Iktomi and the muskrat

An old legend “Iktomi and the Muskrat” is a very wise, instructive and funny story about hospitality and greed. Iktomi was having some delicious boiled fish when he heard “How, how my friend”. It was a muskrat standing and asking Iktomi to share some food with it because it was an old Dakota tradition. But Iktomi didn’t want to share anything because he was ravenous. So he offered the muskrat to race with him around a lake. If Iktomi will reach a finish first he wouldn’t share anything with the muskrat, but if the muskrat finishes first it would take a half of a bowl. But the race didn’t seem fair enough because Iktomi was a better runner than the muskrat so he decided to run with a huge stone on the back. It made the chances equal and the muskrat finally agreed. But there was something Iktomi didn’t think about.