You will see that Iktomi is depicted as he was in the previous book, the trickster in his human form. In this story, Iktomi sees some ducks, and he decides that he would very much like to eat some roasted duck. So, he tells the ducks that inside his wrapped-up blanket are songs, and the foolish ducks beg him to share the songs with them. Iktomi pretends to be reluctant, but finally he agrees... provided that the ducks will dance with their eyes closed. The ducks agree (eeek! how could they agree? you should never close your eyes around a trickster...!), and then Iktomi clubs them to death while they dance.
Do you notice the little coyote there in the upper right corner of the illustration? The next part of the story involves Iktomi getting himself into trouble (as usual), and while Iktomi is stuck in a tree, Coyote eats all the ducks, leaving only one for Iktomi... and Iktomi is in for a terrible surprise when he eats that last duck!
It's a grim story as far as the ducks are concerned, and I appreciate the fact that Goble does not shy away from that, and simply prompts his audience to think about just how cruel and greedy Iktomi is. So when Coyote tricks Iktomi in turn, there's a kind of justice there... although the Coyote himself is a trickster who leaves a trail of destruction in his wake also, and who is bound to be tricked himself down the road in some other story!
As in his other books, Goble carefully cites sources (click on the image for a larger view):
There is a note for the audience too, encouraging them to join in the storytelling, and even to replace the name of Iktomi if they know another trickster name from their own culture, like Kiowa Saynday or Blackfoot Napi, and so on.
So read, enjoy, and participate in the story as you read... maybe you'll even read it out loud and add your own comments in response to Goble's prompts!
by Paul Goble
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