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Carol Alexander

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Crabtree Publishing Companywww.crabtreebooks.com 1-800-387-7650Copyright © 2012 CRABTREE PUBLISHING COMPANY. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem or be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission ofCrabtree Publishing Company. In Canada: We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for ourpublishing activities. Due to rights restrictions and copyright protection, contents in this ebook may vary from the published original.

Published in CanadaCrabtree Publishing616 Welland Ave.St. Catharines, OntarioL2M 5V6

Published in the United StatesCrabtree PublishingPMB 59051350 Fifth Avenue, 59th FloorNew York, New York 10118

Published in the United KingdomCrabtree PublishingMaritime HouseBasin Road North, HoveBN41 1WR

Published in AustraliaCrabtree Publishing3 Charles StreetCoburg NorthVIC 3058

Author: Carol Alexander

Coordinating editor: Reagan Miller

Publishing plan research and development:Sean Charlebois, Reagan MillerCrabtree Publishing Company

Editorial director: Kathy Middleton

Print coordinator: Katherine Berti

Production coordinator:Margaret Salter

Prepress technician: Samara Parent

Logo design: Samantha Crabtree

Product development: Victory Productions, Inc.

Content Editor: Janet Stone

Photo research: Tracy Vancelette

Front cover: Characters from the following folktalesappear: Paul Bunyan, How Crow Brought the Daylight,Coyote Trickster, and How the Rhino Got His Skin.

Title page: Paul Bunyan lived in an enormous log cabin inthe logging area of the Midwestern United States.

Photographs:

Corbis: Blue Lantern studios: cover (Paul Bunyan), 5 (bottom)

Corel: 26 (top)

Wikimedia Commons: cover (How the rhino got his skin by Rudyard Kipling; World Book Company: Indian Days of the Long Ago by Edward S. Curtis)

Shutterstock: All other images

Illustrations:

Barbara Bedell: 26 (paint palette)

Katherine Berti: title page (bird)

Bonna Rouse: 9 (pine tree)

What is a Folktale? 4

“Paul Bunyan Tames the Whistling River” 5

Big Characters in a Tall Tale 8

Dialogue and Dialect 10

Setting: The Place and Time 11

Plot: The Basic Outline 12

Theme 14

Creative Responses to the Folktale 15

Explaining Our World 16

“How Crow Brought the Daylight” 17

Trickster Characters 20

Dialogue: Developing Characters 22

Setting: A Long Time Ago 23

More About Plots 24

More About Theme 25

Creative Response to the Folktale 26

Writing a Folktale 27

Glossary 31

Index and Further Resources 32

Contents

4

What is a Folktale?

Folktales are among the oldest stories ever told.Some folktales are hundreds of years old. Peoplehave passed down these stories from generation togeneration. Folktales do not have a single author.They were told and retold by “folks,” or commonpeople. A similar tale may appear in manydifferent cultures. Names and places are changed,but the story is really the same.

Every folktale has a hero. The hero can be a person or an animal. He or sheaccomplishes great deeds. The hero is often strong,intelligent, loyal, and determined. This charactermayhave special powers. In folktales, we meet animalsthat can talk. We take giant steps with the tallest manin the world. Yet, these are not silly stories. Folktaleshave a purpose. They both entertain us and teach usimportant lessons about life.

Some folktales are called “tall tales.”The heroes of tall tales accomplish impossible deeds. Have youheard of Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyan? They are characters withsuperpowers. In one folktale, the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyantames a wild river. Of course, this could not really happen. Butwe are still amazed by Bunyan’s actions. He never gives up, nomatter how hard the job.

The trickster tale is another kind of folktale. A trickster is a clever and sly character who outsmarts everyonein the story. Tricksters may cause trouble for other characters.But often, they also solve problems or learn lessons. In one story,we will meet Crow. Crow is the hero of an Inuit tale fromCanada. This clever bird finds a way to bring light to the world.

Folktales share many common ideas. The stories show what peoplebelieve about the world. In many ways, we are all alike. We want to beclever and brave. We want to solve problems. Folktales teach us all ofthese things. Most importantly, they are fun to read!

Why did people tell folktales? Long ago, people hadmany questions thatwere hard to answer.Folktales helped peoplemake sense of the worldaround them. A folktalecan explain howsomething came to be.For example, it might tellhow mountains wereformed or why the sunrises and sets.

5

Paul Bunyan Tames the Whistling River

Paul Bunyan was the tallest man in the land. In fact, he was agiant. Of course, his pet ox was a giant, too. Paul and Babe theBlue Ox made quite a team. Together, they took on the toughest

jobs. They worked at a logging camp near the Whistling River. Tall pinetrees surrounded the camp.

That old Whistling River was a terror. It had a mind and spirit of itsown. Yes, its blue waters sparkled brightly. But this was a dangerous riverwith fast-moving waters. The river rose up and whistled twice a day. Itsscreeching could be heard for miles around. The river splashed the loggerswith its mighty waves. It broke up logs and flooded the logging camp. Thelumberjacks got pretty tired of these tricks. They hollered at the river, “Youleave off that foolishness right now!” The river didn’t care one little bit. Itlicked and lapped at the muddy shore. This was no ordinary river. It playedits magic tricks day in and day out.

One day, Paul was sitting on a hill. He was combing his beard with apine tree. What do you think happened? That river rose right up over itsbanks. It dumped a lake full of water on Paul’s head! Paul went on combinghis beard. Then the river pulled its favorite trick again. Mud and turtlesrained down on Paul’s head. Paul got mad and stamped

his foot. He sure was fired up.

“That’s enough, you old river! I’ll tame you,sure enough. You’ll carry logs to the mill likeI tell you to!”

The river stuck out its tongue at Paul. Then it went its merry way.

“Ha ha,” it chuckled.

Paul Bunyan never backed down. He was going toteach that Whistling River a lesson! He made a plan to

hitch Babe to that river and straighten it out. Hewould take away some of the river’s power andmake it behave. First, they’d need a little help.With a few giant steps, Paul and Babe reachedthe North Pole. Paul set a trap for icy storms.

6