Trickster set out for the village of the muskrats. When he got there everyone was overjoyed to see him, and the children kept saying over and over, "Our uncles has come!" The old muskrat said, "My older brother has come. It is good." Then he turned to his wife and told her, "Prepare some roots from the pond lily [inset] for my elder brother." She handed him a bucket, and he took it out to where he could get some ice. He took his awl and chopped the ice into pieces, and brought back a whole bucket of chopped ice. His wife took the bucket of ice and began cooking it over the fire. After the water had boiled awhile, she reached in with a ladle, and unexpectedly, she dished out a large quantity of pond lily roots. Trickster was surprised, as the kettle never had anything but ice in it. Trickster ate his fill of the roots, and when he was done, the old muskrat's wife said to him, "Take some of these pond lily roots home with you for your wife." But Trickster replied, "No thanks. You know we have a few things to eat back home." However, he did not speak the truth — in fact, it was because he was out of food that he went to visit the muskrat village.

Trickster was about to go on his way, when he conceived a plan. He took one of his mittens and left it under the mat. He went a ways, then turned and called, "I left one of my mittens by the mat, have one of your children send it over to me!" The old muskrat said to one of his children, "Take this out to your uncle, but don't actually hand it to him — just throw it to him. He is a great talker, that is why I say this." So the child ran in Trickster's direction, but stopped short and was about to throw the mitten to him when Trickster said, "I dread going back, that's why I need you to hand it to me." When the little muskrat brought the glove over, Trickster said to him, "Tell your father to come by and see me tomorrow morning." When the child got back, he said, "Father, my uncle says you are to visit him tomorrow morning." The old muskrat said, "I knew he would do this, that is why I told you not to talk to him." The child said, "I was going to throw it to him, but he told me to bring it to him, as he dreaded to go back. That is why I did it."

The next morning the old muskrat went to visit Trickster. "Well, younger brother," said Trickster, "it did not seem possible for anyone to travel on a day like this, but here you are!" Then Trickster turned to his wife and said, "Old woman, give me my bag and my awl." She found this to be an unusual request, but did as he had bidden her. He went out where there was ice and chopped some up with his awl, then returned with a bag full of it. He put a kettle over the fire and filled it full of ice. This embarrassed his wife, who told the old muskrat, "It must be that he saw you do something, that is why he is acting this way." As the water began to boil it overflowed the kettle — so much water welled up that it quenched the fire. In the end, Trickster had to take the kettle and pour the water outside. Trickster acted puzzled, and said to the muskrat, "I don't understand why it acted that way. It had always worked in the past." The old muskrat picked up the bag and the awl and went out to collected some chopped ice himself. Only this time, he poured the entire contents of the bag right on the side of the lodge, and as the ice rolled down its side, it became the roots of the pond lily. Four times he did this, until there were now quite a pile of roots. Trickster's wife was quite grateful and thanked the old muskrat very much. Then Trickster spoke angrily, "You bad old woman, how many times have I done the same thing, yet you never bothered to thank me for it! And here you are thanking this muskrat." After this, the muskrat went home. Trickster told his wife, "This is what the muskrat told me to do to get plenty of lilies of the lake. This should be plenty of food for us and the children for some time to come."

After a time they finally ate up the food Muskrat had gotten them, so Trickster said to his wife, "Well, now, old woman, it is time for me to go out and visit some of my younger brothers." "All right," she said. He set out for the lodge of Snipe. When he arrived, Snipe said to him, "Hoho, my older brother. I thought it was impossible to walk around here, but you have done it." Snipe's children were overjoyed, and kept saying, "Our uncle is here!" Then Snipe asked his wife, "Old woman, what shall you fix for my old brother?" "Why don't you go get some fish for him," she replied. So Snipe took some fiber twine with him and went to the river where a tree overhung the water. As he stood on the limb, he yelled, "Riririgi!" and soon fish were swarming in the water below. He waited for the biggest fish to open one of its gills, then he jumped right through the gill opening and out the gill on the opposite side with the twine with him. In this way he strung the fish and hauled it in. When they got back the old woman boiled it, and Trickster ate as much as he wanted, for it was a very large fish. Trickster thanked him and said, "Younger brother you are indeed fortunate to be able to catch all the fish that you want." "Well, now, old brother," said Snipe, "I can catch some more fish for you to take home to your wife and children if you want." However, Trickster said with some pride, "Oh, that won't be necessary. We actually have plenty of fish at home." This he said to fool Snipe, as the facts were quite the opposite.

