Long ago, as the world’s first day drew to a close, there was only the moon to bring light to the dark veil of Night.
And all of the creatures, who had marveled at the wonders of the day, said “Well, the day is filled with all sorts of wonder, but Night is so dark. The clouds are hard to see, and even the moon will go away for a time, like tides.” And all of the day creatures hid from the darkness, and all of the night creatures sighed, feeling that their time was unfinished, dull next to the day.


And Nature, taking to heart their thoughts, asked who we call Raven to decorate the nighttime sky, for she was a bird of twilight, awake during the day, but with midnight plumage. So Raven flew far and wide, searching for something beautiful with which she would decorate the sky. She would make the night beautiful, something which all creatures could look up and marvel at. So Raven decided to make stars, which she would place in intricate designs all over the sky, like beads. And, she decided, she would make stars from all things, so that every creature could look up at her stars, and know that they were made of the same things. She built a great fire, using wood from all trees, and tufts of fur and feathers, and shed skin from all creatures. It burned bright and hot, and as it did so, she caught the floating embers from the fire, placing them in her bag.

When she had filled her little bag, Raven felt very tired. For she had flown a long way, gathering wood and fur and feathers, but she had done it quickly, and there was still much daylight left. So she decided that she would rest on a low branch near the dying fire, until nighttime came, when she would place the stars in the sky in intricate patterns, like beads.

And as she rested, along came the one we call Coyote, padding along through the sunset. Now Raven and Coyote were good friends, and enjoyed many games with one another. And Coyote, being the trickster that he was, saw the little bag and thought to himself “What a joke it would be, to take that little bag and hide it somewhere?” So he snuck up next to her, grabbed the bag into his teeth, and ran away through the brush.

He ran far, because Nature had endowed him with speed like many other creatures, but as he ran, he did not see the thorn bush in his path, which caught the bag and tore it open in his teeth. And all of the dull little embers spilled out, falling into the now-dark sky.

And just then Raven awakened, to see all of her red-glowing stars splashed across the sky, with no beautiful pattern at all, like beads. And she saw coyote’s prints, and followed, for she knew coyote, and his heart. And when she found him, he saw her, and the look on her face. He knew he had done a great wrong, and he began to cry. So sincere were his tears that his sobs turned to song:

Yip-yap-yap-Arrrrrrroooooooo-oooo-ooo-oooooo!



And Nature heard this crying, and saw what had happened. So she let the Coyote’s voice drift all the way up to the stars, and like blowing on embers, they began to glow brighter. They grew white-hot and beautiful in the sky. And Raven saw the stars that she had made, though they were not in intricate patterns like beads, were beautiful and wondrous in the sky. So Raven told Coyote that she’d forgive him, but only if he kept the stars bright.

So, with the help of all howling things, Coyote did just that, and the stars shone brightly.

And that is why Coyote, cries in the night.

Yip-yap-yap-Arrrrrrroooooooo-oooo-ooo-oooooo!