8. Silver-Fox And Coyote (Achomawi)

8. SILVER-FOX AND COYOTE (ACHOMAWI).

Silver-Fox and Coyote lived together. Silver-Fox gathered some service-berry sticks, and whittled them down nicely, working all night. The shavings were to be made into common people; the finished sticks, into the best kind of people. About sunset the next day he was ready to make them alive. They turned into people; and Silver-Fox sent them away, some in one direction, some in another. Then he and Coyote had a big feast. Coyote wanted to imitate the deed, and so copied everything he had seen Silver-Fox do. just as before, the sticks and the shavings became people just about sunset. As soon as this happened, Coyote ran after some of the women, and after a chase caught them; but as soon as he touched them, they turned back into sticks and shavings.