Reading Notes: Tejas Legends Part B

Why the Dog's Ears Flop
I didn't like that the dog was so scared of people in this story. I love dogs because they are always happy and loyal to their people. I would have liked the reason given in the story to have been one that somehow bonded people and the dog.

Plot:

• The dogs ears do stand up straight and proud and his tail is always between his legs (not true, the dog happily wags his tail all the time).
• When the dog lived with his wolf cousins he was wild, always ready to fight and full of pride.
• The dog could not find food for many days and made a deal with the Indians who had plenty of food. In exchange for food, he would stay in the camp with the Indians and fight off the other animals.
• The Indian agreed and the dog and man became friends. The dog helped man hunt and protected the camp at night but was still unafraid of anything.
• The wolves tricked the dog into thinking they were interested in his life with the humans and stole all the food he was guarding when the dog wasn't paying attention.
• The dog barked as the wolves were escaping and woke the humans.
• The people beat and yelled at the dog when they saw the meat was gone.
• The dog was ashamed and his ears flopped down and his tail went in between his legs.
• The Indians left him alone because he looked so sorry.

A scared floppy-eared dog (Personal photo)

This story is part of the Tejas Legends unit. Story source: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends retold by Florence Stratton and illustrated by Berniece Burrough (1936).