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He took out his knife and said:
"Grandfather, this knife I give to you as a present. I want you to help me
to get something to eat."
Coyote went over a hill, and there in the bottom was a village of people.
He went into the village and he could see meat hanging on poles everywhere
in the camp. He went into one of the tipis and the people in the tipi
roasted a piece of meat for him. just as he was about to taste of the meat
he thought of his knife and said: "Why did I give my knife to that stone_
I should have kept it and then I should have been able to cut the meat
without having to pull it with my hands." He asked to be excused and went
out.
He went to where the stone was. He said: "Grandfather, I will have to take
back this knife, for I have found a village of people with plenty of
meat." He went over the hills and into the bottom, but there was no
village there. Coyote went back and returned the knife to the stone. He
went back over the hills and there saw the village and he entered one of
the tipis.
They placed before him some meat. He began to chew the meat. He thought of
his knife. He went back to the stone, and as he took the knife the stone
said: "Why do you take the knife away from me_ I am now going to kill
you."
Then the stone ran after the Coyote. Coyote ran and came to a den of
Bears. He told the Bears that a person was running after him and he asked
them to help him. The Bears said that they were not afraid of anything.
They asked what the thing was, and he said it was the stone. The Bears
said: "Keep on running.
We can not do anything with the stone." The stone was close to Coyote when
he came up to another den of Mountain-Lions. They also told Coyote to pass
on, as they could not do anything for him. After a while Coyote came to a
Buffalo standing all alone, but when the Buffalo found out that it was the
stone running after Coyote he told him to pass on.
At last Coyote came to a place where the Bull-Bats stayed. Coyote said:
"Grandchildren, there is a person running after me." The Bull-Bats then
said: "Enter our lodge and remain there."[146] When the stone came rolling
up it said: "Where is that person who came here_" The Bull-Bats did not
reply and the stone became angry.
Then the Bull-Bats said: "He is here and we are going to protect him." The
Bull-Bats flew up and then down, and they expelled flatus on the stone.
Every time they did this a piece broke off from the stone. The largest
Bull-Bat came down and expelled flatus right on the center and broke the
stone into pieces. Then the Coyote was told to come out and go on his way.
Coyote started off, and when he got over the hills he turned around and
yelled at the Bull-Bats and said: "All you big-nosed funny things, how you
did behave to that stone." The Bull-Bats heard it and did not pay any
attention, but he kept on making fun of them. Then the Bull-Bats flew up
in a group, and came down, and with their wings they got the stones
together again and started it to rolling, and said: "Go and kill that
fellow."
The stone then ran after Coyote and Coyote tried to get away, but he could
not. At last he gave out. He jumped over a steep bank and the stone was
right behind him. As Coyote struck the bottom, the stone fell on him and
killed him. This is why we used to find dead coyotes in the hills and
valleys.
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