Introduction: Coyote wanted to prove

that he was the big boss of everything

and everyone. In fact, he was turning

into a big bully. Read about how he

got himself in trouble and what he

learned in the end.

This story was written back in 2006 by the new-

deceased Terry Gardner. He was a clinical social

worker all the way up to the time of his death. He

also was a published author. This Four Directions

story, as he called them, is shared in his memory

and with permission of his widow, Lin Gardner.

Ellen Eagle swooped and soared high across

the cloudless sky. She cocked her head and

heard Carl Coyote’s faint words, “I’m the

Master! I’m the BIG boss of EVERYTHING and

EVERYONE!”

Eagle saw Carl Coyote running around in circles. She

shook her head and said to herself, “I HAVE to check

this out.”

Eagle tightly tucked her wings and plummeted from

high in the sky toward Coyote.

Coyote saw Eagle diving toward him. He

picked up some rocks and began throwing

them at her as she threw open her wings to

brake herself.

Coyote yelled, “You wanna fight? NO ONE can beat

me!”

Eagle made a sharp turn and landed on a tree ten

feet from Coyote. She called to Coyote, “Hey

Coyote, why are you running in circles and trying to

throw rocks at me?”

Coyote yelled, “I’m tough and NO ONE can beat me

or boss me. I’ll show you!”

Coyote wound up and threw a rock hard at Eagle.

The rock whizzed ten feet from Eagle’s head.

A loud “Ha, ha, ha” rang from the nearby

forest. Coyote whirled and yelled, “Who dares

laugh at me, the BEST one around here?”

Ben Bear and Wendy Wolf stepped from the

trees. Bear called to Coyote, “Hey, Coyote.

We’re not laughing at you. We’re laughing at

what you’re doing. Do you really think you are

the greatest?”

Coyote said nothing. He just picked up two

rocks and swiftly threw them at Bear and Wolf.

The rocks missed Bear and Wolf by fifteen feet.

Wolf said, “His throws are as wild as his words.”

Eagle called to Coyote, “Why do you think you have

to be so mean to us? We like you. You don’t have to

prove how tough or great you are.”

Coyote picked up more rocks and began throwing

them at Wolf, Bear, and Eagle. Coyote yelled as he,

again, widely missed his three friends. “I’ll, …, I’ll show

you how tough I am!!!”

Coyote threw down his remaining stones and dashed

down the trail.

Eagle fluttered to the ground so she could talk

with her two friends. She said, “I wonder what

got into Coyote? He’s trying to be a real bully.”

Coyote dashed down the forest path. He said

to himself, “Those idiots! They’ll soon know I can

beat any of them. I’ll find someone I can really

beat up.”

Robbie Rabbit nibbled on some delicious

berries in a tangle of wild thorn bushes. He saw

Coyote dashing toward him and called out,

“Coyote, why are you in such a hurry?”

Coyote’s eyes screamed murder. His face and

mouth turned into a hateful snarl and he

leaped at Robbie Rabbit.

Robbie Rabbit screamed and dashed away to safety

deeper in the patch of thorns.

Coyote yelled, “I’ve got you now, Robbie Rabbit! I’m

going to eat you right here!”

Coyote jumped high into the air and arched toward

Robbie Rabbit’s former eating place. Coyote made

one BAD mistake. He didn’t notice the wild thorn

bushes.

Coyote plummeted to earth and he hit the hard

ground, SPLAT.

Coyote’s agonizing yell-scream echoed for five miles,

“YEOWWW!!!!”

Bear spoke very quickly to Eagle and Wolf,

“Let’s hurry up. I think Coyote got himself into

trouble again.”

Eagle spread her wings and screeched, “I’ll go

ahead and let you know.”

Wolf nodded to her friends, and they all left as

fast as possible.

Coyote screamed, “I’m dying, I’m dying! Those

thorns are killing me!” Coyote thrashed around

the brier or thorn patch.

Robbie Rabbit’s heart settled down some and

he SLOWLY poked his nose out of a pile of

branches. He looked at Coyote. Robbie Rabbit

saw he was safe for now.

Robbie Rabbit felt even better when he saw

Bear and Wolf lope into the scene. He noticed

Eagle swoop low and gracefully land on a

nearby branch.

Coyote tore at the thorns piercing his hide and yelled

to the three, “Help me! Help me!”

