Listeners: When I retell a story, fable, folklore or tale, I take the liberty, here and there, to make the story suit my voice and a child's ear. I hope you like this week's retelling and consider following this journey of story telling - enjoy today and please consider visiting again next week.

Today's Story: Long before electric light and roaring engines, before roads carved the land and stories were bound in books, the Karuk people lived in deep connection with the river, the forest, and fire. Fire was more than warmth - it was life, ceremony, survival. But there was a time, before, when the fire was not yet part of the world below. It was hidden, guarded, hoarded by ancient hags who knew its power and refused to share it.

During this time of darkness, the Karuk people waited - frozen, hungry, and hopeless. They were in need of a hero, not a warrior of brute strength, but a trickster. A creature of cleverness courage, and a master of chaos.

That creature was ... Coyote.

This is the story of how fire came to the Karuk people - not by force but by wit and will. It is a tale of how the animals stole, ran, climbed, flew, and leapt to bring the warmth back to the world. It is a story passed down through the voices of the Karuk people of Northern California where the redwoods grow.

APOLOGIES for the sound being so different, I have figured out the solution for future stories. Thank you listeners.

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Royalty free music from artist.io: Amos Ever Hadani: Sophy With the Sad Eyes.

Copyright Laws: Stories and characters from myths, legends and folklore fall under the public domain. What does that mean? In intellectual property law, the public domain concerns IP objects, for certain reasons, are free of exclusive IP rights. These IP rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or inapplicable. Essentially, the stories from these categories belong to the world.