Once upon a time， a long ago， ahorrible monster stole all the buffalo2from the plains3 and put them in hismountain hideout.

“There，”beamed4 the monster.“Ihave enough food to last forever.”

A coyote called all the people andall the animals together in a greatmeeting to find out what they could do.No one had an idea. They were too afraidof the monster to think at all.

“I scouted5 the monster，” Coyotespoke up. “He lives with a very smallboy.”

“We cannot hurt a child，”said oneof the people.“Not even to get back ourbuffalo.”

“That is understood，” Coyotenodded. “But I was thinking... a smallboy must be very lonely with no one tolove except a horrible monster. I thinkwe should give him a pet. When thechance arises， the pet we send can setthe buffalo free.”

很久很久以前，一個(gè)可怕的怪物偷走了平原上所有的水牛，并把他們放在了他的山中藏身處。

“好了，”怪物笑容滿面地說，“我有夠吃一輩子的食物了?！?/p>

一只郊狼召集了所有的人和所有的動物開大會，想弄清楚他們能做些什么。沒有人想出辦法。

他們太害怕怪物了，根本不敢想。

“我偵察了怪物。”郊狼大聲說，“他和一個(gè)很小的男孩住在一起。”

“我們不能傷害一個(gè)孩子。”其中一個(gè)人說，“哪怕是為了奪回我們的水牛?！?/p>

“這是可以理解的?！苯祭屈c(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，“但我在想……一個(gè)小男孩一定很孤獨(dú)，他除了一個(gè)可怕的怪物，沒有人可以去愛。我認(rèn)為我們應(yīng)該給他一只寵物。當(dāng)機(jī)會出現(xiàn)時(shí)，我們送去的寵物可以放走水牛?！?/p>

All the people and all the animalsthought that was a marvelous6 idea.

First， they sent Mouse to win theheart of the small boy. The boy likedMouse and took him home. But themonster told the boy to send Mouse away.Next， the people sent Killdeer， a bird. Butthe bird fared7 no better.

Coyote called another meeting. “Ithink，”Coyote told all the people and allthe animals，“that I must go myself.”

That very day， Coyote set out for themonster’s lair8. When the boy saw Coyote，his eyes brightened. The boy loved Coyoteimmediately and took him home. Themonster was very angry. “Get that dirtydog out of here before I eat you both！ ”

The boy and Coyote ran out of thelair. The boy sat down. He tried not to cry，but a tear ran down one cheek. Coyote licked9 it away.

“Poor dog，”sighed10 the boy. “I betyou’re hungry.”

Coyote put back his head and howled11. That is the sound Coyote makesto comfort12 the boy.

The buffalo heard Coyote’s cry. Itfrightened them. They began stampingtheir feet the way buffalo do when theyare nervous.

所有的人和動物都認(rèn)為這是一個(gè)了不起的想法。

首先，他們派老鼠去贏得小男孩的心。男孩喜歡老鼠，就把他帶回家了。但是怪物叫男孩把老鼠趕走。接下來，人們送去了小鳥雙領(lǐng)鸻。但這只鳥的進(jìn)展也沒好到哪里去。

郊狼又召集了一次會議?！拔蚁?，”郊狼告訴所有的人和動物，“我得親自出馬?！?/p>

就在那一天，郊狼出發(fā)前往怪物的巢穴。當(dāng)男孩看到狼時(shí)，他眼睛一亮。男孩立刻喜歡上了狼，并把他帶回了家。怪物非常生氣。“把那只臟兮兮的狗弄出去，不然我就吃掉你們兩個(gè)！”

男孩和郊狼跑出了巢穴。男孩坐了下來。他努力憋住淚水，但一滴眼淚還是順著臉頰流了下來。郊狼把它舔掉了。

“可憐的狗?！蹦泻@了口氣，“我猜你餓了?！?/p>

郊狼仰起頭，嚎叫起來。這是郊狼用來安慰男孩的聲音。

水牛聽到了郊狼的叫聲。這嚇壞了他們。他們開始以水牛緊張時(shí)的樣子跺著腳。

The more the boy cried， and themore Coyote howled， the more frightenedthe buffalo became. One buffalobecame so afraid that he began to run.The other buffalo ran after him. Theyran and ran until they had scattered13all over the plains. The monster ranafter the buffalo.

While the monster was gone，Coyote took the small boy to live withthe people.

The monster hunted and hunted，but the buffalo had scattered without atrace. Late that night， when themonster returned to his lair， strongpeople were waiting. They killed themonster， much to the relief14 of onesmall boy and all of the people and allof the animals.

Even today， the people still givethanks to clever Coyote.

男孩哭得越厲害，郊狼嚎叫得越厲害，水牛就越害怕。一頭水牛非常害怕，開始逃跑。其他水牛也跟著他跑。他們跑啊跑，直到散布整個(gè)平原。怪物追著水牛跑。

怪物走后，郊狼帶著小男孩和人們一起生活。

怪物不斷地追捕，但水牛已經(jīng)四散無蹤。那天深夜，當(dāng)怪物回到他的巢穴時(shí)，強(qiáng)壯的人們正等著。他們殺死了怪物，這讓小男孩、所有的人和所有的動物松了一口氣。

即使在今天，人們?nèi)匀桓兄x聰明的郊狼。

（英語原文選自：nativeamericans.mrdonn.org）