WHO STOLE BUGZY’S BOOK?
One day, Bugzy
was walking through the woods, enjoying
the trees, the flowers, the fresh air, the softness of the wind on his
face. He was thinking about how much he
liked trees; how nice it is to sit under a tree on a nice day and read a book,
or how nice it is to find shelter under a tree when it’s raining. He walked up a hill covered in green grass
and clover. Tiny purple flowers dotted
the landscape here and there.
It was beautiful
day, bright and sunny. Bugzy settled
under the oak, enjoying its shade. He
laid down, resting his head on its massive trunk, and begun to read his
book. Soon, he began to get tired. His eyes were feeling very heavy, so he put
his book down and decided to take a little afternoon nap.
When Bugzy
woke up, he reached next to him to pick his book back up and continue
reading. Only he could not find it. He got up, thinking he had been laying on it
while napping. But it was not there
either. Frantically, he looked all
around, but his book was gone.
“Well, it
didn’t just walk off by itself” said Bugzy.
“Someone must have taken it! But
who?” he said. “I guess I will have to
go ask around and see if anyone saw anything.”
Bugzy saw a
little brown bunny rabbit down the hill, munching on some of the clover. He walked down the hill and asked “Excuse me
Mr. Bunny, have you seen my book? It has
a blue and white cover. I’m sure someone
has taken it and I want to find it. Can
you help?”
“No, I’m
sorry young man” said the bunny. “I have
been here for some time, but did not see anyone. Try asking Mr. Deer on the other side of the
hill.”
“Ok, thanks”
said Bugzy. I will try that.
So Bugzy
marched up the hill and past the oak tree, and down to another pasture. After some walking, Bugzy found Mr. Deer.
“Excuse me
Mr. Deer, have you seen my book? It has
a blue and white cover. I’m sure someone
has taken it and I want to find it. I
was sitting under the mighty oak up the hill. Can you help?”
“Oh, let me
see here” said the deer. “I have been
eating grass here all afternoon, and I did not see anyone go up the hill” the
deer said.
“If you go
up the hill and past your oak tree, you will find a hedgehog in some tall
grass. If you ask her, she might know
something.”
So Bugzy
walks back up the hill, past the oak tree, and back down the hill. He’s getting a little tired and frustrated
now. He hikes across the meadow and
finds Mrs. Renee Hedgehog in the tall grass. She has a bright yellow flower tucked
in her fur.
“Excuse me,
Mrs. Hedgehog, I don’t mean to disturb you, but can you help me?” Bugzy asks.
“Yes I will young man.
How can I help you”she says.
“I am
looking for my book. It has a blue and
white cover. Someone took it while I was
napping under the oak tree. Did you see
anyone go up there? Have you seen my
book?” Bugzy asks.
“No, I don’t
think so. I don’t recall seeing anyone
or anything go up the hill. But try
asking Mr. Raven. I saw him land in your
oak tree on the hill. Surely he has seen something while he was flying around”
said Mrs. Hedgehog.
“Thank you” Bugzy
says. “I hope he has seen my book, or
who took it.”
Bugzy again
hikes across the meadow and back up the
hill to the mighty oak. On the bottom
branch sits a large black raven.
“Hello Mr.
Raven, I’m looking for my book. It has a
blue and white cover. Someone took it
when I was napping under the tree. No
one has seen anything. I hope you have”
Bugzy says.
“Well, well,
well” the Raven cawed. “I might have
seen something. A book you say? How do I know it is even yours? Maybe YOU stole it from someone else” said
the Raven.
“IT HAS MY
NAME IN FRONT!” Bugzy says. “It says “To Bugzy, happy reading always,
love you, Mom.”
“That is
very nice” says the Raven. “I will have
to remember that.” “Bye now!”
“HEY, get
back here” Bugzy says. The raven tries
to fly away, and Bugzy jumps up and catches him.
“Spill it,
bird” Bugzy says. “Where is my book? I know you something.”
Just then,
the raven’s legs grow longer, about two feet long, with claws and brown
fur. His head gets bigger and turns into
a snout, with brown furry ears. His
black tail feathers turn into a white and brown furry tail. He looks at Bugzy and says “Surprise!”
“COYOTE!” “COYOTE the trickster” shouts Bugzy with
authority. “I should
have known it was
you. Where is my book?” Bugzy says, not
letting go of him.
“Didn’t you
like my little game?” Coyote asks.
“No, I did
not” Bugzy replies.
“Oh come
now” says Coyote. “Wasn’t it fun, trekking up and down that
hill all those times! HE HE HE, it sure
was funny watching you. Work up a sweat,
did we?”
“How many of
those animals were you, pretending to be helpful” Bugzy asks.
“All but
Mrs. Hedgehog, she was really just trying help and be nice” Coyote says. “Where’s the fun in that?” he says.
“Give me
back my book, and I’ll be on my way” Bugzy says.
“NO WAY”
says Coyote.
Bugzy then
lifts Coyote up high with top two arms, squeezing Coyote tight. He then starts tickling Coyote’s belly with
his other arms.
“Ho ho ho,
heee, heee, haaa haaa, all right” Coyote
laughs. “It’s up in the tree a few feet,
no harm done, heee haa. Now let me
down.”
Bugzy lets
Coyote down. He sneers and Bugzy and
runs off.
Bugzy climbs up a few branches
and gets his book back. “Silly Coyote”
he says. “Hopefully, that’s the last I
see of him, but I doubt it.”
(Coyote is a
character in several Native American tribe’s myths. He is known as a trickster and can change shapes.)
For more
books and information on Native American myths and legends, try:
J299.72 American
Indian Mythology
398.208997 Native
American Myths
970.00497 Brief
Guide to Native American Myths
PEACE
LOVE
BOOKS!
Bugzy
