How the Coyote Joined the Dance of the Burrowing-Owls
A Zuni trickster tale about Coyote who stumbled upon a sacred dance of the Burrowing-owls. The owls were performing a ceremonial dance in the moonlight, and Coyote, ever the opportunist, wanted to join. At first the owls were suspicious, but Coyote insisted he could dance as well as they. He joined their circle, but his clumsy, undisciplined dancing disrupted the sacred ceremony. The owls, annoyed by his foolish behavior, played a trick on him. When Coyote tired and wanted to leave, he found that the owls' dance had placed him under a spell — he could not stop dancing. He was forced to dance u