PARSONS] SPANISH TALES 419 



Fox said to him, "Akuwam poyo!" "Hello, friend!" He did not 

 answer him. Then he walked up to him and he said to Coyote old 

 man, "Friend, while I take the feathers off your chicken, go in and 

 tell yonr children to get ready." While Coyote went in to tell his 

 children they had a tender chicken to eat, Fox ran away with it. He 

 went into a bush and ate up the chicken. Then he ran out. Coyote 

 old man was coming after him. Fox said to himself, "If Coyote 

 catches me, he will eat me up." He was so full he could not run. At 

 last he reached a mesa which ran north and south. It was afternoon 

 and the shadow was long. He stood there with his paws up against 

 the mesa, holding it. Then Coyote old man came and said, "Fox, 

 you ate up my chicken. You have left my children starving. I am 

 going to eat you up." Fox said to him, "No, friend, I am holding up 

 this mesa. I am afraid if it falls on top of me it will Idll me." Coyote 

 old man came near and said, "All right, I will not do anything to you 

 because you are keeping the mesa from falling." "Help me to hold 

 it up," said Fox. "Look up and you will see how it may faU." The 

 clouds were passing and made it look as if it were falling. Coyote 

 looked up. "It looks dangerous," he said, " as if it were going to 

 fall." So he began to help to hold it up, and every time he looked 

 up, it looked dangerous. Fox said, "Well, friend, I am very thirsty. 

 I will go and get a drink and a little rest and then I will come back 

 and you can go." "AU right," said Coyote old man. Then Fox ran 

 away and Coyote stood there, holding the mesa, and eveiy time he 

 looked up it seemed as if it was going to fall. At last he got tired, and 

 he ran away hard so as not to be Idlled. 



He ran after Fox. "Whenever I catch him, I am going to eat him 

 up," he said. He tracked him. At last Fox got to a deserted village. 

 He was looking around to see what he could find to eat. He came 

 to a hole in which was a nest of bumblebees. One came out and stung 

 him on the mouth. He was crying. Then he got a stick and poked 

 it in at them, making them mad. Now up came Coyote. He said, 

 "Fox, I am going to eat you up for letting me hold that mesa up." 

 "No, friend," said Fox. " I am a great man now. You see all these 

 houses. All the people have chosen me to be schoolmaster." He 

 had a long stick. "Look, my friend!" he said. He poked at the 

 bees. "Now read!" he said, and they began to bumble. "They are 

 reading now," he said. "It is very hard. I have so many children. 

 How would you like to be teacher with me? When we are paid we 

 will divide every tiling." "All right, my friend, I'll help you." Then 

 Fox took the stick again and poked them harder. They made a 

 louder noise. "Here is your pointer," he said, "make them read; do 

 not let them play." So Coyote took the stick. Fox said, "I am 

 goiog into the next room to teach the other children." Then he ran 

 away. Coyote began to poke, he poked them haider and harder. At 



