"His [coyote] black-lidded eyes are amber. They glow greenish-gold in the night, they are very good eyes. But, like other dogs, a coyote reads mostly with his keen, wet nose. With a sniff he reads the air and can tell if friends or enemies are near, or where his supper may be waiting. Or, sniffing the ground, he may read which way his supper has been traveling, and follow and catch up with it. By sniffing special stumps and clumps, he can read the latest 'Dog-World News.' He learns of every other coyote or wolf or dog that has come along his favorite trails, if it was male or female, old or young, well or ill, happy or worried. For each one, first reading 'the latest,' also leaves his own sign there before going on. Some also scratch the ground with all four feet, as though drawing firm lines under their names to make them look more bold. And a coyote carefully sniffs a strange coyote, reading his character to find out if he cares to be a friend."
Next, the book tells about the musical qualities of the coyote.
"Coyotes are the most musical of all dogs, wild or tame. A wolf howls. A tame dog barks and sometimes howls. But sometimes a coyote seems to bark and howl and sing bass to his own tenor all at the same time. To human ears one coyote sounds like a whole quartet gone crazy. But, to the coyote it is a lovely noise, and his sharp ears hear even more of it than ours do. Often just at sunset he may serenade his wife."
Yes, I said "wife!" Coyotes mate for life. That's pretty cool, huh?
Why, all this talk about how coyotes read? Well, first off I just thought it was interesting that the author put it that way as he described the above situations that coyotes find themselves in. And, then I thought that it's so very true, that there are other ways to read than by written symbols. Just like the coyote has learned to "read" different situations to keep himself safe in the wild, we too need to read harmful situations, and be able to teach our children how to read the new situations that will be at school, where they face a completely new and different environment. Mostly, they need to be able to read another person's character, to know if this person is helping him/her to be a good student and citizen. Or to know if this person is sad and lonely and could use a good friend. Also, help your child to understand that they are sending out a message that others read about them. What kind of message does your child want other people; teachers and children, to get from them?
Something to think about, and you can use this little coyote story to launch a discussion on the matter.
Doreese
