MYTH

How Mosquitoes Came To Be

A Native American - Iroquois Story
retold by Agor
A long time ago there were no mosquitoes and people didnt have to put up with the
buzzing, swatting and biting as we do today.
There was an Iroquois longhouse village on the Seneca River in what is now called New
York State and the people there used elm-bark canoes to fish and visit other villages.
Early one winter morning a group of men went fishing. They paddled their canoes upriver to a stream that usually had plenty of fish.
Tall pine trees stretched their branches out along both sides of the water and cast shadows
as the canoes passed.
Suddenly there was a loud rustling sound and something tall bent forward through the
trees.
The men in the first canoe saw a head with a long beak coming towards them. They
shouted and tried to hit the thing with their paddles, but the sharp beak darted in and out
among them, biting wherever it could reach.
Then the attack stopped and the long-headed creature swung back up and hid in the trees
again. All the men stared after it, but it was gone.
The bites from the creature were very painful and the men in the first canoe could hardly
move. Their friends towed them back to their village and a healing ceremony was held for
them.
The men were very sick and one of them died the next day. Everyone in the village was
upset and many were angry about the attack but didnt know who or what to blame. A
few days later another fishing party went out, to a different stream this time. Again a
giant creature bent down from the trees and bit several men, and this time two men died.
The chief sent messengers to other villages to tell them about the creatures, and they
returned with stories about similar attacks in many places up and down the river. The
Iroquois called the biting creatures mosquitoes.
No-one knew where they came from, how many of them there were, or which stream they
would go to next. Many people died from their bites that winter.
Finally the chief of the first village organised a war party to hunt the mosquitoes and
destroy them.
Twenty warriors in two great canoes floated down a stream where they thought the
creatures might be.
They had bows and arrows, war clubs and hunting knives.
A dark shadow fell over the water and a giant beak ripped into the side of one of the
canoes. The warriors shouted their war cry and shot arrows into the air. Two more
mosquitoes lunged from the trees and attacked the men in the second canoe.
The battle was terrible and soon several of the warriors were killed. The others paddled
the canoes to the bank, jumped out, ran into the forest and hid behind trees and bushes,
with the mosquitoes following and stabbing after them.

Then something amazing happened. The mosquitoes couldnt get through the thick
bushes to reach the men. The warriors shot a cloud of arrows through the branches into
the mosquitoes bodies, and they kept on loading their crossbows and shooting.
Many of the arrows hit the creatures and they began to stagger around. And when almost
all of the arrows were gone, the mosquitoes bent over and slowly fell down. They had
many wounds.
The warriors leapt out and hit them with their war clubs, again and again until the bodies
of the creatures fell apart. They thought that they had won the battle.
But then tiny little mosquitoes began to appear in the blood of the bigger creatures, that
had spilled on the ground.
Swarms of them flew up, buzzing and attacking the men.
The men tried to swat them away or squash them on their skin, until the tiny bites drove
them back to their canoes and their village.
This is one story about how mosquitoes came to be. Even today these tiny insects like to
bite people and taste their blood. They are angry that their bigger ancestors were killed
and they want their revenge.

Pandora's Box
Once up a time, a long time ago, Zeus ordered Hephaestus (Aphrodite's husband) to make
him a daughter. It was the first woman made out of clay. Hephaestus made a beautiful
woman and named her Pandora.
Zeus sent his new daughter, Pandora, down to earth so that she could marry Epimetheus,
who was a gentle but lonely man.
Zeus was not being kind. He was getting even. Epimetheus and Prometheus were
brothers. Zeus was mad at one of the brothers, Prometheus, for giving people fire without
asking Zeus first.
Zeus gave Pandora a little box with a big heavy lock on it. He made her promise never to
open the box. He gave the key to Pandoras husband and told him to never open the box.
Zeus was sure that Epimetheus' curiosity would get the better of him, and that either
Epimetheus or his brother would open the box.
Pandora was very curious. She wanted to see what was inside the box, but Epimetheus
said no. Better not. "You know your father," Epimetheus sighed, referring to Zeus. "Hes
a tricky one."
One day, when Epimetheus lay sleeping, Pandora stole the key and opened the box.
Out flew every kind of disease and sickness, hate and envy, and all the bad things that
people had never experienced before. Pandora slammed the lid closed, but it was too late.
All the bad things were already out of the box. They flew away, out into the world.
Epimetheus woke up at the sound of her sobbing. I opened the box and all these ugly
things flew out, she cried. I tried to catch them, but they all got out. Pandora opened
the box to show him how empty it was. But the box was not quite empty. One tiny bug
flew quickly out before Pandora could slam the lid shut again.
Hello, Pandora, said the bug, hovering just out of reach. My name is Hope. With a
nod of thanks for being set free, Hope flew out into the world, a world that now held
Envy, Crime, Hate, and Disease and Hope.

