Fables
The Tortoise and the Hare
Once upon a time there was a hare who, boasting how he could run faster than anyone else, was forever teasing
tortoise for its slowness. Then one day, the irate tortoise answered back: “Who do you think you are? There’s no
denying you’re swift, but even you can be beaten!” The hare squealed with laughter.
“Beaten in a race? By whom? Not you, surely! I bet there’s nobody in the world that can win against me, I’m so speedy.
Now, why don’t you try?”
Annoyed by such bragging, the tortoise accepted the challenge. A course was planned, and the next day at dawn they
stood at the starting line. The hare yawned sleepily as the meek tortoise trudged slowly off. When the hare saw how
painfully slow his rival was, he decided, half asleep on his feet, to have a quick nap. “Take your time!” he said. “I’ll have
forty winks and catch up with you in a minute.”
The hare woke with a start from a fitful sleep and gazed round, looking for the tortoise. But the creature was only a short
distance away, having barely covered a third of the course. Breathing a sigh of relief, the hare decided he might as well
have breakfast too, and off he went to munch some cabbages he had noticed in a nearby field. But the heavy meal and the
hot sun made his eyelids droop. With a careless glance at the tortoise, now halfway along the course, he decided to have
another snooze before flashing past the winning post. And smiling at the thought of the look on the tortoise’s face when it
saw the hare speed by, he fell fast asleep and was soon snoring happily. The sun started to sink, below the horizon, and the
tortoise, who had been plodding towards the winning post since morning, was scarcely a yard from the finish. At that very
point, the hare woke with a jolt. He could see the tortoise a speck in the distance and away he dashed. He leapt and
bounded at a great rate, his tongue lolling, and gasping for breath. Just a little more and he’d be first at the finish. But the
hare’s last leap was just too late, for the tortoise had beaten him to the winning post. Poor hare! Tired and in disgrace, he
slumped down beside the tortoise who was silently smiling at him.
“Slowly does it every time!” he said.
The City Mouse and
the Country Mouse
A country mouse invited his cousin who lived in the city to come visit him. The city mouse was so
disappointed with the sparse meal which was nothing more than a few kernels of corn and a couple of
dried berries.
"My poor cousin," said the city mouse, "you hardly have anything to eat! I do believe that an ant could
eat better! Please do come to the city and visit me, and I will show you such rich feasts, readily available
for the taking."
So the country mouse left with his city cousin who brought him to a splendid feast in the city's alley.
The country mouse could not believe his eyes. He had never seen so much food in one place. There was
bread, cheese, fruit, cereals, and grains of all sorts scattered about in a warm cozy portion of the alley.
The two mice settled down to eat their wonderful dinner, but before they barely took their first bites, a
cat approached their dining area. The two mice scampered away and hid in a small uncomfortable hole
until the cat left. Finally, it was quiet, and the unwelcome visitor went to prowl somewhere else. The two
mice ventured out of the hole and resumed their abundant feast. Before they could get a proper taste in
their mouth, another visitor intruded on their dinner, and the two little mice had to scuttle away quickly.
"Goodbye," said the country mouse, "You do, indeed, live in a plentiful city, but I am going home
where I can enjoy my dinner in peace."
The Lion and the Mouse
Once, as a lion lay sleeping in his den, a naughty little mouse ran up his tail, and onto his back and up his mane
and danced and jumped on his head ...
...so that the lion woke up.
The lion grabbed the mouse and, holding him in his large claws, roared in anger. 'How dare you wake me up!
Don't you know that I am King of the Beasts? Anyone who disturbs my rest deserves to die! I shall kill you and
eat you!'
The terrified mouse, shaking and trembling, begged the lion to let him go. 'Please don't eat me Your Majesty! I
did not mean to wake you, it was a mistake. I was only playing. Please let me go - and I promise I will be your
friend forever. Who knows but one day I could save your life?'
The lion looked at the tiny mouse and laughed. 'You save my life? What an absurd idea!' he said scornfully. 'But
you have made me laugh, and put me into a good mood again, so I shall let you go.' And the lion opened his
claws and let the mouse go free.
