446 COYOTE TALES. 
the Beavers, and some of them ran away into the water. Coyote then 
went up and brought his children and they took the Beavers up to their 
lodge. There they skinned them and had plenty toeat. After they had 
eaten all their meat they tried to play the same trick on the Beavers 
again, but the Beavers would not listen to Coyote any more. 
126. COYOTE AND THE ROLLING STONE.’ 
Coyote was going along, and as he had not had anything to eat for 
some time he was very hungry. In the evening he went to a high hill and 
sat down. Early the next morning he started again. He came to a big 
round stone. He took out his knife and said: ‘‘Grandfather, this knife 
Igivetoyouasapresent. Iwant you tohelp me to get something to eat.’’ 
Coyote went over a hill, and there in the bottom was a village of people. 
He went into the village and he could see meat hanging on poles every- 
where in the camp. He went into one of the tipis and the people in the 
tipi roasted a piece of meat for him. Just as he was about to taste of the 
meat he thought of his knife and said: ‘‘ Why did I give my knife to that 
stone? I should have kept it and then I should have been able to cut the 
meat without having to pull it with my hands.”’ He asked to be excused 
and went out. Hewenttowherethestone was. Hesaid: ‘‘Grandfather, 
I will have to take back this knife, for I have found a village of people with 
plenty of meat.’’ He went over the hills and into the bottom, but there 
was no village there. Coyote went back and returned the knife to the 
stone. He went back over the hills and there saw the village and he 
entered one of the tipis. They placed before him some meat. He began 
tochew the meat. He thought of his knife. He went back to the stone, 
and as he took the knife the stone said: ‘‘Why do you take the knife 
away from me? Iam now going to kill you.”’ Then the stone ran after 
the Coyote. Coyote ran and came to aden of Bears. He told the Bears 
that a person was running after him and he asked them to help him. The 
Bears said that they were not afraid of anything. They asked what the 
thing was, and he said it was the stone. The Bears said: ‘‘ Keep on run- 
ning. Wecan not do anything with the stone.’’ The stone was close to 
Coyote when he came up to another den of Mountain-Lions. They also 
told Coyote to pass on, as they could not do anything for him. After 
a while Coyote came to a Buffalo standing all alone, but when the Buffalo 
found out that it was the stone running after Coyote he told him to pass on. 
1 Told by Leading-Sun, Kitkehahki. The story is told to the children so that 
when they give presents to stones, trees, or any other thing they must never take 
them away again; that if they took away the presents something would happen to 
them and cause their death. 
