- The ceremony begins with a story poem about a man who is taken by Coyote.
- When the man disappears, four people go searching for him. They find three different trees that he has slept under, and finally they find him sleeping beneath a wild rose bush.
- The man can no longer talk; he can only make a coyote whine. He also seems to have a tail, which is kind of strange.
- The four Bear People are the only ones who have the power to restore the mind, so the people go to ask them for help.
- The Bear People describe the ceremony they'll need to perform to bring the man back. It involves taking twigs from the four trees the man slept under, as well as making hoops and bundles from other plants. It also involves crossed rainbows and paintings made with white corn and pollen.
- Tayo is sitting in the middle of a white corn and sand painting, while Betonie and Shush set up the ceremony around him with hoops and sand.