Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 15, 2008 11:59:49 GMT -5
Itsayaya's Revenge - Nez Perce
Itsayaya, the coyote, hurried on down the great river. The canyon walls became very steep and rough. Poor Itsayaya grew so weary that he could hardly go on. His feet were cut and bleeding from the sharp rocks. Then he noticed, growing from the sides of the canyon, long tough vines. Why not use them, he thought. So he grabbed hold of a vine and swung himself through the air, far out over the river. His sore feet were saved and he crossed the jagged rocks easily. On and on down the river, wherever he saw these vines growing, he used them to swing himself along. To this very day these tough wild clematis vines are known as Itsayayam piks, or coyote ropes.
Now when nightfall was near Itsayaya decided to make camp. He was hungry, so he went to the edge of the water and waved his paws and said his magic medicine words. A big salmon came up to the bank and the coyote caught it easily. Then he built a fire to cook his dinner. He cleaned the salmon and put it on a stick stuck into the ground over the glowing coals of his campfire and left it to roast. He was so tired that he lay down to take a nap while the fish cooked.
While Itsayaya, the coyote, slept, the odor of the roasting salmon drifted away from his riverbank camp and over all the countryside around. Sakantayh, the eagle, and Sahlatamo, the owl, smelled it from up in the trees. Hemeen, the wolf, and Tilipah, the little fox, smelled it from their homes in the bushes. Kaykayots, the raccoon, smelled the roasting fish from up the river where he was washing his hands in the water. All of them started to-ward the coyote's camp.
Sakantayh, Sahlatamo, Hemeen, Tilipah, and Kaykay-ots all hurried to the campfire and met there in a circle around the salmon.
"U-m-m-m! That smells good!" said Hemeen, the wolf.
"Itsayaya is asleep. Let's just take a little bite," said the fox.
"May we have some, Itsayaya?" asked Sahlatamo, the owl.
But Itsayaya was sleeping so soundly that he only snored on, "U-n-n- n, z-z-z-z."
"That must mean 'yes,' " said Kaykayots, the raccoon.
"How about it, Itsayaya?" asked Sakantayh, the eagle.
"U-n-n-n, z-z-z-z," snored the coyote.
"Aw, let's go ahead and eat it. He won't even know the difference,"said the wolf.
So the five animals began eating the delicious roasted salmon. Soon it was all gone; nothing was left but the bones. By this time they were all feeling so merry that they decided to play a trick on Itsayaya.
"Look," said the owl. "The old fellow is sleeping so soundly that he'll never know what we do to him. This is our chance to play a very funny trick on wise old Itsayaya."
So Hemeen, the wolf, sneaked up to where the coyote was sleeping and bit off the very end of his tail. He put it on the stick over the fire where the salmon had been roasting. Then the five rascals went away laughing.
When it was nearly dark, the five tricksters decided to make camp, so they built a big fire and Kaykayots, the raccoon, went off to look for food. Soon he returned with a nest of turtle eggs that he had found in the sand on the riverbank. They dug a hole, put hot coals into it, then the eggs, and covered it over with more sand. They left the eggs to cook, and settled down around the fire for a nap.
Back at his camp, Itsayaya, the coyote, roused from his deep sleep and staggered sleepily over to the fire to get his salmon.
"What's this?" he said. "My salmon is gone! Someone has stolen it and left me only a tiny little piece." And he reached out and started to grab the piece of his tail that was roasting over the fire.
"Ugh! This doesn't look like salmon to me. Looks more like a piece of me, hair and all," and he whirled around to get a look at his tail.
Then he saw that the tip was gone. To this very day Itsayaya, the coyote, has a short tail.
How angry he was. "I'll get revenge on the rascals who did this!" he shouted. Then he looked around for tracks. There they were, plain as could be, in the sand around the campfire, and they led off down the river. Itsayaya followed these tracks, planning with every step how he might avenge the loss of his salmon and the tip of his tail.
Before long the coyote came to the camp of the five thieves. They were all asleep, snoring loudly. Itsayaya looked around and spotted the fire hole where the turtle eggs were roasting. He dug into the hole and found that the eggs were just starting to cook, so that the insides were like a thin paste. He made a tiny hole in each egg and sucked out the insides, then carefully put the empty shells back into the cooking hole. He ate as many of the eggs as he could hold, mixed the rest together, went quietly up to the sleeping fox, and painted him all over with the egg, all but the tip of his tail. Then he took Tilipah, the fox, by his nose and pulled it into a sharp point. The fox slept on.