'Oh thank you, your majesty,' squeaked the mouse, and scurried away as fast as he could.
A few days later the lion was caught in a hunter's snare. Struggle as he might, he couldn't break free and became
even more entangled in the net of ropes. He let out a roar of anger that shook the forest. Every animal heard it,
including the tiny mouse.
'My friend the lion is in trouble,' cried the mouse. He ran as fast as he could in the direction of the lion's roar,
and soon found the lion trapped in the hunter's snare. 'Hold still, Your Majesty,' squeaked the mouse. 'I'll have
you out of there in a jiffy!' And without further delay, the mouse began nibbling through the ropes with his
sharp little teeth. Very soon the lion was free.
'I did not believe that you could be of use to me, little mouse, but today you saved my life,' said the lion humbly.
'It was my turn to help you, Sire,' answered the mouse.
Tall Tales
Even the weak and small may be of help to those much mightier than themselves.
Paul Bunyan and the Frozen Flames
One winter, shortly after Paul Bunyan dug Lake Michigan as a drinking hole for his blue ox, Babe, he decided
to camp out in the Upper Peninsula. It was so cold in that there logging camp, that one evening, the temperature
dropped to 68 degrees below zero. Each degree in the camp thermometer measured sixteen inches long and the
flames in the lanterns froze solid. No one, not even Paul Bunyan, could blow them out.
The lumberjacks didn't want the bunkhouse lit at night, because they wouldn't get any sleep. So they put the
lanterns way outside of camp where they wouldn't disturb anyone. But they forgot about the lanterns, so that
when thaw came in the the early spring, the lanterns flared up again and set all of northern Michigan on fire!
They had to wake Paul Bunyan up so he could stamp out the fire with his boots.
Paul Bunyan and the Log Jam
One spring day, the loggers on the Wisconsin River discovered a huge log jam, the biggest they'd ever seen.
The logs were piled about two hundred feet high and the jam went upriver for a mile or more. Those loggers
chopped and hauled at the jam, but it wouldn't budge an inch. So they called for Paul Bunyan to give them a
hand.
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox sized up the log jam. Then Paul told the loggers to stand back. He put Babe
in the river in front of the log jam and began shooting his rifle, peppering the Blue Ox with shot. Babe thought
he was being bothered by a particularly nasty breed of fly, so he began swishing his tail back and forth.
Well, that stirred things up a bit in the river. It got so agitated that the water began to flow upstream, taking the
logs with it. Bit by bit, the log jam broke apart. Finally, Paul pulled Babe out of the water, and the river and logs
began to float downstream again the way they should.
John Henry: The Steel Driving Man
Now John Henry was a mighty man, yes sir. He was born a slave in the 1840's but was freed after the war. He
went to work as a steel-driver for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, don't ya know. And John Henry was the
strongest, the most powerful man working the rails.
John Henry, he would spend his day's drilling holes by hitting thick steel spikes into rocks with his faithful
shaker crouching close to the hole, turning the drill after each mighty blow. There was no one who could match
him, though many tried.
Well, the new railroad was moving along right quick, thanks in no little part to the mighty John Henry. But
looming right smack in its path was a mighty enemy - the Big Bend Mountain. Now the big bosses at the C&O
Railroad decided that they couldn't go around the mile and a quarter thick mountain. No sir, the men of the
C&O were going to go through it - drilling right into the heart of the mountain.
A thousand men would lose their lives before the great enemy was conquered. It took three long years, and
before it was done the ground outside the mountain was filled with makeshift, sandy graves. The new tunnels
were filled with smoke and dust. Ya couldn't see no-how and could hardly breathe. But John Henry, he worked
tirelessly, drilling with a 14-pound hammer, and going 10 to 12 feet in one workday. No one else could match
him.
