Coyote and Grisly Bear make the Seasons, and Night and Day

Grisly Bear met Coyote and said, “I am greatest in magic of all the people. When I wish a thing to be, it has to be so. Now I am displeased with the short time that it is dark. I think it will be better if it is dark all the time. I intend to make it so.”

Coyote answered, “No. That would inconvenience the people too much.”

Grisly said, “Well, I will have it my way.”

And Coyote answered, “No, you can’t.” So the former danced and sang, saying, “Darkness, darkness, darkness! Let it be always dark.”

And Coyote also danced and sang, saying, “Light, light, light, light! Mayit be light!”

Thus they danced and sang a very long time; and sometimes the Bear ot the ascendancy, and darkness would prevail; and, again, Coyote got the ascendancy, and light would prevail. They struggled for a long time, and neither beat the other. At last the Bear got tired, and said, “Let there be half darkness, and half light.” Coyote agreed to this, and said, “Henceforth it shall be light from the time the sun prepares to rise until he sets: the rest of the time shall be night. Thus every day the sun shall travel; and when he leaves, the night will follow him until next day he rises again.”

Then Grisly Bear said, ‘I am displeased with the length of the year and the duration of winter. It is far too short. Let it be the same number of moons that there are feathers in the tail of a blue grouse.” Coyote counted them, and found twenty-two. Thus Grisly Bear wanted each winter to last twenty-two moons.

Coyote said, “No. The people cannot endure such a long winter. They will all die. Let it be half that number.” Grisly Bear objected: so Coyote said, “Let there be the same number of moons in a year as there are feathers in the tail of the red-winged flicker.” Grisly Bear thought there were many feathers in the flicker’s tail, so he assented. Then Coyote continued, “Half of these feathers shall represent the number of moons it may snow; and the other half, the number of moons it may not snow or be cold.”

Grisly Bear assented, as he thought the winter would thus be almost as long as he desired. He got a flicker’s tail, and was surprised, when he counted the feathers, to find only twelve; but it was then too late to make any change. Coyote said, “Henceforth the year shall consist of six moons of warm weather, and six moons in, which it may snow or be cold.”

Thus Coyote saved the people from having to live in darkness and cold; and he determined the seasons and days as they are now.