BussKLL] NURSERY TALES 243 



get some mescal." So they did, and waited all day lonji; till simset, 

 when she usuall}' came, but she did not come. Then they said, "She 

 has gone far and has a heavy load and is waiting for u.s to come and 

 help her; let us go." But the oldest boy said, "No, she will come 

 anj'way, she always does, even if she has a heavy load." So they 

 waited till night, and gave her up, and went into the house to sleep; 

 but they kei)t their sandals on, as the Fimas always ditl, so they coidd 

 start oir quickly if there were danger. 



In their sleep they heard her coming in her sandals, groaning and 

 murmuring, so they all got uj) and went outtloors. They heard her 

 go and look into the fire pit, and then come and stand in their midst. 

 One said, "I think it is a ghost; " so they turned to the right and ran 

 arountl the ki, and she followed them around and around. Finally 

 the}' all went inside, still pursued, and the cliildren stooil on each side 

 of the door and turned into stone. And the woman went away. 



COYOTE AND THE QUAILS 



Once Coyote was sleeping very soundly and a great number of quails 

 came along and cut pieces of fat meat out of him; then they went on. 

 Just as they were cooking the meat Coyote overtook them and said, 

 "Oh, where did you get that nice fat meat? Give me some.". They 

 gave him some, and after he had eaten all he wanted he went on. 

 When he had gone a little way, the quails called after him, "Coyote, 

 you ate j^our own meat." 



■'What tlid you say? " 



"Oh, nothing; we heard something calling behind the mountains." 



Presently they called again, "Covote, you ate your own meat." 



"What?"" 



"Oh, nothing; we heard somebody pounding his grinding stone." 



So Coyote went on; but finally he felt his loss, and then he knew 

 what the quails meant. So he said he would eat them up, and turned 

 around after them. The quails flew above ground, and Coyote ran 

 under them. Finally the quails got tired, but Coyote tlid not, for he 

 was angry and did not feel fatigue. 



By and by they came to a hole, and one of the smartest quails picked 

 a cholla cactus branch and pushed it into the hole, and they all ran in 

 after it. Coyote dug out the hole, and when he came to the first quail 

 he said, "Was it you that told me I ate my own meat? " "No," said 

 the quail, so he let him go, and he flew away. The next one he asked 

 the same question and received the same reply, and let him go; and 

 so on till the last quail was gone, and he came to the cactus branch. 

 Tlus was so covered with feathers that it looked like a (piail, and the 

 Coyote asked it the same question. There was no answer, and Coyote 

 said, "I know it was you, becau.se you do not answer." So he bit 

 into it very hard and it killed him. 