Then one day a salesman came along to the camp. He had a steam-powered drill and claimed it could out-drill
any man. Well, they set up a contest then and there between John Henry and that there drill. The foreman ran
that newfangled steam-drill. John Henry, he just pulled out two 20-pound hammers, one in each hand. They
drilled and drilled, dust rising everywhere. The men were howling and cheering. At the end of 35 minutes, John
Henry had drilled two seven foot holes - a total of fourteen feet, while the steam drill had only drilled one ninefoot hole.
John Henry held up his hammers in triumph! The men shouted and cheered. The noise was so loud, it took a
moment for the men to realize that John Henry was tottering. Exhausted, the mighty man crashed to the ground,
the hammer's rolling from his grasp. The crowd went silent as the foreman rushed to his side. But it was too
late. A blood vessel had burst in his brain. The greatest driller in the C&O Railroad was dead.
Some folks say that John Henry's likeness is carved right into the rock inside the Big Bend Tunnel. And if you
walk to the edge of the blackness of the tunnel, sometimes you can hear the sound of two 20-pound hammers
drilling their way to victory over the machine.
Rumpelstiltskin
Once upon a time...
Once upon a time there was a poor woodcutter who had a beautiful daughter. The woodcutter was very proud of her.
One day he boasted to the king, "My daughter can spin straw into gold."
If your daughter can do this," said the king, "bring her to me and I shall see."
So the woodcutter went home and told his daughter to wear her most lovely dress and come before the king.
The king took the girl to a room in his castle that was filled with straw. As he showed her the spinning wheel in the
corner he said, "Spin this straw into gold by sunrise or you shall die."
The woodcutter's daughter sat on the stool and began to cry.
Suddenly, the door creaked open and a strange little man appeared.
"What will you give me to spin this straw into gold?" asked the little man.
"I'll gladly give you my necklace."
"Good," he said taking the necklace.
The little man set to work and by sunrise the room was filled with gold.
When the king saw the gold he became greedy. He got more straw.
"By sunrise all this shall be gold."
Once more the woodcutter's daughter began to cry. In a moment the door opened and in came the strange little fellow.
"What will you give me this time?" he asked.
"I'll gladly give you my ring," said the girl.
"Good," said the little man as he sat down to spin the straw.
By sunrise all the straw was gold. Once more the king was pleased. He got even more straw.
"Spin this straw into gold and in the morning I shall marry you and make you my queen."
When the king went away the little fellow returned.
"What will you give me this time?" he asked.
"I've nothing left to give," replied the woodcutter's daughter.
"Then you shall give me your first child when you are queen."
She promised the little man her first child.
By sunrise the straw was gold and the king married the woodcutter's daughter.
The happy queen had a baby boy and forgot all about her promise.
One day the little man came to take the queen's baby boy. The queen begged to keep her child. The little man said, "You
have three days to guess my name. If you can't, I shall take your baby boy."
All night the queen thought of every name. In the morning when the little man came she tried all of them. At each one
the little man said, "No. It is not I."
On the second day she tried even more names.
"No. It is not I," said the little man.
That night one of the queen's messengers came to her to tell of a strange sight indeed.
While riding through the forest he had seen a fire. Around the fire danced an odd fellow who sang a song.
This was what he sang:
"Today I bake, tomorrow I brew,
Then, dear prince, I come for you.
None can guess, none can claim
That Rumpelstiltskin is my name."
That night the little man came calling.
"What is my name?" he asked, jumping up and down.
"It's Robin," answered the queen.
"It is not!"
"It's Jack," said the queen.
"It is not!"
"Then Rumpelstiltskin is your name."
At this the little fellow flew into a rage.
"Curses!", he shrieked, and stamped his feet so hard that he fell through the floor and disappeared forever.
The End.
Beauty and the Beast
Once upon a time as a merchant set off for market, he asked each of his three daughters what she
would like as a present on his return. The first daughter wanted a brocade dress, the second a pearl
necklace, but the third, whose name was Beauty, the youngest, prettiest and sweetest of them all, said to
her father:
"All I'd like is a rose you've picked specially for me!"
