coyote and the scorpion

this is an old tale of many tribes in many languages of the plains indians and of the indians of the southwest; i have written it down as i heard it as a child from a Zuni friend of my grandfather:

Coyote was loping along the river while the hot afternoon sun baked the cactus. There was hardly a wisp of air stirring along the desert floor and nary a creature would venture out into the heat, but coyote had a mission. Along the bank of river coyote continued skipping along between the river rocks, the sage and the occasional old cottonwood tree. It would be many hours yet until coyote was home in his den and the cooler evening breeze would break the heat of the day. But, suddenly coyote heard the smallest voice coming from just off to his side. Coyote stopped instantly, knowing there could but be few creatures willing to draw his attention for he was the greatest hunter in these parts of what he claimed as his desert. With coyote's keen eye and smell he scouted the immediate area around him only to notice nothing at all. Coyote was puzzled. He stopped frozen there in his tracks soundless and listened once again for the sound he had heard. There it came again, "coyote, oh coyote". The then his nose caught the faint hint of scorpion. Back his ears went, and his forelegs stiffened with his head lowered preparing to avert the strike of that deadly scorpion tail. But again he heard scorpion "coyote, oh coyote". Then he saw scorpion under the ledge of a small sandstone rock perched like a ledge beside the river. Still alert he came closer to scorpion curious as to why scorpion would be calling him. As coyote neared the stone by the river scorpion began to plead with great pity in his voice. "Please coyote, hear me out, I have great need for your assistance." But coyote was wise to the danger of scorpion and kept his distance. "I shall not harm you coyote for I am in great need and it would be foolish for me to cause you harm." Now coyote was acutely aware of those creatures that could cause him harm. Sidewinder, Diamond back, Gila monster, Javalina and Scorpion all were to be avoided whenever possible. But this situation coyote had never encountered before, scorpion was pleading for help and coyote was caught between his natural fear and his curiosity. Coyote ventured a step closer so as to listen to the plight of scorpion. "Do not fear me coyote, I only wish for you to carry me across the river so that I might get back to my home for I was hiding in a leaf of the great cottonwood tree and a gust of wind tore the leaf from the tree and carried me across that wide river. I only wish to get back to my home and family." But coyote was no fool to have survived as long as he had in this wild and dangerous desert and he told scorpion "I can not carry you across the river for you are scorpion and you will surely sting me and I will die." "No, no said scorpion, I shall not sting you for I have great need of you assistance. I only ask that you allow me to climb up on top of your head and while you swim across the river I will be safe and dry." "But" coyote said, "you are scorpion and therefore you will sting me."
"I would be only the fool to sting you coyote, for it is I that wish to get safely to the other side of the river and I can only do so by you giving me safe passage." Coyote was puzzled by the sense of fear of scorpion and the contradiction to the simple logic that was offered by scorpion. Finally coyote resigned himself and told scorpion that yes he would allow scorpion to ride on his head while he swam across the river. Scorpion gleefully climbed up coyote's leg and perched securely between coyotes ears for the ride across the river and coyote stepped carefully into the swift current and swam easily across the river almost reaching the other side when he felt a fire blaze into his head. He cried to himself and to scorpion "I will surely die now that you have stung me and you will also die for you cannot swim and must die here in the river with me. Why, oh why did you sting me?" "Well," said scorpion, "that's just my nature."