Monday, August 29, 2011
legend
Why Owls Stare
Native American - Choctaw Story
retold by Sanjit
Owl and Pigeon were friends. Most mornings they sat in the same tree to talk and watch the sunrise.
Sometimes one of them would boast about how fast they could fly, or their relatives could fly, or how far, and how good their eyesight was when they were high above the ground.
The PigeonOne morning Owl boasted about something different. “I think there are more owls than pigeons,” he said.
“No,” said Pigeon. “That’s not right. There are lots more pigeons than owls.”
The Owl who boasted“There’s only one way to find out,” hooted Owl, fluffing out his feathers.
”I challenge you to a counting!”
“Agreed,” cooed Pigeon. “Where and when should we do this? We’ll need lots of perching space.”
The Big WoodsOwl scratched his wing feathers with his beak as he thought for a moment.
Then he said “the Big Woods will do. It’s a nice place, with plenty of trees for everyone to land.”
“Okay,” said Pigeon. “The Big Woods it is. You fly round and tell the owls and I’ll tell the pigeons. I’ll need a week because there are so many of us.”
Pigeon was angry“Well, I’ll probably need two weeks,” hooted Owl.
“No way,” said Pigeon jumping up and down angrily. “One week from today, an hour after sunrise. All owls and pigeons should be here. Anyone who’s late won’t be counted.”
“Agreed,” hooted Owl. Then they both flew off to tell everyone.
A week later the owls arrived first, just as the sun was rising.
The owls settled into the branchesThe owls arrived at the Big Woods at sunriseThey swooped down on the Big Woods from every direction until there were owls in most of the trees.
They hooted and laughed to each other “Toowoo, wah, wah! The pigeons are still asleep!”
The hooting and wing flapping died down as they settled on the branches and waited. They were sure there were more of them than the pigeons.
Dark clouds made of pigeon wingsAfter a while they heard a swooshing sound in the distance.
Huge grey clouds moved towards them from the east, south and north.
The clouds were pigeon wings.
Thousands of pigeons swooped down on the Big Woods, blocking out the sky.
As the pigeons landed in the trees, the owls had to shuffle closer together. Branches broke when too many pigeons tried to land at once.
The owls couldn’t believe their eyes or their ears. The noise of flapping wings and scratching feet was deafening.
The owls stared, moving their heads from side to side to watch the pigeons land all around them.
Some of the owls were nervousAnd still the pigeons kept coming, circling down from the sky looking for landing space. The owls could not believe there were so many pigeons.
Their eyes grew wider and wider as they moved their heads from side to side, trying to keep track of the pigeons. More and more of them swooshed in.
Some of the owls started to feel nervous. Being surrounded and squashed by so many pigeons was a bit scary. They began to hoot to each other “Tooooowoooo, we’re being trampled. Let’s get out of here!”
The pigeons settled in at the Big WoodsOne by one the owls took off, darting up between branches and diving away from the still incoming pigeons.
The owls fled into the sky, their staring eyes flattened even wider open by the wind rushing past them.
No-one did any counting.
The pigeons settled themselves all over the Big Woods, cooing and calling to each other, celebrating their win.
Owl eyes staring in the darkSince then, owls have always traveled at night when pigeons are asleep.
They stare at everything around them, watching out for pigeons.
The End
Native American - Choctaw Story
retold by Sanjit
Owl and Pigeon were friends. Most mornings they sat in the same tree to talk and watch the sunrise.
Sometimes one of them would boast about how fast they could fly, or their relatives could fly, or how far, and how good their eyesight was when they were high above the ground.
The PigeonOne morning Owl boasted about something different. “I think there are more owls than pigeons,” he said.
“No,” said Pigeon. “That’s not right. There are lots more pigeons than owls.”
The Owl who boasted“There’s only one way to find out,” hooted Owl, fluffing out his feathers.
”I challenge you to a counting!”
“Agreed,” cooed Pigeon. “Where and when should we do this? We’ll need lots of perching space.”
The Big WoodsOwl scratched his wing feathers with his beak as he thought for a moment.
Then he said “the Big Woods will do. It’s a nice place, with plenty of trees for everyone to land.”
“Okay,” said Pigeon. “The Big Woods it is. You fly round and tell the owls and I’ll tell the pigeons. I’ll need a week because there are so many of us.”
