RUSSELL] NURSERY TALES 245 



"They like little doves." 



"Then I will turn into a little dove." 



He did this and she eanied him iiome in her basket. The Apaches 

 asked, "What is that?" and .she replied, "The young of a dove; so I 

 brought it hom(>." But when the Apaches left the room they could 

 hear her talking to it, and when they came in she would be still. They 

 could not understand the words but knew she was speaking her own 

 language,so they said, "This thing belongs to her tribe. Let us kill it." 



So they went in and the chief took it in one hand and smashed it 

 haril with the other and the pieces came through between his fingers. 

 These pieces tlien flew up out of the smoke hole and turned into a flock 

 of hawks, and tliey fell upon the Apaches and beat them all to death 

 with their wings. 



Then they turnetl back into the boy again and he and his mother 

 started hom(>. But when they reached the place where the gran<l- 

 mother had turned back they could go no farther. They turned into 

 saguaros, one on each side of the road. 



THE BIRDS AND THE FLOOD 



\Vlien the waters covered all the earth two birds were hanging 

 onto the sky with their beaks. The larger was gray with a long 

 tail and beak; the smaller was the tiny bird that builds its nest like 

 an olla, with only a very .small opening to get in. The larger one 

 cried and cried, but the other just held on tight and said, "Don't 

 cry. You see that I'm littler than you, but I'm very brave. I 

 don't give up so easily as you do. I trust in God; He will take care 

 of those in danger if they trust in Him."" 



DEATH OF Cf)YOTE 



After the waters had gone down Elder Brother said to Coyote, 

 "Don't touch that black bug, and do not eat the mesc(uite beans; it 

 is dangerous to harm anything that came safe through the ilood." 

 So Coyote went on, but presently he came to the bug, and he stopped 

 and ate it up. Then he went on to the mcscpiite beans and looked 

 at them and said, "I will just taste one, and that will be all." But 

 he stood there and ate and ate till they were ail gone. And the 

 beans swelled up in liis stomach and killed him. 



THE BLUEBIRD AND COYOTE 



The bluebird was once a very ugly color. But there was a lake 

 where no river flowed in or out, and the bird bathed in this four 

 times every morning for four mornings. Every morning it sang: 



Ga'to setcu'anon ima rsonga. 



Gunaiiursa, 

 Wus'sikS. fivany Icctcrnona. 



a This sentence is clearly inspired by Christian teachings. 



