246 THE PIMA INDIANS [eth. ann. 26 



(There's a blue water, it lies there. 



I went in, 

 I am all blue, i 



On the fourth morning it shed all its feathers and came out in its 

 bare skin, but on the fifth morning it canie out with blue feathers. 



All this while Coyote had been watching the bird; he wanted to 

 jump in and get it, but was afraid of the water. But on that morn- 

 ing he said, "How is tliis all your ugly color has come out of you, 

 and now you are all blue and gay and beautiful? You are more 

 beautiful than anything that fhes in the air. I want to be blue, too." 

 Coyote was at that time a bright green. "I only went in four times," 

 said the bird; and it taught Coyote the song, and he went in four 

 times, and the fifth time he came out as blue as the little bird. 



That made him feel very proud, because he turned into a blue 

 coyote. He was so proud that as he walked along he looked about 

 on every side to see if anyone was noticing how fine and blue he was. 

 He looked to see if liis shadow was blue, too, and so he was not 

 watclung the road, and presently he ran into a stump so hard that 

 it threw him down in tlie cUrt and he became dust-colored all over. 

 And to this day all coyotes are the color of dirt. 



THE BOY AND THE BEAST 



Once an old woman lived WTth her daughter, son-in-law, and grand- 

 son. They were following the trail of the Apaches. Whenever a 

 Pima sees the track of an Apache he draws a ring aroimd it with a 

 stick, and then he can catch him sooner. But at night while they 

 were asleep the Apaches came and grasped the man and woman by 

 the hair and shook them out of their skins as one would shake com 

 out of a sack, and the old woman and the boy were left alone. They 

 had to live on berries, but in one place a strange beast, big enough 

 to swallow people, camped by the bushes. The grandmother told 

 the boy not to go there, but he disobeyed her; he took some very 

 sharp stones in his hands and went. As he came near the animal 

 began to breathe and the boy just went inside of him and was swal- 

 lowed all up. But with his sharp stones he cut the intestines of the 

 beast so that he died. Wlien the grantlmother came to hunt for 

 the boy he came out to meet her and said, "I have killed the animal." 



"Oh, no; such a little boy as you are to kill such a dangerous 

 beast!" 



"But I was inside of him; just look at the stones I cut him with." 



Then she went up softly and saw the holes and believed. And 

 after that they moved down among the berries and had all they 

 wanted to eat. 



