March, 1905. The Traditions of the Hopi — Voth. 185 



talked together nearly all forenoon, the Coyote said he was going 

 home to eat his dinner, and, uncoiling his long tail, he went up the 

 ladder, saying to the Snake : " Now, whenever you feel that way, come 

 and visit me too again sometime," which the Snake promised to do. 

 As the Coyote went over to his kiva dragging his long tail after him, 

 he looked around and smilingly said to himself, "Aha, he did not find 

 out, because he did not say anything about my tail." When he 

 came into his kiva he went around coiling up his tail, and then untied 

 it from his natural tail. 



By and by the Snake went over to visit his friend, the Coyote, 

 again. The latter, who had been looking for this visit, had been very 

 much concerned about it, fearing that his friend might all at once 

 come when he had his tail detached from his natural tail, and so was 

 always on the lookout. Hence he saw his friend coming, and had 

 time enough to put his tail in order again, and when the Snake arrived 

 at the kiva he was sitting at the fireplace, ready to receive his friend. 

 The latter began to enter, but as he had been growing considerably 

 since his last visit, and a part of the kiva was filled with the Coyote's 

 tail, he did not find room enough for his whole body. "I have been 

 growing since I have been here last, and cannot get into this kiva 

 now." "All right, let me go out," the Coyote said, "and I can talk 

 to you from the outside while you are in the kiva. You might get 

 cold out there." So the Coyote went out, circled around a number 

 of times outside the kiva, coiling up his tail, and then took a seat near 

 the kiva opening, conversing with his friend, the Water Serpent. By 

 and by he got cold and began to wish that his friend would go home, 

 but the latter remained. The Coyote finally got very cold and began 

 to be secretly angry at his friend because he tarried so long. At last the 

 latter said: "Now I must go home and eat my dinner." The Snake 

 had not yet entirely left the kiva when the Coyote, who was very cold, 

 rushed in and warmed himself. He was out of humor about the 

 matter, and made up his mind to try to get even with his friend. " I 

 am going to pay him back," he said to himself. So, after he had eaten 

 his dinner, he thought a great deal about the matter, and in the 

 evening went to the timber again. He brought another armful of 

 dry cedar bark and some yucca, and made another long addition to 

 his tail in the same manner as before, only this time he made it con- 

 siderably thicker. When it was done it filled his kiva entirely. He 

 had so well covered it with hair and wool from his body that he 

 thought nobody would know that it was not natural. 



As the Snake had invited the Coyote at his last visit to visit him 

 too, sometime again, the Coyote planned to go over to his friend, but 