Pigeon was angry“Well, I’ll probably need two weeks,” hooted Owl.
“No way,” said Pigeon jumping up and down angrily. “One week from today, an hour after sunrise. All owls and pigeons should be here. Anyone who’s late won’t be counted.”
“Agreed,” hooted Owl. Then they both flew off to tell everyone.
A week later the owls arrived first, just as the sun was rising.
The owls settled into the branchesThe owls arrived at the Big Woods at sunriseThey swooped down on the Big Woods from every direction until there were owls in most of the trees.
They hooted and laughed to each other “Toowoo, wah, wah! The pigeons are still asleep!”
The hooting and wing flapping died down as they settled on the branches and waited. They were sure there were more of them than the pigeons.
Dark clouds made of pigeon wingsAfter a while they heard a swooshing sound in the distance.
Huge grey clouds moved towards them from the east, south and north.
The clouds were pigeon wings.
Thousands of pigeons swooped down on the Big Woods, blocking out the sky.
As the pigeons landed in the trees, the owls had to shuffle closer together. Branches broke when too many pigeons tried to land at once.
The owls couldn’t believe their eyes or their ears. The noise of flapping wings and scratching feet was deafening.
The owls stared, moving their heads from side to side to watch the pigeons land all around them.
Some of the owls were nervousAnd still the pigeons kept coming, circling down from the sky looking for landing space. The owls could not believe there were so many pigeons.
Their eyes grew wider and wider as they moved their heads from side to side, trying to keep track of the pigeons. More and more of them swooshed in.
Some of the owls started to feel nervous. Being surrounded and squashed by so many pigeons was a bit scary. They began to hoot to each other “Tooooowoooo, we’re being trampled. Let’s get out of here!”
The pigeons settled in at the Big WoodsOne by one the owls took off, darting up between branches and diving away from the still incoming pigeons.
The owls fled into the sky, their staring eyes flattened even wider open by the wind rushing past them.
No-one did any counting.
The pigeons settled themselves all over the Big Woods, cooing and calling to each other, celebrating their win.
Owl eyes staring in the darkSince then, owls have always traveled at night when pigeons are asleep.
They stare at everything around them, watching out for pigeons.
The End
legend
Rabbit the hunter
A Native American tale retold by Sanjit
One day Rabbit took his bow and arrow and went hunting. He left the house where he lived with his grandmother and hopped through the forest, happy to be out and about. Suddenly he saw huge footprints in the track.
"Wow! Check out the size of this!" Rabbit said, twitching his nose. He hopped into the middle of the left footprint, then took six long hops to reach the right one.
"This dude is some giant" he said out loud, talking to himself because no one else was there. The forest was silent. He couldn't even hear a wing flap, or a bear breathing.
"I bet that giant's hunted everything!" said Rabbit angrily. And sure enough, when he checked, there wasn't anything left to hunt.
Rabbit went home to his grandmother and told her he hadn't hunted anything for dinner because the giant had been to the forest first. She patted him on the head. "Don't worry dear. I've picked some berries. We can have them for dinner."
"I don't want stupid berries. I want to eat something I've hunted!" Rabbit grumbled to himself. He didn't say it out loud because he didn't want to hurt his grandmother's feelings.
The next day Rabbit got up earlier, hoping to hunt before the giant came. No luck. Everything had gone already. "It's not fair!" cried Rabbit, stamping his feet.
Each day Rabbit got up earlier and earlier, and each day the same thing happened. The giant got there first.
Rabbit became angrier and angrier. "I will set a trap for the giant. And when I catch him, I'll shoot him with my bow and arrow." He strung a net across the track to catch anyone who walked down it. Then he went home to his grandmother, thinking "this will be the last night I have to eat berries for dinner. Tomorrow I'll be able to go hunting."
The next morning Rabbit got up extra early and went to check on his net. "Oh no!" He wailed.
"The giant has walked right throng it and made a big hole!" He went home and told his grandmother. "Don't worry dear, have a berry" she said.
"I don't want any more berries" cried Rabbit "I want to eat something I have hunted." Then he looked at his grandmother and thought for a moment. "You know some magic. Will you make me a special net?" he pleaded.
"Alright. If it will make you happy." She told Rabbit to go away because the magic was secret. When he came back she gave him a net as thin as a spider's web, but stronger than any net ever made.
