When the plague first came to the Sky Nation, most of the creatures didn’t really understand how dangerous it was. The Panda Bear Nation had accidentally started spreading it everywhere, but they tried to hide their malfeasance, because they didn’t want to lose face. Well that only made matters worse.
Now Coyote’s advisors told him how it was spread, and how dangerous it was. But like always, he lied like crazy, and told the Sky Nation that it was a hoax, it wasn’t dangerous, and that it was under control. That kept most creatures quiet for a little while, but it allowed it to spread everywhere.
Now the Ravens are smart and told everyone they made special face talismans other could wear near over their nose. They also said to wash paws or claws. If all the creatures did that diligently for a month, the plague would be gone. The face talismans looked a little funny, but they stopped the plague from infecting the wearer, and stopped the wearer from infecting others. They were mildly annoying to wear.
Well Coyote saw this an opportunity for fun, mischief, and chaos. Coyote’s rodent followers were happy showing they didn’t care if they spread disease. So, Coyote refused to wear a face talisman, and told everyone that his true followers shouldn’t either. Every so often he would say that creatures should wear them, so he would avoid blame. But he never wore one, and told others not to, so it was easy to get the message.
Now the sensible creatures saw how dangerous this was; the plague even killed the rodents. But the rodents felt powerful tweaking the noses of the sensible creatures. They were happy like little children, when they find a way around their parent’s rules. Like eating lots of candy, or staying up late. They were glad that Coyote was setting this example. He even said: “it’s your right to spread disease”, and they felt proud and strong. So, the disease spread and chaos reigned.
Coyote sometimes even pretended he was a doctor, just for fun. He told everyone to take weird medicines and even to ingest poison. Coyote laughed when people listened to these crazy ideas, and this created more chaos.
Later he had big gatherings, and some of his followers caught the plague, got sick, and died. But they felt powerful and took strong comfort in knowing Coyote supported their right to spread disease.
Even though Eagle Joe now has spread the cure far and wide, many Coyote followers still refuse to use it. Crazy Coyote and his mischief!