Ouch! That's My Bill

December 21, 2024

English translation of the story “Ana! pam imotsovu”.

          On the south side of the village of Old Oraibi lived a coyote. He was always hunting or looking for something to eat. At times he would get lucky and find things at the nearby landfill, which was known to the people of the village as Qötsaptsomo (Ash Hill). One day as he was wondering around the area, he come to a small brown wren who was jumping around keeping himself happy.

          The coyote asked him if they could be friends, and the wren agreed. After they had become friends, they did not know what to do, so they decided to play hid-and-seek. The wren told the coyote to close his eyes and count from one to twenty, then off he flew to hide.

          As soon as the coyote finished counting in his deep voice, he went out to look for his friend, the wren. When he did not find the wren, he decided to look for something to eat, so he went to Ash Hill. When he got to Ask Hill, he found a nice sharp needle. “Oh great! I found a needle, now I can have my grandmother sew my little blanket for me.” He then pulled it out and it spoke to him! “Ouch, ouch, ouch, that’s my bill, that’s my bill!” Then the wren had buried himself among the rubbish and that is where the coyote found him.

          So then, it was the coyotes turn to go hide, and as gullible as the coyote was, he buried himself among the rubbish and waited. Then the wren knew that his friend would hide in the same manner as he did, so without making an effort to look for the coyote, the wren pretended to be looking for him. When enough time had passed, he went over to where the coyote was buried and said, “Oh good! I found a small saucepan I’ll take it to my grandmother so she can put parched corn in it and I can take it around with me.”

          Then the wren pulled it out it was the coyote’s snout. “Ouch, ouch, ouch, that’s my snout, that’s my snout!” he shouted in his deep voice. So that is how the wren found the coyote.

          So it may be that the two friends are still playing the game of hide-and go-seek.

                                                                                  The End