Why the Firefly Blinks

Coyote's Daughter lived with her father in the forest, in a lodge of lush ferns by a great tree.

One of Coyote's Daughter's favorite things was a necklace of strung pearls, a gift from the sea, strung with white sinew, tied in knots strengthed by beeswax. The beads comforted her when she was sad, because they told her of faraway places. Never a day went by that Coyote's Daughter did not wear her necklace.

Braves tried to court Coyote's Daughter, bringing gifts and making songs. This they did all the time, when she sat under her tree by the lodge. She took the gifts, listened to the songs, but never showed preference to the men.

 

 

 

 

One day, Coyote decided to talk to his daughter.

"They come long ways to see you," Coyote said. "Will you not take a husband? It is time you married and had children of your own."

Coyote's Daughter touched her necklace and thought. She wanted her husband to be smart. Also, she knew her husband would have to be a patient somebody. All of the men were strong and handsome, but none were what she desired.

The beads gave Coyote's Daughter an idea.

"Take my necklace," she said, "and scatter the beads in the forest. Whomever fixes the necklace is the one I will marry."

 

 

So Coyote broke the necklace and hid the pearls throughout the forest. Then he told the men what his daughter had said.

What he did not know was that Coyote's Daughter followed him. She took one of the pearls and put it in her shirt. Then she went home before Coyote knew she had left.

Every brave felt it was too easy, finding something so insignificant as a few pearl beads. They each went to look. However, Coyote had hidden them well, and after the first day not a single pearl had been found.

"I don't believe Coyote's Daughter gave up her necklace," said Wolf. "This is another of Coyote's tricks."

"I'm tired of looking," said Deer. "I'm going home to marry another girl."

This was agreed on by all the men, who gave up and left.

 

 

Now, Firefly heard of the necklace and came to see if all this was true. He hid his tiny body near the tree by Coyote's lodge. He wanted to see if Coyote's Daughter was worth the trouble. He waited until she came out to sit by her tree.

Then Firefly saw how long was her hair, heard how sweet was her voice, and decided she was worth it. He emerged from his hiding place to speak to her.

"I will find the pearls for you," he said. "Then you will marry me right away. None of this waiting business."

Coyote's Daughter was angry at Firefly's impatience. But she smiled and said, "The sooner you bring them, the sooner we can be married. Why don't you start looking now?"

Firefly thought this was a good idea and went off to look. He looked under leaves, in logs, around streams. He looked over hills and beneath the roots of trees.

When night came, he had not found any pearls. When he thought of Coyote's Daughter and her beautiful hair, he kept looking. He had a special lamp with a captured star to see by. When it became too dark to see, Firefly took out this lamp and flew all over the woods. The star's light only winked, and never went out. This made it easy to find the pearls because the light flashed off their surface.

By dawn Firefly had all the pearls in the forest. He tried to make them into a necklace again, but the sinew would not tie. The beads slid off the cord and fell to the ground.

"I can't do this," Firefly said to himself. "Perhaps if I rest, I will do better later."

He put the pearls together in a little pile and went to sleep. While he slept, Coyote's Daughter came. She wanted to look at this brave who had searched all night without giving up.

When she saw the pearls and sinew, she said to herself, "He doesn't know he is missing the pearl I keep in my shirt. When he wakes, I will tell him. Then I'll see the kind of person he is."

 

 

Suddenly, Coyote's Daughter saw the lamp. This made her unhappy, for the star wept for its home in the sky.

She stole the lamp and let the star go. Then she took a bit of fire from her father's lodge and put it inside. Coyote's fire never went out, so she was sure it would be all right.

Then she returned the lamp just before Firefly awoke. When Firefly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Coyote's Daughter trying to sneak away. At first he thought she had stolen the pearls, but then he saw they were untouched.

"Why are you here?" he demanded.

"I wanted to look at you," Coyote's Daughter replied.

"I have all the pearls from the forest," Firefly said. "After I fix your necklace, you can look all you want."

"You haven't fixed it yet," Coyote's Daughter said.

Firefly felt guilty for speaking so badly. He confessed that he could not fix the necklace, saying that she did not have to be his wife.

Pitying Firefly, Coyote's Daughter took the pearl from her shirt. "You can't fix the necklace because I have the last pearl. I'll give it to you, because of your honesty and diligence."

Firefly grew impatient again and tried to grab the pearl. But Coyote's Daughter was ready for this. She threw it over his head. It bounced high and far, into the forest. It bounced until it disappeared.

"After you have learned some patience," Coyote's Daughter said, "I will marry you." She went home to make a new necklace, this time of wooden beads because that was all she had.

Firefly knew if he gave up and went home, everyone would laugh at him. Also he knew he loved Coyote's Daughter and wanted her to be his wife. So, he flew after the pearl, looking everywhere. When night came again, he got his lamp thinking he could find the pearl like he did the others.

But the wind from Firefly's wings blew out the fire that Coyote's Daughter had put in the lamp. Firefly then saw that the star was gone, replaced with a few hot coals.

"Coyote's Daughter tricked me," he said. But he relit the fire and tried to look some more. Again the fire was blown out by his wings.

But Firefly could not give up. He kept flying and looking, stopping to relight the fire, then flying some more.

And so it is even to this day. Firefly's nighttime path is the search for the pearl, pausing ever so often to relight his lamp.

Story and Illustrations by Katrina Joyner