2. Borreguita and the Coyote : A Tale from Ayutla, Mexico

Title: Aardema, Verna. Borreguita and the Coyote : A Tale from Ayutla, Mexico. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.

Summary: Borreguita ("little lamb") lives happily on a farm at the foot of a mountain. One day, her master ties her out in a field of red clover. She grazes happily until Coyote comes along and wants to eat her up. Borreguita tricks Coyote into waiting until she's fattened up from grazing, and he agrees to come back later. Upon his return, she tempts him with something tastier than lamb: cheese! This "cheese" turns out to be the reflection of the full moon in the farmer's pond, which the Coyote discovers when he tries to gobble it up and ends up sputtering in the water.
Borreguita again tricks Coyote by luring him between 2 rocks on the mountain, claiming that he must hold the mountain up with his legs lest it fall down. She scampers off. The next day, Coyote insists that the time has come: he will eat Borreguita. She has one final request: he must swallow her whole. He opens his mouth and she runs at him and rams him so hard that all his teeth ache. At last the dim-witted Coyote has learned his lesson, and Borreguita is never troubled with him again.

Cultural origins and how identified: The following is quoted from the book's colophon: "Borreguita and the Coyote : A Tale from Ayutla, Mexico was translated and retold by Verna Aardema from "El Borreguita y el Coyote," beginning on page 509, with one episode from "La Zorra y el Coyote," page 514, in Tales from Jalisco, Mexico, vol. XXXV by Howard T. Wheeler, published by The American Folklore Society, 1943."
Audience: The tale is for children from grades K-3 (according to School Library Journal review). I would extend this age range up to 5th grade, having read this story to that group with good results. It would also be good for a family story time, since trickster tales have such great appeal. This story is appropriate for school and/or library settings.
Notes on adaptation for telling: I would use a sinister "wolfy" voice for Coyote and a sweet (but sly) voice for Borreguita. Listeners could chime in on Borreguita's "baa-baa"s and on Coyote's mournful howls when he realizes he's been duped yet again.