The Story Of The First Mockingbird : THE STORY OF THE FIRST MOCKINGBIRD. FAR away in the forest there once lived the most cruel man on all the earth. He did not like the Indians, and he said to himself, "Some day I will be ruler of them all." Then he thought, "There are many brave warriors among the Indians, and I must first put them...
The Face Of The Manito : THE FACE OF THE MANITO. MANY years ago the manito of the Indians lived in the sun. Every morning the wise men of the tribe went to the top of a mountain, and as the sun rose in the east, they sang, "We praise thee, O sun! From thee come fire and light. Be good to us, be good to us." After the warm...
Why The Cat Always Falls Upon Her Feet : WHY THE CAT ALWAYS FALLS UPON HER FEET. SOME magicians are cruel, but others are gentle and good to all the creatures of the earth. One of these good magicians was one day traveling in a great forest. The sun rose high in the heavens, and he lay down at the foot of a tree. Soft, green moss grew all...
Why The Magpie's Nest Is Not Well Built : WHY THE MAGPIE'S NEST IS NOT WELL BUILT. A LONG time ago all the birds met together to talk about building nests. "Every Indian has a wigwam," said the robin, "and every bird needs a home." "Indians have no feathers," said the owl, "and so they are cold without wigwams. We have feathers." "I keep...
The Story Of The Earth And The Sky : THE STORY OF THE EARTH AND THE SKY. THE sky used to be very close to the earth, and of course the earth had no sunshine. Trees did not grow, flowers did not blossom, and water was not clear and bright. The earth did not know that there was any other way of living, and so she did not complain. By...
Why The Raven's Feathers Are Black : WHY THE RAVEN'S FEATHERS ARE BLACK. LONG, long ago the raven's feathers were white as snow. He was a beautiful bird, but the other birds did not like him because he was a thief. When they saw him coming, they would hide away the things that they cared for most, but in some marvelous way he always...
Why The Aspen Leaves Tremble : WHY THE ASPEN LEAVES TREMBLE. "IT is very strange," whispered one reed to another, "that the queen bee never guides her swarm to the aspen-tree." "Indeed, it is strange," said the other, "The oak and the willow often have swarms, but I never saw one on the aspen. What can be the reason?" "The queen...
The Story Of The Bees And The Flies : THE STORY OF THE BEES AND THE FLIES. THERE were once two tribes of little people who lived near together. They were not at all alike, for one of the tribes looked for food and carried it away to put it up safely for winter, while the other played and sang and danced all day long. "Come and play...
How Flax Was Given To Men : HOW FLAX WAS GIVEN TO MEN. "You have been on the mountain a long time," said the wife of the hunter. "Yes, wife, and I have seen the most marvelous sight in all the world," replied the hunter. "What was that?" "I came to a place on the mountain where I had been many and many a time before, but...
Why The Juniper Has Berries : WHY THE JUNIPER HAS BERRIES. THREE cranberries once lived together in a meadow. They were sisters, but they did not look alike, for one was white, and one was red, and one was green. Winter came, and the wind blew cold. "I wish we lived nearer the wigwam," said the white cranberry timidly. "I am...
Why The Dove Is Timid : WHY THE DOVE IS TIMID. A SPIRIT called the manito always watches over the Indians. He is glad when they are brave, but if they are cowardly, he is angry. One day when the manito was walking under the pine-trees, he heard a cry of terror in the forest. "What is that?" said he. "Can it be that any...
Was It The First Turtle : WAS IT THE FIRST TURTLE? ONCE upon a time there was a great fight between two tribes of Indians. It was so fierce that the river ran red with blood, and the war-cries were so loud and angry that the animals of the forest ran away in terror. The warriors fought all day long, and when it beg...
How The Blossoms Came To The Heather : HOW THE BLOSSOMS CAME TO THE HEATHER. ONLY a little while after the earth was made, the trees and plants came to live on it. They were happy and contented. The lily was glad because her flowers were white. The rose was glad because her flowers were red. The violet was happy because, however shyly...
Preface : PREFACE IN preparing the Book of Nature Myths the desire has been to make a second reader which would be adapted to the child's interest, ability, and progress. The subject-matter is of permanent value, culled from the folk-lore of the primitive races; the vocabulary, based upon th...