When the merchant had finished his business, he set off for home. However, a sudden storm blew up,
and his horse could hardly make headway in the howling gale. Cold and weary, the merchant had lost all
hope of reaching an inn when he suddenly noticed a bright light shining in the middle of a wood. As he
drew near, he saw that it was a castle, bathed in light.
"I hope I'll find shelter there for the night," he said to himself. When he reached the door, he saw it was
open, but though he shouted, nobody came to greet him. Plucking up courage, he went inside, still calling
out to attract attention. On a table in the main hall, a splendid dinner lay already served. The merchant
lingered, still shouting for the owner of the castle. But no one
came, and so the starving merchant sat down to a hearty meal.
Overcome by curiosity, he ventured upstairs, where the corridor led into magnificent rooms and halls. A
fire crackled in the first room and a soft bed looked very inviting. It was now late, and the merchant could
not resist. He lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep. When he woke next morning, an unknown hand
had placed a mug of steaming coffee and some fruit by his bedside.
The merchant had breakfast and after tidying himself up, went downstairs to thank his generous host.
But, as on the evening before, there was nobody in sight. Shaking his head in wonder at the strangeness
of it all, he went towards the garden where he had left his horse, tethered to a tree. Suddenly, a large
rose bush caught his eye.
Remembering his promise to Beauty, he bent down to pick a rose. Instantly, out of the rose garden,
sprang a horrible beast, wearing splendid clothes. Two bloodshot eyes, gleaming angrily, glared at him
and a deep, terrifying voice growled: "Ungrateful man! I gave you shelter, you ate at my table and slept in
my own bed, but now all the thanks I get is the theft of my favorite flowers! I shall put you to death for
this slight!" Trembling with fear, the merchant fell on his knees before the Beast.
"Forgive me! Forgive me! Don't kill me! I'll do anything you say! The rose wasn't for me, it was for my
daughter Beauty. I promised to bring her back a rose from my journey!" The Beast dropped the paw it had
clamped on the unhappy merchant.
"I shall spare your life, but on one condition, that you bring me your daughter!" The terror-stricken
merchant, faced with certain death if he did not obey, promised that he would do so. When he reached
home in tears, his three daughters ran to greet him. After he had told them of his dreadful adventure,
Beauty put his mind at rest immediately.
"Dear father, I'd do anything for you! Don't worry, you'll be able to keep your promise and save your
life! Take me to the castle. I'll stay there in your place!" The merchant hugged his daughter.
"I never did doubt your love for me. For the moment I can only thank you for saving my life." So Beauty
was led to the castle. The Beast, however, had quite an unexpected greeting for the girl. Instead of
menacing doom as it had done with her father, it was surprisingly pleasant.
In the beginning, Beauty was frightened of the Beast, and shuddered at the sight of it. Then she found
that, in spite of the monster's awful head, her horror of it was gradually fading as time went by. She had
one of the finest rooms in the Castle, and sat for hours, embroidering in front of the fire. And the Beast
would sit, for hours on end, only a short distance away, silently gazing at her. Then it started to say a few
kind words, till in the end, Beauty was amazed to discover that she was actually enjoying its conversation.
The days passed, and Beauty and the Beast became good friends. Then one day, the Beast asked the girl
to be his wife.
Taken by surprise, Beauty did not know what to say. Marry such an ugly monster? She would rather die!
But she did not want to hurt the feelings of one who, after all, had been kind to her. And she
remembered too that she owed it her own life as well as her father's.
"I really can't say yes," she began shakily. "I'd so much like to..." The Beast interrupted her with an
abrupt gesture.
"I quite understand! And I'm not offended by your refusal!" Life went on as usual, and nothing further
was said. One day, the Beast presented Beauty with a magnificent magic mirror. When Beauty peeped
into it, she could see her family, far away.
"You won't feel so lonely now," were the words that accompanied the gift. Beauty stared for hours at
her distant family. Then she began to feel worried. One day, the Beast found her weeping beside the
magic mirror.
"What's wrong?" he asked, kindly as always.
"My father is gravely ill and close to dying! Oh, how I wish I could see him again, before it's too late!"
But the Beast only shook its head.
