# In the Reign of Coyote/Why the Sun travels regularly

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WHY THE SUN TRAVELS REGULARLY
THE next day the children appeared at Klayukat's door and asked for the rabbit story.
"We meet the rabbits everywhere we go," said Antonio,—"on the hill, in the canyon, by the road, and under our own fig trees. We 'd like to know something about them."
"You may not learn much about the jack rabbit, but you will learn what a good thing he did for the world," returned Klayukat. Then, as he bored holes in some leggins, he recited this tale.
In the days of the ancients the sun did not move around the earth regularly, as it does to-day. At times it would stay away so long that all the animals would be nearly frozen. Then it would come ​back so close to the world that people would be burned up.
Once, when the sun had been absent a long time, Jack Rabbit sat near his camp fire with his children. They were watching for the sun to return. After a while Jack Rabbit grew weary and fell asleep.
Suddenly he was awakened. "Father, father!" he heard his children cry, "your back is on fire." Jack Rabbit rolled over in the dirt and put the fire out. He was very angry with the sun for coming back and burning him in his sleep.
"You stay here, children," he cried. "I am going to fight that sun. I am tired of its whims."
He picked up his bow and five arrows, and turned his steps toward the east.
After traveling a long while he came to the edge of the world, where the sun comes up. There he sat down and waited. After some time the sun came in sight.
"Now I shall punish you," cried Jack Rabbit, and he shot an arrow at its face. The sun only grinned and burned up the arrow before it was a mile from the earth.
Jack Rabbit sent a second arrow, but it too was burned. So was the third arrow and the fourth. The fifth arrow was a charmed one, and to make doubly sure that it would not burn, Jack Rabbit wet ​it with a tear from his eye. Then he aimed carefully. Twang! The arrow flew straight to the sun and chipped off a number of pieces from its face.
The fiery fragments came whirling down to the earth and set everything on fire. Jack Rabbit had to race before the flames. He jumped and jumped, but the flames ate his toes off. He hopped faster, but the fire caught his legs and burned them off. He jerked on still faster, but the sparks flew on his body and burned it up. His head bounded on still faster. The flames reached for it. The head stumbled against a stone. Then from Jack Rabbit's eyes poured such a flood of tears that it quenched the fire, and the earth was saved.
Jack Rabbit crouched down under a bush near the stone until his body and legs and toes grew again. Then he ran back to his waiting children.
He complained to the animals about the sun's irregularity. "It either stays away so long that we freeze, or it comes so close that we scorch," he said. "And if we complain, it tries to burn the whole world up. I think we ought to order its movements."
The other animals answered, "We think so too. Let us call a council and order the sun's movements."
So they called a council of all the animals on the face of the earth. They sat around in a circle, ​and each animal expressed his opinion. Then they all decided that the sun could not travel in such an irregular way any longer. They ruled that it should travel around the world every day, and that it should never go so far away that people would freeze, nor approach so near that they would be burned.
Ever since that council the animals have had regular days and regular seasons, and they have had no more fear of the sun's destroying them.
"Poor rabbit, to have his head bounce along alone," breathed Juanita. "I should think he would never have gotten well again."
"Do rabbits' tears always put out fires, Klayukat? Tecla told us that a rabbit's tear would charm an arrow," and Antonio's tones were serious.
"Did she,—that woman? So they know that in her country! Yes, a rabbit's tear will make an arrow fly straight, and if you carry some rabbit tears with you, you will never burn."
"But where do you get the tears?"
"Now that question, young Antonio— But there is that Tecla calling you. You must go," and Klayukat settled in relief to his work.