Alphabet Imagination | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | Instead of a story script, scouts can create their own story in a round-robin fashion. Choose someone to begin telling the story and give them a scenario, such as: an airplane accident scene. The scout speaks a line that starts with the letter 'A'. The next scout in the circle speaks a line that starts with 'B'. Continue until the story finishes or a scout is stumped. Start with a new scenario for the next scout. For example, with an airplane accident... All you people start first aid on these survivors. But, I don't have my first aid kit. Can't you think of anything except saving yourself? Don't worry, I will save them! Everyone run, the gas is about to blow! Fire, cool, I like fire. Girl scouts were on that plane and they need our help. Hang on girls, we're coming to save you. ... |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Anishinabe and the Ravens | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Notes: | Learn about others, but be what you are. |
| Story: | There once was a man that enjoyed watching the black Raven's fly around, play, squawk, and chatter. He enjoyed them so much he would climb trees just to be closer to them. For many months the Ravens ignored the man, but after awhile, one of the Ravens flew from a nearby tree and landed directly next to the man. In utter amazement, the bird spoke to the man and asked, "You have been watching us for a long time. You have tried to get close to us. Why do you do this?" The man replied, "I mean no harm. I have become enchanted with you and all your relatives. I enjoy the play, the squawking, and I wish I could learn your language so I could understand more about you." Then the Raven responded, "We are honored that you want to know us, as long as you do not cause harm, we will teach you our language." For many months the Ravens taught the man all about the language and how the Ravens lived from day to day. The man became so educated that he knew everything there was to know about the Ravens. Many of the Ravens saw the man and accepted him as a friend. One day, an older Raven was flying far over the man, dropped a walnut perfectly on the man's head. It was done on purpose and all the Ravens almost fell off their branches laughing so hard the way they do. One Raven was flying and was laughing so hard he had to crash land right in front of the man. The man was feeling bad and was hurt by being made fun of, so he asked the Raven in front of him, "Why are you all picking on me." The Raven stopped laughing and became very serious. "We thought you understood us, but apparently you don't. If you did you would know that we are not mocking you... well maybe a bit, but it is done in our way of having fun. We are 'playing' with you and that is all. It is not to be taken seriously. You should know us better." The man took sometime to understand this and over time a few more practical jokes were played on the man and he in turn pulled a few "good ones" on the birds. A good time was had by all and the man became even closer to the Ravens. Then another event occurred. A young Raven swooped out of the sky and pecked the man on the head. Then another young Raven swooped down and did the same thing. The man ran across the field and into the woods but the Ravens kept chasing him and very skillfully they flew at high speeds through the woods tormenting the man. Finally the two stopped and started to yell mean words, fighting words at the man. Again the man did not understand, but he knew the two Ravens were very mad at him, so he decided to leave and let the Ravens be. The man went away for many months. As he did his duties in the his tribal village, he told all the people about his adventures and what he learned about the Ravens. Some listened with intent, others just thought the man was a fool to study the Ravens so. The villagers gave the man a new name of "Black Feather" because of his close relationship to the birds, but the man objected and said, "I am no longer close to the Raven people." From above there was a squawking sound of a single Raven. Some of the people looked up and were surprised that they could understand the Raven, others just looked around because they could hear nothing but squawking. The Raven was speaking to the man and said, "It is true, you are closer to us than any Anishinabe (Human) has ever come. You are close, but you still don't understand us fully. I invite you to return to us, many miss you." Black Feather started to follow the Raven but then stopped at the edge of the village. He looked around to make sure no other Anishinabe could hear then asked the Raven, "why do you ask me back when the two Ravens where fighting with me and were mean." "The Raven landed at Black Feathers feet and said, "See how little you understand us. The two young Ravens did not fight with you because you are Anishinabe, it is because they accepted you as a member of the Raven people. You should know that we fight among ourselves too. It is a part of our way of life. Instead of sulking and leaving you should have fought back." Black Feather stood in silence and said, "There is much about Ravens I don't understand. Maybe we are too different people to ever understand each other. I should stop and return to my people in the village." The Raven again shook his head and told Black Feather, "That is your choice, but again I tell you that you have come closer to us Raven people than any other Anishinabe. Would you throw this all away just because you can't understand us yet?" Black Feather responded, "It's useless, how can I ever understand you, I can't even fly!" A thousand bursts of laughter was heard from all the surrounding trees and Black Feather knew that all the Raven People were there, hiding and listening. "Of course you can't fly. You are Anishinabe and we are Ravens. But we accept you as one of us. We play with you. We fight with you. We love you and want you back. We also recommend you don't try to fly in order to be like us, because then, you would not be Anishinabe nor a Raven but something else. We like you as an Anishinabe that understands us as Ravens. Join us or not the decision is yours." Black Feather returned to the Anishinabe village and bid everyone farewell because he had decided to live with the Raven people. After all the farewells and such he started to leave the village. All the Anishinabe people were there to see him off, and high over head was a thousand Raven's. Then from high above one of the older Ravens dropped a walnut shell and again with remarkable aim, plunked Black Feather right on the head. All the Ravens started laughing hard and all the Anishinabe were laughing too. Black Feather laughed and looked up at the old Raven and said, "Good one." |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Ballad of Johnny O'Dell | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | Wild are the tales of the Pony Express And most of them are true if I don't miss my guess. But wildest of all tales that they tell Is that of fearless young Johnny O'Dell. Johnny was little, but he was a man Whom none could outride, outshoot or outplan. Ride, he could ride anything that could run And could outdo any man with a gun. Back in those days there were men in the West And Johnny O'Dell was as good as the best. Only the bravest could carry the mail Through terrible dangers that haunted the trail. Dangers there were on the night I describe, For Johnny encountered an Indian tribe. Blackie, his horse, gave a new burst of speed. No Indian pinto could equal that steed. Bullets and arrows whizzed over his head As into the foe and right through them he sped. Outlaws had raided the station ahead The horses were stolen, his partner was dead. Onward went Johnny over the trail. For such was the life when you carry the mail Rivers they forded for bridges there were none While crossing one stream he was stopped by a gun. "Halt!" cried a man on the bank of the creek- As together they fired by the light of the sun. Still lay the stranger whom Johnny had met, For all that I know he is lying there yet. Onward went Johnny into the West, As a spot of crimson appeared on his vest. Together they continued their hazardous ride, The powerful horse with the brave man astride. Into the town of Red Gulch did they go, As blotches of blood marked their way through the snow. This was the end of the perilous trail Through bullets, and arrows; through blizzards and hail. Johnny dismounted and cried with a wail, "Oh, Darn it all, I've forgotten the mail!" |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Barnabas and Sebastian | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | An old man named Barnabas lived with his dog in a house a big old house his grandfather had built long ago. Barnabas used to own a store in town, but now he was retired and spent his days panning for gold in nearby streams hoping to some day strike it rich. The dog was a big wolfhound named Sebastian and Barnabas had raised him from a pup he found years ago. Every morning Barnabas went out to pan for gold and Sebastian stayed behind and guarded their house. One morning, as Barnabas was dumping out a dead pan of gravel, he got the feeling that something was wrong at home. He hurried home as fast as he could, fearful of what he might find. When he got home, he found everything to be still and quiet - Sebastian was missing. He searched the house and the woods nearby, but Sebastian was nowhere. He called and he called, but the dog did not answer. For days, Barnabas looked for Sebastian but he could find no trace of him. Finally he gave up and went forlornly back to his work. But one morning before heading out, he heard something moving in the attic. He picked up his gun. Then he thought, "I'd better be quiet about this." So he took off his boots. In his bare feet, he began to quietly climb the attic stairs. He slowly took one step - then another - then another, until at last he reached the attic door. He stood outside listening, but he didn't hear a thing. Then he opened the door, and - (Now SCREAM!) (At this point, the storyteller stops, as if he has finished. Then usually somebody will ask, "Why did he scream?" The storyteller replies, "You'd scream too if you stepped on a nail in your bare feet.") |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Bat | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | Once there was a great war between the beasts and the birds. Bat was on the birds' side. In the first battle, the birds were badly beaten. As soon as Bat saw that the battle was going against them, he crept away, hid under a log, and stayed there until the fight was over. When the animals were going home. Bat slipped in among them. After they had gone some distance, they saw him and asked one another: "How is this? Bat is one of those that fought against us!" Bat heard them and he said: "Oh, no! I am one of you; I don't belong to the bird people. Did you ever see one of those people who had teeth and hair? You can say that I belong to the bird people, but I don't; I am one of your own people." They didn't say anything more; they let Bat stay with them. Soon after, there was another battle; in that battle birds won. As Bat's side was getting beaten, he slipped away and hid under a log. When the battle was over and birds were going home, Bat went in among them. When they noticed him, they said: "You are our enemy; we saw you fighting against us." "Oh, no," said Bat, "I am one of you; I don't belong to those beasts. Did you ever see one of those people who had wings?" They didn't say anything more; they let him stay with them. So Bat went back and forth as long as the war lasted. At the end of the war, birds and beasts held a council to see what to do with him. At last they said to Bat, "From now on, you will fly around alone at night, and you will never have any friends, either among those that fly, or those that walk." |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Battle of the Snakes | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | There was a man who was not kind to animals. One day when he was hunting, he found a rattlesnake and decided to torture it. He held its head to the ground and pierced it with a piece of bark. Then as it was caught there, he tormented it. "We shall fight," he said and then burned the snake until it was dead. He thought this was a great jest and so, whenever he found a snake, he would do the same thing. One day another man from his village was walking through the forest when he heard a strange sound. It was louder than the wind hissing through the tops of tall pine trees. He crept closer to see. There, in a great clearing, were many snakes. They were gathered for a war council and as he listened in fright he heard them say: "We shall now fight with them. Djisdaah has challenged us and we shall go to war. In four days we shall go to their village and fight them." The man crept away and then ran as fast as he could to his village to tell what he had heard and seen. The chief sent other men to see if the report was true. They returned in great fright. "Ahhhh," they said, "it is so. The snakes are all gathering to have a war." The chief of the village could see that he had no choice. "We must fight," he said and ordered the people of the village to make preparations for the battle. They cut mountains of wood and stacked it in long piles all around the village. They built rows of stakes close together to keep the snakes out. When the fourth day came, the chief ordered that the piles of wood be set on fire. Just as he did so they heard a great noise, like a great wind in the trees. It was the noise of the snakes, hissing as they came to the village to do battle. Usually a snake will not go near a fire, but these snakes were determined to have their revenge. They went straight into the flames. Many of them died, but the living snakes crawled over the bodies of the dead ones and continued to move forward until they reached the second row of stakes. Once again, the chief ordered that the piles of wood in the second row of defense be set on fire. But the snakes crawled straight into the flames, hissing their war songs, and the living crawled over the bodies of the dead. It was a terrible sight. They reached the second row of stakes and, even though the people fought bravely, it was no use. The snakes were more numerous than fallen leaves and they could not be stopped. Soon they forced their way past the last row of stakes and the people of the village were fighting for their lives. The first man to be killed was Djisdaah, the one who had challenged the snakes to battle. It was now clear that they could never win this battle. The chief of the village shouted to the snakes who had reached the edge of the village: "Hear me, my brothers. We surrender to you. We have done you a great wrong. Have mercy on us." The snakes stopped where they were and there was a great silence. The exhausted warriors looked at the great army of snakes and the snakes stared back at them. Then the earth trembled and cracked in front of the human beings. A great snake, a snake taller than the biggest pine tree, whose head was larger than a great long house, lifted himself out of the hole in the earth "Hear me," he said. "I am the chief of all the snakes. We shall go and leave you in peace if you will agree to two things." The chief looked at the great snake and nodded his head. "We will agree, Great Chief," he said. "It is well," said the Chief of the Snakes. "These are the two things. First, you must always treat my people with respect. Secondly, as long as the world stands, you will never name another man Djisdaah." And so it was agreed and so it is, even today. