Kachina Tales from the Indian Pueblos by Gene Meany Hodge

Author:Gene Meany Hodge [Неизвестный]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-05-10T12:05:00+00:00

Id Woman had a Taw-KawKaw Cock which she kept alone so that he would not fight the others. He was very large, like a turkey, with a fine sleek head, and a bristle-brush on his breast like a turkey-cock's, too. i~

She had him in a corral of tall, close-set stakes, sharp at the top and wattled together with strips of rawhide, like an eagle-cage. It had, too, a wicket fastened with rawhide. Now, try as he would, the Cock could not fly out; and he was hungry for worms and other things that cocks like, for Old Woman was poor and ate mostly grain-foods, and gave the leavings to the Cock.

Now, under the wall near the cage lived a Mouse. He had no old grandmother to feed him, and he was particularly fond of grain food. When the old Cock had eaten his fill, and was sitting in the sun clucking to himself and nodding, Mouse would dart out, steal a bit of pancake or a crumb, and whisk into his hole again. One day the Mouse grew over-bold and took a large piece of bread, and in trying to push it into his hole he made some noise, and, besides, he had to stop and make the doorway larger.

The Cock turned his head just in time to see Mouse's tail there on the ground, wriggling just like worm.

"Hah! It is a worm!" cackled the Cock. He made one peck at Mouse's tail and bit it so hard that he cut it entirely off and swallowed it at one gulp.

Mouse, squeaking "Murder!" scurried into its sleeping-place, and fell to licking his tail until his mouth was all pink, and was all drawn down like a crying woman's; for he loved his long tail. He cried vengence on the Cock for taking away the very mark of his Mousehood.

So, after much planning, he one day put a plaster on his poor tail, and holding it up as a dog does a wounded foot, he went to the edge of his hole and cried in a weak voice to the Taw-Kaw-Kaw Cock:

"Look you, pity, pity! Master of Food Substance,

Of my maiming,

Of my hunger,

I am all but dying. Ah me, pity, ah me!"

Now, the Cock felt sorry for him and proud to be called Master of Plenty, so haughtily he said, "Come in, you poor little thing, and eat all you want." So Mouse went in and ate very little, as became a polite stranger, and, thanking Cock, went back to his hole.

By and by Mouse came back again, bringing with him part of a nutshell containing fine white meat. Little Mouse said: "Comrade father, let us eat together. I gather this food from yonder high tree, but of all the food I relish yours most. Perhaps you will equally relish mine: let us eat."

No sooner had the Cock tasted this fine food than he chuckled for joy. But there was so little of it that he said, "Comrade little one, do you have plenty of this kind of food?"

"O, yes," replied Mouse.

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