Before Trickster left for home, he hid one of his mittens under the mat. After he had gone but a little way, he called back and said, "Little brother, I have forgotten one of my mittens under the mat. Have one of your children run it back out to me." Before he sent one of his children out, he told him, "Only go half way toward him, then throw the mitten, as he is quite a talker." So the children ran out to Trickster and was about to throw him the mitten, when Trickster said, "Come over here and hand it to me, as I dread to turn back to pick it up." So the little snipe ran up to him with the mitten. "Tell your father," said Trickster, "to pay me a visit tomorrow." When the little snipe returned, he said, "Father, uncle says you are to visit him tomorrow." "Now," said the father, "that is exactly why I told you not to go up to him." "But father," the little snipe replied, "he told me that he dreaded to come back, and that I should hand it to him. So I did."

The next morning Snipe went to Trickster's lodge for a visit. Trickster complemented him by saying, "I hardly thought it possible for someone to go out today, but you have done it." Trickster's children were overjoyed to see Snipe and said over and over, "Our uncle has come!" Then Trickster turned to his wife and said, "Well, old woman, hand me some of that fiber twine so that we can get my younger brother something to eat." Although she had no idea what the twine was for, she gave it to him. Trickster went down to the river's edge and called out, "Čigirixiježe!" "Well," said his wife, "that's the strangest sound that has ever left his lips." A bunch of fish gathered together at the bank and Trickster focused on the biggest. He looked for an opening in the gills, and when it appeared, he jumped in; but instead of going through the gills with his twine in hand, he landed in the fish's mouth, and was swallowed whole. The children began to cry and the old woman said to Snipe, "He has never acted this way before. He must have seen you do something when he was at your place." Snipe said, "Do you have any more of that twine left?" She found a piece and handed it to him. Snipe went down to where a tree overhung the water, and there he called, "Riririgi!" Soon a large school of fish appeared, but not the fish that swallowed Trickster. After some time, finally the šawawąkše fish swam up. Eventually, a very small opening appeared in the gills, and Snipe jumped through, catching Trickster and dragging him out the other side. Trickster laughed and said, "Little brother, this is the first time that such a thing has happened to me. I knew you would be hungry after your journey, so I rushed things too much, and that's what always happens when you try to hurry things." After that, Snipe caught plenty of fish, and before long they had so many that they would not run out of food for some time. After Snipe left, Trickster said, "Well, old woman — now you can see what a good provider I am. We have enough fish to last us a long time." They barbecued the fish every night, and they lasted a very long time indeed.

When the fish finally ran out, Trickster told his wife, "Old woman it is time for me to visit my little brother Woodpecker so that we can get more food." She replied, "Go ahead." Trickster set out on the road and finally reached the lodge of Woodpecker. Woodpecker greeted him and said, "Well, older brother, I thought it was quite impossible to travel on the road these days, but I see that you have done it." "As a matter of fact," said Trickster, "I have been doing plenty of traveling these days." Then Woodpecker's wife spoke, "Well, old man, we are out of fresh meat, so what is our older brother going to eat?" "Give me my awl," he said in reply. He strapped the awl to his bill, then jumped up onto the central pole of his lodge and yelled, "Kowąk, kowąk, kowąk!" He looked all around the pole, then he struck it again with his awl, yelling, "Koko!" and unexpectedly, a bear immediately fell down onto the floor. They singed off its fur, and chopped the meat up to boil. Soon it was ready and they dished it out. Trickster by now was starving, so he ate a very large quantity. When Woodpecker saw this, he said, "Older brother, why don't you take the remainder of this meat home for your wife and children?" "Oh, that's all right," replied Trickster, "after all I have an awl too, so we have plenty of bear meat at home."

Before Trickster left, he hid one of his mittens under the mat. When he got a fair distance from the lodge, he called back, "Younger brother, I left one of my mittens under the mat. Can you have one of your children run it back to me?" Woodpecker told one of his children, "Now take this out to your uncle, but do not go right up to him. When you get half way, throw him his mitten. He is a big talker, is why I say this." So the child went half way and was about to throw the mitten, when Trickster called to him and said, "Nephew, don't throw it, but bring it right to me. I dread to turn back once I'm on my way, that is why I am asking you." So the child did as Trickster bid him, but when he handed him the mitten, Trickster said, "Tell your father that he is to visit me tomorrow morning." "Father," said the child when he returned, "my uncle says that you are to visit him tomorrow morning." "Now that's exactly why I told you not to go right up to him," said Woodpecker. His son replied, "But he said that he dreaded to return, and that I should bring the mitten right to him. So I did."

