Section 10.5 Mohawk - Niwathiatonhkw¨¢:¡¯a t¨¢non thaontan¨¦:ken kai¨¦:ri nihoths¨®n:waien.
Written by: Veselin Jungic and Mark MacLean
Illustrated by: Bethani L'Heureux
Mohawk translation by: Stacey Lazare
Niwathiatonhkw¨¢:¡¯a i¨®ntiats. Ne ki Akhs¨®tha ionkkarat¨®n:ni. Ohs¨®tha iontatkaratonn¨ªhne nen¡¯ n¨¦¡¯e. Ne ken ¨ª:ken konwatik¨¢:raton ne Nikakwahot¨¢:¡¯a, Ts¨®:ka¡¯we, Thaontan¨¦:ken t¨¢non kai¨¦:ri nihoths¨®n:waien.
My name is Small Number. This is a story that I heard from my grandmother and that she heard from her grandmother. It is about a coyote, a raven, a rabbit, and the four rabbit holes.
Thia¡¯tewenniser¨¢:ke iehat¨®:rats ne Nikakwahot¨¢:¡¯a. Orhon¡¯kestsihk¨®:wa enthat¨®tshi tsi renteront¨¢hkwa. Kow¨¢:nen enhakahkwent¨®n:ni. Okar¨¢hsa ¨¦nhsrawe.
Every day Coyote goes hunting. Coyote leaves his den in the early morning, makes a big circle through the forest and comes back to the den in the evening.
Tsi iot¨¦rhate kai¨¦:ri n¨ª:kon Thaontan¨¦:ken roths¨®n:waien. Akw¨¦: tsi iothsonwakwar¨¦hsion.
At the very edge of the forest there are four rabbit holes in a straight line, a few steps apart from each other.
T¨®hka niiokh¨¢hake tsi na¡¯tekonthsonwater¨®nnion. Nii¨®:re ratonk¨¢riaks, ¨¦nska khok enhathsonw¨¢tken¡¯se oh¨¦n:ton tsi nii¨®:re ia¡¯tenhaterh¨¢we?este. Nikakwahot¨¢:¡¯a r¨¢:wen, ¡°?:so tsi ratt¨®kha ki Thaontan¨¦:ken, nek tsi entewenniser¨¢:te¡¯ke enhii¨¦:na¡±.
Since Coyote is very hungry in the morning, he always checks only one rabbit hole before entering the forest. ¡°This rabbit is very smart, but I will catch him one day,¡± says Coyote.
?:so k¨¢:ti ontenniserohetst¨¢nion t¨¢non ¨¢rekho tehoi¨¦nen.
But, many days have passed and Coyote couldn¡¯t catch the rabbit.
Teiorhonke¡¯tsher¨¢:ien, ¨¢rekho teshoia¡¯tatsh¨¦nrion ne Nikakwahot¨¢:¡¯a. Tsi iokwirak¨¦n:iate iehoth¨®n:te Ts¨°:ka¡¯we thoi¨¦hson, ¡°k¨¢: k¨¢:! Nikakwahot¨¢:¡¯a iah tha¡¯tatshenikonhrak¨¦n:ni ne Thaontan¨¦:ken. S¨¦nha se¡¯ ratt¨®hkha tsi n¨ª:ioht n¨ª:se¡±.
One morning, when once again Coyote couldn¡¯t find the rabbit, he heard Raven laughing from the top of the tree, ¡°Cr-r-ruck, Cr-r-ruck, Coyote! The rabbit is smarter than you are! Cr-r-ruck, Cr-r-ruck!¡±
?si non nihona¡¯khw¨¨n:¡¯en ne Nikakwahot¨¢:¡¯a t¨¢:non s¨¦:nha wahona¡¯k¨®nnia¡¯te tsi Ts¨°:ka¡¯we r¨¢:wen, ¡°t¨®ka n¨®n:wa Thaontan¨¦:ken s¨¦nha ratt¨®hkha tsi ¨ª:i n¨ª:ioht, nek tsi ¨ª:i s¨¦nha katt¨®hkha tsi n¨ª:ioht n¨ª:se!¡±.
Coyote was very hungry that morning and Raven¡¯ words made him angry, ¡°Maybe the rabbit is smarter than I am, but I am much smarter than you are!¡±
¡°K¨¢: k¨¢:¡±, tethoi¨¦hson ne Ts¨°:ka¡¯we. ¡°Sakst¨¦nha n¨®n:wa, nisatonk¨¢riaks, senahkwasn¨®:re, iah tesatenikonhrii¨®ston athi¨¦:na ne Thaontan¨¦:ken¡±.
¡°Cr-r-ruck, Cr-r-ruck,¡± laughed Raven. ¡°You are an old, hungry, and angry Coyote who cannot catch the rabbit.¡±
¡°T¨®: kat¨®:ken tsi nihsatt¨®kha? T¨®ka akonhr¨®:ri tsi tho n¨®n:we iehanonw¨¦the kwah ohsonw¨¢kta tsi non iehononw¨¦:ton kwahsont¨¨:ke t¨¢non t¨®ka shonhs¨®n:wa enhs¨¢tken¡¯se thia¡¯teiorhon¡¯ketsher¨¢:ke, t¨®: nenw¨¢:ta tsik enthi¨¦:na ne Thaontan¨¦:ken?¡±.
¡°Let me see how smart you are. If I tell you that every night, the rabbit sleeps in the hole that is next to the hole where he slept the previous night and if you keep checking only one hole every morning, in how many days will you catch the rabbit?¡±
Nikakwahot¨¢:¡¯a wa¡¯thotk¨¢:neren ne Ts¨®:ka¡¯we, sok iahatk¨¢htho ne iohs¨®n:waien, sok ¨¢:re tonsahotk¨¢:neren ne Ts¨®:ka¡¯we. ¡°Ts¨®:ka¡¯we, ¨ªhsere tsi enskw¨¦:ni tsik ¨®nhka tasherihwaier¨®nnion, tsi nii¨®htha wasekhr¨®:ri oh n¨ª:ioht ahi¨ªe:na ne Thaontan¨¦:ken¡±. Sok skenensh¨®n:¡¯a ia¡¯tonsahaterh¨¢we¡¯este.
Coyote looked at Raven, then looked at the rabbit holes, and then looked up at Raven again. ¡°Raven, you think that you can trick everyone, but you just told me how to catch the rabbit,¡± said Coyote and slowly entered to the forest.
Karihwan¨®ntha: T¨®: nenw¨¢:ta tsik Nikakwahot¨¢:¡¯a enhoi¨¦:na ne Thaontan¨¦:ken?
Question: In how many days will Coyote catch the rabbit?
