Free American Indian Trickster Tales (Myths and Legends) by Richard Erdoes, Alfonso Ortiz Page B

deception, become angry and said, “It was that old Coyote who played this trick on us.”

TWO RASCALS AND THEIR WIVES
    {Pueblo}

    There was a hill. Old Man Coyote lived on one side of it, Old Man Beaver and his wife lived on the other. So they were neighbors. They were friends, but Old Man Coyote loved to play tricks even upon friends. One day he went over to Old Man Beaver’s place. Beaver said: “Come in friend, sit down by the fireplace. Have a smoke.”

    “Thank you, brother,” said Old Man Coyote. “I’ve had an idea—let’s you and I go out hunting rabbits. You go hunting over to the west, I will go toward the east. The rabbits I’ll catch I’ll bring to your wife. The rabbits you catch, you’ll bring to my wife.”
    “All right,” Old Man Beaver agreed, “but why should I bring my rabbits to your wife, and why should you bring your rabbits to my wife?”
    “Brother, I hate to say this, but you’re slow-witted. Don’t you get it? This way we will swap wives. Wife-swapping is fun. You’ll bring lots of rabbits to my wife. She will be so overjoyed that she will love to copulate with you. And your wife will be so glad with the rabbits I shall be bringing her, that, right away, she will want to sleep with me. This will be fun!”
    “I never thought of this,” said Old Man Beaver. “Well, all right, I’ll get my rabbit stick.”
    Old Man Coyote was always in the mood to copulate. He knew that Old Man Beaver was not as eager to do it. He did it only once in a while. Also Old Man Coyote knew that Beaver was not a very good hunter. How could he be, always swimming around in a pond and eating nothing but twigs and saplings? So Old Man Coyote was very sure of himself.
    Old Man Coyote and Old Man Beaver went off to hunt early in the morning. Beaver Woman was full of anticipation. She was singing a little song:
    “Old Man Coyote,
come soon
with many rabbits.
Old Man Coyote,
you’re such a great lover,
Old Man Coyote,
sleep with me. ”
    Old Man Coyote came back very late. He had not caught a single rabbit. He went to Old Man Beaver’s house. Beaver Woman scolded him: “You braggart, always boasting of what a great hunter you are. You brought me nothing to eat. I won’t sleep with a no-good fellow like you. Get out!”
    Old Man Coyote was not very happy. He went over to his own place. Old Man Beaver was already there. He had brought a whole sack full of rabbits. He and Coyote Woman had eaten their fill until they could not eat a single mouthful more. Old Man Beaver was already copulating with Coyote Woman. She was crying out loud: “Agh, agh, agh!”
    Old Man Coyote was sitting outside, in front of the door, listening. He called out: “Oh, oh, brother Beaver, don’t hurt my wife!”
    Coyote Woman called back: “Old Man Coyote, you fool! I’m crying because I like it!” Old Man Beaver and Coyote Woman did it several times. They couldn’t stop themselves.
    Finally they were done. Old Man Beaver came out of the house. He told Old Man Coyote: “Brother, don’t complain. This was your idea!”

COYOTE SLEEPS WITH HIS OWN DAUGHTERS
    { Southern Ute }

    Coyote had two daughters and a son, a little boy. One evening Coyote was lying on his blanket. It was raining and the roof of his shelter was leaking. Water dripped on Coyote and he got wet. He told one of his daughters to climb up and fix it. While she was doing this he caught sight of her exposed vulva. Coyote became excited and amorous. He felt his penis stirring. He said to himself: “Oh, this looks nice and juicy. I want to copulate with her soon.” Then he told his other daughter: “Climb up there and fix the leak!” As she did so, Coyote got a glimpse of her vulva. “Oh, how lovely and red,” he said to himself. “I must copulate with her too.” The thought made his penis stand up. He thought: “How can I do this with these girls, my daughters? It is forbidden to a man to sleep with his own kin.” After a while he told himself: