Dreams and Shadows

chapter NINETEEN

COYOTE THE TRICKSTER AND THE LAKE BIRD

An excerpt from Twelve Dozen Trickster Tales, by Randolph Wagner

Once, Coyote found himself walking through the forest, singing at the top of his lungs. Coyote could not sing a lick, but that didn’t stop him from belting out tuneless note after tuneless note. He sang from dawn until dusk with nary a complaint from the other woodland creatures, mostly because no one wanted to tempt Coyote into making a meal out of them. But as he walked through the woods that day, he came across a fantastic mountain, covered base to tip in pine trees, upon which rested a beautiful, mirrorlike lake so calm you could see in it the reflection of miles around.

But as Coyote made his way up that mountain, singing as he often did, he began to hear a few precious notes of the most wonderful singing he’d ever heard in his life. The melody of this song was comprised of two different singers, chirping tweets together in harmony to create such beautiful songs that Coyote demanded to know their origin. So he made his way up the mountain, past the lake and toward a rather large tree upon which sat the singers: Blue Jay and Cardinal.

Both were large birds, stout and proud, with fancy plumage and well-cared-for feathers. Each sang such lovely songs that Coyote found himself struck noteless, unable to concentrate while listening. When the two finished singing, Coyote broke into applause.

“What wonderful music!” Coyote exclaimed. “However do you sing so well?”

“Practice,” said Blue Jay.

“Noble birth,” said Cardinal.

“Oh yes,” agreed Blue Jay. “You have to be born with it too.”

“Well, I’m quite the singer myself,” proclaimed Coyote. “I have sung since the beginning of time and never has a creature complained.”

“We would love to hear you,” said Blue Jay.

“Oh, yes, we certainly would,” said Cardinal.

So Coyote began to sing in yips and howls that hurt the delicately trained ears of the two birds. They flapped their wings to cover the sound, but the notes were too powerful and sharp. When Coyote finished his song, both birds fell out of the tree laughing. Never had they heard such terrible singing. Together they rolled on the ground, slapping themselves with their wings over how funny Coyote looked and sounded.

“That is the worst singing I have ever heard,” said Cardinal.

“Yes,” agreed Blue Jay. “I would rather listen to Frog and Raven sing all night than listen to you for another moment.”

“Well, perhaps you could teach me to sing, then,” said Coyote.

“Oh no,” laughed Blue Jay. “You could no more teach a rock to dance than teach a coyote to sing!”

“Oh, well,” said Coyote, shrugging, “I guess I’ll just go ask Lake Bird instead. He’s a much better singer anyway.”

The two birds stopped laughing and looked up at Coyote. “What is a Lake Bird?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. Please, go back to singing. The forest sounds empty without you.”

Both birds jumped to their feet. “No,” said Blue Jay. “Tell us. What is a Lake Bird?”

“Yes,” said Cardinal. “Tell us!”

Coyote leaned in close to the two birds. “Well, he is a most accomplished singer, so good that no one can quite hit the same notes. He lives in the lake, beneath the surface, and will attack anyone who gazes upon him the moment he sees them. He will at first look surprised, but then will charge unless you charge him first.”

“Well, I’ve never heard his singing,” said Cardinal.

“Nor have I,” said Blue Jay.

“He does not sing so loudly, as he does not wish to offend any of the other creatures by hurting their feelings.” Coyote shrugged at the birds. “If I wanted to be known as the best singer on the mountain, I would first have to kill Lake Bird.”

“Well, I am the best singer on the mountain,” said Blue Jay. And he flew off to kill Lake Bird.

Blue Jay flew to the lake and landed on a nearby tree branch. He looked around but did not see Lake Bird anywhere. “That filthy Coyote is lying to me,” he said. But he decided to fly over the lake to see if Lake Bird was actually living in the lake. As he flew over the lake, he saw his own reflection. His reflection looked surprised, and Blue Jay, remembering what Coyote had said, instantly charged at the bird in the lake.

Blue Jay splashed into the water and drowned.

Back up the mountain Coyote waited with Cardinal. After a while, Cardinal began to worry about Blue Jay but did not trust Coyote. “I don’t think I should go to that lake,” he said.

“Of course not,” said Coyote. “I’m sure Blue Jay will be back soon.”

“No,” said Cardinal. “Something has happened. I’m sure of it.”

“Well, if something happened to Blue Jay, you definitely shouldn’t go down to that lake.”

“Why not?” asked Cardinal.

“Blue Jay might not have been as good a singer as you, but I think he would be better in a fight. If he could not kill Lake Bird, then I certainly wouldn’t recommend that you try to.”

Cardinal did not trust Coyote, so if Coyote wanted him to stay with him, he must have had a reason. So Cardinal flew away to check on Blue Jay. He landed on a tree near the lake and looked around, but saw neither Blue Jay nor the Lake Bird. So he decided to fly over the lake to see if he could see Lake Bird below the surface.

Then Cardinal saw his own reflection, which, like Coyote had said, looked surprised. So Cardinal dove at the Lake Bird, splashed into the water, and, unable to swim, also drowned.

After hearing the second splash, Coyote made his way down to the lake, fished out both birds and cooked them over a roaring fire. They tasted even better than they sang, and that is how Coyote became the best singer on the mountain.