First thing in the morning, Woodpecker went out to visit Trickster. Trickster had been anxiously awaiting his arrival, but when he appeared, Trickster pretended to be surprised. "Well, younger brother, I thought with the road in such a condition that you would not venture out. But here you are!" Trickster's wife asked, "Brother-in-law, what would you like to eat." Before Woodpecker could answer, Trickster interrupted and said, "Old woman, as we are out of fresh meat, you had better give me my awl." She had no idea what he wanted with it, but gave it to him anyway. Then unexpectedly, he stuck the handle in his nose and scaled the center pole of the lodge, climbing all the way to the top. Once he was there, he began to call out, "Kowąk, kowąk, kowąk!" He began to vigorously hammer the awl into the wood, and it made a loud noise. He hit the wood so hard that it knocked him out, and he fell with a thud from the pole. As Trickster lay there dizzy with his nose bleeding, his children began to cry, and his wife said, "Oh my, brother-in-law, he must have seen you do something when he visited you, as he has never acted like this before." Trickster got up and said, "I can't believe it — all the times that I have done this, and just when you visit me, something has to go wrong!" Woodpecker asked for the awl, and when they gave it to him, he strapped it to his bill. Then he hopped onto the center pole, and after looking around a bit, he yelled, "Kowąk, kowąk, kowąk!" He made a loud sound and knocked a raccoon down from the center of the pole. He did it a second and a third time, and each time a raccoon fell to the floor with the thump. The fourth time he did it, four bears fell to the floor. When he was done, he went on his way back home. "Well old woman," said Trickster, "this is what real mean do when they want to eat fat. Now we will have plenty of lard." They made robes of the hides, and they even saved the intestines, which they washed thoroughly, including even the rectum. Thus they wasted nothing, and had plenty to eat. They led a pleasant life and every night was a feast.

In time they even used up the vast quantity of bear meat they had stocked, so Trickster said to his wife, "Old woman, now we have finally used up our meat, so I think I'll pay a visit to my younger brother Skunk." "All right," she said, "we need something soon or the children will go hungry." So Trickster set out to visit his younger brother Skunk. The skunk family was very well tempered and they were all glad to see Trickster. "Well," said Skunk, "I would not have thought that anyone could venture out on a day like this, but my older brother has done it." They showed Trickster every courtesy and couldn't do enough for him. The old woman said, "Husband, what will your younger brother eat? We are out of fresh meat, so you had better do something." "Are there any acorns left?" asked Skunk. "Yes," replied his wife, and she handed him a bag full. Skunk took the bag and went to the door of his lodge and called out, "Come here deer and eat!" Soon many deer were congregating about the door of the lodge. Skunk scattered the acorns about the yard and deer began to come from every quarter and direction. Then, unexpectedly, Skunk turned his back on them and opened his anus. Then he broke wind with such force and substance that numerous deer fell over dead. Both Skunk and his wife prepared the meat. When it was boiled up and served, Trickster ate very much indeed. When he was through, Skunk said, "Why not take some of this venison home to your wife and children?" But Trickster replied, "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I have a good stock of venison myself, as I had done just as you did. As a matter of fact, I thought to stop by in order to get four new rounds, since I fired off all my ammunition the other day." "All right," said Skunk, and did something to fix Trickster's rectum. After that, Trickster went home.

Trickster traveled a short way but had a troubling thought: "Skunk used to be rather unreliable. I wonder if he has played a trick on me." Nearby was a small knoll, so Trickster decided to use it as a target. So he turned his back on it and broke wind. The impact was profound: when he turned around he found that the knoll had been completely blown away. "Well I guess Skunk did right by me after all," he thought to himself. Nevertheless, he didn't travel too far before he was again troubled by suspicious thoughts: "I wonder if Skunk just made the first round live and the other three duds? I'd better test fire the next round." So he found a really big tree not to far away, and turned towards it. He broke wind with such force that not only did the tree fall over, but it was ripped out by its roots. "Well," said Trickster in a reassured tone, "the little guy did right by me after all." However, he did not get far down the trail before he was thinking that maybe just the first two round were good, and last two were only duds. Trickster thought, "Why worry about it, I can check the third round just as I did the other two." This time Trickster picked a good sized rock as his target. He turned and fired with such force that the rock was blown to pieces. Trickster had to admit to himself, "The little unreliable guy proved out this time." As he got near home, he was again troubled by doubts: "I was surprised that he gave me three rounds let alone four. Maybe three is all that he actually gave me. I'm sure that he didn't give me a fourth, but there's only one way to know for sure." Thus he thought to himself, and began looking for a suitable target. Soon he spied a rugged, rocky hill and took careful aim at it. He broke wind with greater power than ever, and not a stone remained of the pointed hill — every bit of it was blasted to oblivion.

