# The Cock — Zuni Folktales character guide

> The Cock in Zuni Folktales by Frank Hamilton Cushing.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** The cock, the Cock, The Cock, the old Tâkâkâ Cock, the Tâkâkâ Cock, the old Tâkâkâ

**First appearance:** 0001-zuni-folktales

## Snapshot

A sleek, meat-hungry Tâkâkâ Cock, penned alone, who pecks off a mouse's tail and swallows it whole.

## Who they are

Kept by a poor old Italia-kwe woman in a wattle-and-rawhide cage too tall to fly from, he sits in the sun kâ-tâ-kâ-tok-ing and dreaming of worms. Fed only refuse, he mistakes the Mouse's naked tail for one and bites it clean off in a single gulp. His heedless greed turns a petty theft into a feud, and his sleepy, stiff-necked complacency makes him exactly the kind of adversary a clever mouse can ruin.

## In the story

### [The Cock and the Mouse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/chapters/the-cock-and-the-mouse)

One of the two main characters, living with the Mouse and sharing adventures.

### [Italian Version](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/chapters/italian-version)

Injured by a nut thrown by the mouse; seeks help through a chain of exchanges.

### [Zuni Version](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/chapters/zuni-version)

A Tâkâkâ Cock kept by an old woman; proud and gullible, he is tricked by the Mouse and loses his bristles.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/characters/cock
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/zuni_folktales_se/characters