Kit was resting, recovering from some injuries, when Coyote returned carrying a recently killed badger.

“I’ve brought some excellent food!” said Coyote. “There’s nothing like fresh meat to help your body replace a little lost blood.”

“That is very generous of you,” said Kit. “Perhaps I could eat the heart and other organs.”

“Eat all of it,” said Coyote. “I have been quite the warrior this morning and have already eaten a squirrel and many termites. Don’t let any of this delicious badger go to waste. That, too, is part of the Gift of Respect.”

“I do respect the sacrifice made by Badger so that I could have some fresh meat. But…, I need fire to be able to eat all that meat.”

“That must be one reason why I always smell fire smoke when I use my scout skills to observe human beings,” said Coyote. “Many times have I tested my stealth skills by watching human beings as they gather around a fire. Frankly, your dogs pay more attention than most of your people!”

“I do miss fire. But I am a bear now and bears don’t use fire,” said Kit.

“Silly young person. I thought we agreed that you are both a bear and a human being. I’ve seen you make sharp pieces of rock to cut food. Why not use other human tools?”

“I don’t know…. Besides, it’s hard to make fire! I’ve seen it done many times, and I think I remember how….”

Kit looked around, and only a few feet away was a sage bush.

“That sage bush is a good plant for making fire,” said Kit.

“Well, that, I would like to see!” said Coyote.

Inspired by Coyote’s curiosity, and especially inspired by the idea of eating some cooked meat, Kit decided to try and make fire.

Using a sharp piece of rock, Kit cut off parts of the sage bush. Kit knew that fast work would be needed if the meat was to be cooked before going bad. Kit made a base-board and a long straight rod. Kit then gathered some dry grasses and ripped up other dry wood, making a bundle that looked a bit like a squirrel’s nest. Kit also gathered other dry wood that was nearby, sorting it into different size pieces.

Coyote watched, amazed, as Kit took the rod and spun it as fast as possible, back and forth, on a notch cut into the baseboard. Smoke started to rise from the board! After a great deal of effort, and what appeared to be many failed attempts, Kit suddenly dropped the rod and gentle tapped a small glowing coal into the bundle. Kit blew into the thin line of smoke rising from the bundle, and, it burst into flame!

After eating the first cooked meat in a very long while, Kit gathered more wood to keep the fire going.

“I must admit,” said Kit, “it’s pretty great to have a fire.”

“Always with human beings, I smell fire,” said Coyote. “The animal people have three sacred elements needed for life: shelter, water, and food. I think for human beings there must a fourth sacred element. I think fire is part of the story of human beings.”

“Sitting in front of a fire, I do feel more like a human being than I have in a long time,” said Kit. “But… it is better to be a bear.”

“I would like to hear that story some day,” said Coyote, “the story of how you came to be called Kit and were adopted by the bears.”

“I don’t really like telling stories,” said Kit.

“Stories are who we are,” said Coyote. “People have emotions, but we are not our emotions. People have thoughts, but we are not our thoughts. People have behaviors, but we are not our behaviors. People have beliefs and values, but we are not our beliefs and values. It is our stories that define us.”

“I don’t understand,” said Kit.

“All coyotes share the Coyote spirit. But individual coyotes will have their own stories. Each night we sing to our brothers and sisters, sharing our individual stories. In this way we strengthen the connection between all coyotes. We strengthen the spirit that is Coyote.

“Just the other night I shared the story of my jump across the slot canyon. I told you about it Scout-style, reporting on my awareness of what happened. But I also sang that story to my coyote brothers and sisters. In song, I combine the observations of The Scout with the experiences of The Artist. Listen…

Hello! My brothers and sisters. Listen as I tell the story of my leap across the deadly waters!

There I was… noblest of all creatures, the coyote, barely able to think straight after several days in a row with no food.

I know some will be filled with sadness to learn that my stomach would groan with emptiness. But, do not fear, for I heard my brothers and sisters sing of excellent hunting to the west!

My plan was elegant. I could see myself eating many delicious rabbits. I could go on at length about the different parts of a rabbit, and why each part is so delicious and satisfying!

With this artistic inspiration, I thought about my skills as a scout and as a warrior. With a firm sense of purpose I set out to the west.

The sun had peaked and was now in my eyes as I came upon a deep crack in the earth. When I looked down I saw what my ears had already told me, a bubbling, roiling, unstoppable force of water was rushing through that narrow slot canyon!

The power of that water reached up and filled me with the fear of being overwhelmed! My legs turned wobbly and it became hard to think. But I remembered those rabbits that I intended to catch, and I saw that I only needed to jump a few body-lengths to continue on my journey. I backed away from that gap to get a running start.

Now, long ago Coyote had played an excellent trick on Grandfather Rock. I think one of those little rocks near the edge decided to pay me back. At top speed I hurled toward that gap, only to have a rock slip out from under my front paw! Suddenly, I was tumbling through the air instead of the awesome leap I had intended.

I landed on the other side… but I was so scared that I peed my own leg!!!

Coyote then rolled around in the dirt laughing so much that Kit, too, started to laugh.

“Silly Coyote,” said Kit. You told that story like you were some kind of great hero. At least until to you peed yourself!”

“Not necessarily a hero,” said Coyote, “but I told that story properly, with me as the star of the tale! No one gets to be the hero of every story, but you always get to be the star of your own stories. Besides…, if another coyote learned something about slippery rocks, then maybe I am the hero!”

“Well, today you are my hero, Coyote,” said Kit. “Thank you for the meat. And thank you for convincing me to try and make a fire.”

“You are most welcome,” said Coyote. “Now, I have to figure out how to sing about how I got a bear to turn a bush into fire! It’s getting dark. Why don’t you keep your fire going and think about how to tell your story.”