How the Scorpion Lost Its Tail
and Got a New Name
By Maryann Butterfield, East Sierra Branch
The branch challenged its members to craft stories of 55 words in length, no more, no less. They got the idea from the CWC High Desert Branch.
They say Scorpion stung Coyote’s pup.
Coyote finding Scorpion said, “You’ll never sting another pup.” She lunged forward, snapped off Coyote’s tail and large pincers, then went home to lick the venom from her pup’s sting.
Scorpion grew back only small pincers. People who saw this “once scorpion” gave him a new name: Sun Spider.
Reprinted from East Sierra’s anthology
Planet Mojave: Visions from a World Apart.
The co-author of Arctic Ice, Maryann Butterfield
is a founding member of the East Sierra Branch.