Coyote floated downstream until he was caught some distance below. Magpie came along and began to peck at his eyes, thus waking him up. Coyote said, "What are you doing, you rascal? I was dreaming. Why did you not leave me alone?" Magpie answered, "Nonsense! That young woman is always killing people. She has killed you. The only thing to do is to borrow her stick when she calls you again. Then ask her where to stand; and when she bends over to show you, push her over and kill her."
Coyote went up the trail. He reached the place where the dog was barking, and the young woman called him as before. He went to her. This time, however, he did as Magpie told him, and pushed her over. She fell half way, and then started to fly. Coyote saw that she was the Butterfly. He told her that thereafter she was to be only a common butterfly, and that children were to play with her.
Coyote went on. Soon he met a woman on the trail. They sat down together. Coyote told her that he was following the people. She asked Coyote whether he had anything in which to carry food, for then she would give him some. Coyote spread his blanket, and she untied her bundle. She put something in his blanket and went on. When he was gone, he looked at what she had given him, and found that his blanket was full of lice. Coyote jumped up and shook them out. Then, after washing the blanket in the creek, he went on.
Soon he met another woman. They sat down, and the woman offered to give him food. He spread his blanket. She put something into it and went on. When he opened his blanket, he found the woman's excrements in it. He ran to the creek, washed it, and went on.
This happened four times. The fifth time when the woman promised him food, he hesitated, but finally spread his blanket for her contribution. When he looked, he found that she had given him dried buffalo-meat. He ate some and ran as quickly as he could, trying to head her off. He sat down on the trail to make her think he was another person. He said to her, "Did you meet anybody on the trail?" -- "Yes," she replied. "Not far from here there are some more people," said Coyote. "They all look like me. They are powerful shamans." The woman gave him some meat. When she was gone, he ran on over the hill and headed her off as before. This happened four times. The last time she passed him without stopping. Coyote followed her, struck her with a rock, and killed her. Then all the meat disappeared, not only what she had, but also Coyote's caches. He was discouraged, and went on.
This is the same story as JAFL 21 : 16. The Worm's song is not given. Coyote takes first one poker, then another. He ties the rope over the doorway like a net. When Magpie pecks at Coyote's eyes, the latter says that he had been just about to take a girl at the head of the canyon. Magpie tells him that he has been killed by Worm, who had always lived there. After receiving advice, he says, "That is just what I thought of doing." The monster became a woodworm.
Coyote continued his travels up the river, and met a man with long legs, who stood in the middle of the current, catching fish with a long pole. A pile of fish lay on the bank of the river. Coyote spoke to him, but the man did not answer. He kept on catching fish, which he strung up. Coyote asked him for a fish, but his request was refused. He asked a second time, and this time the man mocked him, repeating Coyote's words: "Give me one." After a while the man started to ford the river. Coyote, who was very angry, threw a rock at him, hit his legs, and broke them. The man floated down the river; and Coyote called after him, "Your load was too heavy and broke your legs!" The man repeated the words after him. As he was sinking, Coyote spoke again; but when the man tried to answer, all that could be seen were bubbles on the surface of the water. Coyote said, "Henceforth you shall be a crane (mu'k'a), and people shall make fun of you. From now on, when a man kills much game, he shall give others some."
Coyote was travelling, and heard some one singing, "Come back, my eyes!" (in silutsaa!). Soon he saw Wildcat (kahap)2 playing ball with his eyes. He said, "I wish I could do that! If I could do that and do it at Qualp (a place in Washington), I should do great things." Coyote decided to try. He went into the woods. When he tried to take out his eye, it hurt so that he screamed. Finally he succeeded in removing it. He threw it up into the air and called to it to come back, and it dropped back into its socket. "Now I can do it," he said to himself. Wildcat heard him, and, knowing it was Coyote, took his horn (kapatka'x), and, when Coyote threw his eye up again, he knocked it out of the way, so that it did not return. Coyote called several times, but the eye did not come back. Coyote now said, "My eye must be near. If I take out the other one, they will both come back to me." So he took it out and threw it up. Both came back. "That's a fine trick," Coyote said. Now he threw both at the same time. This time Wildcat knocked both away, and Coyote became totally blind.
1 BBAE 59 : 302 (note I); JAFL 21: 19
2 According to others, the small bird kekenu.