Rabbit tied it across the track in the forest. The next morning, he got up extra early and rushed out into the forest. He hopped round a bend in the track and skidded to a halt. There was a blinding light coming from his magic net. It was so bright, he couldn't look at it for more than a second. "Oh No!" he wailed. "I've captured the SUN".
"Let me out of here," roared Sun in a deep load voice that shook the forest. Rabbit fell backwards onto the track, then hopped home as fast as he could to tell his grandmother.
"You must let Sun out of the net," said his Grandmother "Look how dark it is everywhere." "I'm scared" said Rabbit.
"I know" answered his grandmother, "but if you don't let Sun out of the net it will always be dark. Here's a magic knife. Go and cut the net." Rabbit hopped back into the forest.
"Let me out of here" roared Sun, thrashing around in the net with his big feet. Rabbit slowly moved forward, his little legs shaking with fright. The closer he got, the hotter it became. Closer and hotter, closer and hotter.
Little legs shaking and sweat gushing from him, Rabbit shielded his eyes and reached up to cut the net with the magic knife
Sun struggled free then jumped upwards. One of his big feet kicked Rabbit on the shoulders, almost knocking him over. The sky filled with light again and all the animals cried out in happiness.
Rabbit looked at his sore shoulders. They were scorched brown with the heat from Sun's foot - and they are still brown to this day.
The End
A Native American tale retold by Sanjit
One day Rabbit took his bow and arrow and went hunting. He left the house where he lived with his grandmother and hopped through the forest, happy to be out and about. Suddenly he saw huge footprints in the track.
"Wow! Check out the size of this!" Rabbit said, twitching his nose. He hopped into the middle of the left footprint, then took six long hops to reach the right one.
"This dude is some giant" he said out loud, talking to himself because no one else was there. The forest was silent. He couldn't even hear a wing flap, or a bear breathing.
"I bet that giant's hunted everything!" said Rabbit angrily. And sure enough, when he checked, there wasn't anything left to hunt.
Rabbit went home to his grandmother and told her he hadn't hunted anything for dinner because the giant had been to the forest first. She patted him on the head. "Don't worry dear. I've picked some berries. We can have them for dinner."
"I don't want stupid berries. I want to eat something I've hunted!" Rabbit grumbled to himself. He didn't say it out loud because he didn't want to hurt his grandmother's feelings.
The next day Rabbit got up earlier, hoping to hunt before the giant came. No luck. Everything had gone already. "It's not fair!" cried Rabbit, stamping his feet.
Each day Rabbit got up earlier and earlier, and each day the same thing happened. The giant got there first.
Rabbit became angrier and angrier. "I will set a trap for the giant. And when I catch him, I'll shoot him with my bow and arrow." He strung a net across the track to catch anyone who walked down it. Then he went home to his grandmother, thinking "this will be the last night I have to eat berries for dinner. Tomorrow I'll be able to go hunting."
The next morning Rabbit got up extra early and went to check on his net. "Oh no!" He wailed.
"The giant has walked right throng it and made a big hole!" He went home and told his grandmother. "Don't worry dear, have a berry" she said.
"I don't want any more berries" cried Rabbit "I want to eat something I have hunted." Then he looked at his grandmother and thought for a moment. "You know some magic. Will you make me a special net?" he pleaded.
"Alright. If it will make you happy." She told Rabbit to go away because the magic was secret. When he came back she gave him a net as thin as a spider's web, but stronger than any net ever made.
Rabbit tied it across the track in the forest. The next morning, he got up extra early and rushed out into the forest. He hopped round a bend in the track and skidded to a halt. There was a blinding light coming from his magic net. It was so bright, he couldn't look at it for more than a second. "Oh No!" he wailed. "I've captured the SUN".
"Let me out of here," roared Sun in a deep load voice that shook the forest. Rabbit fell backwards onto the track, then hopped home as fast as he could to tell his grandmother.
"You must let Sun out of the net," said his Grandmother "Look how dark it is everywhere." "I'm scared" said Rabbit.
"I know" answered his grandmother, "but if you don't let Sun out of the net it will always be dark. Here's a magic knife. Go and cut the net." Rabbit hopped back into the forest.
"Let me out of here" roared Sun, thrashing around in the net with his big feet. Rabbit slowly moved forward, his little legs shaking with fright. The closer he got, the hotter it became. Closer and hotter, closer and hotter.