The next morning Skunk paid Trickster a visit. "Well, little brother," said Trickster, "I would not have thought it possible to go about today, but you have done it." The children were overjoyed and yelled, "Our uncle has come!" The children had learned that whenever someone that they could call "uncle" came over, it meant that they would eat. This is why they acted that way. The old woman said, "What shall we get my brother-in-law to eat?" Trickster said, "Do we have any acorns left over?" They had been boiling them to eat themselves, but a few still remained, so she gave them to him without knowing what he had in mind. Trickster pitched the acorns out into the yard, then he hid himself. He pointed his anus out and yelled, "Deer, come here and eat!" His wife said, "The old man is acting as if he really had something to say." So many deer came running up that some even entered the lodge looking for the promised food. They didn't see the food, but they soon noticed Trickster standing near the door with his anus pointed at them and straining to break wind. All he succeeded in doing, however, was soiling himself. When the deer saw this, they stampeded for the exit and ran right over Trickster, who by now was covered in blood and filth. Then Skunk turned to the old woman and said, "Sister-in-law, do you have any acorns left at all?" She found a few more and gave them to him. Skunk scattered them in the yard and yelled, "Deer, come here and eat!" When the deer showed up, Skunk turned his anus on them and the gas killed almost everyone of them. Then Skunk went home.

Trickster declared, "Well, old woman, this is how one must act to get plenty of deer." They prepared the deer in every way imaginable: they boiled, barbecued, and broiled the venison. Then they took the fat and buried it in the ice to preserve it. They tanned the deerskins and preserved all the meat. They had a good supply of lard as well. They used every bit of the deer, and even made sausages out of the intestines. [1]

Commentary. All the stories in this group have a clear isomorphism which is too obvious to detail.

Comparative Material. The closely related Ioway have a story much like this which they tell about their trickster Ictinike. 'Ictinike shortly after took his leave of the Beavers, and pretended to forget his tobacco-pouch, which he left behind. The Beaver told one of his young ones to run after him with the pouch, but, being aware of Ictinike's treacherous character, he advised his offspring to throw it to the god when at some distance away. The young beaver accordingly took the pouch and hurried after Ictinike, and obeying his father's instruction, was about to throw it to him from a considerable distance when Ictinike called to him: 'Come closer, come closer.' The young beaver obeyed, and as Ictinike took the pouch from him he said: 'Tell your father that he must visit me.' When the young beaver arrived home he acquainted his father with what had passed, and the Beaver showed signs of great annoyance. 'I knew he would say that,' he growled, 'and that is why I did not want you to go near him.' But the Beaver could not refuse the invitation, and in due course returned the visit. Ictinike, wishing to pay him a compliment, was about to kill one of his own children wherewith to regale the Beaver, and was slapping it to make it cry in order that he might work himself into a passion sufficiently murderous to enable him to take its life, when the Beaver spoke to him sharply and told him that such a sacrifice was unnecessary. Going down to the stream hard by, the Beaver found a young beaver by the water, which was brought up to the lodge, killed and cooked, and duly eaten. On another occasion Ictinike announced to his wife his intention of calling upon her grandfather the Musk-rat. At the Musk-rat's lodge he met with the same tale of starvation as at the home of the Beaver, but the Musk-rat told his wife to fetch some water, put it in the kettle, and hung the kettle over the fire. When the water was boiling the Musk-rat upset the kettle, which was found to be full of wild rice, upon which Ictinike feasted. As before, he left his tobacco-pouch with his host, and the Musk-rat sent one of his children after him with the article. An invitation for the Musk-rat to visit him resulted, and the call was duly paid. Ictinike, wishing to display his magical powers, requested his wife to hang a kettle of water over the fire, but, to his chagrin, when the water was boiled and the kettle upset instead of wild rice only water poured out. Thereupon the Musk-rat had the kettle refilled, and produced an abundance of rice, much to Ictinike's annoyance. Ictinike then called upon his wife's grandfather the Kingfisher, who, to provide him with food, dived into the river and brought up fish. Ictinike extended a similar invitation to him, and the visit was duly paid. Desiring to be even with his late host, the god dived into the river in search of fish. He soon found himself in difficulties, however, and if it had not been for the Kingfisher he would most assuredly have been drowned. Lastly, Ictinike went to visit his wife's grandfather the Flying Squirrel. The Squirrel climbed to the top of his lodge and brought down a quantity of excellent black walnuts, which Ictinike ate. When he departed from the Squirrel's house he purposely left one of his gloves, which a small squirrel brought after him, and he sent an invitation by this messenger for the Squirrel to visit him in turn. Wishing to show his cleverness, Ictinike scrambled to the top of his lodge, but instead of finding any black walnuts there he fell and severely injured himself. Thus his presumption was punished for the fourth time." [2]