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Birch Tree's Bark | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | It was a hot day, and Old-man was trying to sleep, but the heat made him sick. He wandered to a hilltop for air; but there was no air. Then he went down to the river and found no relief. He traveled to the timberlands, and there the heat was great, although he found plenty of shade. The traveling made him warmer, of course, but he wouldn't stay still. By and by he called to the winds to blow, and they commenced. First they didn't blow very hard, because they were afraid they might make Old-man angry, but he kept crying: "Blow harder : harder : harder! Blow worse than ever you blew before, and send this heat away from the world.' 'Bend and break, Fir-Tree!' cried Old-Man, and the Fir-Tree did bend and break. 'Bend and break, Pine-Tree!' and the Pine-Tree did bend and break. 'Bend and break, Spruce-Tree!' and the Spruce-Tree did bend and break. 'Bend and break, O Birch-Tree!' and the Birch-Tree did bend, but it wouldn't break, no it would not! 'Ho! Birch-Tree, won't you mind me? Bend and break! I tell you,' but all the Birch-Tree would do was bend. It bent to the ground; it bent double to please Old-Man, but it would not break. 'Blow harder, wind!' cried Old-Man, 'blow harder and break the Birch-Tree.' The wind tried to blow harder, but it couldn't, and that made the thing worse, because Old-Man was so angry he went crazy. 'Break! I tell you, break!' screamed Old-Man to the Birch-Tree. 'I won't break,' replied the Birch. 'I shall never break for any wind. I will bend, but I shall never, never break.' 'You won't, hey?' cried Old-Man, and he rushed at the Birch-Tree with his hunting-knife. He grabbed the top of the Birch because it was touching the ground, and began slashing the bark of the Birch-Tree with the knife. All up and down the trunk of the tree Old-Man slashed, until the Birch was covered with the knife slashes. 'There! that is for not minding me. That will do you good! As long as time lasts you shall always look like that, Birch-Tree; always be marked as one who will not mind its maker. Yes, and all the Birch-Trees in the world shall have the same marks forever.' They do, too. You have seen them and have wondered why the Birch-Tree is so strangely marked. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Boy and the RattleSnake | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | A little boy was walking down a path and he came across a rattlesnake. The rattlesnake was getting old. He asked, "Please little boy, can you take me to the top of the mountain? I hope to see the sunset one last time before I die." The little boy answered "No Mr. Rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you'll bite me and I'll die." The rattlesnake said, "No, I promise. I won't bite you. Just please take me up to the mountain." The little boy thought about it and finally picked up that rattlesnake and took it close to his chest and carried it up to the top of the mountain. They sat there and watched the sunset together. It was so beautiful. Then after sunset the rattlesnake turned to the little boy and asked, "Can I go home now? I am tired, and I am old." The little boy picked up the rattlesnake and again took it to his chest and held it tightly and safely. He came all the way down the mountain holding the snake carefully and took it to his home to give him some food and a place to sleep. The next day the rattlesnake turned to the boy and asked, "Please little boy, will you take me back to my home now? It is time for me to leave this world, and I would like to be at my home now." The little boy felt he had been safe all this time and the snake had kept his word, so he would take it home as asked. He carefully picked up the snake, took it close to his chest, and carried him back to the woods, to his home to die. Just before he laid the rattlesnake down, the rattlesnake turned and bit him in the chest. The little boy cried out and threw the snake upon the ground. "Mr. Snake, why did you do that? Now I will surely die!" The rattlesnake looked up at him and grinned, "You knew what I was when you picked me up." |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Chief Red Jacket | |
| Intended for: | Cub Scouts |
| Notes: | This is an interactive audience story. |
| Story: | Depending on the size of your group, have each person memorize the actions for a part or have a group memorize the actions. When the storyteller says the Capitalized word and pauses, the group does the action. COWBOY: raises right fist and shouts "Yippee!" HORSE: clap hands on knees and say "Neigh!" CHIEF RED JACKET: says "Yip-yip!" and puts hand over brow, looking around. MULE: "Hee Haw!" RATTLESNAKE: "Rattle, Rattle!" TIMBER WOLF: "Aaaw-woooooo!" SHERIFF: "Bang! Bang! Bang!" DEPUTY SHERIFF: "He went that away!" while pointing someplace Once upon a time, there was a COWBOY who went out on the Mojave Desert riding his HORSE. Far off in the distance he could hear a TIMBER WOLF. The COWBOY made camp and went fast asleep, after making sure his HORSE was secure. Now, creeping along through the desert came CHIEF RED JACKET and his MULE. He was being pursued by the SHERIFF and the DEPUTY SHERIFF. In his pocket, CHIEF RED JACKET had a trained RATTLESNAKE whose name was Emma. The RATTLESNAKE, Emma, was trained to creep up and bite the COWBOY and his HORSE. While CHIEF RED JACKET crept up, the HORSE was afraid, the TIMBER WOLF howled, the COWBOY snored and the MULE was eating cactus. In the meantime, the SHERIFF and the DEPUTY SHERIFF were almost ready to capture CHIEF RED JACKET. Just as Emma, the RATTLESNAKE, was about to bite the COWBOY and his HORSE, the SHERIFF and the DEPUTY SHERIFF sprang their trap. "Halt!" shouted the SHERIFF. The COWBOY woke up and mounted his HORSE. This frightened the TIMBER WOLF and also Emma, the RATTLESNAKE. Away went old CHIEF RED JACKET on his faithful MULE, and away in pursuit went the SHERIFF and the DEPUTY SHERIFF, the COWBOY and his HORSE. But old CHIEF RED JACKET led them into a blind canyon, so that was the last time anybody ever saw the COWBOY; his HORSE; Emma, the RATTLESNAKE; the TIMBER WOLF; the MULE; the SHERIFF; and the DEPUTY SHERIFF. That’s all folks! |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Coyote Angers Rock | |
| Intended for: | Boy Scouts, Bear Scouts, Webelos Scouts |
| Story: | One spring day, Coyote and Fox were out for a walk. When they came to a big smooth rock, Coyote threw his blanket over it and they sat down to rest. After a while the Sun became very hot, and Coyote decided he no longer needed the blanket. "Here, brother," he said to the rock, "I give you my blanket because you are poor and have let me rest on you. Always keep it." Then Coyote and Fox went on their way. They had not gone far when a heavy cloud covered the sky. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled and rain began to fall. The only shelter they could find was in a coulee. Coyote said to Fox, "Run back to that rock, and ask him to lend us the blanket I gave him. We can cover ourselves with it and keep dry." So Fox ran back to the rock, and said, "Coyote wants his blanket." "No," replied the rock. "He gave it to me as a present. I shall keep it. Tell him he cannot have it." Fox returned to Coyote and told him what the rock had said. "Well," said Coyote, "that certainly is an ungrateful rock. I only wanted the use of the blanket for a little while until the rain stops." He grew very angry and went back to the rock and snatched the blanket off. "I need this to keep me dry," he said. "You don't need a blanket. You have been out in the rain and snow all your life, and it won't hurt you to live so always." Coyote and Fox kept dry under the blanket until the rain stopped and the sun came out again. Then they left the coulee and resumed their walk toward the river. After a while they heard a loud noise behind them coming from the other side of the hill. "Fox, little brother," said Coyote, "go back and see what is making that noise." Fox went to the top of the hill, and then came hurrying back as fast as he could. "Run! run!" he shouted, "that big rock is coming." Coyote looked back and saw the rock roll over the top of the hill and start rushing down upon them. Fox jumped into a badger hole, but the rock mashed the tip of his tail, and that is why Fox's tail is white to this day. Coyote ran down the hill and jumped into the river. He swam across to the other side where he was sure that he was safe because he knew that rocks sink in water. But the rock started bouncing as it came down the hill and bounced right over the river. Coyote fled toward the nearest forest. As soon as he was deep in the trees, he lay down to rest. He had scarcely stretched himself out when he heard trees crashing. Knowing that the rock was still pursuing him, Coyote jumped up and ran out on the open prairie. Some bears were crossing there, and Coyote called upon them for help. "We'll save you," the bears shouted, but the rock came rolling upon them and crushed the bears. Then Coyote saw several bull buffalo. "Oh, my brothers," he called to them, "help me, help me. Stop that rock." The buffalo put their heads down and rushed upon the rock, but it broke their skulls and kept rolling. Then a nest of rattlesnakes came to help Coyote by forming themselves into a lariat, but when they tried to catch the rock, the rattlesnakes at the noose end were all cut to pieces. Coyote kept running along a pathway, but the rock was now very close to him, so close that it began to knock against his heels. Just as he was about to give up, he saw two witches standing on opposite sides of the path. They had stone hatchets in their hands. "We'll save you," they called out. He ran between them, with the rock following close behind. Coyote heard the witches strike the rock with their hatchets, and when he turned to look he saw it lying on the ground all shattered into tiny pieces. Then Coyote noticed that the path had led him into the witch camp. When he sat down to catch his breath, he overheard one of the witches say to the other, "He looks nice and fat. We'll have something good for dinner now. Let's eat him right away." Coyote pretended he had heard nothing, but he watched the witches through one of his half-closed eyes until they went into their lodge and began rattling their cooking utensils. Then he jumped up and emptied all their water pails. As soon as they came outside again, he said, "I am very thirsty. I wish you would give me a good drink of water." "There is plenty of water here," one of the witches replied. "You may have a drink from one of these pails." But when she looked in the pails she found that every one was empty. "That creek down there has water in it," Coyote said. "I'll go and get some water for you." He took the pails and started off, but as soon as he was out of sight he ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. Afterwards he heard that when the old witches discovered that he had tricked them, they began blaming each other for letting him escape. They quarrelled and quarrelled, and fought and fought, until finally they killed each other. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Cricket and Cougar | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Notes: | Cougar is the mightiest of the animals in the forest. |
| Story: | Cougar was walking in the forest, and he jumped onto a fallen log to look around. From inside the log came a tiny voice. "Get off the roof of my lodge!" Out from the rotten end of the log came a tiny Cricket. "You are standing on the roof of my lodge, Cougar," said the little insect. "You must step off now, or the roof-pole will break and my lodge will fall in." "Who are you to tell me what to do?" asked Cougar sternly, although he did step off the log. He lowered his head until his nose was very close to Cricket. "In this forest, I am the chief of the animals!" "Chief or no Chief," said Cricket bravely, "I have a cousin who is mightier than you, and he would avenge me." I don't believe you, little insect," snarled Cougar. "Believe me or believe me not," said Cricket. "it is so." "Let your cousin come to this place tomorrow, when the sun is high, and we will see who is the mightier," said Cougar. "If your cousin does not prove himself to me, I will crush you and your entire lodge with my paw!" Cougar turned and bounded off through the forest. The next day, when the sun was high, Cougar came back along the same trail. He stopped over the log and called to cricket. "Cricket, come out! Let me meet your mighty cousin!" Just then, a tiny mosquito flew up from the log and buzzed into the big cat's ear. "What is this?" cried the cougar, who had never seen or heard a mosquito before. The mosquito began to bite the soft inner ear of the cougar, and drank from his blood. "Ahrr! Ahrr!" cried the cougar in pain, "Get out of my ear!" The cougar pawed at his ear, and ran around in a circle shaking his head. The mosquito bit him again and again. Cricket came out of the log and called up to the cougar. "Are you ready to leave my lodge alone?" Cougar said that he would so Mosquito came out of Cougar's ear and went into the log lodge with Cricket. Cougar ran off down the trail, and never went that way again. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Falcon and the Duck | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Notes: | Do not exult too soon; nor is it wise to tell of your brave deeds within the hearing of your enemy. |