Then Itsayaya picked up a piece of charcoal from the edge of the fire pit and painted Hemeen, the wolf, all over, so that he was a dirty dark gray color.
Next he reached over and pulled all the feathers from the top of the eagle's head. He grabbed the long straight beak of Sahlatamo, the owl, and bent it down over his mouth. Then he stood back to look at his work.
"Oh - oh," said Itsayaya. "I forgot Kaykayots, the raccoon." So the coyote took another piece of charcoal and painted black stripes on Kaykayots' back and tail and a black mask around his eyes and nose. Then he went quietly off behind a tree to wait until the animals awoke to discover his handiwork.
He didn't have to wait long, for after a few minutes they began to stir. "Ha, look at you, Sahlatamo," said Hemeen, the wolf. "Your beak has turned down over your mouth. It won't be much good any more." Sahlatamo, the owl, stared at the wolf. "And you are a different color, or maybe you're just dirty. You shouldn't laugh at me. You look pretty silly yourself."
Then Sakantayh, the eagle, and Kaykayots, the rac-coon, joined in. "Look how yellow you are, Tilipah," said Kaykayots, laughing. "Look at yourself. You have black stripes."
"So I do, but take a look at the eagle over there. He has no feathers on the top of his head."
Then Sakantayh, the eagle, rubbed his head and said sadly, "Now everyone will call me 'Baldy.' Who could have played this trick on us?"
"Only Itsayaya, the coyote, has such strong medicine. He must have done it," said Hemeen.
"Well," said the owl, "maybe we had it coming. We tricked him by stealing his salmon and cutting off a piece of his tail." "Oh, let's forget it," said Sakantayh, the eagle. "I'm hungry. Let's eat those eggs."
Then they dug into the fire pit and found that all the eggs were just empty shells, for Itsayaya, the coyote, had left no more food than the other animals had left for him.
Then Itsayaya ran off down the river laughing, and to this very day Tilipah, the fox, is yellow; Hemeen, the wolf, is a dirty gray; Sahlatamo, the owl, has a beak which hangs over his mouth; Sakantayh, the eagle, is bald; and Kaykayots, the raccoon, has stripes on his back and tail and a little black mask on his face.
Taken from Tales of the Nimipoo - From the Land of the Nez Perce Indians, Eleanor B. Heady, 1969
Itsayaya, the coyote, hurried on down the great river. The canyon walls became very steep and rough. Poor Itsayaya grew so weary that he could hardly go on. His feet were cut and bleeding from the sharp rocks. Then he noticed, growing from the sides of the canyon, long tough vines. Why not use them, he thought. So he grabbed hold of a vine and swung himself through the air, far out over the river. His sore feet were saved and he crossed the jagged rocks easily. On and on down the river, wherever he saw these vines growing, he used them to swing himself along. To this very day these tough wild clematis vines are known as Itsayayam piks, or coyote ropes.
Now when nightfall was near Itsayaya decided to make camp. He was hungry, so he went to the edge of the water and waved his paws and said his magic medicine words. A big salmon came up to the bank and the coyote caught it easily. Then he built a fire to cook his dinner. He cleaned the salmon and put it on a stick stuck into the ground over the glowing coals of his campfire and left it to roast. He was so tired that he lay down to take a nap while the fish cooked.
While Itsayaya, the coyote, slept, the odor of the roasting salmon drifted away from his riverbank camp and over all the countryside around. Sakantayh, the eagle, and Sahlatamo, the owl, smelled it from up in the trees. Hemeen, the wolf, and Tilipah, the little fox, smelled it from their homes in the bushes. Kaykayots, the raccoon, smelled the roasting fish from up the river where he was washing his hands in the water. All of them started to-ward the coyote's camp.
Sakantayh, Sahlatamo, Hemeen, Tilipah, and Kaykay-ots all hurried to the campfire and met there in a circle around the salmon.
"U-m-m-m! That smells good!" said Hemeen, the wolf.
"Itsayaya is asleep. Let's just take a little bite," said the fox.
"May we have some, Itsayaya?" asked Sahlatamo, the owl.
But Itsayaya was sleeping so soundly that he only snored on, "U-n-n- n, z-z-z-z."
"That must mean 'yes,' " said Kaykayots, the raccoon.
"How about it, Itsayaya?" asked Sakantayh, the eagle.
"U-n-n-n, z-z-z-z," snored the coyote.
"Aw, let's go ahead and eat it. He won't even know the difference,"said the wolf.
