Page:Myths and Legends of British North America.djvu/215

 nine." Fox still went on eating. Coyote was very lazy. He saw Fox eating the rabbits, and he kept talking about them. He kept asking Fox to spare some for him. At last he said, "Spare me half a rabbit, anyway." But Fox ate every scrap.

Fox could hardly move when he had eaten all those rabbits. Coyote was very hungry, and he suddenly became very wide awake. Coyote said, "I will settle with that fellow," and he followed Fox's trail. Soon he came upon Fox sleeping in the shade of a thick fir tree. Coyote, by his magic, made that tree fall on Fox. "Now I guess we are square," said Coyote.

But the tree was so branchy that the trunk never came anywhere near Fox. He crawled out from among the branches and walked away. Coyote followed close after him.

Soon Fox reached a place where the rye grass, or wild redtop, was very thick and tall. He crept into the middle of it and went to sleep. Coyote set fire to the grass, but Fox waked up and set back fires, so Coyote's fire did not reach him.

Then Fox went on again until he came to a reedy place, where hares were many. Coyote set fire to the reeds, saying, "Fox will burst in the fire." But when the fire spread, the hares ran out and Coyote was so busy clubbing some of them that Fox ran out also,