| Story: | The wintry winds had already begun to whistle and the waves to rise when the Drake and his mate gathered their half- grown brood together on the shore of their far northern lake. "Wife," said he, "it is now time to take the children southward, to the Warm Countries which they have never yet seen!" Very early the next morning they set out on their long journey, forming a great "V" against the sky in their flight. The mother led her flock and the father brought up the rear, keeping a sharp lookout for stragglers. All day they flew high in the keen air, over wide prairies and great forests of northern pine, until toward evening they saw below them a chain of lakes, glittering like a string of dark-blue stones. Swinging round in a half circle, they dropped lower and lower, ready to alight and rest upon the smooth surface of the nearest lake. Suddenly their leader heard a whizzing sound like that of a bullet as it cuts the air, and she quickly gave the waming: "Honk! honk! Danger, danger!" All descended in dizzy spirals, but as the great Falcon swooped toward them with upraised wing, the ducklings scattered wildly hither and thither. The old Drake came last, and it was he who was struck! "Honk, honk!" cried all the Ducks in terror, and for a minute the air was full of soft downy feathers like flakes of snow. But the force of the blow was lost upon the well-cushioned body of the Drake, he soon got over his fright and went on his way southward with his family, while the Falcon dropped heavily to the water's edge with a broken wing. There he stayed and hunted mice as best he could from day to day, sleeping at night in a hollow log to be out of the way of the Fox and the Weasel. All the wit he had was not too much whereby to keep himself alive through the long, hard winter. Toward spring, however, the Falcon's wing had healed and he could fly a little, though feebly. The sun rose higher and higher in the blue heavens, and the Ducks began to return to their cool northern home. Every day a flock or two flew over the lake; but the Falcon dared not charge upon the flocks, much as he wished to do so. He was weak with hunger, and afraid to trust to the strength of the broken wing. One fine day a chattering flock of Mallards alighted quite near him, cooling their glossy breasts upon the gently rippling wave. "Here, children," boasted an old Drake, "is the very spot where your father was charged upon last autumn by a cruel Falcon! I can tell you that it took all my skill and quickness in dodging to save my life. Best of all, our fierce enemy dropped to the ground with a broken wing! Doubtless he is long since dead of starvation, or else a Fox or a Mink has made a meal of the wicked creature! " By these words the Falcon knew his old enemy, and his courage returned. "Nevertheless, I am still here!" he exclaimed, and darted like a flash upon the unsuspecting old Drake, who was resting and telling of his exploit and narrow escape with the greatest pride and satisfaction. "Honk! honk! " screamed all the Ducks, and they scattered and whirled upward like the dead leaves in autumn; but the Falcon with sure aim selected the old Drake and gave swift chase. Round and round in dizzy spirals they swung together, till with a quick spurt the Falcon struck the shining, outstretched neck of the other, and snapped it with one powerful blow of his reunited wing. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Falling Rock | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | An Indian chief, Rising Sun, was concerned with how white men were expanding across the forests, plains, and mountains. His tribe was very small, but as every tribe and nation was being overpowered and sent to reservations, he came up with a plan to save the People. His son, Falling Rock, was a strong, intelligent, and trustworthy young man and Rising Sun loved him very much. Rising Sun asked Falling Rock to travel across the whole of the country and talk to every tribe he met. He was to convince them to join forces and repel the invasion of the white men. Falling Rock left in the spring with 4 other braves. When the leaves fell in late summer, one brave returned to Rising Sun to tell him that they had contacted all the tribes in the desert SouthWest. When the snow began, another brave returned telling of their success with the Great Lakes tribes. A third brave arrived home just as the spring flowers bloomed and told how the strong tribes of the Rocky Mountains were ready. Finally, the last brave returned in high summer from the Eastern tribes with their promise to fight. This last brave also said that Falling Rock was now racing back to all the tribes, telling them to meet at the Mississippi river in the spring for the great war. Rising Sun's small tribe prepared for battle and, when the snow melted, they traveled to the Mississippi. They waited there through spring and summer, but no other warriors arrived. At the end of summer, Rising Sun sent braves out in all directions to track down Falling Rock while the tribe waited. By snowfall, all the warriors had reached the other tribes and returned to Rising Sun. All the tribes had waited to hear when the war was to take place, but Falling Rock had not been seen by any of them so they had stayed put. This worried Rising Sun terribly since he loved his son and missed him terribly. The small tribe was forced to wait there through the harsh winter and when spring arrived, so did the white soldiers. They surrounded Rising Sun's tribe. Rising Sun knew they could never win without the other tribes so he talked to the leader of the soldiers. Rising Sun promised to go peacefully to a reservation if the white men would promise to help him find his lost son. This was a small price for avoiding a fight so the white men agreed and Rising Sun's tribe did not resist. To this day, Rising Sun waits for his son to return. And, to this day, the white men have held up their end of bargain struck that day. People across the country are still searching and everyone is asked to help. That is why you will see signs along the road that say, "Watch for Falling Rock". |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Field Mouse and Buffalo | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Notes: | If you are proud and selfish you will lose all in the end. |
| Story: | Once upon a time, when the Field-Mouse was out gathering wild beans for the winter, his neighbor, the Buffalo, came down to graze in the meadow. This the little Mouse did not like, for he knew that the other would mow down all the long grass with his prickly tongue, and there would be no place in which to hide. He made up his mind to offer battle like a man. 'Ho, Friend Buffalo, I challenge you to a fight!' he exclaimed in a small, squeaking voice. The Buffalo paid no attention, thinking it only a joke. The Mouse angrily repeated the challenge, and still his enemy went on quietly grazing. Then the little Mouse laughed with contempt as he offered his defiance. The Buffalo at last looked at him and replied carelessly: 'You had better keep still, little one, or I shall come over there and step on you, and there will be nothing left!' 'You can't do it! 'replied the Mouse. 'I tell you to keep still,' insisted the Buffalo, who was getting angry. 'If you speak to me again, I shall certainly come and put an end to you! ' 'I dare you to do it!' said the Mouse, provoking him. Thereupon the other rushed upon him. He trampled thc grass clumsily and tore up the earth with his front hoofs. When he had ended, he looked for the Mouse, but he could not see him anywhere. 'I told you I would step on you, and there would be nothing left,' he muttered. Just then he felt a scratching inside his right ear. He shook his head as hard as he could, and twitched his ears back and forth. The gnawing went deeper and deeper until he was half wild with the pain. He pawed with his hoofs and tore up the sod with his horns. Bellowing madly, he ran as fast as he could, first straight forward and then in circles, but at last he stopped and stood trembling. Then the Mouse jumped out of his ear,and said: 'Will you know now that I am master? ' 'No!' bellowed the Buffalo, and again he started toward the Mouse, as if to trample him under his feet. The little fellow was nowhere to be seen, but in a minute the Buffalo felt him in the other ear. Once more he became wild with pain, and ran here and there over the prairie, at times leaping high in the air. At last he fell to the ground and lay quite still. The Mouse came out of his ear, and stood proudly upon his dead body. 'Eho!' said he, 'I have killed the greatest of all beasts. This will show to all that I am master!' Standing upon the body of the dead Buffalo, he called loudly for a knife with which to dress his game. In another part of the meadow, Red Fox, very hungry, was hunting mice for his breakfast. He saw one and jumped upon him with all four feet, but the little mouse got away, and he was terribly disappointed. All at once he thought he heard a distant call: 'Bring a knife! Bring a knife !' When the call came, Red Fox started in the direction of the sound. By and by he came upon the huge body of the Buffalo lying upon the ground. The little Mouse still stood upon the body. 'I want you to dress this Buffalo for me and I will give you some of the meat,' commanded the Mouse. 'Thank you, my friend, I shall be glad to do this for you,' he replied, politely. The Fox dressed the Buffalo, while the Mouse sat upon a mound near by, looking on and giving his orders. 'You must cut the meat into small pieces,' he said to the Fox. When the Fox had finished his work, the Mouse paid him with a small piece of liver. He swallowed it quickly and smacked his lips. 'Please, may I have another piece?' he asked quite humbly. 'Why, I gave you a very large piece! How greedy you are!' exclaimed the Mouse. 'You may have some of the blood,' he sneered. So the poor Fox took the blood and even licked off the grass. He was really very hungry. 'Please may I take home a piece of the meat?' he begged. 'I have six little folks at home, and there is nothing for them to eat.' 'You can take the four feet of the Buffalo. That ought to be enough for all of you!' 'Thank you, thank you!' said the Fox. 'But, Mouse, I have a wife also, and we have had bad luck in hunting. We are almost starved. Can't you spare me a little more?' 'Why,' declared the Mouse, 'I have already overpaid you for the little work you have done. Be gone!' Thereupon the Fox jumped upon the Mouse, who gave one faint squeak and was no more. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Finger Rock Trail Ghost | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | As reported by a volunteer for the Southern Arizona Rescue Association. In all my years of reporting on the outdoors, no story stands out as clearly as this one. Perhaps it's because I was in charge of the rescue team the ghost 'summoned.' Perhaps it's because I still believe there's only one way the lost hiker negotiated that steep series of cliffs, on a moonless night, about a dozen years ago. They had received a call to look for a lost hiker on Finger Rock Trail, a popular area just north of Tucson. The hiker had very little experience, no food, water, or warm clothes. My search team found him early the next morning. He was confused, dazed, actually mad at the friends that left him behind, and standing unharmed at the base of some of the area's steepest terrain. He was nowhere near the trail he had wandered away from the day before. He explained his older brother found him the night before, just as it was really getting cold, leading him down the treacherous cliffs in the dark without flashlights, and complaining the whole way about brothers who borrow clothes without asking. At dawn his brother 'disappeared to get help.' We arrived shortly thereafter, and as we collected an extremely detailed description of his brother to forward to other rescue teams still in the field, he said: 'I don't know why he came back? He's been dead for five years you know.' This is a true story, and just as real as the chills it still sends down my spine. