by Alan Nafzger & Lilly Tabbytite (Comanche)
Once, Coyote was making his way up a long river when he climbed up on a ridge and looked around. He could see a man jumping back and forth over a deep ravine down below. The man only had one leg. He'd tied his other leg behind his back.
Coyote was on his way to a gathering of powerful shamans and thought this would be a good trick to pull. They'd all ask him how he did it, but he'd never tell.
He went down closer to watch the man jump the ravine, hoping to see how he did it and avoid paying the man to learn how to do the trick. The man stumbled and fell to the bottom of the ravine while he was watching. He stood up and was furious.
"Someone has been keeping an eye on me," he reasoned. "This is what caused me to fall. Someone is attempting to take my power. " He climbed out of the ravine with his other leg. When he reached the top, he saw Coyote standing there. "I thought so!" he exclaimed, grabbing Coyote and hurling him into the ravine. The coyote was killed by the fall, and the man came down and threw him in the river.
Coyote swam until his body washed up on the shore in some wire grass. MGP noticed him and approached him. "Someone assassinated Coyote," Magpie said. "I've always wondered if he had a good amount of brow fat." The magpie started pecking on Coyote's head.
"What are you doing?" yelled Coyote, leaping to his feet. "Are you insane?" I was sleeping in the sun when you came along and started pecking at my head. I've just brought the chief's daughter safely across this river. You wouldn't be pecking at me like that if you knew who I was. "
"How could you have done this?" Magpie wondered. "You are no longer alive. After killing you, he threw you in the river. "You weren't carrying anyone across the river," Magpie said as he flew away.
Coyote immediately defecated and turned around to deal with his waste. "What happened?" he inquired. "Please tell me how I got here." The excrement said, "Up above here, a powerful man killed you." You must seek vengeance for your death. You'll have to murder him. "
The coyote kicked sand over his feces and returned up the river. He climbed to the top of the ravine when he arrived at the spot where he died. The man with one leg tied behind his back was bouncing back and forth. Coyote hid in the trees and kept an eye on him. After a while, he made him stumble, and the man died.
Coyote continued on his journey.