Wen-ter – once upon a time – long ago, six deer were lying in the sand talking and resting.
"Let us go up on the mountain top and dance," suggested one of the deer .
"All right," said the others, and they went to a broad sandy place on the mountain top and began to dance and sing:
Mr. Coyote heard the deer singing, so he ran up on the mountain.
"Good-day, Messrs. Deer, how happy and cheerful you sound. Let me dance with you."
"I am sorry," replied the Chief of the Deer, "but nobody can dance with us who hasn't antlers on his head."
"Won't you make me some antlers, so that I can dance?" asked Mr. Coyote.
"Won't you make me some antlers?"
"Certainly, I can do that," replied Deer-Chief. So he took a sharp stone and sharpened the ends of two sticks; and then he hammered the sharp ends of the sticks into the coyote's head to make antlers for him.
Then Mr. Coyote joined in the dance, expecting very soon to grab one of the little deer and run away with it; but he only danced around the circle once before he dropped in a faint from the sticks in his head.
He rolled over and over down the mountain side until he was covered with bruises, and he had to rub himself with herbs for many moons.
This chapter has been put on-line as part of the
BUILD-A-BOOK Initiative at the
Celebration of Women Writers.
Initial text entry and proof-reading of this chapter were the work of volunteer
Ann and Neil Piche.
