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Many Trails
A boy heard the voice of the Whippoorwill one night and went out to find where he was singing. He had to walk quite a ways through a big field because the song of the Whippoorwill carried so well in the wind he sounded much closer than he really was. On the way, the boy found a well-worn trail. So he stayed on it for a while. Sitting in the middle of the trail was Coyote. In addition, Coyote was singing too. He turned and saw the boy and said, "Why are you following me?" The boy was frightened and said, "Well, the trail you made happened to be a short and easy way through this field." Coyote than asked, "Well, if you aren't following me, then why are you here?" "Well, I heard the beautiful song of the Whippoorwill and wanted to watch him sing." "Well, do you not think my songs are beautiful?” said Coyote. "Oh", said the boy, "they are good but I hear you all the time. I much prefer the songs of the Whippoorwill." This made Coyote furious and he was jealous of the Whippoorwill song. He said, "Listen to my night song; you might like this one." he pulled back his head and yodeled out a tune. The boy covered his ears and politely said, "Thank you for the song but I must be going now." "Well," said Coyote, “I can show you a shortcut to the Whippoorwill boy. And where he sings is just over there", pointing his claw and smiling out of the side of his mouth. The boy paused and looked around. He knew the night was passing fast so he agreed to follow Coyote. Nevertheless, Coyote's trail was rough and rocky and the boy fell in quite a few gopher holes along the way. Coyote turned around and laughed and he yelled to the boy, "We're almost there --hurry up!" Coyote was at a full trot but the boy had just fallen again and hurt his knee. By the time, they had gotten to the place where the Whippoorwill had been singing all night, it was morning. Whippoorwill was gone and so was Coyote. In fact, he could hear Coyote's song in another field. So the boy turned and headed for home; covered with burrs, mosquito bites and a skinned up knee. Many summers later when the boy became a wiser man and he realized there are no shortcuts to find something you really love. However, there are many trails in this life so you must stay true to your path, and always keep an eye out for Coyote
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