LEGEND
The Girl who Married a Bear
Based on a Native American Indian Legend - retold by Oban

Peesunt was the Chief's daughter. She was vain and proud. She was always combing her
long black hair, waiting for people to say how beautiful it was and how her skin was soft.
She believed she didn't have to behave like the others and that everyone should respect
her because of her father.
One day she went into the forest to pick berries, with other girls from the tribe.
As they walked further and further under the trees, the others became nervous. They
started to sing softly.
"Why are you singing?" asked Peesunt. "We're frightened of disturbing the animals" said
one. "We need to let them know we're coming - especially the bears."
"Bears are ugly and smelly" sniffed Peesunt. "I don't care if I disturb them!" "Please don't
say that" begged another. "They'll hear you and be very angry." "Let them!" said Peesunt.
"I'm the Chief's daughter and I don't have to worry about disturbing smelly old bears!"
They came to a clearing and were even more scared to be in the open. Then they saw
bushes full of berries and started to filled their baskets.
The day went quickly and they forgot all about the bears as they laughed and talked while
they picked the fruit. When the sun began to prepare for sleep, their baskets were full.
"We must leave now" one girl said to Peesunt, "before it gets dark. The animals won't like
us disturbing their sleep." "Why should I care?" asked Peesunt. "I want to pick more
berries." The others were frightened and started walking.
Peesunt sighed and followed them, but then she saw another bush with the biggest and
juiciest berries all over it. "I must pick those" she said to herself. "I'll go back with the
best berries and people will say 'Of course. She's the Chief's daughter!"
Quickly she picked the berries until her basket was overflowing. The others were out of
sight, singing and talking, not noticing that Peesunt wasn't with them.
She rushed to catch up and the strap on her basket broke and all the berries spilled onto
the ground. As she bent to scoop them up, a handsome young man appeared, wrapped in a
bearskin cloak.
"Can I help you, Peesunt?" he asked. "How do you know my name?" asked the girl.
"Everyone knows of beautiful Peesunt, the Chief's daughter. You are so beautiful, you
must be her." "That is true" said Peesunt. "Everyone knows of my beauty."
When they had filled the basket again, the young man fixed the strap so Peesunt could
carry it. The sun had almost gone to sleep and the forest was becoming dark.
"It's too late for you to walk back to your village" the young man said. "My people would
be honoured if you would stay with us overnight." Peesunt did not know what to do, so
she shook her long black hair, vainly and said she would stay.
When they came to his village, she saw other people, all wearing bearskin cloaks. The
women would not speak or look at her. They kept their eyes on the ground.
The young man led her to the centre of the village, where people were sitting around a
fire. She was welcomed by their chief, who was old and wore a crown made from bear

