Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter by Barry Holstun Lopez

Author:Barry Holstun Lopez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Coyote and Beaver Exchange Wives

Old Coyote and Old Coyote Woman lived on one side of the hill and, over on the other side. Old Beaver and Old Beaver Woman were living. They visited each other every night. One night it was snowing hard and Coyote thought, “I’ll go over and invite my brother Beaver to go hunting.” He told his wife, “I’m going over to see Beaver and tell him we’re going hunting. And we’re going to make plans to exchange wives, too.”

He went over to Beaver’s place. When he got there he called out, “Hello!” Beaver answered, “Hello, come in and sit down.”

They sat together by the fireplace and had a smoke.

Coyote said, “I came over to tell you we are going hunting. If we kill any rabbits, we’ll bring them back to our wives. I shall bring mine to your wife and you bring yours to my wife.”

“All right.”

“You must go first.”

“No,” said Beaver. “You go first. This is your invitation. You invited me.”

“All right. I’ll go early in the morning.”

Then Coyote turned to Old Beaver Woman and said, “I’m going hunting for you tomorrow. Then we’ll spend the night together.”

This pleased Old Beaver Woman. “I’ll sing the song so you will kill many rabbits,” she said.

The next day Old Beaver Woman began fixing everything for supper and singing the hunting song. She wanted to be ready for Coyote when he got back. It got late and Coyote wasn’t back. Old Beaver Woman waited and waited. She was sitting near the fireplace singing,

Old Coyote, Old Coyote, come sleep with me.

Come have intercourse with me.

Ai-oo-ai-oo (making a sound like Coyote makes).

Old Beaver said to her, “What are you singing that for? He won’t kill anything. He’s no hunter.” Beaver Woman waited and waited. Coyote didn’t kill anything. He never came.

The next day it was Old Beaver’s turn to go hunting. He went to tell Old Coyote Woman to wait for him, that he was going to hunt rabbits for her and then they would spend the night together. “All right,” she said. “I’ll be waiting.”

Old Beaver went out and killed so many rabbits he could hardly carry them all. He came back to Coyote’s house that night and walked in saying, “Old Coyote Woman, here are the rabbits!”

She took them and said, “Thank you, thank you Old Beaver.”

They went straight into the inner room and Old Man Coyote was left in the front room by himself. Later they all ate dinner together. Coyote was angry. When he finished his dinner he went to bed.

Old Beaver was having intercourse with Coyote Woman in the next room that night and she cried out. “Old Beaver!” yelled Coyote. “Don’t hurt my wife!”

Old Coyote Woman answered, “Shut up Old Man Coyote! I am crying out because I like it.”

When they were through making love, Old Beaver came over to Coyote’s sleeping place. “We want to be friends,” he said. “We don’t want bad feelings between us. This was your plan. I shall always be at my house whenever you want to visit.

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