"No! You will never leave this castle!" And off it stalked in a rage. However, a little later, it returned and
spoke solemnly to the girl.
"If you swear that you will return here in seven days time, I'll let you go and visit your father!" Beauty
threw herself at the Beast's feet in delight.
"I swear! I swear I will! How kind you are! You've made a loving daughter so happy!" In reality, the
merchant had fallen ill from a broken heart at knowing his daughter was being kept prisoner. When he
embraced her again, he was soon on the road to recovery. Beauty stayed beside him for hours on end,
describing her life at the Castle, and explaining that the Beast was really
good and kind. The days flashed past, and at last the merchant was able to leave his bed. He was
completely well again. Beauty was happy at last. However, she had failed to notice that seven days had
gone by.
Then one night she woke from a terrible nightmare. She had dreamt that the Beast was dying and calling
for her, twisting in agony.
"Come back! Come back to me!" it was pleading. The solemn promise she had made drove her to leave
home immediately.
"Hurry! Hurry, good horse!" she said, whipping her steed onwards towards the castle, afraid that she
might arrive too late. She rushed up the stairs, calling, but there was no reply. Her heart in her mouth,
Beauty ran into the garden and there crouched the Beast, its eyes shut, as though dead. Beauty threw
herself at it and hugged it tightly.
"Don't die! Don't die! I'll marry you . . ." At these words, a miracle took place. The Beast's ugly snout
turned magically into the face of a handsome young man.
"How I've been longing for this moment!" he said. "I was suffering in silence, and couldn't tell my
frightful secret. An evil witch turned me into a monster and only the love of a maiden willing to accept me
as I was, could transform me back into my real self. My dearest! I'll be so happy if you'll marry me."
The wedding took place shortly after and, from that day on, the young Prince would have nothing but
roses in his gardens. And that's why, to this day, the castle is known as the Castle of the Rose.
The End
Legends
A Story of Robin Hood
In the rude days of King Richard and King John there were many great woods in England. The most famous of these was
Sherwood forest, where the king often went to hunt deer. In this forest there lived a band of daring men called outlaws.
They had done something that was against the laws of the land, and had been forced to hide themselves in the woods to
save their lives. There they spent their time in roaming about among the trees, in hunting the king's deer, and in robbing
rich travelers that came that way.
There were nearly a hundred of these outlaws, and their leader was a bold fellow called Robin Hood. They were dressed
in suits of green, and armed with bows and arrows; and sometimes they carried long wooden lances and broad-swords,
which they knew how to handle well. Whenever they had taken anything, it was brought and laid at the feet of Robin
Hood, whom they called their king. He then divided it fairly among them, giving to each man his just share.
Robin never allowed his men to harm anybody but the rich men who lived in great houses and did no work. He was
always kind to the poor, and he often sent help to them; and for that reason the common people looked upon him as
their friend.
Long after he was dead, men liked to talk about his deeds. Some praised him, and some blamed him. He was, indeed, a
rude, lawless fellow; but at that time, people did not think of right and wrong as they do now.
A great many songs were made up about Robin Hood, and these songs were sung in the cottages and huts all over the
land for hundreds of years afterward.
Here is a little story that is told in one of those songs:-Robin Hood was standing one day under a green tree by the road-side. While he was listening to the birds among the
leaves, he saw a young man passing by. This young man was dressed in a fine suit of bright red cloth; and, as he tripped
gayly along the road, he seemed to be as happy as the day.
"I will not trouble him," said Robin Hood, "for I think he is on his way to his wedding."
The next day Robin stood in the same place. He had not been there long when he saw the same young man coming
down the road. But he did not seem to be so happy this time. He had left his scarlet coat at home, and at every step he
sighed and groaned.
"Ah the sad day! the sad day!" he kept saying to himself.
Then Robin Hood stepped out from under the tree, and said,-"I say, young man! Have you any money to spare for my merry men and me?"
"I have nothing at all," said the young man, "but five shillings and a ring."
"A gold ring?" asked Robin.