The Story Of The First Woodpecker : THE STORY OF THE FIRST WOODPECKER. IN the days of long ago the Great Spirit came down from the sky and talked with men. Once as he went up and down the earth, he came to the wigwam of a woman. He went into the wigwam and sat down by the fire, but he looked like an old man, and the woman did not...
Why The Sea Is Salt : WHY THE SEA IS SALT. FROTHI, king of the Northland, owned some magic millstones. Other millstones grind corn, but these would grind out whatever the owner wished, if he knew how to move them. Frothi tried and tried, but they would not stir. "Oh, if I could only move the millstones," he cried, "I...
The Story Of The First Frog : THE STORY OF THE FIRST FROG. ONCE upon a time there was a man who had two children, a boy and a girl, whom he treated cruelly. The boy and the girl talked together one day, and the boy, Wah-wah-hoo, said to his sister, "Dear little sister, are you happy with our father?" "No," answered the girl...
The Story Of The Oriole : THE STORY OF THE ORIOLE. THE king of the north once said to himself, "I am master of the country of ice and snow, but what is that if I cannot be ruler of the land of sunshine and flowers? I am no king if I fear the king of the south. The northwind shall bear my icy breath. Bird and beast shall...
Why There Is A Hare In The Moon : WHY THERE IS A HARE IN THE MOON. MANY strange things happened long ago, and one of them was that a hare, a monkey, and a fox agreed to live together. They talked about their plan a long time. Then the hare said, "I promise to help the monkey and the fox." The monkey declared, "I promise to help...
Why The White Hares Have Black Ears : WHY THE WHITE HARES HAVE BLACK EARS. IN the forest there is a beautiful spirit. All the beasts and all the birds are dear to him, and he likes to have them gentle and good. One morning he saw some of his little white hares fighting one another, and each trying to seize the best of the food. "Oh, my...
The Story Of The First Pearls : THE STORY OF THE FIRST PEARLS. THERE was once a man named Runoia, and when he walked along the pathways of the forest, the children would say shyly to one another, "Look, there is the man who always hears music." It was really true that wherever he went he could hear sweet music. There are some...
The Story Of The First Butterflies : THE STORY OF THE FIRST BUTTERFLIES. THE Great Spirit thought, "By and by I will make men, but first I will make a home for them. It shall be very bright and beautiful. There shall be mountains and prairies and forests, and about it all shall be the blue waters of the sea." As the Great Spirit had...
The Story Of The First Ants : THE STORY OF THE FIRST ANTS. "THIS jar is full of smoked flesh," said one voice. "This has fish, this is full of honey, and that one is almost running over with oil," said another voice. "We shall have all that we need to eat for many days to come." These are the words that a villager coming home...
Why The Bear Has A Short Tail : 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...
Why There Is A Man In The Moon : WHY THERE IS A MAN IN THE MOON. "GOODMAN," said the goodwife, "you must go out into the forest and gather sticks for the fire. To-morrow will be Sunday, and we have no wood to burn." "Yes, goodwife," answered the goodman, "I will go to the forest." He did go to the forest, but he sat on a mossy...
The Twin Stars : THE TWIN STARS. IN front of the little house was a pine-tree, and every night at the time when the children went to bed, a bright star appeared over the top of the tree and looked in at the window. The children were brother and sister. They were twins, and so they always had each other to play with...
How The Raven Helped Men : HOW THE RAVEN HELPED MEN. THE raven and the eagle were cousins, and they were almost always friendly, but whenever they talked together about men, they quarreled. "Men are lazy," declared the eagle. "There is no use in trying to help them. The more one does for them, the less they do for themselves...
Why The Serpent Sheds His Skin : WHY THE SERPENT SHEDS HIS SKIN. THE serpent is the grandfather of the owl, and once upon a time if the owl needed help, she would say, "My grandfather will come and help me," but now he never comes to her. This story tells why. When the owl carried away the little quail, she went to the serpent...
How Fire Was Brought To The Indians : HOW FIRE WAS BROUGHT TO THE INDIANS. PART 1. SEIZING THE FIREBRAND. OH, it was so cold! The wind blew the leaves about on the ground. The frost spirit hid on the north side of every tree, and stung every animal of the forest that came near. Then the snow fell till the ground was white. Through...
