Coyote: Short Story Rewrite

Coyote & the Columbia

One day, Coyote was walking in the desert. The sun was shining extra brightly that day, and Coyote felt very hot.

As he looked to the sky his eyes fell upon a distant cloud. "I would like my own cloud, it could shade me from the sun" Coyote said.

Suddenly a small cloud appeared above his head and made some shade for Coyote. But after a while Coyote was not satisfied.

He looked at the size of his cloud and dropped his head.

"I would like more clouds," he said. More clouds came along, and the sky began to look very stormy. But Coyote was still hot and still not satisfied.

“Even with these clouds it’s still too hot,” he said, "How about some rain." The clouds began to sprinkle rain on Coyote. But Coyote was not satisfied.

"More rain," Coyote demanded. The rain became a downpour. But after a while Coyote was not satisfied.

"I would like a creek to put my feet in," said Coyote. So the rain from the clouds gathered together beneath him, and Coyote walked in it to cool off his feet. But Coyote was not satisfied.

"It should be deeper," said Coyote. Suddenly the creek became a huge, swirling river. Coyote was swept over and over by the water. Finally, nearly drowned, Coyote was thrown up on the bank far away. When he woke up, the buzzards were watching him, trying to decide if he was dead.

Coyote began to howl and cry, "I'm not dead," Coyote told them, and they flew away.

Coyote praised the heavens and never again asked for anything beyond what he need.

And that is how the Columbia River began.