The Fox have a story that is fairly close to the Hočąk skunk episode. As he was traveling along, Skunk met Wasa'ka (the trickster). The two of them engaged in a shooting contest in which Skunk used his odiferous spray to hit his target. In order not to offend Skunk, Wasa'ka complimented him on his marksmanship. Skunk was flattered and gave Wasa'ka found rounds of his special ammunition. When Wasa'ka returned home, his grandmother told him to get out of the lodge and get rid of his smelly "ammunition," but Wasa'ka was not going to throw them away without at least trying them out. He shot at a tree and other object and by the time he fired the fourth and last round, the whole countryside stunk. However, when he fired this lost shot in vain, the power that Skunk had to shoot things at a long distance suddenly vanished. That is why today skunks can only hit things at close range. [2.1]

The theme of the bungling host is also found in the corresponding tale of the Ponca trickster cycle. Radin mentions this story in summary: "Ictinike visits beaver, muskrat, kingfisher and flying squirrel and tries to reciprocate their hospitality, but is unsuccessful." [3]

The skunk episode has an Assiniboine parallel described briefly by Radin: "Sitcóⁿski borrows some of Skunk's power, but wastes it splitting a tree stump." What follows in the Assiniboine tale seems to have no relationship to the Hočąk story. [4]

The Arapaho have a story of almost the same structure, but with different incidents. Nih’āⁿçaⁿ visits a man and his wife who give him food. The man makes the meat from bark. To make tallow the man split his wife's head open and used her brain. This had no ill effect upon her [as the heart is the seat of intellect]. Nih’āⁿçaⁿ invites the man over to his place and tries to perform the same feat, but ends up killing his wife. The man brings the unfortunate victim alive again, and correctly performs the feat on her with beneficent results. [5]

The Kickapoo version also has different incidents that develop the same overall theme. First Wiza'ka'a visits Beaver, who kills one of his own children so that they can eat. When they are done, the bones of the little beaver are thrown into the water, and immediately the beaver comes back to life. When Beaver returns the visit to Wiza'ka'a, the latter attempts the same with one of his children, but predictably the child does not come back to life, leaving Beaver to perform the resurrection for him. Then Wiza'ka'a visits Kingfisher. Kingfisher dove from a high tree overlooking the water and speared a fish, which they had for their meal. When Kingfisher came to visit Wiza'ka'a, he found that Wiza'ka'a and his whole family had attached sticks to their noses. Wiza'ka'a invited Kingfisher to sit down while he went out and did some fishing. Wiza'ka'a climbed a crooked tree, but when he attempted to dive into the water, he hit a branch instead and was knocked senseless. In the end, Kingfisher had to do the fishing before they could eat. [6]

The Tlingits of the Pacific Northwest, tell a story in which "Raven came to the bear, and the latter fed him on some of his own flesh, a proceeding which Raven tried to imitate in vain a little later." [7] The Tlingit tale recalls the episodes in which the special power of an animal permits him to get food in a magical way, but when someone else imitates him, nothing goes as planned.

