American Tall TaleJohnny Appleseed

American Tall Tale• Tall tales are exaggerated or imaginary stories

from the 1800s. They were made-up to tell about the courage people had while exploring the ‘Wild, wild, west’. They were told around campfires and do not have a single author.

JOHnny appleseed• This here is the story of John Chapman, better

known as Johnny Appleseed. He lived in this country a long time ago, when America was still growing, and there weren’t many towns or cities. There was, however, a lot of wide-open land.

Johnny Appleseed• Now, Johnny was an unusual kind of hero. He

didn’t lead any soldiers in a war, and he didn’t become the President. He didn’t sail ships across the oceans, and he didn’t kill dragons or rescue princesses. He was still a real hero, and what he did best was – well, you’ll see.

Johnny Appleseed• People say that when Johnny

was a baby, he’d fuss and cry and keep the family awake until they put a twig with apple blossoms in his little hand. Then he wouldn’t bend the petals off or eat them like the other babies would. Instead, he’d just lie there in his crib, looking at those apple blossoms, sniffing them now and then, as happy as an angel full of ice cream.

Johnny Appleseed• When Johnny was a little boy,

his mother would wander with him in the woods and show him plants and squirrels and such. He loved the birds and animals almost as much as he loved apples and apple trees.

Johnny appleseed• He was never happier than when he was

lugging around some little animal or other – even if it was a skunk. Whenever an animal in the neighborhood was sick or had a broken leg, people would say, “Just take it to Johnny Chapman. He’ll fix the critter right up.”

Johnny Appleseed• When Johnny grew up, he got an idea in his

head, and he couldn’t get it out. His idea was that there ought to be more apple trees – lots more – and that he was the fellow to plant them. But he couldn’t carry trees all over the country! He needed seeds.

Johnny Appleseed• Near where Johnny lived there were mills

where folks made apple cider. They pressed the juice out of the apples and had no use for the seeds. Johnny could use them. He took the seeds, washed them off, and let them dry in the sun. When he finished, he had sacks and sacks of seeds.

Johnny Appleseed• So Johnny set off

westward, carrying his apple seeds. He carried so many seeds that he couldn’t bring along much of anything else. He found a place for two of his favorite books and a cooking pan. He wore the cooking pan on his head.

Johnny appleseed• Johnny walked all over the country, sleeping

in the open, eating whatever was handy, and tramping through the mud and snow. He walked and walked, stopping here and there to plant the seeds along the rivers, in meadow, and wherever people let him.

Johnny appleseed• Whenever he met a family moving West (a lot

were in those days), he’d give them a little pouch of seeds so they could grow their own apple trees. That’s how folks came to know him as Johnny Appleseed.

Old west family

Johnny appleseed• Some people thought Johnny was foolish

because he gave away his seeds for free, and those people didn’t think it made sense unless he made money from it. Johnny Appleseed would say, “Money?” and he would snap his fingers. “What do you do with money? Just spend it for clothes or houses or food.” Then, without taking a cent from anyone, he would be on his way.

Johnny appleseedWhen anybody brought up the subject of animals, Johnny Appleseed was likely to go through that finger snapping business again. “Leave animals alone,” he’d say, “and they’ll do the same to you. They’re your brothers and sisters, only they don’t argue with you the way humans do.”

Johnny appleseed• Once, on a cold winter’s day, Johnny was

slushing through the snow, and night came. He looked around for some big hollow log to sleep in. He found a dandy log, built a fire nearby, cooked his mush, ate it up, and started to crawl into the hollow log.

Johnny appleseed• When he got in about to his hips, he heard a

groaning grunt. Peeking in, he saw a big bear lying there with his paws crossed on his chest, enjoying a winter nap. Johnny backed out, inch by inch, slow as a snail, being quiet so as not to disturb the bear’s sleep. “Beg your pardon, Brother Bear,” he whispered. Then he yawned and curled up in the snow.

Johnny Appleseed• Johnny Appleseed had something he believed

in, and he went to a lot of trouble to bring it about. He wanted to see a nation of apple orchards with apple trees in bloom in the spring. He wanted to see men and women and children strong and good and healthy, like Johnny himself.

Johnny appleseed• Johnny lived a long, long time

ago, but people say that, even today, if you go to a certain part of Ohio in apple blossom time, get up before sunrise, and go to a certain old apple tree, you’ll see the smoke from Johnny’s fire as it dies out. Maybe you’ll even catch a glimpse of Johnny’s spirit as it moves along westward with the spring, waking up the blossoms and tending the orchards.

Homework• Think of a folktale or legend from your own

country. Write a paragraph about it to share with us next Wednesday. Try to keep it as short as possible to make sure we will have enough time!