Why The Swallow's Tail Is Forked : WHY THE SWALLOW'S TAIL IS FORKED. THIS is the story of how the swallow's tail came to be forked. One day the Great Spirit asked all the animals that he had made to come to his lodge. Those that could fly came first: the robin, the bluebird, the owl, the butterfly, the wasp, and the firefly. Behind...
The Lantern And The Fan : THE LANTERN AND THE FAN. IN a Japanese village there once lived a man who had two sons. When the sons were grown up, each brought home a wife from another village a long distance away. The father was greatly pleased with his two daughters-in-law, and for many months they all lived very happily...
The Story Of The First Diamonds : THE STORY OF THE FIRST DIAMONDS. THE chief of an Indian tribe had two sons whom he loved very dearly. This chief was at war with another tribe, and one dark night two of his enemies crept softly through the trees till they came to where the two boys lay sound asleep. The warriors caught the younger...
The Story Of The First Moles : THE STORY OF THE FIRST MOLES. A RICH man and a poor man once owned a field together. The rich man owned the northern half, and the poor man owned the southern half. Each man sowed his ground with seed. The warm days came, the gentle rain fell, and the seed in the poor man's half of the field sprang...
Why The Rabbit Is Timid : WHY THE RABBIT IS TIMID. ONE night the moon looked down from the sky upon the people on the earth and said to herself, "How sorrowful they look! I wish I knew what troubles them. The stars and I are never sad, and I do not see why men should be troubled." She listened closely, and she heard...
Why The Evergreen Trees Never Lose Their Leaves : WHY THE EVERGREEN TREES NEVER LOSE THEIR LEAVES. WINTER was coming, and the birds had flown far to the south, where the air was warm and they could find berries to eat. One little bird had broken its wing and could not fly with the others. It was alone in the cold world of frost and snow...
Why The Crocodile Has A Wide Mouth : WHY THE CROCODILE HAS A WIDE MOUTH. "COME to my kingdom whenever you will," said the goddess of the water to the king of the land. "My waves will be calm, and my animals will be gentle. They will be as good to your children as if they were my own. Nothing in all my kingdom will do you harm."...
The Children In The Moon : THE CHILDREN IN THE MOON. THEY had no idea where they came from. All they knew was that they lived on the hill, and that the old man of the hill called them Jack and Jill. They had plenty of berries to eat, and when night came, they had soft beds of fir to sleep on. There were all kinds of animals...
How The Quail Became A Snipe : HOW THE QUAIL BECAME A SNIPE. "IT is lonely living in this great tree far away from the other birds," said the owl to herself. "I will get some one to come and live with me. The quail has many children, and I will ask her for one of them." The owl went to the quail and said, "Will you let me have...
Why The Tail Of The Fox Has A White Tip : WHY THE TAIL OF THE FOX HAS A WHITE TIP. "I MUST have a boy to watch my sheep and my cows," thought an old woman, and so she went out to look for a boy. She looked first in the fields and then in the forest, but nowhere could she find a boy. As she was walking down the path to her home, she met...
Untitled : THE BOOK OF NATURE MYTHS BY FLORENCE HOLBROOK [1904] Title Page Preface Contents. The Story Of The First Hummingbird. The Story Of The First Butterflies. The Story Of The First Woodpecker. Why The Woodpecker's Head Is Red. Why The Cat Always Falls Upon Her Feet. Why The Swallow's Tail Is Forked...
The Story Of The First Hummingbird : THE STORY OF THE FIRST HUMMINGBIRD. PART I. THE GREAT FIRE-MOUNTAIN. LONG, long ago, when the earth was very young, two hunters were traveling through the forest. They had been on the track of a deer for many days, and they were now far away from the village where they lived. The sun went down...
Why The Water In Rivers Is Never Still : WHY THE WATER IN RIVERS IS NEVER STILL. ALL kinds of strange things came to pass in the days of long ago, but perhaps the strangest of all was that the nurses who cared for little children were not women, but brooks and rivers. The children and the brooks ran about together, and the brooks...
How Summer Came To The Earth : HOW SUMMER CAME TO THE EARTH. PART I. THERE was once a boy on the earth who was old enough to have a bow and arrows, but who had never seen a summer. He had no idea how it would look to have leaves on the trees, for he had never seen any such things. As for the songs of birds, he may have heard...