claws.
After everyone had eaten and talked, the chief stood up and looked at Peesunt. "You will
stay in this village forever and marry my young nephew, who brought you here." "I will
not!" shouted Peesunt. "I am Peesunt - daughter of the chief of my tribe!"
"Enough. I have spoken" said the old man. He waved to two men and they took her to her
new husband's lodge. Standing inside, scared and confused, Peesunt heard a little voice
squeaking "Peesunt! Peesunt!"
She looked around, but couldn't see anyone. Then she felt something tugging at her dress.
Looking down, she saw the tiny Mouse Woman.
"Peesunt. Listen to me! This is very important! These are the Bear People. The chief
heard you say that bears were dirty and smelly and that you weren't afraid of them - and
he was angry.
You must show respect to your new husband and always obey him. If you don't, you'll be
made a slave like the other women."
"And if you try to escape, the Bear People will become angry again and kill you"
squeaked Mouse Woman. Peesunt understood the warning and changed her ways. She
became respectful and obeyed her husband.
She noticed that when the men left the village they turned into bears and when they
returned, they became men again.
She was no longer vain and proud. She worked hard and stayed with the Bear People for
a long time. She gave birth to two sons, who were both half man and half bear. Peesunt's
husband was kind to her and Mouse Woman taught her many things. But she missed her
family.
One day, strangers were seen outside the village. Peesunt's husband told her the men were
her brothers. "They found bear tracks when you went missing and they have killed many
of my people since then. They will not stop looking for you."
He looked at Peesunt sadly. "I've dreamed that they will kill me. I know you love them
very much, and I won't hurt them. I ask that they treat me with respect as you have,
Peesunt.
They must not drag my body on the ground after they have taken my skin. My feathers
must be placed behind my ears and red ochre rubbed on my back."
He stroked Peesunt's long black hair and said goodbye to his sons. Then he put on his
bear cloak and started to walk out of the village. Peesunt followed him and saw him turn
into a bear. Holding his arms out in front of him, he went to meet the brothers. He let
them kill him without struggling.
"Peesunt, our sister! It's so good to see you again!" shouted the brothers. Peesunt cried for
her dead husband and with joy to see her brothers again.
She made them treat her husband's body as he had asked and they took her and her two
sons back to her father's village.
The people from her tribe looked at her closely and were amazed to see soft brown hair
growing on her beautiful skin. She was no longer fully human.
Peesunt told her father, the Chief "I don't feel comfortable living with people now. May I
live in the small house at the edge of the village?" "Yes my daughter, you can" said her
father.
Peesunt took her two cubs and lived in the small house. One day, one of her brothers
brought her some bearskins to make warm clothing for the winter. Peesunt and her

children put the skins around them and turned into bears forever. She took the cubs into
the mountains and they were never seen again.
The people of her tribe remembered how the daughter of their chief had married a bear
and taught them to respect any bear that they killed.
They followed her teaching and were very successful hunters.

Kangaroo gets a pouch

Based on an Australian Aboriginal Legend - retold by Oban
"Joey! Where are you?" called Mother Kangaroo, searching for her son. "Come here
now." Mother Kangaroo looked around, under all the bushes, but couldn't see her Joey.
"That boy has too much energy," she mumbled to herself. "He's always hopping off."
Using her paw, she shaded her eyes from the bright sun and looked around for her Joey
again.
"Here I am!" an excited voice yelled behind her.
"Aaah!" screamed Mother Kangaroo, hopping six feet in the air and landing with a thud.
"Joey, you frightened me!" she said.
"Sorry Mother," said Joey.
"That's alright," she answered, rubbing his head fondly. "But you shouldn't hop off by
yourself. It can be dangerous."
"But Mother, there are so many exciting things to see. I get bored standing here eating
grass."
"Grass is good for you," said Mother Kangaroo. "Now be a good Joey, and don't go
hopping off again."
She put her head down and munched the sweet grass. When she looked up, Joey had
disappeared again. She gave a big sigh and started looking for him again.
Up ahead she saw the leaves on a bush shaking. "Ah! That's my Joey," she said. She
hopped over quickly, and bumped into a fat old wombat.
"Ouch! Watch where you're going," yelled Wombat. "I'm very sorry" said Mother
Kangaroo "I didn't mean to bump into you."
"You big animals never think about us with our short legs, closer to the ground,"
grumbled Wombat. "Now you're here, you can help me find some good grass to eat."
"I'd like to, but I'm looking for my Joey at the moment," said Mother Kangaroo.
"That's right, nearly knock me over, a half blind poor old Wombat, and now you won't
even help me find food," complained Wombat.
"Of course I'll help you," said kind Mother Kangaroo. "Grab onto my tail and we'll look
for good grass."
As Mother Kangaroo hopped along with Wombat holding her tail, Joey came bounding
by and hopped right over old wombat.
"What was that," yelled Wombat.
"That was my Joey," said Mother Kangaroo. "Come back Joey."
"Kids! No respect," grumbled Wombat. Joey kept going.
Wombat stumbled into a hole. "Stop, you're going too fast. I need to rest," he complained.
While Wombat rested Mother Kangaroo kept looking around. She was worried about her
Joey but wouldn't leave poor old Wombat. It was too dangerous for someone who
couldn't see properly to be alone.
"Now I'm thirsty," complained Wombat. "Take me to some water."
"All right," said Mother Kangaroo. "I hope nothing has happened to my Joey," she
thought to herself.
They headed towards the waterhole with Wombat holding onto Mother Kangaroo's tail
and grumbling all the way.

