Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon
Author: Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz.
Characters: Coyote, Eagle, the Kachinas, the sun, and the moon.
Setting: A forest in the dark and the village, many years ago.
Exposition: Coyote was a bad hunter who never killed anything, so he decided to team up with Eagle.
Rising action: They started hunting and Coyote realized that the reason why he could barely catch anything was that he couldn’t see in the dark.
Climax: They arrived at the pueblo, and waited till the Kachinas finished dancing to steal their light. Eagle then took the box with the light inside and flew off.
Falling action: Coyote ran along trying to keep up and asked Eagle to give him the box, but he refused because he didn’t want Coyote to ruin their plan. However, after begging four times, Eagle let him carry it and told him to promise that he wouldn’t open it.
Resolution: Although he promised not to open it, Coyote’s curiosity was stronger and he ended up opening the lid. As soon as he did, the moon escaped, flying high into the sky, and so did the sun, bringing cold and winter to this world.
New resolution: When Coyote was running with the box, he tripped on a rock and fell. Eagle stopped and went to check up on him, but they didn’t notice that the Kachinas had been following them, so they captured the animals and killed them.
Theme: Curiosity and betrayal.
Voice: Third person.
Mood: Curious. overwhelming, amazed.
Tone: Informal, friendly, frustrated.
Conflict: Man vs self Coyote was a bad hunter and could never kill anything. His curiosity made him break the promise, making winter come to the world.
Man vs super-power The sun and moon escaped and Coyote couldn’t catch them and put them back in the box.
Man vs nature Coyote couldn’t see in the dark. He almost drowned when he swam in the big river. As soon as Coyote released the moon, it became very cold.
Man vs man The Kachinas wouldn’t lend them the box, and Eagle didn’t trust the coyote.
Questions:
Why did Coyote team up with Eagle?
Who are the Kachinas and where did they have the light?
Why didn’t Eagle want to give the box to Coyote?
Where and how did they get the box?
What happened after Coyote released the sun and the moon?
