ONCE WHEN COYOTE WAS coming along he found Rabbit making a sack.
“What is this sack for, Rabbit?”
“I am making this sack to keep myself from being killed when the hailstorm comes this afternoon.”
“My friend, you are very good at this. You make fine sacks. Give me this one and make another one for yourself.”
Coyote got into the bag and Rabbit hung him in a tree where he would be safe. Then Rabbit yelled as though the hail were coming and he began pelting Coyote with rocks. Coyote was in great pain but he put up with it. Finally he fell from the tree and got his head out of the bag and saw that it was only Rabbit throwing rocks at him.
Rabbit ran off. Coyote was very angry and when he got out of the bag he chased after Rabbit.
Coyote found Rabbit lying down chewing on some soft gum. He said, “What are you chewing? What is this for?”
“It will be very hot today,” said Rabbit. “I am chewing this gum to make spectacles to protect my eyes. Otherwise the sun will hurt them.”
“Let me have this pair. You know how to make them. You can make yourself another pair.”
“Very well,” said Rabbit and gave the eye-shields to Coyote.
Rabbit adjusted the eye-shields until Coyote could not see anything at all. Then he set fire to the brush all around Coyote and ran off. Coyote got his fur badly singed in the fire and the gum melted all over his face and stuck in his hair.
He started out to catch Rabbit again and said he would kill him as soon as he saw him.
When he found him, Rabbit was sitting in front of a beehive.
“Rabbit, I am going to kill you.”
“You must not kill me. I am teaching these children.”
The hive was closed and Coyote could not see into it.
“Who is in there?”
“If you wish to see inside you must teach for a while while I take a rest. When it is dinner time you must hit the hive with this club until they come out. Just keep hitting. They don’t hear very well.”
Coyote sat there for a long time telling the people he thought were in the hive all about the times he had been in battle and what a great warrior he was. When dinner time came he hit the hive so hard it broke in two. The bees came out and stung him all over until he was all puffed up.
“I’m going to kill you before you can say another word,” he yelled and ran after Rabbit. He was so mad he was biting his tongue and walking into rocks.
Rabbit came to a field of watermelons. In the middle of the field there was a stick figure made of gum. Rabbit hit it with his foot and got stuck. He got his other foot stuck, then one hand and then his other hand and finally his head. This is how Coyote found him.
“What are you doing like this?” asked Coyote.
“The farmer who owns this melon patch was mad because I would not eat melons with him. He stuck me on here and said that in a while he would make me eat chicken with him. I told him I wouldn’t do it.”
“You are foolish. I will take your place.”
Coyote pulled Rabbit free and stuck himself up in the gum trap. When the fanner who owned the melons came out and saw Coyote he shot him full of holes.