Long ago, there lived a man known as the Great Montezuma.

Great Mystery Power had made the people and things that inhabited this world, and Montezuma was granted the power to look after this creation. Montezuma was glad to lead.

First, he divided the people into nations and taught them how to build homes, how to hunt, how to reap harvests, and how to make their own clothing. For a long time, he was a good leader.

Montezuma's friend Coyote felt proud of him.

Coyote's descendants and the descendants of Montezuma became good friends and allies.

Coyote soon noticed, however, that Montezuma's power was making him too proud. He began to think that he was the most powerful being in the world, that he needed no one's help and no one's guidance, and he forgot about the many gifts he had received from the Great Mystery Power.

"Please," Coyote begged his friend, "remember to be humble. There is a power greater than you. You must obey the Great Mystery Power's laws, and you must give thanks for all his gifts." ｗＷW.ＦＡｉＲy－ＴａlＥ.ＩnFoメθ※まí

But this time Montezuma shunned his friend's advice. "I don't need you, Coyote," he said. "Your warnings bore me. I am the most powerful being."

The Great Mystery Power watched, too, and as Montezuma's greed and pride grew, the world changed. The Great Mystery Power tried to warn Montezuma of all the wrongdoings he saw on Earth. He pushed the sun higher into the sky, farther from Earth, and snow and ice and hail began to fall. But the people didn't change their ways.

When this happened, the Great Mystery Power knew he must destroy those who had turned against him. And so he sent a curse over the land, and new people from lands far away invaded.

They carried sticks that sent fire into the land, destroying the people and the animals and everything that had once been so beautiful and peaceful in this world. Before long, Montezuma was killed, and his power vanished.

In the mountains, Coyote and all his people watched and wept and howled as the world changed forever.