"Yes?" said the young man, "it is a gold ring. Here it is."
"Ah, I see!" said Robin: "it is a wedding ring."
"I have kept it these seven years," said the young man; "I have kept it to give to my bride on our wedding day. We were
going to be married yesterday. But her father has promised her to a rich old man whom she never saw. And now my
heart is broken."
"What is your name?" asked Robin.
"My name is Allin-a-Dale," said the young man.
"What will you give me, in gold or fee," said Robin, "if I will help you win your bride again in spite of the rich old man to
whom she has been promised?"
"I have no money," said Allin, "but I will promise to be your servant."
"How many miles is it to the place where the maiden lives?" asked Robin.
"It is not far," said Allin. "But she is to be married this very day, and the church is five miles away."
Then Robin made haste to dress himself as a harper; and in the afternoon he stood in the door of the church.
"Who are you?" said the bishop, "and what are you doing here?"
"I am a bold harper," said Robin, "the best in the north country."
"I am glad you have come," said the bishop kindly. "There is no music that I like so well as that of the harp. Come in, and
play for us."
"I will go in," said Robin Hood; "but I will not give you any music until I see the bride and bridegroom."
Just then an old man came in. He was dressed in rich clothing, but was bent with age, and was feeble and gray. By his
side walked a fair young girl. Her cheeks were very pale, and her eyes were full of tears.
"This is no match," said Robin. "Let the bride choose for herself."
Then he put his horn to his lips, and blew three times. The very next minute, four and twenty men, all dressed in green,
and carrying long bows in their hands, came running across the fields. And as they marched into the church, all in a row,
the foremost among them was Allin-a-Dale.
"Now whom do you choose?" said Robin to the maiden.
"I choose Allin-a-Dale," she said, blushing.
"And Allin-a-Dale you shall have," said Robin; "and he that takes you from Allin-a-Dale shall find that he has Robin Hood
to deal with."
And so the fair maiden and Allin-a-Dale were married then and there, and the rich old man went home in a great rage.
"And thus having ended this merry wedding,
The bride looked like a queen:
And so they returned to the merry green wood,
Amongst the leaves so green."
The End.
Myths
WHY THE BEAR HAS A SHORT TAIL.
ONE cold morning when the fox was coming up the road with some fish, he met the bear.
"Good-morning, Mr. Fox," said the bear.
"Good-morning, Mr. Bear," said the fox. "The morning is brighter because I have met you."
"Those are very good fish, Mr. Fox," said the bear. "I have not eaten such fish for many a day. Where do you
find them?"
"I have been fishing, Mr. Bear," answered the fox.
"If I could catch such fish as those, I should like to go fishing, but I do not know how to fish."
"It would be very easy for you to learn, Mr. Bear," said the fox. "You are so big and strong that you can do
anything."
" Will you teach me, Mr. Fox?" asked the bear.
"I would not tell everybody, but you are such a good friend that I will teach you. Come to this pond, and I will
show you how to fish through the ice."
So the fox and the bear went to the frozen pond, and the fox showed the bear how to make a hole in the ice.
"That is easy for you," said the fox, "but many an animal could not have made that hole. Now comes the secret.
You must put your tail down into the water and keep it there. That is not easy, and not every animal could do it,
for the water is very cold; but you are a learned animal, Mr. Bear, and you know that the secret of catching fish
is to keep your tail in the water a long time. Then when you pull it up, you will pull with it as many fish as I
have."
The bear put his tail down into the water, and the fox went away. The sun rose high in the heavens, and still the
bear sat with his tail through the hole in the ice. Sunset came, but still the bear sat with his tail through the hole
in the ice, for he thought, "When an animal is really learned, he will not fear a little cold."
It began to be dark, and the bear said, "Now I will pull the fish out of the water. How good they will be!" He
pulled and pulled, but not a fish came out. Worse than that, not all of his tail came out, for the end of it was
frozen fast to the ice.
He went slowly down the road, growling angrily, "I wish I could find that fox;" but the cunning fox was curled
up in his warm nest, and whenever he thought of the bear he laughed.
