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Nez Perce - Coyote Steals Fire
Back then, only Old man knew how to make fire. He would sit in the gray clouds and throw lightning down and burn things. Humans were scared of him and stayed away from his fire. Fire hurt. One evening, Old man sent down a bolt and set Coyote's tail on fire. "Damn you, Old man. I hate your jokes." Coyote wanted to get him back. He created a mound of dry sticks that looked just like a dog. The biggest stick looked like his tail. Old man looked down from way up. He laughed and threw a bolt. The entire stack of dog-looking sticks caught on fire. "Oh, no. I killed Coyote!" Coyote waited for Old man to leave. Coyote Man took the stick that looked like the tail and brought it to human's camp. "Take this fire and heal or kill each other with it. I don't care. Old man does not want you to have it. This is my revenge." The woman took the fire and thanked Coyote Man. Old man saw fire in human's camp and they were not burning to death. "Coyote!" Old man screamed. He has been trying to kill Coyote every since. Coyote laughed.
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