So the five animals began eating the delicious roasted salmon. Soon it was all gone; nothing was left but the bones. By this time they were all feeling so merry that they decided to play a trick on Itsayaya.
"Look," said the owl. "The old fellow is sleeping so soundly that he'll never know what we do to him. This is our chance to play a very funny trick on wise old Itsayaya."
So Hemeen, the wolf, sneaked up to where the coyote was sleeping and bit off the very end of his tail. He put it on the stick over the fire where the salmon had been roasting. Then the five rascals went away laughing.
When it was nearly dark, the five tricksters decided to make camp, so they built a big fire and Kaykayots, the raccoon, went off to look for food. Soon he returned with a nest of turtle eggs that he had found in the sand on the riverbank. They dug a hole, put hot coals into it, then the eggs, and covered it over with more sand. They left the eggs to cook, and settled down around the fire for a nap.
Back at his camp, Itsayaya, the coyote, roused from his deep sleep and staggered sleepily over to the fire to get his salmon.
"What's this?" he said. "My salmon is gone! Someone has stolen it and left me only a tiny little piece." And he reached out and started to grab the piece of his tail that was roasting over the fire.
"Ugh! This doesn't look like salmon to me. Looks more like a piece of me, hair and all," and he whirled around to get a look at his tail.
Then he saw that the tip was gone. To this very day Itsayaya, the coyote, has a short tail.
How angry he was. "I'll get revenge on the rascals who did this!" he shouted. Then he looked around for tracks. There they were, plain as could be, in the sand around the campfire, and they led off down the river. Itsayaya followed these tracks, planning with every step how he might avenge the loss of his salmon and the tip of his tail.
Before long the coyote came to the camp of the five thieves. They were all asleep, snoring loudly. Itsayaya looked around and spotted the fire hole where the turtle eggs were roasting. He dug into the hole and found that the eggs were just starting to cook, so that the insides were like a thin paste. He made a tiny hole in each egg and sucked out the insides, then carefully put the empty shells back into the cooking hole. He ate as many of the eggs as he could hold, mixed the rest together, went quietly up to the sleeping fox, and painted him all over with the egg, all but the tip of his tail. Then he took Tilipah, the fox, by his nose and pulled it into a sharp point. The fox slept on.
Then Itsayaya picked up a piece of charcoal from the edge of the fire pit and painted Hemeen, the wolf, all over, so that he was a dirty dark gray color.
Next he reached over and pulled all the feathers from the top of the eagle's head. He grabbed the long straight beak of Sahlatamo, the owl, and bent it down over his mouth. Then he stood back to look at his work.
"Oh - oh," said Itsayaya. "I forgot Kaykayots, the raccoon." So the coyote took another piece of charcoal and painted black stripes on Kaykayots' back and tail and a black mask around his eyes and nose. Then he went quietly off behind a tree to wait until the animals awoke to discover his handiwork.
He didn't have to wait long, for after a few minutes they began to stir. "Ha, look at you, Sahlatamo," said Hemeen, the wolf. "Your beak has turned down over your mouth. It won't be much good any more." Sahlatamo, the owl, stared at the wolf. "And you are a different color, or maybe you're just dirty. You shouldn't laugh at me. You look pretty silly yourself."
Then Sakantayh, the eagle, and Kaykayots, the rac-coon, joined in. "Look how yellow you are, Tilipah," said Kaykayots, laughing. "Look at yourself. You have black stripes."
"So I do, but take a look at the eagle over there. He has no feathers on the top of his head."
Then Sakantayh, the eagle, rubbed his head and said sadly, "Now everyone will call me 'Baldy.' Who could have played this trick on us?"
"Only Itsayaya, the coyote, has such strong medicine. He must have done it," said Hemeen.
"Well," said the owl, "maybe we had it coming. We tricked him by stealing his salmon and cutting off a piece of his tail." "Oh, let's forget it," said Sakantayh, the eagle. "I'm hungry. Let's eat those eggs."
Then they dug into the fire pit and found that all the eggs were just empty shells, for Itsayaya, the coyote, had left no more food than the other animals had left for him.
Then Itsayaya ran off down the river laughing, and to this very day Tilipah, the fox, is yellow; Hemeen, the wolf, is a dirty gray; Sahlatamo, the owl, has a beak which hangs over his mouth; Sakantayh, the eagle, is bald; and Kaykayots, the raccoon, has stripes on his back and tail and a little black mask on his face.
Taken from Tales of the Nimipoo - From the Land of the Nez Perce Indians, Eleanor B. Heady, 1969