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Fire Tail | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | Very long ago, a band of Indians was drying deer meat in the sun. They thought how wonderful it would be to have a small sun to dry the meat better and keep them warm when the big sun set in the evening and it got cold. Of course, they were only dreaming because such a thing would take power and magic, more than their most powerful magicman possessed. But, as the People talked, a tiny bird chirped loudly in a tree above them. The People saw the bird had a very bright red tail that flickered even while it was sitting still. An elder who could speak to animals asked, "What do you want, little bird?" "Wise One, I do not want, but I bring what you wish for. My tail has a thing called Fire. It is hot like the sun and will comfort you when the winter wind blows, cook your meat, and give you light when the sun is gone." The elder said, "Thank you, little bird. Bring me your fire so I can share it with the People." "It is not that easy," replied the bird. "Have the People gather here in the morning to receive fire. Tell each one to bring a dry branch with pine pitch on it." Then, the bird quickly flew away. The elder told the People what the bird had said. He also said, "We should do what the bird says, for it will bring us much good fortune." So, when the sun rose again, all the People were gathered, each holding a pine pitch branch. A loud chirping in the tree above told them the bird had appeared. The bird talked to them in a voice that all could understand, "The first to catch up to me will be given my fire. But, only if that person does what is right, has patience, and does not lose courage. Follow me!" The bird flew off quickly with the People chasing behind. It flew over rough ground and thick forest, across streams and marshes. Many people could not keep the pace and gave up. They said, "It is too hard! Too fast! Too difficult! Too dangerous!" as they stopped their chase. Finally, a young brave got close to the bird and called, "Give me your fire, little bird, so I can get back to more important matters." "No," replied the bird, "You have no patience. You shall have no fire." Then, a second brave got close to the bird and called, "Give me your fire, little bird, so I will be the most powerful of the People. I have followed you far and have done no wrong." "No," replied the bird, "You think only of yourself and that is bad. You shall have no fire." The bird looked back and saw that it was no longer being followed so it settled to a branch in a tree to rest. It saw a woman on the ground nursing an old man that appeared very sick and cold. The bird said, "Bring a pine branch and I will give you Fire to keep that man warm and cook your food." The womman said, "Thank you, little bird, but I must stay with my friend. I do not deserve a magic gift. I am only doing what is right, what my inner voice tells me needs to be done. And, I must stay with this sick man to help him for as long as needed." "You think first of others, so you deserve this gift which you can share with the People," explained the bird. "Bring a stick so you can help this man." So, the womman quickly brought a branch and the bird lit it from its flickering tail. The woman built a fire and kept her friend warm through the night. In the morning, he was better so they returned to the village and brought Fire with them. Since that time, the People have had Fire. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
First Flute | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | The flute of the Lakota, the siyotanka, is for only one kind of music, love music. In the old days the men would sit by themselves, maybe lean hidden, unseen, against a tree in the dark of night. They would make up their own special tunes, their courting songs. Even if he was a warrior who had already counted coup on a enemy, a young man might hardly screw up courage enough to talk to a nice-looking winchinchala- a girl he was in love with. Also, there was no place where a young man and a girl could be alone inside the village. The family tipi was always crowded with people. And naturally, you couldn't just walk out of the village with your girl. Out there in the tall grass and sagebrush you could be gored by a buffalo, clawed by a grizzly, or tomahawked by a Pawnee, or you could run into the Mila Hanska, the Long Knives. The only chance you had to meet your winchinchala was to wait for her at daybreak when the women went to the river or brook with their skin bags to get water. When that girl you had your eye on finally came down to the water trail, you popped up from behind some bush and stood so she could see you. And that was about all you could do to show her that you were interested, Standing there grinning, looking at your moccasins, scratching your ear, maybe. The winchinchala didn't do much either, except get red in the face, giggle, maybe throw a wild turnip at you. If she liked you, the only way she would let you know was to take her time filling her water bag and peek at you a few times over her shoulder. So the flutes did all the talking. At night, lying on her buffalo robe in her parents tipi, the girl would hear that moaning, crying sound of the siyotanka. By the way it was played, she would know that it was her lover who was out there someplace. And if the Elk Medicine was very strong in him and her, maybe she would sneak out to follow that sound and meet him without anybody noticing it. The flute is always made of cedar wood. In the shape it describes the long neck and head of a bird with a open beak. The sound comes out of the beak, and that's where the legend comes in, the legend of how the Lakota people acquired the flute. Once many generations ago, the people had drums, gourd rattles, and bull-roarers, but no flutes. At that long-ago time a young man went out to hunt. Meat was scarce, and the people in his camp were hungry. He found the tracks of an Elk and followed them for a long time. The Elk, wise and swift, is the one who owns the love charm. If a man possesses Elk Medicine, the girl he likes can't help coming to him. He will also be a lucky hunter. This young man I'm talking about had no Elk Medicine. After many hours he finally sighted his game. He was skilled with bow and arrows, and had a fine new bow and a quiver full of straight, well-feathered, flint-tipped arrows. Yet the Elk always managed to stay just out of range, leading him on and on. The young man was so intent on following his prey that he hardly noticed where he went. When night came, he found himself deep inside a thick forest. The tracks had disappeared and so had the Elk, and there was no moon. He realized that he was lost and that it was too dark to find his way out. Luckily he came upon a stream with cool, clear water. And he had been careful enough to bring a hide bag of wasna, dried meat pounded with berries and kidney fat, strong food that will keep a man going for a few days. After he had drunk and eaten, he rolled himself into his fur robe, propped his back against a tree, and tried to rest. But he couldn't sleep, the forest was full of strange noises, and the cries of night animals, the hooting owls, the groaning of trees in the wind. It was as if he heard these sounds for the first time. Suddenly there was a entirely new sound, of a kind neither he nor anyone else had ever heard before. It was mournful and ghost like. It made him afraid, so that he drew his robe tightly about himself and reached for his bow to make sure that it was properly strung. On the other hand, the sound was like a song, sad but beautiful, full of love, hope, and yearning. Then before he knew it, he was asleep. He dreamed that the bird called wagnuka, the redheaded woodpecker, appeared singing the strangely beautiful song and telling him, "Follow me and I will teach you." When the hunter awoke, the sun was already high. On a branch of the tree against which he was leaning, he saw a redheaded woodpecker. The bird flew away to another tree, and another, but never very far, looking back all the time at the young man as if to say, "Come on!" Then once more he heard that wonderful song, and his heart yearned to find the singer. Flying toward the sound, leading the hunter, the bird flitted through the leaves, while its bright red top made easy to follow. At last it lighted on a cedar tree and began hammering on a branch, making a noise like the fast beating of a small drum. Suddenly there was a gust of wind, and again the hunter heard that beautiful sound right above him. Then he discovered that the song came from the dead branch that the woodpecker was tapping his beak. He realized also that it was the wind which made the sound as it whistled through the hole the bird had drilled. "Kola, friend," said the hunter, "let me take this branch home. You can make yourself another." He took the branch, a hollow piece of wood full of woodpecker holes that was about the length of his forearm. He walked back to his village bringing no meat, but happy all the same. In his tipi the young man tried to make the branch sing for him. He blew on it, he waved it around, no sound came. It made him sad, he wanted so much to hear that wonderful new sound. He purified himself in the sweat lodge and climbed to the top of a lonely hill. There, resting with his back against a large rock, he fasted, going without food or water for four days and nights, crying for a vision which would tell him how to make the branch sing. In the middle of the fourth night, wagnuka, the bird with the bright red top, appeared, saying, "Watch me." Turning himself into a man, he showed the hunter how to make the branch sing, saying again and again, "Watch this, now." And in his dream the young man watched and observed very carefully. When he awoke, he found a cedar tree. He broke off a branch and, working many hours, hollowed it out with a bowstring drill, just as he had seen the woodpecker do in his dream. He whittled the branch into the shape of the birds with a long neck and a open beak. He painted the top of the birds head with washasha, the sacred red color. He prayed. He smoked the branch up with incense of burning sage, cedar, and sweet grass. He fingered the holes as he had seen the man-bird do in his vision, meanwhile blowing softly into the mouthpiece. All at once there was the song, ghost like and beautiful beyond words drifting all the way to the village, where the people were astounded and joyful to hear it. With the help of the wind and the woodpecker, the young man had brought them the first flute. In the village lived an itanchan, a big chief. This itanchan had a daughter who was beautiful but also very proud, and convinced that there was no young man good enough for her. Many had come courting, but she had sent them all away. Now, the hunter who had made the flute decided that she was just the woman for him. Thinking of her he composed a special song, and one night, standing behind a tall tree, he played it on his siyotanka in hopes that it might have a charm to make her love him. All at once the winchinchala heard it. She was sitting in her fathers tipi, eating buffalo hump meat and tongue, feeling good. She wanted to stay there, in the tipi by the fire, but her feet wanted to go outside. She pulled back, but her feet pulled forward, and the feet won. Her head said, "Go slow, go slow!" but the feet said, "Faster, faster!" She saw the young man standing in the moonlight, she heard the flute. Her head said, "Dont go to him, he's poor." Her feet said, "Go, run!" and again the feet prevailed. So they stood face to face. The girl's head told her to be silent, but the feet told her to speak, and speak she did, saying, "Koshkalaka, young man, I am yours altogether." Later she told him, "Koshkalaka, warrior, I like you. Let your parents send a gift to my father, the chief. No matter how small, it will be accepted. Let your father speak for you to my father. Do it soon! Do it now!" And so the two fathers quickly agreed to the wishes of their children. The proud winchinchala became the hunter's wife, and he himself became a great chief. All the other young men had heard and seen. Soon they too began to whittle cedar branches into the shape of birds heads with long necks and open beaks. The beautiful love music traveled from tribe to tribe, and made young girls feet go where they shouldn't. And that's how the flute was brought to the people, thanks to the cedar, the woodpecker, and this young man, who shot no Elk, but knew how to listen. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
First Mocassins | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | There was once a great chief on the Plains who had very tender feet. Other mighty chiefs laughed at him; little chiefs only smiled as he hobbled past; and though they did not dare to smile, the people of the tribe also enjoyed the big chief's discomfort. All of them were in the same canoe, having no horses and only bare feet, but luckily very few of them had tender feet. The unhappy medicine man who was advisor to the Chief-of-the-Tender-Feet was afraid and troubled. Each time he was called before the chief he was asked, 'What are you going to do about it?' The 'it' meant the chief's tender feet. Forced by fear, the medicine man at last hit upon a plan. Though he knew that it was not the real answer to the chief's foot problem, nevertheless it was a good makeshift. The medicine man had some women of the tribe weave a long, narrow mat of reeds, and when the big chief had to go anywhere, four braves unrolled the mat in front of him so that he walked in comfort. One day, the braves were worn out from seeing that the chief's feet were not worn out. They carelessly unrolled the mat over a place where flint arrowheads had been chipped. The arrowheads had long ago taken flight, but the needle-sharp chips remained. When the big chief's tender feet were wounded by these chips, he uttered a series of whoops which made the nearby aspen tree leaves quiver so hard that they have been trembling ever since. That night the poor medicine man was given an impossible task by the angry chief: 'Cover the whole earth with mats so thick that my feet will not suffer. If you fail, you will die when the moon is round.' The frightened maker of magic crept back to his lodge. He did not wish to be put to death on the night of the full moon, but he could think of no way to avoid it. Suddenly he saw the hide of an elk which he had killed pegged to the ground, with two women busily scraping the hair from the hide, and an idea flashed into his groping mind. He sent out many hunters; many women were busy for many days; many braves with hunting knives cut, and women sewed with bone needles and rawhide sinews. On the day before the moon was round, the medicine man went to the chief and told him that he had covered as much of the earth as was possible in so short a time. When the chief looked from the door of his lodge, he saw many paths of skin stretching as far as he could see. Long strips which could be moved from place to place connected the main leather paths. Even the chief thought that this time the magic of the medicine man had solved tenderfoot transportation for all time - but this was not to be ! One day, as the big chief was walking along one of his smooth, tough leather paths, he saw a pretty maiden of the tribe gliding ahead of him, walking on the hard earth on one side of the chief's pathway. She glanced back when she heard the pitter patter of his feet on the elk hide pathway and seemed to smile. The chief set off on the run to catch up with her, his eyes fixed on the back of She-Who-Smiled, and so his feet strayed from the narrow path and landed in a bunch of needle-sharp thorns! The girl ran for her life when she heard the hideous howls of the chief, and Indians in the distant village thought that they were being attacked by wildcats. Two suns later, when the chief was calm enough to speak again, he had his medicine man brought before him and told the unhappy man that next day, when the sun was high, he would be sent with all speed to the land of shadows. That night, the medicine man climbed to the top of a high hill in search of advice from friendly spirits on how to cover the entire earth with leather. He slept, and in a dream vision he was shown the answer to his problem. Amid vivid flashes of lightning, he tore down the steep hillside, howling louder than the big chief at times, as jagged rocks wounded his bare feet and legs. He did not stop until he was safely inside his lodge. He worked all night and until the warriors who were to send him on the shadow trail came for him, just before noon the next day. He was surrounded by the war-club armed guards. He was clutching close to his heart something tightly rolled in a piece of deerskin. His cheerful smile surprised those who saw him pass. 