The Story Of The First Snowdrops : THE STORY OF THE FIRST SNOWDROPS. AN old man sat alone in his house. It was full of shadows; it was dark and gloomy. The old man cared nothing for the shadows or the darkness, for he was thinking of all the mighty deeds that he had done. "There is no one else in the world," he muttered, "who h...
Why The Wren Flies Close To The Earth : WHY THE WREN FLIES CLOSE TO THE EARTH. ONE day when the birds were all together, one of them said, "I have been watching men, and I saw that they had a king. Let us too have a king." "Why?" asked the others. "Oh, I do not know, but men have one." "Which bird shall it be? How shall we choose...
Why The Parrot Repeats The Words Of Men : WHY THE PARROT REPEATS THE WORDS OF MEN. IN the olden times when the earth was young, all the birds knew the language of men and could talk with them. Everybody liked the parrot, because he always told things as they were, and they called him the bird that tells the truth. This bird that always...
Why The Hoofs Of The Deer Are Split : WHY THE HOOFS OF THE DEER ARE SPLIT. THE manito of the Indians taught them how to do many things. He told them how to build wigwams, and how to hunt and to fish. He showed them how to make jars in which to keep food and water. When little children came to be with them, it was the manito who said...
Title Page : THE BOOK OF NATURE MYTHS BY FLORENCE HOLBROOK PRINCIPAL OF FORESTVILLE SCHOOL, CHICAGO HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON * NEW YORK * CHICAGO * DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO THE RIVERSIDE PRESS CAMBRIDGE 1902
Why All Men Love The Moon : WHY ALL MEN LOVE THE MOON. THUNDER and Lightning were going to give a feast. It was to be a most delightful banquet, for all the good things that could be imagined were to be brought from every corner of the world. For many days before the feast these good things were coming. The birds flew up with...
Why The Woodpecker's Head Is Red : WHY THE WOODPECKER'S HEAD IS RED. ONE day the woodpecker said to the Great Spirit, "Men do not like me. I wish they did." The Great Spirit said, "If you wish men to love you, you must be good to them and help them. Then they will call you their friend." "How can a little bird help a man?" asked...
The Story Of The First Emeralds : THE STORY OF THE FIRST EMERALDS. IN the days of long ago there was a time when there were no emeralds on the earth. Men knew where to find other precious stones. They could get pearls and diamonds, but no one had ever seen an emerald, because the emeralds were hidden away in the bed of the sea, far...
Why The Face Of The Moon Is White : WHY THE FACE OF THE MOON IS WHITE. AN Indian chief had a fair young daughter. One day the wind came to him and said, "Great chief, I love your daughter, and she loves me. Will you give her to me to be my wife?" "No," answered the chief. The next day the maiden herself went to the chief and said...
The Story Of The Picture On The Vase : THE STORY OF THE PICTURE ON THE VASE. ON some of the beautiful vases that are made in Japan there is a picture of a goddess changing a dragon into an island. When the children of Japan say, "Mother, tell us a story about the picture," this is what the mother says:-- "Long, long ago there w...
Why The Peetweet Cries For Rain : WHY THE PEETWEET CRIES FOR RAIN. "COME to me, every bird that flies," said the Great Father. "There is work to be done that only my birds can do." The birds were happy that they could do something to please the Great Father, for they remembered how good he had always been to them. They flew to him...
The Story Of The First Whitefish : THE STORY OF THE FIRST WHITEFISH. ONE day a crane was sitting on a rock far out in the water, when he heard a voice say, "Grandfather Crane, Grandfather Crane, please come and carry us across the lake." It was the voice of a child, and when the crane had come to the shore, he saw two little boys...
Why The Peacock's Tail Has A Hundred Eyes : WHY THE PEACOCK'S TAIL HAS A HUNDRED EYES. JUNO, queen of the gods, had the fairest cow that any one ever saw. She was creamy white, and her eyes were of as soft and bright a blue as those of any maiden in the world. Juno and the king of the gods often played tricks on each other, and Juno knew...
The Story Of The First Grasshopper : THE STORY OF THE FIRST GRASSHOPPER. IN a country that is far away there once lived a young man called Tithonus. He was strong and beautiful. Light of heart and light of foot, he hunted the deer or danced and sang the livelong day. Every one who saw him loved him, but the one that loved him most w...
