Some time after the coyotes had fought over the 
jack-rabbit the quails came upon a fine scaly 
lizard basking on a little flat stone about the size 
of a thick pancake. A roadrunner came up 
just then and made a rush at the lizard because 
he liked to eat lizards as much as any food he 
knew about. The lizard dodged under the 
stone, and as the roadrunner struck at it his head 
hit a cactus plant, one of the spines of which 
stuck in his nose. The fat leaf on which the 
spine grew broke from the plant and the road- 
runner backed away, tossing his head about to 
throw off the spiny thing, while the lizard came 
out from his hiding place and scampered away 
as fast as he could run. 
The roadrunner finally knocked the cactus 
leaf off with one of his feet and walking up to the 
stone, turned it over, not doubting for a moment 
that a plump and juicy lizard was waiting there 
for him to eat. However, he was used to having 
lizards play tricks on him, and as there were 
many of them about he probably caught all 
that he wanted before the day was over. 
Snakes are often met with in the desert coun- 
200 
