PARSONS] SPANISH TALES 423 



come back is that they have dropped a big cheese in the river. I 

 wonder could you take it up. You are bigger than me." He said, 

 "Well, we are waiting for meat, what should we do?" "Let us take 

 the cheese out first, then we can come back and get our meat." "All 

 light, let's go." When they got to the river. Fox said to Coyote old 

 man, "Did I not tell you the truth? There is a big cheese down there. 

 Can you see it?" Coyote old man said, "Cheese! that is a big one, 

 how are we going to get it now?" Fox said, "You can think better 

 than me. WTiat do you think we ought to do?" Coyote old man, 

 as he was always wanting to be the first to eat, said, "I am going to 

 jump in and get it and you pull me out." So Fox said, "All right, but 

 let me tie a wire around your neck so I can pull you out if you can not 

 get out. The cheese seems to be pretty big." So he tied the wire 

 around his neck. He said, "I am going to tie a stone around the other 

 end, so the stone \\ill help me puU you up." Coyote old man jumped 

 into the river and then Fox threw the other end of the wire with the 

 stone on it into the river, too. So Coyote old man stayed in the river 

 forever with his cheese (which was the moon shining in the river). 

 Gaw'jkiemu, you have a tail.'' 



30. The Skeleton who Fell Down Piece by Piece 



There was a boy living with his mother and brothers. They all 

 went out to look for work and the boy found an empty house and he 

 went to sleep there that night. From the top of the house he heard, 

 "I am going to fall." "W^eli, fall!" An arm came down. "I am 

 going to fall!" Another arm came down. Soon there stood there 

 a whole skeleton. "You are a brave boy, won't you wrestle with 

 me?" "Wrestle with a bony man Uke you!" They wrestled 

 together and the boy beat and threw down the skeleton. "You 

 are a brave boy and I am going to let you have all the riches I have 

 here." So the skeleton gave the boy a candle to light so he could go 

 into a little room where the skeleton kept his gold and silver. Then 

 the skeleton jumped on the boy's back and said, "You got to carry 

 me." "All right, I will carry you." AVhen they got to the room. 

 Skeleton blew- out the candle. The boy said, "I want to see what 

 your riches are," and he Ut the candle again. Just as he was about 

 to see the money, the dead man blew out the light. Finally the boy 

 got mad and threw down the skeleton and said, "If you are going to 

 blow out the light, I will break your bones." "No, my friend, leave 

 me alone, for I think you are a brave boy." When he lit the candle, 

 he saw the money. The dead person said, "I am going to ask one 



" " Mexican or Indian story? " I asked. " Indian story," and the narrator added that it was told to 

 lazy children. A child might say, " I do not want to depend on any one. I rather work. They might 

 throw me in the river like Coyote old man." 