The Chinook tribe of the same region tell a similar story. "[A tale] tells how Blue Jay and Ioi went to visit their friends. The Magpie was the first to receive the visitors, and by means of magic he provided food for them. Putting a salmon egg into a kettle of boiling water, he placed the kettle on the fire, and immediately it was full of salmon eggs, so that when they had eaten enough Blue Jay and Ioi were able to carry a number away. On the following day the Magpie called for the kettle they had borrowed. Blue Jay tried to entertain his visitor in the same magical fashion as the latter had entertained him. But his attempt was so ludicrous that the Magpie could not help laughing at him. The pair's next visit was to the Duck, who obtained food for them by making her children dive for trout. Again there was twice as much as they could eat, and Blue Jay and Ioi carried away the remainder on a mat. During the return visit of the Duck, Blue Jay tried to emulate this feat also, using Ioi's children instead of the ducklings. His attempt was again unsuccessful. The two visited in turn the Black Bear, the Beaver, and the Seal, all of whom similarly supplied refreshment for them in a magical manner. But Blue Jay's attempts at imitating these creatures were futile. A visit to the Shadows concluded the round, and the adventurers returned home." [8]

The Cherokee have an abbreviated version of the story. When Rabbit visited bear to eat with him, Bear discovered that he had no cooking oil, so he took a knife and punched a hole in his side, and all kinds of oil came out. They had a fine meal, so Rabbit invited Bear over to his place. Rabbit wanted to impress Bear with his own ability to provide oil, so he took a knife and stuck it into his own side. Nothing came out but blood. Bear had to explain the obvious — he had the fat under his skin to do that, but Rabbit did not. [9]

The Abenaki have an exact parallel to the woodpecker episode. Ableegumooch, Hare, was too lazy to get his food the ordinary way. One day he saw some female woodpeckers fill a whole plate with food just knocking their beaks against a tree. They invited Hare to the feast, and he judged the food to be delicious. Hare thought that this would be an easy way to get a meal. So he invited the woodpeckers to his own lodge for dinner. That day he told his grandmother Noogumee to get ready to prepare a meal, but she replied, "You foolish rabbit, there's nothing to eat." Nevertheless, he insisted that she start the water boiling while he went out to get the food. Hare strapped a stone point form an eel spear to his face and climbed a tree. He knocked his head against it over and over again until finally he bloodied his face, loss his balance, and crashed to the earth. The woodpeckers all laughed, as his grandmother told them that they might as well go home as there would be no dinner tonight. [11]

The Micmac also have a woodpecker episode. Once Hare visited Woodpecker. They were going to eat but had no food to cook, so Woodpecker went out and pecked on a nearby tree and came back with an abundance of food. When Woodpecker visited Hare, the rabbit had to go get some food himself before they could feast. Hare tried the same thing, but it did nothing but flatten and split his nose. Indeed, to this day, all rabbits have a flat, split nose. Woodpecker had to return home without a meal. [12]

Links: Trickster, Bird Spirits, The Sons of Earthmaker, Skunks.

Links within the Trickster Cycle:§18. The Scenting Contest, §20. Mink Soils the Princess.

Stories: featuring Trickster as a character: The Trickster Cycle, Trickster Gets Pregnant, Trickster's Warpath, Trickster's Anus Guards the Ducks, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, The Mission of the Five Sons of Earthmaker, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Trickster Soils the Princess, Trickster, the Wolf, the Turtle, and the Meadow Lark, Soft Shelled Turtle Gets Married, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, Trickster Concludes His Mission, The Abduction and Rescue of Trickster, The Elk's Skull, Trickster and the Mothers, The Markings on the Moon, The Spirit of Gambling, The Woman who Became an Ant, The Green Man, The Red Man, Trickster Takes Little Fox for a Ride, Trickster Loses His Meal, Trickster's Tail, A Mink Tricks Trickster, Trickster's Penis, Trickster Loses Most of His Penis, The Scenting Contest, Mink Soils the Princess, Trickster and the Children, Trickster and the Eagle, Trickster and the Geese, Trickster and the Dancers, Trickster and the Honey, Trickster's Adventures in the Ocean, The Pointing Man, Trickster's Buffalo Hunt, Trickster Eats the Laxative Bulb, Trickster Visits His Family, The Coughing Up of the Black Hawks, The Petition to Earthmaker, Waruǧápara, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge;.in which skunks are characters: The Skunk Origin Myth, Trickster and the Mothers, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, The Boy and the Jack Rabbit; mentioning woodpeckers: Holy One and His Brother; about Bird Spirits: Crane and His Brothers, The King Bird, Bird Origin Myth, Bird Clan Origin Myth, Wears White Feathers on His Head, Old Man and White Feathers, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, The Thunderbird, Owl Goes Hunting, The Boy Who Became a Robin, Partridge's Older Brother, The Woman who Loved Her Half-Brother, The Foolish Hunter, Ocean Duck, Earthmaker Sends Rušewe to the Twins, The Quail Hunter, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Hočąk Arrival Myth, Trickster Gets Pregnant, Trickster and the Geese, Holy One and His Brother (kaǧi, woodpeckers, hawks), Porcupine and His Brothers (Ocean Sucker), Turtle's Warparty (Thunderbirds, eagles, kaǧi, pelicans, sparrows), Kaǧiga and Lone Man (kaǧi), The Old Man and the Giants (kaǧi, bluebirds), The Red Feather, Trickster, the Wolf, the Turtle, and the Meadow Lark, Waruǧápara, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Black and White Moons, The Markings on the Moon, The Creation Council, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega), Hare Acquires His Arrows, Keramaniš'aka's Blessing (black hawk, owl), Worúxega (eagle), The Arrows of the Medicine Rite Men (eagle), The Gift of Shooting (eagle), Hočąk Clans Origin Myth, Hawk Clan Origin Myth, The Hočąk Migration Myth, Blue Jay, The Baldness of the Buzzard, The Abduction and Rescue of Trickster (buzzards), The Shaggy Man (kaǧi), The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth (kaǧi), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Įčorúšika and His Brothers (Loon), Great Walker's Medicine (loon), Roaster (woodsplitter), The Spirit of Gambling, The Big Stone (a partridge), Trickster's Anus Guards the Ducks, The Fleetfooted Man, The Journey to Spiritland (v. 4) — see also Thunderbirds.

