# In the Reign of Coyote/How the Animals got their Colors

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HOW THE ANIMALS GOT THEIR COLORS
HAT same day, after their siesta, Antonio and Juanita tripped to the saddlery. Klayukat had just awakened. He did not answer their questions for a while, but busied himself with his work. When he seemed to be sewing regularly, Antonio ventured, "Klayukat, will
you tell us now why the blue jay is not prettier?"
"The blue jay? Yes, and I can tell you why other things are not prettier. Give Ninita more room there, young Antonio, and I will tell you the story."
In the days of the ancients the animals were all the color of the earth. They knew nothing about ​red, white, or blue, or any other tint but dirt color, and so they were content with their clothes.
Once as they glanced out over the water, they saw a great big thing shining in the sun. They all stopped to look at it. If they watched it from one point, it looked blue. If they walked down the beach, it shone green. If they walked up the sands, it glowed rosy. Whenever they looked at it from a different position, they saw some new hue.
"What lovely thing is this?" they cried. "Let us get a nearer view of it."
They launched their canoes and rowed towards it, but ever it seemed to move just as they did, and they never came nearer to it. As the sun sank in the water, they said: "We must go home now. The lovely thing can meet the darkness alone." As they turned, the great shining thing followed them. It always kept the same distance behind them.
They were frightened. Then Blue Jay said: "Let us shoot it to-morrow. Then we can have its colors." The other animals agreed, and they all went to their homes to sleep.
As the sun brought back light to the world, the animals saw the great thing throwing out it beautiful colors. They hurried for their bows and began aiming at it. They shot all day, but their ​arrows always fell short of the thing, or to the left of it, or to the right. No one could hit it.
Now Blue Jay's two daughters were not on the shore. They had been sent into the woods to dig potentilla roots. While they were digging, the younger said to the older, "I wish we could shoot at the great shining thing." The elder sister went on digging with never a word in answer. After a little while the younger sister said again, "I wish we could shoot at the great shining thing." Again the elder sister went on digging without answering a word. The younger sister repeated her wish a third time and a fourth, and yet the elder sister went on digging in silence.
When for the fifth time the younger sister had said, "I wish we could shoot at the great shining thing," the elder sister stood up straight and replied, "Well, our father has arrows." Then she gathered her potentilla roots into her basket and started home. The younger sister gathered her roots into her basket and followed.
When they reached home at sunset, the animals were all sad at not having shot the great shining thing.
The next morning the daughters of Blue Jay started for potentilla roots before their father was awake. They carried off quietly two of his bows ​and some arrows. In the woods they hid their baskets and dressed themselves as strange youths.
When the other animals awakened, they went down to the beach to shoot at the shining thing. Again their arrows fell short of it, or to the right, or to the left. Suddenly among them appeared two strange youths. The elder shot an arrow. It fell near, but did not hit the great shining thing. Then the younger shot, and her arrow almost touched the mass of bright color. They each shot two more arrows. Some flew so near the thing that the animals held their breath, but each arrow fell a little short. Then the strange youths disappeared suddenly in the woods.
That night, when the daughters of Blue Jay carried home their baskets of potentilla roots, they found all the animals wondering who the strange youths were. Only Blue Jay was silent. He looked hard at his daughters, but they said nothing.
The next day, while the animals were shooting, the strange youths suddenly appeared again. They each shot three arrows. All flew nearer the great shining thing than the arrows of the other animals, but none touched it. Then the youths disappeared as suddenly as they had come.
The animals were greatly excited and wondered who the strange youths were. That night they ​told the daughters of Blue Jay about it, but the daughters were silent. Blue Jay, too, was silent, and he looked hard at his daughters.
On the third day the strange youths appeared as before. The elder shot three arrows. The younger shot two that almost reached the thing. Her third arrow pierced the middle of the splendor. Then the two youths jumped into a canoe and rowed out to the thing. They dragged it to the shore and carried it into the woods. The animals were almost crazed with excitement. "Who are these strange youths?" they asked each other. "Where did they carry the great shining thing? Why did they not give us some of it?" That night they told the sisters the story, but the sisters were silent.
The next morning the daughters of Blue Jay awoke early and went to take their bath. While they were gone, their father awoke. He looked at his daughters' bed. It was empty. He became very angry. "Where have those daughters gone now?" he stormed aloud. "I believe they are the strange youths. I shall have to punish them."
Just then the daughters came in. "Where have you been?" Blue Jay demanded. "Why do you go out so early every morning? I believe you are the two strange youths. Tell me, have you the great shining thing hidden from our people?"
​"Go, take your bath, father, and then we will tell you all about it," the daughters answered.
The father took his morning dip, and then the daughters told him the whole story. "Go, bring the shining thing here," he said, "and I will call the people."
When Blue Jay had assembled all the people, the daughters came in from the woods, carrying the great shining thing. They took a knife and cut it into pieces. They handed one piece to each animal. The animals ate the pieces they received. The largest of all they gave to their father. Blue Jay was much pleased. He held it up to the light before swallowing it. But just as he was about to put it into his mouth, Clam jumped up, snatched it from him, and ran down to the beach.
Blue Jay tried to catch him, but Clam hid himself in the sand. Blue Jay took a stick and poked in the sand. Clam sent up some boiling water and hid himself deeper. Blue Jay became very angry. "You thief," he cried, "you shall hide in the sand all the days of your life. Even when your most ardent lover wishes to see you, you will send up bubbles to greet him, instead of words."
And to this day Clam lives in the sand, and he still sends up bubbles to the surface. But he has on ​his shell all the colors of the great shining thing, because he ate the largest piece. Blue Jay had only a little piece to eat, and so he has only blue. Every animal became in color like the piece of the great shining thing that he ate, and he has that same color even to-day.
"Oh-oh!" sighed Juanita in content. "Is the clam shell in your country like the abalone shell here, Klayukat?"
"Much the same; much the same; the same bright colors."
"I wonder what the great shining thing was made of," said Antonio. "Do you know, Klayukat?"
"Made of colors. That is why the animals changed colors when they ate it. Yesterday I saw some colors on the top of the little pond near the corral."
"Colors on our pond? Oh, let 's go and see them, Nita"; and the children were off on a run.