Pecos Bill

Part One · The Coyote Boy

Baby Bill was the smallest of ten children in a wagon heading west. The road was terribly bumpy. Bump, bump, BUMP, and out popped Bill, right over the side! Nobody noticed, because the other nine kids were too busy fighting over a sandwich. The wagon rolled on, and Bill sat in the dust and burped.

A mother coyote happened to trot by, and she sniffed the baby carefully. Bill giggled and yanked her tail, which made her decide that he was the funniest pup she had ever seen. She carried him home by his shirt, and the whole coyote family cheered. They gave him the warmest spot in the den, and the fleas came along for free.

Bill grew up quickly, and he learned everything the coyotes could teach him. He howled at the moon every night. He could run as fast as the wind. He could smell a rabbit from a mile away. Because he was certain that he was a coyote, he never wore shoes or a hat. Once he chased his own tail, and he caught it.

One day, a cowboy rode up and saw a big, hairy boy running with the pack. "Excuse me, friend," said the cowboy, "why do you walk on two legs and howl at the sky?" Bill scratched his ear. "I am a coyote," he said. "Only coyotes have fleas." The cowboy's horse was scratching, too.

The cowboy laughed so hard that he almost fell off his horse. "Coyotes do not have names like Bill," he said, "and coyotes do not have thumbs. Look at your thumb!" Bill looked at it and wiggled it, and he realized that he had never really noticed it before. "Well, I'll be a prairie dog," he whispered.

Bill hugged every coyote goodbye and went off to learn about people. He learned to wear pants, and he learned to eat with a spoon, though he kept licking the bowl. He tried to ride a horse, but every horse he found was too small. Their legs wobbled like noodles whenever he climbed on, and one of them just sat down. Bill needed something bigger.

Bill walked into the hills to look for a better ride. Out jumped a mountain lion with a roar that shook the leaves off the trees! Bill was not afraid of anything. He hopped on its back and held on tight. The lion spun and bucked until it was too dizzy to go on. After that, the lion was his saddle.

Part Two · The Biggest Cowboy

Before long, Bill was the best cowboy in the whole West. His ranch was so big that nobody could see where it ended, and he used a friendly rattlesnake for a rope. The rattlesnake did not mind. It said, "Yes, sir," and curled into a perfect loop. People came from miles away to see him. They called him Pecos Bill, after the Pecos River.

Bill also needed a horse, so he found a wild black one named Widowmaker, who was as fast as lightning and twice as grumpy. Nobody could ride him. He kicked and snorted until the dust flew. But Bill climbed up and said, "Easy, friend." The horse stopped and gave a happy snort, and they were pals from that day on.

One summer, Texas had no rain at all. The grass turned brown, and the cows were so thirsty that they mooed in whispers. "I am going to dig a river," said Bill. He grabbed a big stick and dragged it behind him all the way to the sea, and the ditch filled up with water. People still call it the Rio Grande.

Then a terrible twister came spinning over the hills, as tall as a mountain. It tossed barns around like toys. It snatched a chicken coop while the hens kept laying eggs as they flew. The cowboys hid in a cellar and shook. But Bill just tipped his hat. "That is the wildest critter I ever saw," he said. "I believe I will ride it."

Bill spun his rope, and the loop sailed up and caught the twister around its neck. Then he hopped on its back. The twister bucked and twirled over three whole states. It shook off Bill's boots and then his hat, but Bill hollered, "Yee-haw!" At last the twister was so worn out that it sank down and became a gentle breeze.

Then Bill met Slue-Foot Sue, who was the best rider in the whole West. She rode a giant catfish down the river while she waved at him, and Bill took one look at her and forgot his own name. "Ma'am," he said, "I am... uh... Pecos... what?" Sue grinned. "Bill," she said. "You are Bill."

On their wedding day, Sue wore a dress with a big, springy bustle. When she hopped onto Widowmaker, he gave a little jump, and Sue went boing, boing, boing, right up past the clouds! Bill spun his rope and caught her by the bustle, and he hauled her back down. Everybody laughed, because it was the funniest wedding the West had ever seen.

People say that Bill still rides out there today. On a quiet night, you might hear a howl, then a laugh, then a loud "Yee-haw!" That is Pecos Bill, out riding with his coyote family. Some folks say none of this is true. But the Rio Grande is still flowing to the sea. Who do you think dug it?