Eagle saw Robbie Rabbit with her ever-sharp eyes.

She called to the Rabbit, “Hi, Robbie Rabbit. You are

safe with us. What happened?”

Coyote’s agony caused him to scream, “Stop

talking and help me!”

Bear spoke firmly and simply, “We can’t help

you because you claim to be the Big Boss of all

the animal folk.”

Wolf encouraged the Rabbit, “Robbie Rabbit,

tell us what happened. Did it involve Coyote?”

Robbie Rabbit hopped out of his hiding place

and nodded his head. He reported to Wolf,

Eagle, and Bear, “I heard Coyote say he would

beat somebody up. Then he saw me and tried

to eat me.”

Coyote continued to rip at the thorn vines

digging into his hide. He yelled, “Will ALL of you

PLEASE help me?”

Wolf shook her head sadly and said, “We can’t

help anyone who thinks he is the Big Boss of all

the animal folk, acting all big and tough like a

bully.”

Coyote’s face darkened with anger and he

screamed, “I’ll get all of you! I’ll get all of you!”

Eagle screeched, “Do you think we should beat

Coyote up some and show him who is really the Big

Boss around here?”

Wolf grinned widely and her fangs gleamed as

she said, “I’d like to take just a nip or two out of

him now.”

Bear shook his head and growled, “I think we

best leave him alone. Hurting him like he wants

to hurt Robbie Rabbit and all of us won’t help

him. However, we’ll let Robbie Rabbit make the

decision. Coyote wanted to really hurt and

even eat Robbie. Robbie, do you want to hurt

Coyote?”

Robbie Rabbit looked puzzled and finally

understood Bear’s question. Robbie Rabbit

said, “We’re all okay. Coyote hurt himself but

no one else. Let’s leave him alone.”

Eagle looked very puzzled and worried. She

said to Robbie Rabbit, “What will you do if

Coyote tries to hurt you again?”

Robbie Rabbit answered Eagle by raising his

rear foot and stamping the ground very hard

three times. Fifty brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles,

nieces, nephews, mother, and father of Robbie

Rabbit instantly appeared.

Grandfather Rabbit called to Robbie, “What’s

going on?”

Robbie Rabbit answered, “Coyote tried to hurt

me. He said he wished to eat me.”

Grandfather Rabbit looked sternly at Coyote

and asked, “Did you really try to do hurt to

Robbie Rabbit?”

Coyote shook with fear when he saw all the

rabbits. He knew they could and would kick

him hard with their powerful hind legs if he

really tried to hurt Robbie Rabbit, and they

found out about it.

Coyote answered, “Ah, …, ah, …, yes. Please,

please, don’t hurt me.”

Grandfather Rabbit replied, “We won’t hurt

you now. But you better leave Robbie Rabbit

and all our other little ones alone.”

“Yes, Yes, and more Yes,” gasped Coyote.

“Please, please, help me with these thorns!”

Grandfather Rabbit stroked his chin and said,

“Do you still think you are the Big Boss of all the

Animal Folk?”

Coyote THREW back his head and strangled

out an answer, “NO, NO, NO!!”

Grandfather Rabbit looked around and

nodded to his many relatives. They all grinned

and hopped toward Coyote.

Coyote started to run; but he was so tangled in

the vines, he tripped on his feet and went

SPLAT on the ground.

All the rabbits reached Coyote and began

nibbling on the thorn vines.

Coyote’s terror changed to side-splitting

laughter. He yelled, “You’re all eating my fur,

but it tickles!”

Grandfather Rabbit ordered Coyote, “Stay still!

We can’t nibble the thorn vines off you unless

you are still.”

Coyote immediately lay down as the rabbits

swarmed over him. The rabbits quickly ate all

the thorn vines.

Coyote stood up and said, “Ah, I don’t know

how to thank all you rabbits.”

Grandfather Rabbit told him, “Thank all of us by

keeping your promise. You MUST leave Robbie

Rabbit and all our other little ones alone. Thank

Ben Bear, Ellen Eagle, and Wendy Wolf by

being a friend and not trying to be a bully.”

Bear told Coyote, “You did not do such as

good job at being a master of anything. You

can only be the boss of yourself.”

Coyote replied, “You’re all right. I’ll be a friend

to all of you from now on and not try to be

either a bully or a master.”