Then Prairie Dog Jake sort of grinned, or at least did a prairie dog version of a grin. “Hey, you got a point. I need you, you need me, and we both need the grass. But what about old wily coyote there? I can’t see what’s so great about him.”

Until that moment, Coyote Fionn had stopped paying attention to the quarrelling and bragging. Coyote Fionn had wandered a way a bit, but then he heard what Prairie Dog Jake was saying.

For a moment Coyote Fionn felt like regular Fionn instead of a coyote, which is to say he felt hurt by Jake. Then, he let out a chilling howl and Fionn felt his coyote self again. He was Coyote Fionn. He was strong, sure, and certainly not bothered by a prairie dog. He ran back to the prairie dog mound.

“Hey!” retorted Coyote Fionn, “You don’t have a clue about what you are saying. I keep things interesting! And my dung is just as good for fertilizing as anyone else’s. Plus, coyotes help keep the prairie dog population in check. If coyotes—and a few other fine predators like eagles and badgers—didn’t eat your prairie dog friends, you’d guys have this place completely overrun.