Green Grass, Running Water

Coyote, a trickster god, is asleep and dreaming. One of the dreams escapes and starts making a lot of noise. The dream believes it is in charge of the world and becomes upset when it sees it is surrounded by water. It wakes up Coyote, who introduces himself and claims to be very smart. He calls the dream Dog, but the dream gets everything backward, and starts calling itself “GOD.” The narrator, who talks directly to Coyote, suggests things are getting out of control. The dream questions why there is water everywhere, and the unnamed first-person narrator says they will explain how it happened.

Pages 11, 16-21, 28-38, 41-45, 55-68, 79-92, 98

Lionel Red Dog and his auntie Norma drive to the reserve for the Sun Dance. On the way, he reflects on the three major mistakes of his life. The first mistake was getting his tonsils out as a child so that he could miss two weeks of school. While in the hospital awaiting the surgery, Lionel impersonated another patient who won a free plane ride to Toronto. On arrival at the Sick Children’s Hospital, Lionel realized they intended to perform heart surgery on him.