Little legs shaking and sweat gushing from him, Rabbit shielded his eyes and reached up to cut the net with the magic knife
Sun struggled free then jumped upwards. One of his big feet kicked Rabbit on the shoulders, almost knocking him over. The sky filled with light again and all the animals cried out in happiness.
Rabbit looked at his sore shoulders. They were scorched brown with the heat from Sun's foot - and they are still brown to this day.
The End
legend
The Ungrateful Tiger
A Korean tale retold by Oban
A long time ago, high in the mountains, the people of a small village came together to decide what to do about tigers wandering near their home.
"We have to do something! With all these tigers wandering around we're too scared to go out of the village" said one man.
"Yes! we have to do something. Last week a tiger ate one of my legs" said another, pointing to his leg that was not there.
After much talking the villagers decided the best thing to do was to dig deep holes to trap the tigers. Everyone helped, including the bigger children and the man whose leg was not there. They dug deep holes near all the tracks leading to the village.
A few days later a young man came to visit his uncle and heard loud howling sounds as he walked along a track to the village.
"What's making all that noise?" he asked. "Whatever it is it doesn't sound very happy."
The young man followed the howling sounds until he saw a deep hole with a tiger in it. The tiger tried to jump out and each time he fell back and howled.
"Hello Mr. Tiger" said the young man. "How did you get down there?"
"I don't know" cried the tiger. "I was walking along in the forest as tigers do, looking for something to eat, when suddenly I fell into this deep hole."
The tiger pleaded with the young man to help him. "Please, please help me get out of here. My wife and children will be worried about me. If you help me I'll be very grateful."
The young man was a very kind person. He found a large tree branch that had fallen on the ground and pushed and pulled it to the side of the deep hole.
"Watch out Mr. Tiger" yelled the young man as he pushed it down inside.
The tiger sprang up the branch and out of the deep hole.
"Ah! that's better" said the tiger pleased to be free.
The young man felt suddenly very nervous, standing next to the large tiger and decided to leave.
"I must be going now. Good-bye Mr. Tiger" he said.
"Not so fast" said the tiger. "I'm going to eat you."
"But, but, you said you'd be grateful if I helped you" stammered the young man.
"I am grateful" said the tiger. "But it was humans who dug that hole to trap me and since you're a human I am going to eat you."
"That's not fair" cried the young man.
"I'm a tiger and that's what tigers do. Eat people" growled the tiger.
"I helped you and now you're going to eat me just because I'm human" said the young man. "I think we should ask some one else to judge if that's fair or not."
The tiger agreed and they went to look for someone to act as a judge.
They found an Ox and told him the story. "I think it's fair for the tiger to eat you" said the Ox. "Humans treat us Oxen very badly. We're made to work all day and when you want to, you kill us and eat us."
The tiger moved closer to the young man, who quickly yelled "Let's make it two out of three."
The tiger agreed and they went to ask the biggest tree in the forest. "I think it's fair for the tiger to eat you. You humans chop us down whenever you want to and set fire to the forest and burn us."
The tiger looked pleased and showed his big teeth as he smiled at the young man.
The young man was so frightened his legs began to shake. He saw a hare hopping along. "Please Mr. Hare, help judge if Mr. Tiger should eat me."
The hare listened to their story then said "Before I can judge I must see exactly what happened."
They all went to the deep hole where the young man had rescued the tiger.
"Now show me exactly where you were" the hare said to the tiger. Anxious to hurry up and eat the young man, the tiger jumped down into the hole.
"Was this branch in the hole?" asked the hare.
"No it wasn't" answered the tiger. The young man and the hare pulled the branch out.
"My judgment is that it's not fair for you to eat the young man" said the hare. "Just because it was humans who dug the hole doesn't make it fair for you to eat him. You should have been grateful for his help."
The hare hopped away and the young man hurried off to the village leaving the ungrateful tiger howling in the deep hole.
The End
A Korean tale retold by Oban
A long time ago, high in the mountains, the people of a small village came together to decide what to do about tigers wandering near their home.
"We have to do something! With all these tigers wandering around we're too scared to go out of the village" said one man.
"Yes! we have to do something. Last week a tiger ate one of my legs" said another, pointing to his leg that was not there.
