ANIMALS and BIRDS STORIES
(excerpts from posts)
(If you want to retell any of the stories listed below, be sure to obtain permission from the copyright holder if the material is not in the public domain)

1) Cool Ride in the Sky by Dianne Wolkstein. THE COOL RIDE IN THE SKY TOLD BY DIANE WOLKSTEIN. ART BY PAUL GALDONE AL.KNOPF 1973 ADAPTATION OF STORY STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT. A dialect version of the tale told by John Blackamore to Richard Dorson appears in Western Folklore, 1955 . The song Straighten Up and Fly Right recorded by Nat King Cole in 1944. A buzzard takes several animals on a ride up in the sky. When he is hungry he dips down quick an causes his passengers to fall. Then he eats the dead passenger. A monkey observes this trick. When he takes his ride he wraps his tail around the buzzard's neck and gives the buzzard a big surprise by nearly choking him to death. Also, this one is called Vulture Learns the Laws of Nature and is in The Moral of the Story by Bobby and Sherry Norfolk. Another version of this is by Walter Dean Myers entitled How Mr. Monkey Saw the Whole World.

2) The Elk and the Wren in Look Back and See by Margaret Read MacDonald.

3) The Willow-Wren And The Bear
http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-11.html
http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~wbarker/fairies/grimm/102.html
http://www.literaturepage.com/read/grimms-fairy-tales-40.html
http://www.paralumun.com/grimmbear.htm
http://www.bartleby.com/17/2/36.html
http://www.4literature.net/Jacob_and_Wilhelm_Grimm/Willow_Wren_and_the_Bear/

4) Oban's Myths & Legends
Crow brings daylight
An Inuit story retold by Oban
Excerpt:
A long time ago when the world was first born, it was always dark in the north where the Inuit people lived.

They thought it was dark all over the world until an old crow told the them about daylight and how he had seen it on his long journeys.

The more they heard about daylight, the more the people wanted it.

"We could hunt further and for longer," they said. "We could see the polar bears coming and run before they attack us."The people begged the crow to go and bring them daylight, but he didn't want to. "It's a long way and I'm too old to fly that far," he said. But the people begged until he finally agreed to go.

He flapped his wings and launched into the dark sky, towards the east. He flew for a long time until his wings were tired. He was about to turn back when he saw the dim glow of daylight in the distance. "At last, there is daylight," said the tired crow.

As he flew towards the dim light it became brighter and brighter until the whole sky was bright and he could see for miles. The exhausted bird landed in a tree near a village, wanting to rest. It was very cold.

A daughter of the chief came to the nearby river. As she dipped her bucket in the icy water, Crow turned himself into a speck of dust and drifted down onto her fur cloak. When she walked back to her father's snowlodge....
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The rest of the story is at:
http://www.planetozkids.com/oban/crodayli.htm
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(This web page update 12/28/05)