changeable, She is a fair judge at least. She came in and watched us play for a while. You know how sharp She can be, especially at certain times of the month when She’s in a bad mood! She spotted the tiny white men right away. She shook Her head in disapproval and said, ‘You’re right, Coyote, Sun is cheating!’
“Sun just laughed at us. He said, ‘I became tired of losing to you all the time, so I got myself a little magic to change the score. I’ll pay the penalty for cheating, but I’ll tell you this: my magic can’t be stopped. The white men in this canoe will collect human lives for me, all I can eat forever. You can’t stop them. You can win all the good harvests you like, but who will you give them to? So hot, so bright I’ll burn on all those lives!’ “
Absolute silence in the meeting hall. I lifted my head and howled. I made it the sound of all desolation, and the naked little mortals sat rigid with terror.
“But!” I went on after a suitable pause. “Moon looked at Sun with blood in Her eye and said: ‘You cheated at the midwinter game! Do You think You can get away with it? I’m going to fine You! Sky Coyote can have seventy years for his people before Your white men come for them. Also, if You eat all the people, the earth will go out of balance, and we can’t have that. So here’s a further penalty: Sky Coyote can take
four
magic canoes of his own and fill them with as many of his people as he can carry to safety. Those people You can never eat. Then, after seventy years, You are free to do Your worst to the people Sky Coyote leaves behind.’
“That was what Moon had to say. So this is what I’ve come to tell you, my children of Humashup: I will not leave you behind. Because I love you the most, I’m taking all of you away with me in my canoes.”
Silence. Then a babble of panicked voices, louder outside where people had been listening through the walls. Sepawit looked around at all the confusion and rose to address me.
“So … we’re to interpret all this literally, then.”
“Of course!”
“And not as a series of metaphors.”
“What did you think, I came here to read you riddles?”
The chief turned and stared at his shamans, who looked uncomfortable. From the back of the room, someone cried out: “I’ve seen those big canoes with wings! They’re sails! And they
do
have white men in them!”
“Like I said.” I crossed my arms, or forelimbs, or whatever. Must have been some Spanish ships straggling north from Mexico that weren’t making it into the history books. Oh, well. I’dknown these people weren’t stupid. It might be a good idea to ease up on the mythic style, though.
“You have to save us, Uncle Coyote!” cried the general mass.
“Now, everybody, calm down!” The chief waved his hands. “There’s no immediate danger. Sky Coyote has already promised to save us. And we have seventy years—didn’t You say seventy years?—yes, all right, He said seventy years before the white men even get here, by which time I’m sure we’ll be long gone. So you see, there’s no cause for alarm.”
“I’d like to ask a few questions.” The spokesman for the Canoemakers’ Union got to his feet. He looked determined, though he’d gone pale like the rest of them when I howled the doom of everything he knew.
“Ask, nephew.”
“First, the Canoemakers’ Union would like to thank You for Your concern and Your timely warning. But we’d like to ask—could You be a little more specific about this white-men thing? What exactly is involved here?”
“Yes, the United Steatite Workers would like to ask that, too,” chimed in Sawlawlan.
Coolheaded pragmatists, huh? All right. I addressed my words to them, but I spoke to be heard by the fearful unthinking masses at the back. “You want to know more? I’ll tell you. The Sun hasn’t got just one of those canoes with sails, He’s got thousands of them. They’ll bring more white men than there are stars
“Sun just laughed at us. He said, ‘I became tired of losing to you all the time, so I got myself a little magic to change the score. I’ll pay the penalty for cheating, but I’ll tell you this: my magic can’t be stopped. The white men in this canoe will collect human lives for me, all I can eat forever. You can’t stop them. You can win all the good harvests you like, but who will you give them to? So hot, so bright I’ll burn on all those lives!’ “
Absolute silence in the meeting hall. I lifted my head and howled. I made it the sound of all desolation, and the naked little mortals sat rigid with terror.
“But!” I went on after a suitable pause. “Moon looked at Sun with blood in Her eye and said: ‘You cheated at the midwinter game! Do You think You can get away with it? I’m going to fine You! Sky Coyote can have seventy years for his people before Your white men come for them. Also, if You eat all the people, the earth will go out of balance, and we can’t have that. So here’s a further penalty: Sky Coyote can take
four
magic canoes of his own and fill them with as many of his people as he can carry to safety. Those people You can never eat. Then, after seventy years, You are free to do Your worst to the people Sky Coyote leaves behind.’
“That was what Moon had to say. So this is what I’ve come to tell you, my children of Humashup: I will not leave you behind. Because I love you the most, I’m taking all of you away with me in my canoes.”
Silence. Then a babble of panicked voices, louder outside where people had been listening through the walls. Sepawit looked around at all the confusion and rose to address me.
“So … we’re to interpret all this literally, then.”
“Of course!”
“And not as a series of metaphors.”
“What did you think, I came here to read you riddles?”
The chief turned and stared at his shamans, who looked uncomfortable. From the back of the room, someone cried out: “I’ve seen those big canoes with wings! They’re sails! And they
do
have white men in them!”
“Like I said.” I crossed my arms, or forelimbs, or whatever. Must have been some Spanish ships straggling north from Mexico that weren’t making it into the history books. Oh, well. I’dknown these people weren’t stupid. It might be a good idea to ease up on the mythic style, though.
“You have to save us, Uncle Coyote!” cried the general mass.
“Now, everybody, calm down!” The chief waved his hands. “There’s no immediate danger. Sky Coyote has already promised to save us. And we have seventy years—didn’t You say seventy years?—yes, all right, He said seventy years before the white men even get here, by which time I’m sure we’ll be long gone. So you see, there’s no cause for alarm.”
“I’d like to ask a few questions.” The spokesman for the Canoemakers’ Union got to his feet. He looked determined, though he’d gone pale like the rest of them when I howled the doom of everything he knew.
“Ask, nephew.”
“First, the Canoemakers’ Union would like to thank You for Your concern and Your timely warning. But we’d like to ask—could You be a little more specific about this white-men thing? What exactly is involved here?”
“Yes, the United Steatite Workers would like to ask that, too,” chimed in Sawlawlan.
Coolheaded pragmatists, huh? All right. I addressed my words to them, but I spoke to be heard by the fearful unthinking masses at the back. “You want to know more? I’ll tell you. The Sun hasn’t got just one of those canoes with sails, He’s got thousands of them. They’ll bring more white men than there are stars
Similar Books