Themes: starvation: The Brown Squirrel, White Wolf, The Red Man, The Old Man and His Four Dogs, A Man and His Three Dogs, Sun and the Big Eater, Bird Clan Origin Myth, Kaǧiga and Lone Man, The Shaggy Man, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head; someone uses flatulence as a weapon or deterrent against animals: Trickster's Anus Guards the Ducks; someone's rectum is prepared for a very special function: Trickster's Tail; someone flatulates with superhuman force: Trickster Eats the Laxative Bulb; a woodpecker uses an awl for a bill: Holy One and His Brother; someone strikes a post or pillar with a sharp instrument and a game animal falls out dead: Little Children Spirits, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head.

Notes:

[1] Paul Radin, The Trickster: A Study in American Indian Mythology (New York: Schocken Books, 1956) 41-49.

[2] Lewis Spence, Myths of the North American Indians (London: George G. Harrap & Company, 1916) 269-271.

[2.1] William Jones, Ethnography of the Fox Indians, Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 125 (Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1939) 32-33.

[3] Radin, The Trickster, 129, #13; the Ponca trickster cycle is found in James Owen Dorsey, Cegiha Texts, in Contributions to North American Ethnology (Washington, D. C.: 1890) vol. 6.

[4] Radin, The Trickster, 191, #43. These tales are collected in Robert H. Lowie, The Assiniboine, in The Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History (New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1909) 4:239-244.

[5] Adopted, "Nih’āⁿçaⁿ Imitates His Host," in George A. Dorsey and Alfred L. Kroeber, Traditions of the Arapaho (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997 [1903]) Story 60: 118-120.

[6] Kickapoo Tales, collected by William Jones, trs. by Truman Michelson. Publications of the American Ethnological Society (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1915) IX:7-9.

[7] Radin, The Trickster, 104. Tlingit trickster tales are collected in J. R. Swanton, Tlingit Myths and Texts, Bureau of American Ethnology (Washington, D. C.: Bureau of American Ethnology, 1909) Bulletin 39, 416-419.

[8] Spence, Myths of the North American Indians, 326-327.

[9] "The Rabbit Dines the Bear," in James Mooney, History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees (Asheville, North Carolina: Bright Mountain Books, 1992 [1891/1900]) Story 19: 273-274.

[10] Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz (edd.), American Indian Trickster Tales (New York: Penguin-Putnam, Inc., 1998) 83-85.

[11] Glenn Welker, "Ableegumooch, the Lazy Rabbit," in "Stories," at the Indigenous Peoples Literature Website, http://www.indigenouspeople.net/ipl_final.html

[12] Glenn Welker, "Ableegumooch, the Lazy Rabbit," in "Stories," at the Indigenous Peoples Literature Website, http://www.indigenouspeople.net/bunghost.htm