maller box was the moon, it contained little light. In the largerone was the sun and it gave off a lot of light. Coyote told Eagle that they should go and steal the big box. So when all the Kachinas went home to sleep,Eagle put both the sun and the moon into one box and flew off. After a while Coyote wanted to carry the box thinking that Eagle might be hiding something from him. He pestered and pestered Eagle till he could not take it anymore and Eagle let him hold the box. Coyote promised not to open the box, but after a while, he wanted to know what the light looked like. So he took a peek. All at once the sun and the moon came escaping out of the box. The moon caused all the plants to shrivel up and turn brown. Then all the leaves fell off the trees and it became winter. As he was trying to catch the moon, the sun drifted away and all the fruits shriveled up in the cold. Eagle turned to see what was keeping Coyote. When he saw what Coyote had done he scolded him and blamed him for the reason coldness came to the world. "If it were not for Coyote's curiosity and mischief making, we would not have winter; we could enjoy summer all the time" (Erdoes and Ortiz 142).In this Native American legend the sun and the moonrepresent the day and night. Thus, they are metaphorically associated with summer and winter. When Coyote releases the moon he brings death and desolation to the world. "The sun, the father of light who begets all living things upon mother earth, the illuminator of the primordial darkness, is life giver as well as destroyer" (Erdoes and Ortiz 127). By doing this he completely disrupts the seasonal cycle by interfering with the heavenly process. At the time, to the Zuni, the Kachinas were demi-gods. "They regularly visited the pueblos and established elaborate rituals that included festive dances for the people"(Erdoes and Ortiz 143). Yet, though the Eagle trusted the Coyote and showed the Coyote he did by...
