by Alan Nafzger & Lilly Tabbytite (Comanche)
Coyote was walking along one morning when he noticed a handsome young man out on the prairie.
"Hey, young man, where are you going?" Coyote inquired.
"I'm heading out on the battlefield."
I am a powerful warrior well-known throughout the land. I can accompany you and assist you.
"If you're brave, you can come along."
"Oh, you'll see when we meet our adversaries." I am the bravest man alive. When they see me, they will flee! We're going to have a good time. We'll seize their horses and take anything they leave behind. "
The young man suspected Coyote was speaking, but he couldn't be sure. "Come on," he said. You are welcome to come. "
As they traveled, the warrior informed Coyote that they would camp that night at a location known as Scalped Man by the Fire. That name bothered Coyote.
They killed a buffalo and set up camp that afternoon. Coyote made the other man do all the cooking, and then Coyote took the best piece of meat for himself, telling the other man that the bravest warriors were always treated this way. Before going to bed, Coyote took all the leftover meat and packed it around the area where he was sleeping. He'd have the meat right there if he got hungry. He placed the liver on his chest and the heart on his knee before falling asleep.
Coyote awoke in the middle of the night to hear a noise and raised himself to look around. The Scalped Man was right in front of him. Coyote raised his club silently and brought it down as hard as he could on Scalped Man's head. But it wasn't Scalped Man; it was Coyote's knee with the meat on it, and when the club landed, Coyote yelled. The other man immediately stood up.
"What is the problem?"
"It was simply a scaled man." " There's nothing to be concerned about right now. He came around, but I sent him away. "
The other man returned to sleep, and Coyote rolled around on the ground, holding his knee and making no noise.
When they left the next morning, the warrior told Coyote that they would camp that night at Cooked Meat Flying All Around. Coyote had no idea what to make of the name. As they traveled, the man noticed that Coyote's knee was bothering him, causing him to fall behind. Coyote assured him that it would be fine, claiming that he had only hurt it in the fight with Scalped Man.
They sat down and waited that night when they arrived at camp. Meat started flying around them when it got dark. They caught what they were looking for, and once they had enough meat, the pieces stopped flying around. The warrior stated that they would camp the following night at the location where the arrows fly around. Coyote disliked the name of that location. "I'm not sure I'll be able to go that far tomorrow." "You know, my knee is getting pretty bad."
Coyote's knee was bothering him the next day, so he suggested they camp somewhere else. But the warrior continued. They set up camp in a draw with some willows and small cottonwoods, built a fire, and ate dinner. When it got dark, arrows started flying around them in the air. The warrior remained motionless and began to catch the arrows as they flew by. Coyotes jumped all over the place, trying to avoid them. The more he dodged, the closer the arrows got to him. The coyote eventually sat down next to the ground and attempted to squeeze into an old badger tunnel. Finally, an arrow struck him in the arm. He rolled over and screamed that he had been killed.
The other man approached and kicked his feet, telling him to get up. The coyote jumped to his feet and rubbed his eyes.
"What's going on here?" Coyote inquired. "I must have dozed off." "This knee is exhausting me."
"You know, you're lucky Scalped "Coyote said before they went to bed that the old man didn't go after you when he came into camp." He could have killed you, but he could only injure me. "
The warrior informed Coyote that the following day's camp would be called "Where the Women Visit the Men. That place sounded appealing to Coyote. He said his knee would be much better in the morning and that if the man wanted to get an early start the next day, he could travel very quickly.
Coyote did all of the cooking and was the first one out on the trail the next morning. He kept getting ahead, and he'd turn around and yell, "Hey, can't you keep up? Which type of warrior are you? When we track down the enemy, I'll have to do all of the fighting! I've got a bad wound, and you still can't keep up. "
They eventually set up camp. Two women arrived at the camp after dark. One approached Coyote, but he couldn't tell if she was young or old. He gave her a piece of meat to eat and assumed she was very old based on the sound she made. He told her to leave because he expected a younger woman to arrive later in the evening.
When she stood up to leave, Coyote noticed in the firelight that she was a very attractive young woman and motioned for her to sit down again. She, however, did not. Coyote stood up and began speaking smoothly, saying she was very attractive and that some ghost must have been calling out to her to leave. But she simply walked away.
Coyote initially assumed she would return or that another woman would arrive. But no one showed up. Coyote became enraged with himself. He suspected the other woman had spent the night with him. He now had nothing. It made him so angry that he couldn't sleep. He could hear the other woman and the warrior conversing softly, but they weren't kissing. For a moment, he imagined the other man calling out to him, inviting him to come over and make love with this woman. But he didn't say anything. Coyote waited until dawn, hoping the other woman would return, but she never did.
The next morning, while they were eating breakfast, the other man informed Coyote that they were going to camp that night at a place called War Clubs Flying Around. Coyote didn't like the sound of that place, so he slowed down all day, claiming that his knee hurt so much that they wouldn't make it to camp. Nonetheless, they arrived.
When darkness fell, Coyote heard the war clubs start flying around. The man warned Coyote not to dodge them or he would be hit. Coyote managed to avoid them, but one of them hit him on the head and knocked him out. The other man caught two clubs, one for himself and one for Coyote, and the other clubs ceased to float around. He kicked Coyote, who jumped up and said he'd fallen asleep again. The man explained that they would need these clubs to fight the enemy and handed one to Coyote.
He mentioned the next day's destination, Vulvas Flying Around, while they were eating. Coyote immediately stated that his leg was better and that they should leave and set up camp as soon as possible. Coyote inquired of the man whether these were the best vulvas that flew around, very young, exactly what a man would want. They are, according to the other man. Coyote asked the man to tell him everything he knew about these vulvas, but the man fell asleep. Coyote had been awake all night thinking about vulvas and what it would be like to fly around without women. He pondered how easy they would be to transport.
Coyote awoke early and prepared breakfast, leaving the man far behind on the trail that day. Coyote kept looking back and shaking his head at the other man's slowness. Coyote reasoned that the man was tired from the long journey and couldn't keep up.
It got dark after dinner that night, and things started flying around the camp. Coyote recognized them and chased after them, attempting to grab one, but they remained just out of reach, brushing his fingertips. Coyote ran around until he was nearly collapsed from exhaustion when he had an idea. He emptied his quiver, opened it up like a bag, and swung it around, hoping to catch one of those vulvas. The vulvas all made sweet sounds, and Coyote was overjoyed. He could tell they were exactly what he wanted when he was close to grabbing one. Finally, Coyote was able to catch one of the flying vulvas in his quiver with a tremendous leap. He jerked it out and lay down on top of it, yelling as loudly as he could—but his member didn't work at all. The other man was sitting quietly laughing under some trees.
When they went to bed that night, the warrior said they were going to the real place, where the enemy attacks.
The next day, Coyote complained about his knee and withdrew. However, the man waited for him. When the man got ahead of him, he'd come to a halt and wait for Coyote to catch up. They set up camp and went to sleep. Coyote's knee ached all night because he knew they were going to attack in the morning. When they first set out at dawn, they were immediately surrounded by the enemy. One coyote took one look around and fled, but one of his enemies pursued him, killed him, and stole his scalp. The warrior fought off the other enemies with his arrows and war club before going in search of Coyote.
He kicked him and told him to get up when he found him. The Coyote immediately jumped up and began running. He came to a halt after a short time when he realized no one was pursuing him and turned around. "This battle has exhausted me," he said to the warrior. "I'm leaving." Remember that you may have to do this alone the next time. You're lucky I showed up. " Then Coyote left.
The other man, whose name was White Hawk, went back to his village.