Native American Legends
Coyote and the Tortillas
A Pima Legend
Once upon a time, a river rose very high and spread all over the
land. An Indian woman was going along the trail by the river side
with a basket of tortillas on her head, but she was wading in water
up to her waist.
Now Coyote was afraid of the water, so he had climbed into a cottonwood
tree. When the woman came up the trail, Coyote called, "Oh,
come to this tree and give me some of those nice tortillas."
The woman said, "No. I can't give them to you; they are for
somebody else."
"If you do not come here I will shoot you," said Coyote,
and the woman really thought he had a bow.
So she came to the tree and said, "You must come down and
get them. I can't climb trees."
Coyote came down as far as he dared, but he was afraid of the deep
water. The woman laughed at him. She said, "Just see how shallow
it is. It's only up to my ankles."
But she was standing on a big stump. Coyote looked at the water.
It seemed shallow and safe enough, so he jumped.
But the water was deep and he was drowned. Then the woman went
on up the trail.
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