After much talking the villagers decided the best thing to do was to dig deep holes to trap the tigers. Everyone helped, including the bigger children and the man whose leg was not there. They dug deep holes near all the tracks leading to the village.
A few days later a young man came to visit his uncle and heard loud howling sounds as he walked along a track to the village.
"What's making all that noise?" he asked. "Whatever it is it doesn't sound very happy."
The young man followed the howling sounds until he saw a deep hole with a tiger in it. The tiger tried to jump out and each time he fell back and howled.
"Hello Mr. Tiger" said the young man. "How did you get down there?"
"I don't know" cried the tiger. "I was walking along in the forest as tigers do, looking for something to eat, when suddenly I fell into this deep hole."
The tiger pleaded with the young man to help him. "Please, please help me get out of here. My wife and children will be worried about me. If you help me I'll be very grateful."
The young man was a very kind person. He found a large tree branch that had fallen on the ground and pushed and pulled it to the side of the deep hole.
"Watch out Mr. Tiger" yelled the young man as he pushed it down inside.
The tiger sprang up the branch and out of the deep hole.
"Ah! that's better" said the tiger pleased to be free.
The young man felt suddenly very nervous, standing next to the large tiger and decided to leave.
"I must be going now. Good-bye Mr. Tiger" he said.
"Not so fast" said the tiger. "I'm going to eat you."
"But, but, you said you'd be grateful if I helped you" stammered the young man.
"I am grateful" said the tiger. "But it was humans who dug that hole to trap me and since you're a human I am going to eat you."
"That's not fair" cried the young man.
"I'm a tiger and that's what tigers do. Eat people" growled the tiger.
"I helped you and now you're going to eat me just because I'm human" said the young man. "I think we should ask some one else to judge if that's fair or not."
The tiger agreed and they went to look for someone to act as a judge.
They found an Ox and told him the story. "I think it's fair for the tiger to eat you" said the Ox. "Humans treat us Oxen very badly. We're made to work all day and when you want to, you kill us and eat us."
The tiger moved closer to the young man, who quickly yelled "Let's make it two out of three."
The tiger agreed and they went to ask the biggest tree in the forest. "I think it's fair for the tiger to eat you. You humans chop us down whenever you want to and set fire to the forest and burn us."
The tiger looked pleased and showed his big teeth as he smiled at the young man.
The young man was so frightened his legs began to shake. He saw a hare hopping along. "Please Mr. Hare, help judge if Mr. Tiger should eat me."
The hare listened to their story then said "Before I can judge I must see exactly what happened."
They all went to the deep hole where the young man had rescued the tiger.
"Now show me exactly where you were" the hare said to the tiger. Anxious to hurry up and eat the young man, the tiger jumped down into the hole.
"Was this branch in the hole?" asked the hare.
"No it wasn't" answered the tiger. The young man and the hare pulled the branch out.
"My judgment is that it's not fair for you to eat the young man" said the hare. "Just because it was humans who dug the hole doesn't make it fair for you to eat him. You should have been grateful for his help."
The hare hopped away and the young man hurried off to the village leaving the ungrateful tiger howling in the deep hole.
The End
legend
The Monkey and the Crocodile
A tale from India retold by Oban
A long time ago a monkey lived in a great fig tree on the riverbank of the river Ganges at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains. Life was good for him. He grew big and strong eating the tree's fruit.
A lot of crocodiles lived in the river and one of them watched the monkey for a long time as he ate and slept in the tree.
“That monkey's heart must taste so sweet from all the fruit he eats” the crocodile thought to herself. “I want to eat it”.
She turned to her husband and said “See the big monkey up there in that tree. Bring me his heart, I want to eat it”.
Her husband looked up at the monkey in the tree and then looked at his wife. “But the monkey lives high in the tree and I’m here in the river. How can I catch him?”
“I don’t care how you do it, just bring me his heart” yelled his wife, slapping the water angrily with her tail.
Her husband knew there was no way of talking her out of something, once she had made up her mind. She wouldn’t talk to him again until he brought her the monkey’s heart.
“Ok, Ok, calm down, I’ll think of something, dearest” he said.
The crocodile thought and thought and finally came up with a plan.
“I know what I’ll do” he said to himself. “I'll trick the monkey into riding on my back”
Crocodile smilingThe crocodile swam closer to the tree. “Hello Mr Monkey. How are you today?” he called out, smiling and trying to sound friendly. He wasn’t too bright. When he smiled he showed all his big teeth.
