In the days when humans had no form animals ruled the earth. Tiger and buffalo, rat and kangaroo all fought for dominion. One night when the moon was dark a she buffalo called the animals together.
``There are beings,'' she said, ``that need spirits to enable them to take form on the earth. They have no spirit of their own, so they need to borrow yours. With permission of course. I have heard that these beings have great power.''
``Power but no spirit? Odd indeed.'' Said a coyote.
``Let them choose.'' Said a turkey buzzard, ``Let them choose among us. There is no harm''.
And so it was agreed.
The first human to take form was a boy of twelve who acquired some frog spirit. He appeared out of air before the assembled animals. They were shocked at the boy's ugliness.
``He has no hair, no feathers, no scales - He balances on his two back legs and yet he has no wings.''
``He smells bad! His flesh must be rank!''
The boy jumped into a pool and swam quickly away. Soon there were humans everywhere. Some were clever as coyotes, some fast as gazelles. Some were wise and silent as owls.
The humans used their new spirit to learn and to change. They captured fire and made it their friend. They built shelters and made hooks to catch fish and catapults to kill rabbits. They made their own pelts from those of other animals. Soon they had dominion of the earth.
``They took the earth from us!'' cried the animals.
``No,'' said the she buffalo, ``we gave it to them''.