'Wah, he is brave!' said the men of the tribe. 'He is very brave!' said the women of the tribe. The big chief was waiting just outside his lodge. He gave the guards swift, stern orders. Before the maker of magic could be led away, he asked to say a few words to the chief. 'Speak!' said the chief, sorry to lose a clever medicine man who was very good at most kinds of magic. Even the chief knew that covering the entire earth with leather was an impossible task. The medicine man quickly knelt beside the chief, unrolled the two objects which he took from his bundle and slipped one of them on each foot of the chief. The chief seemed to be wearing a pair of bear's hairless feet, instead of bare feet, and he was puzzled at first as he looked at the elk hide handicraft of his medicine man. 'Big chief,' the medicine man exclaimed joyfully, 'I have found the way to cover the earth with leather! For you, O chief, from now on the earth will always be covered with leather.' And so it was. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Four Magic Arrowheads | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | There was once a young man who wanted to go on a journey. His mother provided him with sacks of dried meat and pairs of moccasins, but his father said to him: "Here, my son, are four magic arrows. When you are in need, shoot one of them!" The young man went forth alone, and hunted in the forest for many days. Usually he was successful, but a day came when he was hungry and could not find meat. Then he sent forth one of the magic arrows, and at the end of the day there lay a fat Bear with the arrow in his side. The hunter cut out the tongue for his meal, and of the body of the Bear he made a thank-offering to the Great Mystery. Again he was in need, and again in the morning he shot a magic arrow, and at nightfall beside his campfire he found an Elk lying with the arrow in his heart. Once more he ate the tongue and offered up the body as a sacrifice. The third time he killed a Moose with his arrow, and the fourth time a Buffalo. After the fourth arrow had been spent, the young man came one day out of the forest, and before him there lay a great circular village of skin lodges. At one side, and some little way from the rest of the people, he noticed a small and poor tent where an old couple lived all alone. At the edge of the wood he took off his clothes and hid them in a hollow tree. Then, touching the top of his head with his staff, he turned himself into a little ragged boy and went toward the poor tent. The old woman saw him coming, and said to her old man: "Old man, let us keep this little boy for our own! He seems to be a fine, bright-eyed little fellow, and we are all alone." "What are you thinking of, old woman?" grumbled the old man. "We can hardly keep ourselves, and yet you talk of taking in a ragged little scamp from nobody knows where!" In the meantime the boy had come quite near, and the old wife beckoned to him to enter the lodge. "Sit down, my grandson, sit down!" she said, kindly; and, in spite of the old man's black looks, she handed him a small dish of parched corn, which was all the food they had. The boy ate and stayed on. By and by he said to the old woman: "Grandmother, I should like to have grandfather make me some arrows!" "You hear, my old man?" said she. "It will be very well for you to make some little arrows for the boy." "And why should I make arrows for a strange little ragged boy?" grumbled the old man. However, he made two or three, and the boy went hunting. In a short time he returned with several small birds. The old woman took them and pulled off the feathers, thanking him and praising him as she did so. She quickly made the little birds into soup, of which the old man ate gladly, and with the soft feathers she stuffed a small pillow. "You have done well, my grandson!" he said; for they were really very poor. Not long after, the boy said to his adopted grandmother: "Grandmother, when you see me at the edge of the wood yonder, you must call out: 'A Bear! there goes a Bear!' " This she did, and the boy again sent forth one of the magic arrows, which he had taken from the body of his game and kept by him. No sooner had he shot, than he saw the same Bear that he had offered up, lying before him with the arrow in his side! Now there was great rejoicing in the lodge of the poor old couple. While they were out skinning the Bear and cutting the meat in thin strips to dry, the boy sat alone in the lodge. In the pot on the fire was the Bear's tongue, which he wanted for himself. All at once a young girl stood in the doorway. She drew her robe modestly before her face as she said in a low voice: "I come to borrow the mortar of your grandmother!" The boy gave her the mortar, and also a piece of the tongue which he had cooked, and she went away. When all of the Bear meat was gone, the boy sent forth a second arrow and killed an Elk, and with the third and fourth he shot the Moose and the Buffalo as before, each time recovering his arrow. Soon after, he heard that the people of the large village were in trouble. A great Red Eagle, it was said, flew over the village every day at dawn, and the people believed that it was a bird of evil omen, for they no longer had any success in hunting. None of their braves had been able to shoot the Eagle, and the chief had offered his only daughter in marriage to the man who should kill it. When the boy heard this, he went out early the next morning and lay in wait for the Red Eagle. At the touch of his magic arrow, it fell at his feet, and the boy pulled out his arrow and went home without speaking to any one. But the thankful people followed him to the poor little lodge, and when they had found him, they brought the chief's beautiful daughter to be his wife - she was the girl who had come to borrow his grandmother's mortar! Then he went back to the hollow tree where his clothes were hidden, and came back a handsome young man, richly dressed for his wedding. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Ghost of Able Fable | |
| Intended for: | Cub Scouts |
| Story: | Able Fable was a miserable old man, who was always worried that someone would break into his house and steal all his money. Each night before he would go to sleep, he would lock his wallet up in a safe located near his bed so that if anyone were to try to rob him they would have to wake him up to do it. Unfortunately, on the night that Able died he had only placed the wallet on the table near the safe without locking it up. Before his death, Able said to his family and friends that none of them were to touch his home or his money and he said that anyone who came near his safe and wallet would be greeted by his ghost and be scared away. Following Able's death the family decided that the money in the Fable house was not doing any good if not used, so they went into the home to get it. Able's oldest son decided to make the first attempt. He opened the door and went in, he saw Able's wallet on the table and reached for it. Immediately he heard a voice say: "I am the ghost of Able Fable, put the money back on the table!" The voice scared the son so much that he ran from the room and out the door, screaming: "I heard the voice of a ghost!" The oldest daughter in disbelief decided she would make her way into Able's room. She entered and reached for the wallet. She then heard the voice say: "I am the ghost of Able Fable, put the money back on the table!" The daughter was so scared that she dropped the wallet and ran from the room screaming: "I heard the voice of a ghost!" The youngest son decided to make his attempt at getting the money. When he entered the room and reached for the wallet he also heard the voice say: "I am the ghost of Able Fable, put the money back on the table!" The youngest son decided that he was not easily scared and said back: "Well, I am the ghost of Davey Crockett and the money is going to stay in my pocket!" The youngest son took all the money for his own and the ghost of Able Fable was never heard from again! |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Ghost with One Black Eye | |
| Intended for: | Cub Scouts |
| Notes: | Quite a few different versions of this and it is similar to 'Ghost of Able Fable'. Could be done as a skit. |
| Story: | My great-grandfather ran a hotel downtown back in the days when people were tough and times were hard. Folks traveling through town would need a place to wash off the road dust, eat, and sleep a spell. His hotel turned a nice little profit and many nights during the summer, every room would be filled - that is every room except one! As the story goes, this one room was haunted. Seems that way back when the hotel was first built a man got in a fight over a girl down in the bar. He took a tremendous left cross right in his left eye and it knocked him out - just one punch. Folks hauled him up to his room to sleep it off, but he never woke up - died right there in the room. Since then, no one was able to sleep in that room cause of the ghost. One day, a barmaid needed a room. Grandpappy said, "Sorry, miss, I've only got one room left and its haunted." "That's ok, I'll take it," replied the barmaid. While getting ready for bed, she heard, "I'm the ghost with one black eye. I'm the ghost with one black eye." Scared the bejeebers out of her! She ran downstairs in her nightgown, right out the front door, and was never seen again. A few years later, a cowboy rented the room. Grandpappy said it was haunted, but he said, "Shoot Heck, pardner, I rope bulls and don't spit out my chaw juice. I ain't afeared of no ghost." But, as he was taking a bat, he heard, "I'm the ghost with one black eye. I'm the ghost with one black eye." That cowboy gulped, choked on his chaw, his face turned purple, his eyes bulged out, he jumped out of the bath, covered his private parts with his hat, and skidaddled out of town like a jackrabbit across the prairie. The room sat vacant for more years until a U.S. Marshal drove into town in a new fangled automobile instead of on a horse. He asked Grandpappy for a room, but this was the busy season and guess what - there was only one room left and Grandpappy explained it was haunted. "That's just fine," said the Marshal. "I've killed 37 men, been shot 12 times, bit by a rattlesnake twice, and gargle with turpentine every morning. I'm not too concerned about some silly ghost." So, he went up to his room. But, no sooner had he closed the door when he heard, "I'm the ghost with one black eye. I'm the ghost with one black eye." He turned and smashed right through the door, leaped the entire flight of stairs, picked up his automobile, and ran out of town screaming and hollering at the top of his lungs. [Make up any number of characters, getting tougher each time...] A couple years after that, in the early 1900s, a family was passing through town on a family vacation. Any idea how many rooms were left? NOPE - there were TWO rooms left! But, the mother and father wanted their own room and their young son could have his own. Grandpappy told them about the ghost, but the boy just said, "Wow! A REAL GHOST? Cool!" The mom and dad went to their room and the boy opened his up. He took a bath, got ready for bed, and hopped in. Just then, he heard, "I'm the ghost with one black eye. I'm the ghost with one black eye." And, the boy hollered back, "Well, I'm a Cub Scout and you don't scare me! If you don't shut up, you're gonna be the ghost with TWO black eyes!" |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Girl Who Climbed to the Sky | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | One morning, several young women went out from their tepee village to gather firewood. Among them was Sapana, the most beautiful girl in the village, and it was she who first saw the porcupine sitting at the foot of a tall cottonwood tree. She called to the others: "Help me catch this porcupine, and I will divide its quills among you." The porcupine started climbing the cottonwood, but the tree's limbs were close to the ground and Sapana easily followed. "Hurry," she cried. "It is climbing up. We must have its quills to embroider our moccasins." She tried to hit the porcupine with a stick, but the animal climbed just out of her reach. "Sapana, you are too high up," one of her friends called from the ground. "You should come back down." But the girl kept climbing, and it seemed that the tree kept extending itself toward the sky. When she neared the top of the cottonwood, she saw something above her, solid like a wall, but shining. It was the sky. Suddenly she found herself in the midst of a camp circle. The treetop had vanished, and the porcupine had transformed himself into