Among some Native American peoples, the oral tradition of one group has sometimes influenced that of another; indeed, tracing such influence has been one major task of scholars of Native American oral literature. European influences are often regarded, understandably, as another matter. Nellie Barnes, for example, in an early stylistic study of Native American oral literature, considered only forms preceding the influence of Europeans. Yet the example of the Zuni version of the Italian folk tale "The Cock and the Mouse" suggests that, notwithstanding the opinions of scholars of Native American Oral literature, European influence is not always synonymous with the waning of Native American traditions. The Zuni narrator utilized the European story as an opportunity to exercise his narrative genius, thus leaving his tradition enhanced rather than diminished by the European influence. Such examples should cause scholars researching influences on Native American oral narratives to reassess their notions of the proper domain of such studies.