Florence Shaughnessy

"The Fox and the Coon" (1951)

Writing system: no hyphens | hyphens
Display style: paragraph |sentence | look-up

Text identifier: LA16-5
Speaker: Florence Shaughnessy
Primary documentation: R. H. Robins
Edition: R. H. Robins, The Yurok Language (1958), pp. 164-165

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1.

Noohl k'ee wek 'we-raayoy 'we-heerkeek 'o wohpeya'r tektoh, tue' wee'eeet reeegaayo'r kue wergers k'enego'hl kem keech kyue' weno'omo'r. Kwesee kohchee kem heekoch so 'ue-werhperyerksek' kwesee 'ap new ko'l nuemee wogee 'o key kolo ko'l sook nee nep'. Kwesee neekee 'w-egolek', Tee'neesho wee' 'o gohkueme'm, mee' nekee' 'ne-tektoh? 'O neee'no'w kue wee 'o key kwesee twegoh. Kwesee ye'm, Kues soo hese'm, Nekee' 'ne-tektoh? Kwesee 'o tekte's kue wergers 'w-egolek', Now soot'os! Heemenomee now soot'os! Nek kwelekw wee' neemuech 'ne-tektoh. Kem 'ee ye'm kue twegoh, Kues soo hese'm, Nekee' 'ne-tektoh? Kwelekw keech komchuemek' wee k'e-mehl hesek', Nekee' 'ne-tektoh. Kue ke'l kwelekw 'ok'w k'-ekwol 'o heema'erk'uek tue' wee 'o kegemole'm. Ke'l regok chpee nepe'm. Kwesee neekee 'ue-myaahlkepek' kue wergers; keech so'no'y. Kwesee wee'eeet 'o pelep' kue tektoohl wonue; soo ge's, Kwelekw keetee hloomelek' kue 'n-ekwol. Kwesee neekee 'ue-pel 'o wee'eeet to' tema koma chegohchoh kue twegoh. Kwesee hlow wohpuek 'o leko'n kue twegoh tue' koma soo he'm, Mos kelee' k'-ekwol. Kwesee noohl 'o ga'm kue wergers, Nek poy keech sonowok' 'ohlkuemee kem keech 'ee 'ne-tektoh. Noohl 'o ko neee'n so puelekw 'o new 'aawokw noohl kyue' keech weno'monekw kue twegoh. Keech sermeryerwee'.

In those days way back in this creek a log lay across the water, and a fox used to cross over on it and was often running there. Once as he was crossing over he saw something sitting right in the middle of it and apparently eating something. So he said, What are you doing there, because this is my log? He looked at what was sitting there, and it was the coon. It said, Why do you think, This is my log? And then the fox got angry at this and said, Go away! Go away quickly! This is my own private log. Again the coon said, Why do you think, This is my log? Well, now I know why you think, This is my log. You have your own fishing place underneath and are always stealing there. You eat nothing but trout. At that the fox jumped at the coon; he was furious. And there was a fight there on top of the log; he thought, I will lose my fishing place. So the fight went on there and the coon vainly struggled for a long time. At last it fell down into the water, but it was still saying, It is not your fishing place. And then the fox said, Now I am on top, because it is now my own log again. Then he looked down the river and saw the coon, poor thing, floating away there. It had died.