40) KAROK FABLES. 
once got so conceited that he thought he could dance with the stars, and 
so he asked one of them to fly close to the top of a mountain and take him 
by the paw, and let him dance once around through the sky. The star 
only laughed at him and winked its eye, but the next night when it came 
around, it sailed close to the mountain and took the coyote by the paw, 
and flew away with him through the sky. But the foolish coyote soon grew 
tired of dancing this way, and could not wait for the star to come around 
to the mountain again. He looked down at the earth and it seemed quite 
near to him, and as the star could not wait or fly low just then, he let go 
and leaped down. Poor coyote! he was ten whole snows in falling, and 
when he struck the earth he was smashed as flat as a willow mat. 
Another one, not taking warning from this dreadful example, asked a 
star to let him dance once round through the sky. The star tried to dissuade 
him from the foolhardy undertaking, but it was of no avail; the silly ani- 
mal would not be convinced. Every night when the star came around, he 
would squat on top of a mountain and bark until the star grew tired of his 
noise. So one night it sailed close down to the mountain and told the 
coyote to be quick for it could not wait, and up he jumped and caught it 
with his paw, and went dancing away through the great blue heaven. He, 
too, soon grew tired, and asked the star to stop and let him rest a little 
while. But the star told him it could not stop, for Kareya had made it to 
keep on moving all the while. Then he tried to get on the star and ride, 
but it was too small. Thus he was compelled to keep on dancing, dangling 
down from one paw, and one piece of his body after another dropped off 
until there was only one paw left hanging to the star. 
The interpretation of these fables is not difficult. That one about the 
coyotes dancing with the stars manifestly took its origin from the Indians 
observing meteors or shooting-stars. A falling star is one which is sailing 
down to the mountain to take on board the adventurous beast, while the 
large meteor which bursts in mid-heaven with visible sparks falling from it, 
is the unlucky eronaut dropping down limb by limb. Probably that one 
concerning the origin of salmon hints at some ancient obstruction in the 
mouth of the Klamath, a cataract or something of the sort, which prevented 
the fish from ascending. The fable respecting the origin of fire, like the 
