by Alan Nafzger & Lilly Tabbytite (Comanche)
Coyote once met a tiny snake named Never Grows Bigger.
"What a ridiculous thing you are," Coyote said. "Who would want to be as small as you?" Why are you so small in the first place? You should be as tall as I am. If you're that small, you can't do anything. Something must be wrong with you."
The snake remained silent.
"Let me see your teeth," Coyote said.
The snake's mouth opened. Coyote then opened his mouth and pointed to his teeth. "See? Take a look at my teeth. What happens if we bite each other? I could bite you in half because your teeth are too small to hurt anyone. Let's bite each other and you'll understand. "
So they bit each other, and Coyote suggested, "Let's back up a little and call out to each other." By the way it called out, Coyote knew he could tell how quickly the snake was dying. The coyote called out after the snake cried. The snake's voice became weaker with each call. Coyote walked a short distance, lay down, and prepared to nap. The coyote was still howling, but he couldn't hear the snake. "It's no good being that small," Coyote reasoned. "He now understands."
Coyote soon noticed that the area where the snake had bitten him was swelling. The swelling worsened quickly, and Coyote became extremely weak. He couldn't call out anymore, and he was feeling dizzy and ill.
The snake's wound had begun to heal by this point. His voice became more assertive. Coyote's calls became weaker and weaker until there was no sound coming from him at all. Never Grows Bigger went over to where Coyote was sleeping and found him dead. "This animal never learns," Never Grows Bigger observed. He walked away, leaving Coyote on the prairie, blown up like a buffalo bladder from the bite.