“I'm fine, thank you” said the monkey, trying not to look scared as he stared down from the tree at the open mouth with all those big sharp teeth.
“Mr Monkey, why do you only eat the fruit from that fig tree when there are so many juicy mangoes on trees on the island in the middle of the river?” asked the crocodile.
“Because I can’t get across the river, the water is too deep” answered the monkey.
“No problem, you can ride on my back and I'll take you over there” said the crocodile.
The monkey didn’t trust the crocodile completely, but he was greedy and he wanted to taste all those juicy mangoes on the island. So he jumped down onto the crocodile’s back.
“Hold on tight and off we go” said the crocodile.
The crocodile had only swum a little way when he dived under the water.
“Why did you do that?” said the monkey, spluttering and spitting out water. “I could have drowned”.
“You are going to drown” said the crocodile. “I'm going to hold you under the water and kill you. My wife wants me to bring her your heart so she can eat it.”
“Ah, you should have told me before we left” said the monkey.
“I didn’t bring my heart with me. I don’t keep it inside me all the time because it could get knocked to pieces from all that jumping around in the tree” he said.
"Take me over to the island and after I've eaten some mangoes, we'll go back to my tree and I'll get my heart for you” said the monkey.
“No way, monkey” said the crocodile. "We’re going back for your heart first and then we’ll see about the mangoes.”
“Fair enough, you’re the boss” said the monkey.
When they got back to the tree the monkey jumped off the crocodile’s back and ran up high into the tree.
The monkey yelled down at the crocodile “You dumb crocodile, who ever heard of anyone keeping their heart up a tree. You may be bigger than me and have lots of sharp teeth but you're not smarter than me. My heart is inside me, come up here and get it if you can”.
The crocodile realised he'd been tricked. He was sad and miserable.
“This is not good. How am I ever going to explain this to my wife?” the crocodile thought to himself. “She so wanted to taste that monkey’s heart”
A tear fell down his cheek as he swam back to his wife.
legend
How The Buffalo Came To Be
Native American - Cheyenne Story
retold by Oban
A long time ago the Cheyenne people were always searching for food. The chief called everyone together and said “we are always tired and hungry because we spend so much time looking for food. We must find a better supply of food for everyone.”
The chief sent out a hunting party to find new food, but for several days the hunters found nothing. They camped near a stream that gushed from the hillside and ran down into a large cave. While their leader was deciding what they should do next, some of the hunters played a game of ring and javelin.
During the game, two strangers walked into the camp – one from the north and the other from the south. When they saw each other they were surprised because although they’d never met before, their clothes were almost the same. The two men talked together as they watched the game.
After the game the leader of the hunting party said he had decided they should explore the large cave that the stream ran into at the bottom of the hill. “It may be dangerous“ he said, “but you are all brave hunters. Who will go on this journey?” None of the hunters volunteered. Then the two strangers stepped forward and offered to go. The leader accepted and wished them luck.
The strangers pulled their cloaks around them and then climbed down the hillside, splashing through the stream. When they reached the entrance to the cave, they jumped together through the falling water and into the darkness beyond. It was so dark they had to stand very still until their eyes adjusted and they could see shapes in the dim light. They moved around slowly and found what looked like a door in the wall of the cave.
One of the men knocked, and after a minute or so the door opened and an old woman came out. “What do you want, brave ones?” she asked. “We are searching for new food for our people. There is never enough food for everyone all the time.”
“Are you hungry now?” asked the old woman. “Oh yes, kind grandmother, we are very hungry” said the men. The old woman invited them inside her home and took them over to a window in the rock wall. “Look out there!” she pointed. The men saw a wide plain with herds of buffalo grazing, and they couldn’t believe it was real.
The old woman went to her cooking pot and brought them each a bowl of buffalo meat. It was tender and tasty and the men kept eating – and magically the bowls stayed full.
“You should take these bowls back to the people of your village,” said the old woman. “Tell them I will soon send them live buffalo as well.” “Thank you, thank you, kind grandmother,” said the men.
