Native American Legends
Fire Race
A Karok (Karuk) Legend
A long time ago, only the three Yellow Jacket sisters had fire.
Even though other animals froze, the fire was kept from them. Wise
Old Coyote, however, devises a plan to steal the fire, and enlists
the other animals to help. Coyote diverts the yellow jackets, seizes
a burning stick, and runs away. As the yellow jackets chase him,
he hands it off to Eagle, who hands it to Mountain Lion. Several
hand-offs later, Frog hides a hot coal in his mouth on a river bottom,
and the yellow jackets give up. When Frog spits the coal out, Willow
Tree swallows it, and Coyote shows the animals how to extract it:
by rubbing two sticks together over dry moss. Now that the animals
have fire, each night they gather in a circle while the elders tell
stories. An meaningful tale which stresses the importance of the
natural world and our need to live cooperatively with it.
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