an ugly man. Sapana did not like the looks of the porcupine-man, but he spoke kindly to her and led her to a tepee where his father and mother lived. "I have watched you from afar," he told her. "You are not only beautiful but industrious. We must work very hard here, and I want you to become my wife." The porcupine-man put her to work that very day, scraping and stretching buffalo hides and making robes. When evening came, the girl went outside the tepee and sat by herself wondering how she was ever to get back home. Everything in the sky world was brown and grey, and she missed the green trees and green grass of earth. Each day the porcupine-man went out to hunt, bringing back buffalo hides for Sapana to work on, and in the morning while he was away she had to dig for wild turnips. "When you dig for roots," the porcupine-man warned her, "take care not to dig too deep." One morning, she found an unusually large turnip. With great difficulty, she managed to pry it loose with her digging stick. When she pulled it up she was surprised to find that it left a hole through which she could look down upon the green earth. Far below she saw rivers, mountains, circles of tepees, and people walking about. Sapana knew now why the porcupine-man had warned her not to dig too deep. She did not want him to know that she had found the hole in the sky so she carefully replaced the turnip and thought of a plan to escape. Almost every day the porcupine-man brought buffalo hides for her to scrape and soften and make into robes. In making the robes there were always strips of sinew left over, and she kept these strips concealed beneath her bed. At last, Sapana believed that she had enough sinew strips to make a rope long enough to reach the earth. One morning after the porcupine-man went out to hunt, she tied all the strips together and returned to the place where she had found the large turnip. She lifted it out and dug the hole wider so that her body would go through. She laid her digging stick across the opening and tied one end of the sinew rope to the middle of it. Then she tied the other end of the rope about herself under her arms. Slowly she began lowering herself by uncoiling the rope. A long time passed before she was far enough down to be able to see the tops of the trees clearly, and then she came to the end of her rope. She had not made it long enough to reach the ground. She did not know what to do. She hung there for a long time, swinging back and forth above the trees trying to figure out what to do. Then, she heard sounds from above and the rope began to shake violently. A stone hurtled down from the sky, barely missing her, and then she heard the porcupine-man threatening to kill her if she did not climb back up the rope. Another stone whizzed by her ear. About this time, Buzzard began circling around below her. "Come and help me," she called to Buzzard. The bird glided under her feet several times, and Sapana told him all that had happened to her. "Get on my back," Buzzard said, "and I will take you down to earth." She stepped on to the bird's back. "Are you ready?" Buzzard asked. "Yes," she replied. "Let go of the rope," Buzzard ordered. He began descending with Sapana clinging to his neck, but the girl was too heavy for him, and he began gliding earthward too fast. He saw Hawk flying below him. "Hawk," he called, "help me take this girl back to her people." Hawk flew with Sapana on his back until she could see the tepee of her family clearly below. But then Hawk began to tire, and Buzzard had to take the girl on his back again. Buzzard flew on, dropping quickly through the trees and landing just outside the girl's village. Before she could thank him, Buzzard flew back into the sky. Sapana was weak and exhausted and she saw a girl coming toward her. "Sapana!" the girl cried. "We thought you were dead." The girl helped her walk to the village. Sapana told everyone her story, especially of the kindness shown her by Buzzard and Hawk. After that, whenever the people of her tribe went on a big hunt they always left one buffalo for Buzzard and Hawk to eat. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Gloop Maker | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | There once was a sailor returning to his ship. Just as he approached the edge of the dock, he slipped and fell into the water between ship and dockside. As he hit the water, the ship began to swing toward the harbor wall, and he would have been crushed to death had not a little man, with great presence of mind, thrown a rope and hauled him to safety. 'Whew, thanks!' said the sailor. 'You saved my life. Tell me, is there anything I can do for you in return?' 'Well actually,' said the man, 'there is something. I'd dearly like to work aboard ship and, in fact, I was just on my way to look for a job when I saw you in the water. If you could put in a word for me. I'd be greatly obliged.' 'Done!' said the sailor. He took the little man on board and tracked down the Petty Officer. 'This man saved my life just now, and he really would very much like to have a job on the ship.' 'Well, I don't know,' said the Petty Officer. 'We have a full ship's complement, but I'll certainly put in a word on his behalf to my superior. What does he do?' 'I'm a Gloop Maker,' said the little man eagerly. Not wishing to appear ignorant in front of his subordinate, the Petty Officer didn't want to ask what exactly a Gloop Maker was, so he went to see the Chief Petty Officer. 'This man saved the life of one of my seamen,' he told the Chief. 'Do you think we could find him a job aboard? He's a Gloop Maker.' Not wishing to appear ignorant in front of his subordinate, the Chief Petty Officer asked the Warrant Officer, who asked the Sub-Lieutenant and so on, all the way through the chain of command until the request reached the Captain. After congratulating the little man, the Captain, not wanting to appear ignorant, named him ship's Gloop Maker and ordered the Supply Officer to provide whatever materials were necessary for work to commence. The little man asked for a strong block and tackle fitted up on the afterdeck, a small stool, a hammer and chisel, a portable furnace, a big lump of iron, a few pounds of copper and several more of silver. As the ship sailed, the little man set his stool alongside the chunk of iron, lit the furnace and began to melt down the copper and silver. Then, with much hammering and chiseling, he began to add blobs of copper and curlicues of silver to the sides of the lump of iron. Each day crewmembers stopped and stared at the wondrously strange thing taking shape at the ship's stern. But not wishing to appear ignorant, nobody asked the Gloop Maker what he actually was making. 'Coming along nicely,' said the captain as he made his daily rounds. 'Any idea precisely when it will be :ah: ready?' 'Oh yes,' said the man. 'On July 15 at 14:00hours. That's when it'll be ready, and I'd like the crew assembled on deck at that hour, if you please, sir.' And so, the great day came, the men assembled and the Gloop Maker put down his hammer and chisel. Proudly he stood back and indicated that the block and tackle should be lowered onto his masterpiece, whose copper and silver curlicues gleamed in the sun. Carefully he directed it to be lifted from the deck and swung round until it hung over the sea at the ship's stern. 'Ready, steady, go!' he cried, and he cut it free. And, as it fell into the deep blue waters of the Atlantic, it went ... 'GLOOP!' |
A Favorite Story Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Glooskap Finds Summer | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | Long ago a mighty race of Indians lived near the sunrise, and they called themselves Wawaniki:-Children of Light. Glooskap was their master. He was kind to his people and did many great deeds for them. Once in Glooskap's day it grew extremely cold. Snow and ice covered everything. Fires would not give enough warmth. The corn would not grow. His people were perishing from cold and famine. Glooskap set forth the far north where all was ice to find the cause of the cold. Here in a wigwam he found the great giant Winter. It was Winter's icy breath that had frozen the land. Glooskap entered the wigwam and sat down. Winter gave him a pipe, and as they smoked the giant told tales of olden times when he reigned everywhere and all the land was silent, white, and beautiful. His frost charm fell upon Glooskap and as the giant talked on, Glooskap fell asleep. For six months he slept like a bear, then the charm left him. He was too strong for it and awoke. Soon now Glooskap's talebearer, the Loon, a wild bird who lived on the lakeshores, brought him strange news. He described a country far to the south where it was always warm. There lived the all-powerful Summer who could easily overcome the giant Winter. To save his people from cold and famine and death, Glooskap decided to find her. Far off to the southern reaches he traveled. Each day the air grew warmer, softer, and sweeter. After many, many days, in the forest he came upon a beautiful woman, dancing in the center of a group of young girls. Her long brown hair was crowned with flowers and her arms filled with blossoms. She was Summer. Glooskap knew that here at last was the one who by her charms could melt old Winter's heart. He leaped to catch her and would not let her go. Together they journeyed the long way back to the lodge of old Winter. Winter welcomed Glooskap but he planned to freeze him to sleep again. This time, however, Glooskap did the talking. His charm proved the stronger one and soon sweat began to run down Winter's face. He knew that his power was gone and the charm of Frost broken. His icy tent melted away. Summer now used her own special power and everything awoke. The grass grew green and the snow ran down the rivers, carrying away the dead leaves. Old Winter wept to see his power taken away. But Summer said, "Now that I have proved I am more powerful than you, I give you all the country to the far north for your own, and there I shall never disturb you. Six months of every year you may return to Glooskap's country and reign as before, but you are to be less severe with your power. During the other six months, I will come back from the South and rule the land." Old Winter could do nothing but accept this. So it is that he appears in Glooskap's country each year to reign for six months, but with a softer rule. When he comes, Summer runs home to her warm south land. When at the end of six months she returns to drive old Winter away, she awakens the north and gives it the joys that only she can bestow. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
Grandmother Spider Steals Light | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | In the beginning there was only blackness, and nobody could see anything. People kept bumping into each other and groping blindly. They said: "What this world needs is light." Fox said he knew some people on the other side of the world who had plenty of light, but they were too greedy to share it with others. Possum said he would be glad to steal a little of it. "I have a bushy tail," he siad. "I can hide the light inside all that fur." Then he set out for the other side of the world. There he found the sun hanging in a tree and lighting everything up. He sneaked over to the sun, picked out a tiny piece of light, and stuffed it into his tail. But the light was hot and burned all the fur off. The people discovered his theft and took back the light, and ever since, Possoum's tail has been bald. "Let me try," said Buzzard. "I know better than to hide a piece of stolen light in my tail. I'll put it on my head." He flew to the other side of the world and, diving straight into the sun, seized it with his claws. He put it on his head, but it burned his head feathers off. The people grabbed the sun away from him, and ever since that time Buzzard's head has remained bald. Grandmother Spider said, "Let me try!" First she made a thickwalled pot out of clay. Next she spun a web reaching all the way to the other side of the world. She was so small that none of the people there noticed her coming. Quickly Grandmother Spider snatched up the sun, put it in the bowl of clay, and scrambled back home along one of the strands of her web. Now her side of the world had light, and everyone rejoiced. Spider brought not only the sun to the Cherokee, but fire with it. And besides that, she taught the Cherokee people the art of pottery making. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
How 10,000 Lakes Were Made | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | Many, many years ago when the world was new, the Mississippi river was much longer than it is now. It meandered back and forth across the area that is now Minnesota. Fish in great numbers lived in this river, and its water was so pure and sweet that all the animals came there to drink. A giant moose that lived way up north heard about the river and he too came there to drink. But he was so big, and he drank so much, that soon the water began to sink lower and lower. The beavers were worried. The water around their lodges was disappearing. Soon their homes would be destroyed. The muskrats were worried, too. What would they do if the water vanished? How could they live? The fish were very worried. The other animals could live on land if the water dried up, but they couldn't. All the animals tried to think of a way to drive the moose from the river, but he was so big that they were too afraid to try. Even the bear was afraid of him. At last the Fly said he would try to drive the moose away. All the animals laughed and jeered. How could a tiny fly frighten a giant moose? The fly said nothing, but that day, as soon as the moose appeared, he went into action. He landed on the moose's foreleg and bit sharply. The moose stamped his foot to shake off the fly. But, the fly landed again and bit again and the moose stomped harder, and each time he stamped, the ground sank and the water rushed in to fill it up. Then the fly jumped about all over the moose, biting and biting and biting until the moose was in a frenzy. He dashed madly about the banks of the river, shaking his head, stamping his feet, snorting and blowing, but he couldn't get rid of that pesky fly. Finally, the moose could take it no longer and ran far away back up to the far north country where he had come from. All the thrashing and stomping that the giant moose did across the country created large and small holes. As these filled with water, they became the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota. And, the giant moose told all the other moose to never go south because of the terrible biting flies there. That is why there are no longer moose in Minnesota except way up north by Canada. The fly was very proud of his achievement, and the other animals were very thankful. They made a promise to Fly that whenever any animal dies of old age or disease, the fly can have the entire body to feed on and lay eggs. That is how it is done to this day. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
