THERE WAS A VILLAGE WHERE Eagle was chief. Coyote was there too. He was a good talker and knew everything. Prairie Falcon was there. He was fierce. The large owl and the small ground owl were medicine men and they lived there too. Panther was there. He was a good hunter. Weasel, Fox and Magpie lived there also. They were gamblers. Many others lived there.
Every day the hunters, Eagle and Prairie Falcon and Panther, went out for rabbits. Coyote brought wood to every house, but he never went hunting. When the hunters came back they gave Coyote the entrails. He took them home and breathed on them and they became rabbits again.
The gamblers played every day at the gambling ground with the hoop and stick.
One day a small, black-eared rabbit came near the village and Coyote went out to meet him. He took him over to Eagle’s lodge. The rabbit had food with him, pine nuts and some seeds. He gave all this to Eagle.
The next morning Rabbit went out and began gambling with Fox. Rabbit won everything. He won all of Weasel’s beads. He won everything that Magpie had. He won everything the gamblers had. No one had anything left.
Coyote was standing there but he wasn’t gambling. He was an advisor.
They stopped gambling that night because no one had anything to bet, but the next morning they started up again. This time Rabbit began gambling with Prairie Falcon. Prairie Falcon won everything Rabbit had. He won everything that Rabbit had won the day before, even the beads that Eagle had given Rabbit for the food.
“I don’t have anything left,” said Rabbit.
“Play with your ear,” said Prairie Falcon.
Rabbit agreed and Prairie Falcon won his ear. He cut it off. “Try with the other ear,” he said and Rabbit said he would.
“Wait,” Coyote said. “I will be right back.”
Coyote went off to Prairie Falcon’s lodge where his wife was working on a basket. He changed himself to look like Prairie Falcon. He leaned in the door, “Wife, give me my ball.”
“Where is it?”
“It is there by my pillow.”
She couldn’t find it. “Come and get it yourself.”
Coyote came into the house, lifted up the pillow and there was the ball. He pointed it out to his wife and when she looked over he grabbed her and took her down on the bed where he had intercourse with her.
Prairie Falcon began to lose.
Rabbit won everything back again. He won everything he had lost. He won everything Prairie Falcon had to bet.
Coyote came back and asked how the betting was going.