ow
did you paint your children? They are so beautiful!"

Deer replied, "I painted them with fire from the cedar."

"And how did you do the work?" asked Coyote.

"I put my children into a cave and built a fire of cedar in front of it.
Every time a spark flew from the fire it struck my children, making a
beautiful spot."

"Oh," said Coyote, "I will do the same thing. Then I will make my
children beautiful."

He hurried to his house and put his children in a cave. Then he built a
fire of cedar in front of it and stood off to watch the fire. But the
children cried because the fire was very hot. Coyote kept calling to
them not to cry because they would be beautiful like the deer. After a
time the crying ceased and Coyote was pleased. But when the fire died
down, he found they were burned to death. Coyote expected to find them
beautiful, but instead they were dead.

Then he was enraged with the deer and ran away to hunt her, but he could
not find her anywhere. He was much distressed to think the deer had
fooled him so easily.

How the Bluebird Got its Color
Pima (Arizona)

A long time ago, the bluebird was a very ugly color. But Bluebird knew
of a lake where no river flowed in or out, and he bathed in this four
times every morning for four mornings. Every morning he sang a magic
song:

"There's a blue water. It lies there.
I went in.
I am all blue."

On the fourth morning Bluebird shed all his feathers and came out of the
lake just in his skin. But the next morning when he came out of the lake
he was covered with blue feathers.

Now all this while Coyote had been watching Bluebird. He wanted to jump
in and get him to eat, but he was afraid of the water. But on that last
morning Coyote said,

"How is it you have lost all your ugly color, and now you are blue and
gay and beautiful? You are more beautiful than anything that flies in
the air. I want to be blue, too." Now Coyote at that time was a bright
green.

"I only went in four times on four mornings," said Bluebird. He taught
Coyote the magic song, and he went in four times, and the fifth time he
came out as blue as the little bird.

Then Coyote was very, very proud because he was a blue coyote. He was so
proud that as he walked along he looked around on every side to see if
anybody was looking at him now that he was a blue coyote and so
beautiful. He looked to see if his shadow was blue, too. But Coyote