How Bear Lost His Tail | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | Back in the old days, Bear had a tail which was his proudest possession. It was long and black and glossy and Bear used to wave it around just so that people would look at it. Fox saw this. Fox, as everyone knows, is a trickster and likes nothing better than fooling others. So it was that he decided to play a trick on Bear. It was the time of year when Hatho, the Spirit of Frost, had swept across the land, covering the lakes with ice and pounding on the trees with his big hammer. Fox made a hole in the ice, right near a place where Bear liked to walk. By the time Bear came by, all around Fox, in a big circle, were big trout and fat perch. Just as Bear was about to ask Fox what he was doing, Fox twitched his tail which he had sticking through that hole in the ice and pulled out a huge trout. 'Greetings, Brother,' said Fox. 'How are you this fine day?' 'Greetings,' answered Bear, looking at the big circle of fat fish. ' I am well, Brother. But what are you doing?' 'I am fishing,' answered Fox. 'Would you like to try?' 'Oh, yes,' said Bear, as he started to lumber over to Fox's fishing hole. But Fox stopped him. 'Wait, Brother,' he said, 'This place will not be good. As you can see, I have already caught all the fish. Let us make you a new fishing spot where you can catch many big trout.' Bear agreed and so he followed Fox to the new place, a place where, as Fox knew very well, the lake was too shallow to catch the winter fish:which always stay in the deepest water when Hatho has covered their ponds. Bear watched as Fox made the hole in the ice, already tasting the fine fish he would soon catch. 'Now,' Fox said, 'you must do just as I tell you. Clear your mind of all thoughts of fish. Do not even think of a song or the fish will hear you. Turn your back to the hole and place your tail inside it. Soon a fish will come and grab your tail and you can pull him out.' 'But how will I know if a fish has grabbed my tail if my back is turned?' asked Bear. 'I will hide over here where the fish cannot see me,' said Fox. 'When a fish grabs your tail, I will shout. Then you must pull as hard as you can to catch your fish. But you must be very patient. Do not move at all until I tell you.' Bear nodded, 'I will do exactly as you say.' He sat down next to the hole, placed his long beautiful black tail in the icy water and turned his back. Fox watched for a time to make sure that Bear was doing as he was told and then, very quietly, sneaked back to his own house and went to bed. The next morning he woke up and thought of Bear. 'I wonder if he is still there,' Fox said to himself. 'I'll just go and check.' So Fox went back to the ice covered pond and what do you think he saw? He saw what looked like a little white hill in the middle of the ice. It had snowed during the night and covered Bear, who had fallen asleep while waiting for Fox to tell him to pull his tail and catch a fish. And Bear was snoring. His snores were so loud that the ice was shaking. It was so funny that Fox rolled with laughter. But when he was through laughing, he decided the time had come to wake up poor Bear. He crept very close to Bear's ear, took a deep breath, and then shouted: 'Now, Bear!!!' Bear woke up with a start and pulled his long tail hard as he could. But his tail had been caught in the ice which had frozen over during the night and as he pulled, it broke off : Whack! : just like that. Bear turned around to look at the fish he had caught and instead saw his long lovely tail caught in the ice. 'Ohhh,' he moaned, 'ohhh, Fox. I will get you for this.' But Fox, even though he was laughing fit to kill was still faster than Bear and he leaped aside and was gone. Bear was so embarrassed, he went back to his cave and did not come out until spring. So it is that even to this day Bears have short tails, hibernate all winter, and have no love at all for Fox. And if you ever hear a bear moaning, it is probably because he remembers the trick Fox played on him long ago and he is mourning for his lost tail. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
How Bluebird and Coyote Got Their Colors | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | The bluebird is very blue, as blue as a brilliant lake. Many moons ago the bluebird used to be white. One day he was flying and came upon a lake and saw how blue and beautiful it was. He stopped and asked Grandfather, "Grandfather, can I be as blue as that lake?" So Grandfather gave him a song to sing. He told him what to do. Every morning for five mornings the bluebird would dive down into the lake singing the song taught to him by Grandfather then come back up. The whole time he was doing this the coyote was watching him. On the fifth day, the bluebird dove into the lake, and when he came back out, he was as blue as he is today. The coyote saw this and thought to himself, "Hmmmm... I'd like to be as blue as that bluebird." So he said to the bluebird, "Teach me your song." So every morning for the next five days the coyote would take a bath and sing the song from Grandfather. And on the fifth day the coyote came out and was just as blue as the bluebird. The coyote looked at himself in the reflection of the water and thought, "My, I'm the prettiest coyote there is. There is none prettier than me." So he strutted down the road, not unlike a peacock, looking around to make sure all the other animals could see him and see how truly beautiful was his color. He was so intent on having everyone know how colorful and beautiful he was that he paid no attention to where he was going in the road. He ran into a tree, fell down into a dirt road, rolled around and came up. That's why, when you look today, he's brown and dirty. That's how he got the color of his fur. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
How Chipmunk Got His Stripes | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | It has always been said that bears think very highly of themselves. Since they are big and strong, they are certain that they are the most important of the animals. One day, Bear went along turning over big logs with his paws to look for food to eat. He felt very sure of himself. "There is nothing I cannot do," said Bear. "Oh, really?" said a small voice. Bear looked down. There was Chipmunk looking up at Bear from his hole in the ground. "Yes," Bear said, "that is true indeed." He reached out one huge paw and rolled over a big log. "Look at how easily I can do this. I am the strongest of all the animals. I can do anything. All the other animals fear me." "Can you stop the sun from rising in the morning?" said the Chipmunk. Bear thought for a moment. "I have never tried that," he said. "Yes, I am sure I could stop the sun from rising." "You are sure?" said Chipmunk. "I am sure," said Bear. "Tomorrow morning the sun will not rise. I, Bear, have said so." Bear sat down facing the east to wait. Behind him the sun set for the night and still he sat there. Chipmunk went into its hole and curled up in his snug little nest, chuckling about how foolish Bear was. All through the night Bear sat. Finally, the first birds started their songs and the East glowed with the light that comes before the sun. "The sun will not rise today," said Bear. He stared hard at the glowing light. "The sun will not rise today." However, the sun rose, just as it always had. Bear was very upset, but Chipmunk was delighted. He laughed and laughed. "Sun is stronger than Bear," said the chipmunk, twittering with laughter. Chipmunk was so amused that he came out of his hole and began running around in circles, singing this song: "The sun came up, The sun came up. Bear is angry, But the sun came up." While Bear sat there looking very unhappy, Chipmunk ran around and around, singing and laughing until he was so weak that he rolled over on his back. Then, quicker than the leap of a fish from a stream, Bear shot out a paw and pinned him to the ground. "Perhaps I cannot stop the sun from rising," said Bear, "but you will never see another sunrise." "Oh, Bear," said the chipmunk. "You are the strongest, the quickest, the best of all of the animals. I was only joking." But Bear did not move his paw. "Oh, Bear," Chipmunk said, "you are right to kill me, I deserve to die. Just please let me say one last prayer to Creator before you eat me." "Say your prayer quickly," said Bear. "Your time to walk the Sky Road has come!" "Oh, Bear," said Chipmunk, "I would like to die. But you are pressing down on me so hard I cannot breathe. I can hardly squeak. I do not have enough breath to say a prayer. If you would just lift your paw a little, just a little bit, then I could breathe. And I could say my last prayer to the Maker of all, to the one who made great, wise, powerful Bear and the foolish, weak, little Chipmunk." Bear lifted up his paw. He lifted it just a little bit. That little bit, though, was enough. Chipmunk squirmed free and ran for his hole as quickly as the blinking of an eye. Bear swung his paw at the little chipmunk as it darted away. He was not quick enough to catch him, but the very tips of his long claws scraped along Chipmunk's back leaving three pale scars. To this day, all chipmunks wear those scars as a reminder to them of what happens when one animal makes fun to another. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
How Coyote Got His Cunning | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | A great many hundred snows ago, Kareya, the Creator, sitting on the Sacred Stool, created the world. First, he made the fishes in the big water, then the animals on the green land, and last of all, The Man. But the animals were all alike in power, and it was not yet ordained which should be for food to others, and which should be food for The Man. Then Kareya bade them all assemble together in a certain place, that The Man might give each his power and his rank. So the animals all met together, a great many hundred snows ago, on an evening when the sun was set, that they might wait over night for the coming of The Man the next morning. Now Kareya commanded The Man to make bows and arrows, as many as there were animals, and to give the longest to the one that should have the most power, and the shortest to the one that should have the least. So he did, and after nine sleeps his work was ended, and the bows and arrows which he made were very many. Now the animals being gathered together in one place, went to sleep, that they might rise in the morning and go to meet The Man. But the coyote was exceedingly cunning, above all the beasts that were, he was so cunning. So he considered within himself how he might get the longest bow, and so have the greatest power, and have all animals for his meat. He determined to stay awake all night, while the others slept, and so go forth first in the morning and get the longest bow. This he devised within his cunning mind, and then he laughed to himself, and stretched out his snout on his fore-paws, and pretended to sleep, like the others. But about midnight he began to get sleepy, and he had to walk around camp and scratch his eyes a considerable time to keep them open. But still he grew more sleepy, and he had to skip and jump about like a good one to keep awake. He made so much noise this way that he woke up some of the other animals, and he had to think of another plan. About the time the morning star came up, he was so sleepy that he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Then he took two little sticks and sharpened them at the ends, and propped open his eyelids, whereupon he thought he was safe, and he concluded he would take just a little nap, with his eyes open, watching the morning star. But in a few minutes he was sound asleep, and the sharp sticks pierced through his eyelids, and pinned them fast together. So the morning star mounted up very swiftly, and then there came a peep of daybreak, and the birds began to sing, and the animals began to rise and stretch themselves, but still the coyote lay fast asleep. At last it was broad daylight, and then the sun rose, and all the animals went forth to meet The Man. He gave the longest bow to the cougar, so he had the greatest power of all; and the second longest to the bear; and so on, giving the next to the last to the poor frog. But he still had the shortest one left, and he cried out, "What animal have I missed?" Then the animals began to look about, and they soon spied the coyote lying fast asleep, with the sharp sticks pinning his eyelids together. All the animals set up a great laugh, and they jumped on the coyote and danced upon him. Then they led him to The Man - for he could see nothing because of the sticks - and The Man pulled out the sticks, and gave him the shortest bow of all, which would shoot an arrow hardly more than a foot. And all the animals laughed very much. But The Man took pity on the coyote, because he was now the weakest of all animals, weaker even than the frog, and he prayed to Kareya for him, and Kareya gave him cunning, ten times more than before, so that he was cunning above all the animals of the wood. So the coyote was a friend to The Man and to his children after him, and helped him, and did many things for him, as is told in other stories. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
