"Then come to our commune. We have no one to show us how to heal the sick nor to coax fertility out of this barren soil," they said. "If you will go, we will remain for the night and lead the way."
So it was arranged and to everybody's comfort and joy it began to rain shortly after and then the air was much more cool and pleasant.
The little prairie dogs were not so well pleased with this arrangement. They stuck their noses up into the moist air and whined and yelped half of the night. There can be no doubt that they were holding an indignation meeting, and were having a noisy and windy debate. May be they were comparing notes about the tall hats and veils of the wise men, or they may not have thought their long beards becoming. Or who shall say that they were not in their own peculiar fashion devising plans for safety, and to vindicate their offended dignity? They may have objected seriously to having strange men intruding upon their privacy, and it must not be considered a reflection on their courage because they scampered out of sight at the sound of a human voice. It was quite enough to frighten inoffensive little animals like these.
"THE WRATHY CHIEFTAIN"
It is said that Katzimo, the enchanted Mesa, was the first stopping-place of the Golden Hearted, and it is certain that the wise men taught the husbandmen in that part of the world how to make irrigating ditches and canals all through their inhospitable country, because there are many remains of these waterways still to be seen. Some say, too, that these people got the idea of living in pueblos or villages from studying the habits of the prairie dogs and to this day the coyote is thought to be a good friend by the descendants of these ancient husbandmen.
"The hunters are angry with you for teaching the tillers of the soil how to make the land fertile without making it easier for the men of the chase to get food for themselves and families," said an old woman to the Golden Hearted, one day as he stood watching her make a water jar of clay. She would not have spoken had he not shown her how to make a pretty design and also how to ornament it differently from anything she had seen before.
"I am willing to teach them to weave blankets and baskets," he replied. "The Good Law spares the life of every creature and forbids our eating its flesh for food. The hunters should give up the chase and fighting."
"They say that only women should do these things," said the old pottery maker, "and they disdain to carry the rocks and mud to make our dwellings."