Stories of the Cahto Tribe
Coyote Tricks the Girls
(This is a line-by-line translation (within the limits of English readability)
There was a fire, they say.
The fire was on top of a rock, they say.
She poured buckeyes down on the fire place, they say.
They were covered up with soil, they say.
She took them out, they say.
She soaked them, they say.
Coyote floated there in a basket cradle, they say.
"Whose baby is floating here?" they asked, they say.
She took it out of the water, they say.
She took the baby out with the basket cradle, they say
They baby cried, they say.
Merganser carried it around, they say.
It stopped crying, they say.
It was evening, they say.
They slept, they say.
She put down the baby (in the cradle), they say.
It was early morning, they say.
It was just before dawn, they say.
He went back, they say.
"What did you eat?
Your bellies are big."
May you die, Coyote!"
That is all.
Professor Goddard's Translation
Upon the stones in the fireplace the young women poured down the buckeyes and covered them with soil. When they were cooked they took them out and soaked the flour obtained by pounding them.
Coyote was floating as a baby in a baby-basket.
"Somebody's baby is floating," one said. They took up the basket with the baby. It cried. White duck carried it about to quiet it.
When it was dark they put it down and went to sleep. As soon as the east reddened Coyote went home.
"What have you eaten that your stomachs are so big?" they were asked.
When they understood that they were pregnant, they cried, "May you die, Coyote."
(Based on Cahto oral traditions and beliefs)
| Return to Cahto Story index page |