How Coyote Stole Fire | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | Long ago, when man was newly come into the world, there were days when he was the happiest creature of all. Those were the days when spring brushed across the willow tails, or when his children ripened with the blueberries in the sun of summer, or when the goldenrod bloomed in the autumn haze. But always the mists of autumn evenings grew more chill, and the sun's strokes grew shorter. Then man saw winter moving near, and he became fearful and unhappy. He was afraid for his children, and for the grandfathers and grandmothers who carried in their heads the sacred tales of the tribe. Many of these, young and old, would die in the long, ice-bitter months of winter. Coyote, like the rest of the People, had no need for fire. So he seldom concerned himself with it, until one spring day when he was passing a human village. There the women were singing a song of mourning for the babies and the old ones who had died in the winter. Their voices moaned like the west wind through a buffalo skull, prickling the hairs on Coyote's neck. "Feel how the sun is now warm on our backs," one of the men was saying. "Feel how it warms the earth and makes these stones hot to the touch. If only we could have had a small piece of the sun in our teepees during the winter." Coyote, overhearing this, felt sorry for the men and women. He also felt that there was something he could do to help them. He knew of a faraway mountain-top where the three Fire Beings lived. These Beings kept fire to themselves, guarding it carefully for fear that man might somehow acquire it and become as strong as they. Coyote saw that he could do a good turn for man at the expense of these selfish Fire Beings. So Coyote went to the mountain of the Fire Beings and crept to its top, to watch the way that the Beings guarded their fire. As he came near, the Beings leaped to their feet and gazed searchingly round their camp. Their eyes glinted like bloodstones, and their hands were clawed like the talons of the great black vulture. "What's that? What's that I hear?" hissed one of the Beings. "A thief, skulking in the bushes!" screeched another. The third looked more closely, and saw Coyote. But he had gone to the mountain-top on all fours, so the Being thought she saw only an ordinary coyote slinking among the trees. "It is no one, it is nothing!" she cried, and the other two looked where she pointed and also saw only a grey coyote. They sat down again by their fire and paid Coyote no more attention. So he watched all day and night as the Fire Beings guarded their fire. He saw how they fed it pine cones and dry branches from the sycamore trees. He saw how they stamped furiously on runaway rivulets of flame that sometimes nibbled outwards on edges of dry grass. He saw also how, at night, the Beings took turns to sit by the fire. Two would sleep while one was on guard; and at certain times the Being by the fire would get up and go into their teepee, and another would come out to sit by the fire. Coyote saw that the Beings were always jealously watchful of their fire except during one part of the day. That was in the earliest morning, when the first winds of dawn arose on the mountains. Then the Being by the fire would hurry, shivering, into the teepee calling, "Sister, sister, go out and watch the fire." But the next Being would always be slow to go out for her turn, her head spinning with sleep and the thin dreams of dawn. Coyote, seeing all this, went down the mountain and spoke to some of his friends among the People. He told them of hairless man, fearing the cold and death of winter. And he told them of the Fire Beings, and the warmth and brightness of the flame. They all agreed that man should have fire, and they all promised to help Coyote's undertaking. Then Coyote sped again to the mountain-top. Coyote waited through the day, and watched as night fell and two of the Beings went off to the teepee to sleep. He watched as they changed over at certain times all the night long, until at last the dawn winds rose. Then the Being on guard called, "Sister, sister, get up and watch the fire." And the Being whose turn it was climbed slow and sleepy from her bed, saying, "Yes, yes, I am coming. Do not shout so." But before she could come out of the teepee, Coyote lunged from the bushes, snatched up a glowing portion of fire, and sprang away down the mountainside. Screaming, the Fire Beings flew after him. Swift as Coyote ran, they caught up with him, and one of them reached out a clutching hand. Her fingers touched only the tip of the tail, but the touch was enough to turn the hairs white, and coyote tail-tips are white still. Coyote shouted, and flung the fire away from him. But the others of the People had gathered at the mountain's foot, in case they were needed. Squirrel saw the fire falling, and caught it, putting it on her back and fleeing away through the tree-tops. The fire scorched her back so painfully that her tail curled up and back, as squirrels' tails still do today. The Fire Beings then pursued Squirrel, who threw the fire to Chipmunk. Chattering with fear, Chipmunk stood still as if rooted until the Beings were almost upon her. Then, as she turned to run, one Being clawed at her, tearing down the length of her back and leaving three stripes that are to be seen on chipmunks' backs even today. Chipmunk threw the fire to Frog, and the Beings turned towards him. One of the Beings grasped his tail, but Frog gave a mighty leap and tore himself free, leaving his tail behind in the Being's hand:-which is why frogs have had no tails ever since. As the Beings came after him again, Frog flung the fire on to Wood. And Wood swallowed it. The Fire Beings gathered round, but they did not know how to get the fire out of Wood. They promised it gifts, sang to it and shouted at it. They twisted it and struck it and tore it with their knives. But Wood did not give up the fire. In the end, defeated, the Beings went back to their mountain-top and left the People alone. But Coyote knew how to get fire out of Wood. And he went to the village of men and showed them how. He showed them the trick of rubbing two dry sticks together, and the trick of spinning a sharpened stick in a hole made in another piece of wood. So man was from then on warm and safe through the killing cold of winter. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
How Devil's Tower Was Made | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Notes: | Hand out a small piece of basalt for medicine bags. |
| Story: | Long ago, two young Indian boys found themselves lost on the great prairie. They had played together one afternoon and had wandered far out of the village. Then they had shot their bows still farther out into the sagebrush. Then they had heard a small animal make a noise and had gone to investigate. They had come to a stream with many colorful pebbles and followed that for a while. They had come to a hill and wanted to see what was on the other side. On the other side they saw a herd of antelope and, of course, had to track them for a while. When they got hungry and thought it was time to go home, the two boys found that they didn't know where they were. They started off in the direction where they thought their village was, but only got farther and farther away from it. At last they curled up beneath a tree and went to sleep. They got up the next morning and walked some more, still headed the wrong way. They ate some wild berries and dug up wild turnips, found some chokecherries, and drank water from streams. For three days they walked toward the west. They were footsore, but they survived. How they wished that their parents, or aunts and uncles, or elder brothers and sisters would find them. But nobody did. On the fourth day the boys suddenly had a feeling that they were being followed. They looked around and in the distance saw Mato, the bear. This was no ordinary bear, but a giant grizzly so huge that the boys would make only a small mouthful for him, but he had smelled the boys and wanted that mouthful. He kept coming close, and the earth trembled as he gathered speed. The boys started running, looking for a place to hide, but there was no such place and the grizzly was much, much faster than they. They stumbled, and the bear was almost upon them. They could see his red, wide-open jaws full of enormous, wicked teeth. They could smell his hot evil breath. The boys were old enough to have learned to pray, and the called upon Wakan Tanka, the Creator: "Tunkashila, Grandfather, have pity, save us." All at once the earth shook and began to rise. The boys rose with it. Out of the earth came a cone of rock going up, up up until it rose more than a thousand feet high. And the boys were on top of it. Mato the bear was disappointed to see his meal disappearing into the clouds. This grizzly was so huge that he could almost reach to the top of the rock when he stood on his hind legs. Almost, but not quite. His claws were as large as a tipi's lodge poles. Frantically Mato dug his claws into the side of the rock, trying to get up, trying to eat those boys. As he did so, he made big scratches in the sides of the towering rock. He tried every spot, every side. He scratched up the rock all around, but it was no use. They boys watched him wearing himself out, getting tired, giving up. They finally saw him going away, a huge, growling, grunting mountain disappearing over the horizon. The boys were saved. Or were they? How were they to get down? They were humans, not birds who could fly. Wanblee, the eagle, has always been a friend to our people. It was the great eagle that let the boys grab hold of him and carried them safely back to their village. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
How Mosquitoes Came To Be | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | Long time ago there was a giant who loved to kill humans, eat their flesh, and drink their blood. He was especially fond of human hearts. "Unless we can get rid of the giant," people said, "none of us will be left," and they called a council to discuss what to do. One man said, "I think I know how to kill the monster," and he went to the place where the giant had last been seen. There he lay down and pretended to be dead. Soon the giant came along. Seeing the man lying there, he said: "These humans are making it easy for me. Now I don't even have to catch and kill them; they die right on my trail, probably from fear of me!" The giant touched the body. "Ah, good," he said, "this one is still warm and fresh. What a tasty meal he'll make; I can't wait to roast his heart." The giant flung the man over his shoulder, and the man let his head hang down as if he were dead. Carrying the man home, the giant dropped him in the middle of the floor right near the fireplace. Then he saw that there was no firewood, and went to get some. As soon as the monster had left, the man got up and grabbed the giant's huge skinning knife. Just then the giant's son came in, bending low to enter. He was still small as giants go, and the man held the big knife to his throat. "Quick, tell me, where's your father's heart? Tell me or I'll slit your throat!" The giant's son was scared. He said: "My father's heart is in his left heel." Just then the giant's left foot appeared in the entrance, and the man swiftly plunged the knife into the heel. The monster screamed and fell down dead. Yet, the giant still spoke. "Though I'm dead, though you killed me, I'm going to keep on eating you and all the humans in the world forever!" "That's what you think!" said the man. "I'm about to make sure that you never eat anyone again." He cut the giant's body into pieces and burned each one in the fire. Then he took the ashes and threw them into the air for the winds to scatter. Instantly each of the particles turned into a mosquito. The cloud of ashes became a cloud of mosquitoes, and from their midst the man heard the giant's voice laughing, saying: "Yes, I'll eat your people until the end of time." As the monster spoke, the man felt a sting, and a mosquito started sucking his blood, and then many mosquitoes stung him, and he began to scratch himself. |
Find more Scouting Resources at www.BoyScoutTrail.com
How Rabbit Lost His Tail | |
| Intended for: | All Scouts |
| Story: | You have heard how Glooscap came to rule over the Wabanaki and how he made the animals, and how at first some of them were treacherous and disobedient. In time, however, he gave posts of honor to those whom he could trust, and they were proud to be Glooscap's servants. Two dogs became his watchmen, and the Loon his messenger and tale-bearer. And, because the Rabbit had the kindest heart of all the animals in the forest, Glooscap made Ableegumooch his forest guide. Now in those days Ableegumooch the Rabbit was a very different animal than he is today. His body was large and round, his legs were straight and even, and he had a long bushy tail. He could run and walk like other animals, not with a hop-hop-hop as he does today. One day in springtime, when the woods were carpeted with star flowers and lilies-of-the-valley, and the ferns were waist-high, Ableegumooch lay resting beside a fallen log. Hearing a rustle on the path, he peered around his log to see who was coming. It was Uskool the Fisher, a large animal of the weasel tribe, and he was weeping. "What is the matter with him," wondered the rabbit, who was inquisitive as well as soft-hearted. He popped his head up over the log and Uskool nearly jumped out of his fur with surprise. "It's only me:Ableegumooch," said the rabbit. "Do you mind telling me why you are crying?" "Oh, greetings, Ableegumooch," sighed Uskool, when he had recovered from his fright. "I'm going to my wedding." "And that makes you cry?" asked the astonished rabbit. "Of course not," said Uskool. "I've lost my way, that's the trouble." "Well, just take your time," said the rabbit sensibly, "and you'll soon find it again." "But I have no time to spare," groaned the fisher. "My future father-in-law has sworn that if I do not arrive for the wedding by sunset today, he will marry his daughter to Kakakooch the Crow. And, look, a |