Hades & the King of Corinth
The people of ancient Corinth believed
their king, King Sisyphus of Corinth,
was the cleverest king who ever lived!
They were always bragging about him.
But the cleverest thing the king ever did
hardly anyone knew about.
As the story goes ....
One day, the king of Corinth was busy
trying to come up with an idea to solve
Corinth’s fresh water problem. He saw
Zeus fly by, carrying a lovely river spirit
in his arms.
"That Zeus," sighed the king. "What a
trouble maker!"
Soon after, the river-god Asopus flew
by. “Have you seen my daughter?” he
bellowed at the king.
“If you’ll give my city a source of fresh
water, I’ll tell you what I saw,” King
Sisyphus shouted back. Immediately, a
crystal clear stream of fresh water
bubbled up.
“Zeus took her that way,” the king
pointed.
The king knew Zeus would be angry
when he heard what the king had done.
But Corinth desperately needed a source
of fresh water. And now they had one.
Sure enough, Zeus was furious. He told
his brother Hades to take King Sisyphus
down to the underworld immediately!
“When they tell you I am dead, do not
put a gold coin under my tongue,” King
Sisyphus whispered quickly to his wife.
Being a good wife, she did exactly as the
king had asked her.
Because the king was a very important person, Hades met the
king at the River Styx, the entrance to the underworld. And,
because no gold coin was placed under his tongue, the king
arrived at the entrance to the underworld as a poor beggar.
“Where is your gold coin?” Hades demanded in shock. “How
can you pay for a trip across the River Styx and arrive in the
underworld?”
The king hung his head in shame. "My wife was too cheap to
pay for the passage.”
Hades mouth fell open. “You go right back there and teach that
women some manners.” Hades sent the king back to earth
immediately, where he was magically alive and well again.
The king and his beloved wife laughed when he told her about
it. But he never told anyone else. You never knew when the
gods might be listening.
The Elephant's Nose
There was a time, when the elephant's nose was no bigger than a boot that he could wriggle from side to side. But an
elephant's child changed all that.
He was a curious fellow who asked ever so many questions. He asked the ostrich why her tail feathers grew just so. He
asked the giraffe what made his skin spotty. He asked the hippo why his eyes were red, and the baboon why melons
tasted as they did.
"What does a crocodile have for dinner?" he asked one day.
"Shushh" said all the animals in a scared voice.
But he would not shushh.
By and by he met the Kolokolo bird. She told him where he could find an answer.
"Go to the grey, green, greasy Limpopo river," said she.
So off he went, carrying a load of bananas and sugarcane and melons. He'd be hungry on the way, you see.
After a week of trudging and budging he reached where he had to reach.
At the edge of the river he stepped on what he thought was a log of wood. It winked one eye.
"Excuse me, but have you seen a crocodile in these parts?" asked the elephant's child politely.
The creature winked the other eye and half lifted his tail out of the mud.
"I am the crocodile," he said.
The elephant's child grew excited and kneeled down.
"I have been looking for you all these days," he said. "Will you please tell me what you have for dinner." SPLATH! Went
the crocodile's tail back into the oozy mud.
"Come nearer little one, come nearer and I'll whisper," said the crocodile.
The elephant's child put his head down close to the crocodile's musky tusky mouth. And the crocodile caught him by his
little nose.
The elephant's child knew he was in BIG trouble. He sat back on his haunches. And he pulled and pulled. The crocodile
splashed in the water and pulled and pulled. They both pulled and pulled. And the elephant's nose kept stretching and
stretching. At last the crocodile let go.
Bfuddudd!! Fell the elephant, right on his big broad back.
He looked at his nose. He could not see where it ended! It was loooong! So long, he could swish it around. But it hurt
him awfully. So he wrapped the nose in cool banana leaves and waited for it to shrink. He waited and waited. But
nothing happened. He could still swish it all around.
And so it remains to this day.