They carefully wrapped the bowls in their cloaks and climbed back up the hillside through the stream. The hunters were waiting for them at the top. When they smelled the food they crowded round excitedly. “What’s that in the bowls? It smells so good” they cried. The two brave strangers dished out meat for everyone to eat and all the hunters were grateful for the new food. They returned to their village with the news about the new food.
Next morning when the people in the village woke up, they saw a herd of buffalo grazing nearby. The hunters began to hunt and soon they had enough meat to last their people for some time.
Native American - Cheyenne Story
retold by Oban
A long time ago the Cheyenne people were always searching for food. The chief called everyone together and said “we are always tired and hungry because we spend so much time looking for food. We must find a better supply of food for everyone.”
The chief sent out a hunting party to find new food, but for several days the hunters found nothing. They camped near a stream that gushed from the hillside and ran down into a large cave. While their leader was deciding what they should do next, some of the hunters played a game of ring and javelin.
During the game, two strangers walked into the camp – one from the north and the other from the south. When they saw each other they were surprised because although they’d never met before, their clothes were almost the same. The two men talked together as they watched the game.
After the game the leader of the hunting party said he had decided they should explore the large cave that the stream ran into at the bottom of the hill. “It may be dangerous“ he said, “but you are all brave hunters. Who will go on this journey?” None of the hunters volunteered. Then the two strangers stepped forward and offered to go. The leader accepted and wished them luck.
The strangers pulled their cloaks around them and then climbed down the hillside, splashing through the stream. When they reached the entrance to the cave, they jumped together through the falling water and into the darkness beyond. It was so dark they had to stand very still until their eyes adjusted and they could see shapes in the dim light. They moved around slowly and found what looked like a door in the wall of the cave.
One of the men knocked, and after a minute or so the door opened and an old woman came out. “What do you want, brave ones?” she asked. “We are searching for new food for our people. There is never enough food for everyone all the time.”
“Are you hungry now?” asked the old woman. “Oh yes, kind grandmother, we are very hungry” said the men. The old woman invited them inside her home and took them over to a window in the rock wall. “Look out there!” she pointed. The men saw a wide plain with herds of buffalo grazing, and they couldn’t believe it was real.
The old woman went to her cooking pot and brought them each a bowl of buffalo meat. It was tender and tasty and the men kept eating – and magically the bowls stayed full.
“You should take these bowls back to the people of your village,” said the old woman. “Tell them I will soon send them live buffalo as well.” “Thank you, thank you, kind grandmother,” said the men.
They carefully wrapped the bowls in their cloaks and climbed back up the hillside through the stream. The hunters were waiting for them at the top. When they smelled the food they crowded round excitedly. “What’s that in the bowls? It smells so good” they cried. The two brave strangers dished out meat for everyone to eat and all the hunters were grateful for the new food. They returned to their village with the news about the new food.
Next morning when the people in the village woke up, they saw a herd of buffalo grazing nearby. The hunters began to hunt and soon they had enough meat to last their people for some time.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
action songs
e'll All Join in the Circle
Written By: Unknown
Adapted By: Terry Kluytmans
Copyright © 2000 KIDiddles.com
We'll all join in the circle,
We'll all join in the circle,
We'll all join in the circle,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all clap hands together,
We'll all clap hands together,
We'll all clap hands together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all stand up together,
We'll all stand up together,
We'll all stand up together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all join hands together,
We'll all join hands together,
We'll all join hands together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all turn 'round together,
We'll all turn 'round together,
We'll all turn 'round together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all stand still together,
We'll all stand still together,
We'll all stand still together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all sit down together,
We'll all sit down together,
We'll all sit down together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all be quiet together,
We'll all be quiet together,
We'll all be quiet together,
Now singing time is through.
Written By: Unknown
Adapted By: Terry Kluytmans
Copyright © 2000 KIDiddles.com
We'll all join in the circle,
We'll all join in the circle,
We'll all join in the circle,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all clap hands together,
We'll all clap hands together,
We'll all clap hands together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all stand up together,
We'll all stand up together,
We'll all stand up together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all join hands together,
We'll all join hands together,
We'll all join hands together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all turn 'round together,
We'll all turn 'round together,
We'll all turn 'round together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all stand still together,
We'll all stand still together,
We'll all stand still together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all sit down together,
We'll all sit down together,
We'll all sit down together,
And sing a song or two.
We'll all be quiet together,
We'll all be quiet together,
We'll all be quiet together,
Now singing time is through.
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