology, he noticed the language and the noise. He hopped back
down to Coyote and said, "I have nothing."
Coyote scratched his ear and looked
around. His keen eyes darted back and forth. His nose wriggled with
scent. He panted. Then he slurped his tongue and licked his muzzle.
"Aha! I have it!
"Please, brother. Tell me so that
I can begin the destruction," cawed Crow.
Coyote placed his paws on the table and
leaned very close to Crow. "We will take away all the color."
"Whaaaat?", Crow screeched.
"What will that do? This is a foolish idea Coyote."
"No. It is a great idea. You will
see. I will gather all of the color in the world and put into a great
ball and hide it."
"I still don't see what this will
do," said Crow.
Coyote ran around in circles and jumped
with joy. "It is the best idea ever! I must start at once."
Right then Coyote ran around the Starbucks and began taking color out
of things. He took the color from the clothes on the human beings. He
took the color from the walls. He took the color from the laptops.
Then he ran down the street taking more and more color as he went.
Faster and faster he ran until he was just a blur of color himself.
Soon he has gathered all of the color in the world into a giant
shimmering ball. There was no color in the world. Everything was
black and white. This pleased him and Crow was pleased too.
"Brother! I see now what you have
done. You are very smart. Soon all of the people will complain that
things are dull and colorless. They will cry like babies and will
come to us and plead for them back. We will say no. You have been
very bad and we will not give this back to you."
Coyote's tongue wagged in his mouth,
"Yes, I too, am pleased with my idea."
Crow put a wing over his beak and
squawked, "Oh, no! There is a a problem.Where will we hide the
color so that the human beings will no be able to find it?"
Coyote had not thought of this. He quickly had an idea. He went to
find Possum.
"Possum, we have taken all of the
color from the world and we need you to hide it," said Coyote.
"You are very good at hiding and this will be a good job for
you."
"I can do this," said
Possum. "I have the perfect place." Possum climbed up onto
the massive ball of color and began to roll it back and forth, and
back and forth. Soon he had worked the color ball into his pouch.
"See? I can keep it here in my pouch and no human being will be
able to find it."
Coyote wagged his tongue and Crow
cawed. They then went and listened to all of the human beings who
were complaining. When the human beings begged Coyote and Crow for
the color, Coyote would say, "You have been very bad and we will
not give this back to you." He and Crow would then laugh and
laugh.
Meanwhile, Thunder came and began to
rain on the ground. He brought the rain for the crops and the streams
and lakes, but his favorite job was to bring water to the flowers. He
would look down and at their beauty and would even take pictures with
his lightning. However when he came to water the flowers, there was
no color. Thunder became very angry and he rumbled greatly and sent
mighty winds and lightning bolts to strike the earth. "WHERE IS
THE COLOR!? WHO HAS TAKEN ALL OF THE COLOR?"
Now Coyote and Crow were frightened
and hid from Thunder. The wind and lightning smote the tree where
Crow was sitting. "I must go and hide with Coyote!" Crow
flew and fluttered and was tossed about violently. "Coyote,
where are you brother?" he cawed. But Coyote was afraid and
would not answer so Crow was beaten up by Thunder's fury.
Thunder asked Crow, "WHERE IS THE
COLOR?! TELL ME OR I WILL RIP OFF YOUR WINGS!" Of course Crow
blamed everything on Coyote saying it was all his doing. Thunder
dropped Crow who had fainted and went to look for Coyote.
Coyote had hidden in an old fox den
deep under the ground. "You cannot get me in here, Thunder,"
he shouted up the hole. Thunder sent the wind and lightning but
could not reach Coyote. Coyote laughed and laughed. About that time,
Possum fell out of his tree and began to roll around on his
tremendous belly. Thunder noticed and asked Possum, "WHY ARE YOU
SO FAT POSSUM? WHAT ARE YOU HIDING IN YOUR POUCH?"
Possum was no fool like Crow and
Coyote, so he answered right away. "I have all the color in the
world in my pouch. Coyote told me to keep it there." Thunder
rolled and flashed, "SO IT WAS TRULY COYOTE. I SHALL PUNISH HIM
BUT I CANNOT GET TO HIM WHEN HE IS DEEP IN THE EARTH."
Possum spoke up, "I know how you
can get him great Thunder." "SPEAK IT THEN,"Thunder
roared. "Make it rain and rain and rain. Let it rain for days
until the water reaches deep into the hole and drowns Coyote."
Thunder laughed a loud booming thunder
peal, "HO, HO HO! THAT IS AN EXCELLENT IDEA." Thunder let
it rain for one day, two, three, four. After one week, Coyote finally
floated up out of the hole, dead. Thunder revived him with his
breath, "YOU HAVE BEEN VERY BAD, COYOTE. BUT I FORGIVE YOU. NOW
GO AND GIVE ALL OF THE COLOR BACK TO THE WORLD. POSSUM WILL HELP
YOU." Both Coyote and Possum started to complain that the job
was too big and would take forever. Thunder grew angry and shot down
a lightning bolt. It singed Coyote's tail, which is why it has a
black tip, and it burned all of the hair off of Possum's which is why
it is bare. Possum was blown so high into the sky that he left a
streak from one end of the world to the other. To this day when
Thunder comes by, if he sees Possum not doing his job, he will send
lightning to make him jump into the sky and leave a rainbow.
THE END
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