How the Rainbow Was Made
One day when the earth was new, Nanbozho looked out the window of his house beside the wide waterfall and realized
that all of the flowers in his meadow were exactly the same off-white color. How boring! He decided to make a change,
so he gathered up his paints and his paintbrushes and went out to the meadow.
Nanbozho sat down in the tall grass and arranged his red and orange and yellow and green and blue and violet paint
pots next to him. Then he began to paint the flowers in his meadow in many different colors. He painted the violets dark
blue and the tiger lilies orange with brown dots. He made the roses red and pink and purple. He painted the pansies in
every color combination he could think of. Then he painted every single daffodil bright yellow. Nanbozho hummed
happily to himself as he worked in the brilliant daylight provided by Brother Sun.
Overhead, two little bluebirds were playing games with each other. The first little bluebird would chase his friend across
the meadow one way. Then they would turn around and the second bluebird would chase him back the other way.
Zippity-zip went the first bluebird as he raced across the sky. Zappity-zing went the second bluebird as he chased him in
the brilliant sunshine.
Occasionally, Nanbozho would shade his eyes and look up…up into the endless blue sky to watch the two little birds
playing. Then he went back to work, painting yellow centers in the white daisies. Above him, the two birds decided to
see how fast they could dive down to the green fields below them. The first bluebird sailed down and down, and then
pulled himself up sharply just before he touched the ground. As he soared passed Nanbozho, his right wing dipped into
the red paint pot. When the second bluebird dove toward the grass, his left wing grazed the orange paint pot.
Nanbozho scolded the two birds, but they kept up their game, diving down toward the grass where he sat painting and
then flying back up into the sky. Soon their feet and feathers were covered with paint of all colors. Finally Nanbozho
stood up and waved his arms to shoo the birds away.
Reluctantly, the bluebirds flew away from Nanbozho and his paint pots, looking for another game to play. They started
chasing each other again, sailing this way and that over top of the giant waterfall that stood next to Nanbozho's house.
Zippity-zip, the first bluebird flew through the misty spray of the waterfall. The first bluebird left a long red paint streak
against the sky. Zappity-zing, the second bluebird chased his friend through the mist, leaving an orange paint streak.
Then the birds turned to go back the other way. This time, the first bluebird left a yellow paint streak and the second left
a pretty blue-violet paint streak. As they raced back and forth, the colors grew more vivid. When Brother Sun shone on
the colors, they sparkled radiantly through the mist of the waterfall.
Below them, Nanbozho looked up in delight when the brilliant colors spilled over his meadow. A gorgeous arch of red
and orange and yellow and green and blue and violet shimmered in the sky above the waterfall. Nanbozho smiled at the
funny little bluebirds and said: "You have made a rainbow!"
Nanbozho was so pleased that he left the rainbow permanently floating above his waterfall, its colors shimmering in the
sunshine and the misting water. From that day to this, whenever Brother Sun shines his light on the rain or the mist, a
beautiful rainbow forms. It is a reflection of the mighty rainbow that still stands over the waterfall at Nanbozho's house.
Why the sky is so High
Long ago, the sky was very low. It was so low that people could touch it if they raised their hands. At the horizon, where the sky nearly
touched the earth, was a village. Here lived an old woman all by herself. All day long she was busy with her household chores.
Cleaning her utensils, scrubbing the floor, and dusting her courtyard.
One day, she saw that her courtyard was very dirty. So she picked up her broomstick to clean it. She swept the ground so fast and so
hard that it raised a storm of dust. In a minute, her house and the entire village became covered with dust and when it reached the sky,
it started coughing. The poor sky nearly choked as the woman continued sweeping the ground. Suddenly the sky ‘Sneezed. It was such
a thunderous sneeze that the whole village shook! People ran helter-skelter, scared that the sky might fall. But the old woman kept
sweeping oblivious of what was happening.
After a while, it became so unbearable for the sky that he started crying helplessly. Huge teardrops fell on the earth. It made the
courtyard muddy. Now this was too much for the woman to bear. She raised her broomstick and whacked the sky, “Get lost you wet
blanket!” she yelled. The sky was so scared that he moved higher and higher and swore never to come down again.