The Book of Nature Myths

COPYRIGHT 1902 BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Riverside Press CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS PRINTED IN THE U.S.A
In preparing the Book of Nature Myths the desire has been to make a second reader which would be adapted to the child's interest, ability, and progress.
The subject-matter is of permanent value, culled from the folk-lore of the primitive races; the vocabulary, based upon that of the Hiawatha Primer, is increased gradually, and the new words and phrases will add to the child's power of expression. The naïve explanations of the phenomena of nature given by the primitive races appeal to the child's wonder about the same phenomena, and he is pleased and interested. These myths will gratify the child's desire for complete stories, and their intrinsic merit makes them valuable for oral reproduction.
The stories have been adapted to youthful minds from myths contained in the works of many students of folk-lore whose scholarship is undisputed. Special acknowledgment is due Miss Eva March Tappan for her valuable assistance in the final revision of the text.

Long, long ago, when the earth was very young, two hunters were traveling through the forest. They had been on the track of a deer for many days, and they were now far away from the village where they lived. The sun went down and night came on. It was dark and gloomy, but over in the western sky there came a bright light.
It is the moon, said one.
No, said the other. We have watched many and many a night to see the great, round moon rise above the trees. That is not the moon. Is it the northern lights?
No, the northern lights are not like this, and it is not a comet. What can it be?
It is no wonder that the hunters were afraid, for the flames flared red over the sky like a wigwam on fire. Thick, blue smoke floated above the flames and hid the shining stars.
Do the flames and smoke come from the wigwam of the Great Spirit? asked one.
I fear that he is angry with his children, and that the flames are his fiery war-clubs, whispered the other. No sleep came to their eyes. All night long they watched and wondered, and waited in terror for the morning.