When they reached the waterhole there was Joey asleep under a shady gumtree. Mother
Kangaroo bounded over to him.
"That's right. Just leave me standing here all alone not able to see," yelled Wombat.
Mother Kangaroo nudged Joey to wake him and crouched down so he could climb onto
her back. Then she saw men coming towards the waterhole carrying spears. They were
hunting something for their dinner.
"Quickly, we have to hide! Hunters are coming. Grab my tail," Mother Kangaroo called
to Wombat. They rushed towards the bushes with Wombat complaining as he hung onto
the tail and bounced up and down.
Hiding in the bushes, Joey dug his little paws into his mother's fur, holding on as tightly
as he could.
"I'm scared," said frightened Joey.
"Shh, it will be all right dear," said his mother softly.
When the hunters had passed Mother Kangaroo looked around for grouchy old Wombat,
but he wasn't there. He had turned into Father of all Creatures. He explained to Mother
Kangaroo that he had disguised himself as a wombat and come down from his sky world
to find the kindest animal in this land.
"And the kindest animal is you Mother Kangaroo. Even when you were worried about
your Joey you were still kind to a grumpy complaining old wombat."
He took some bark from a tree and handed it to Mother Kangaroo. "Now, I am going to
give you a special present. Tie this bark around your waist."
Mother Kangaroo tied the bark around her waist, and it turned into the pouch that all
female kangaroos have today.
"Now you somewhere to keep Joey from wandering off, and when he gets frightened he
has some where to hide.
Joey climbed into his mother's pouch "This is really cool. Can I have friends over to
visit?" asked Joey.
Mother Kangaroo thanked the Father of all Creatures. "This is a very special present, but
I feel sad for all the other animals who don't have a pouch for their children."
"You are definitely the kindest animal," said the Father of all Creatures.
Because of Mother Kangaroo's kindness, all female marsupials have a pouch to carry
their babies and young children.

FOLKTALE
Dick Whittington and His Cat
Retold by Rohini Chowdhury
Long, long time ago there lived a poor boy called Dick Whittington. He had no mother
and no father, and often nothing to eat. One day he heard of the great city of London,
where, said everyone, even the streets were paved with gold. Dick decided to go to
London to seek his fortune.
London was a big and busy city, full of people both rich and poor. But Dick could not
find any streets that were paved with gold. Tired, cold and hungry he fell asleep on the
steps of a great house. This house belonged to Mr. Fitzwarren, a rich merchant, who was
also a good and generous man. He took Dick into his house, and gave him work as a
scullery boy.
Dick had a little room of his own where he could have been very happy if it had not been
for the rats. They would run all over him as he lay on his bed at night and would not let
him sleep. One day Dick earned a penny shining shoes for a gentleman, and with it he
bought a cat. After that Dick's life became easier - the cat frightened away all the rats, and
Dick could sleep in peace at night.
One day Mr. Fitzwarren called all the servants of the house together. One of his ships was
leaving for a far-off land with goods to trade. Mr. Fitzwarren asked his servants to send
something of their own in the ship if they so desired, something which could perhaps be
traded for a bit of gold or money. Dick had only his cat to send - which he did with a sad
heart.
Dick continued to work as a scullery boy for Mr. Fitzwarren, who was very kind to him.
So was everyone else except the Cook who made Dick's life so miserable that one day
Dick decided to run away. He had reached almost the end of the city when he heard the
Bow Bells ring out. 'Turn again Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London' chimed the
bells. Dick was astonished - but he did as the bells said and went back to Mr. Fitzwarren.
When he returned he found that Mr. Fitzwarren's ship had returned, and that his cat had
been sold for a great fortune to the King of Barbary whose palace had been overrun with
mice. Dick had become a rich man.
He soon learnt the business from Mr. Fitzwarren, married his daughter Alice, and in time
became the Lord Mayor of London three times, just as the bells had said.

Why is the Sky So High

Retold by Rohini Chowdhury
Long ago, the Sky was quite low. If you stood on a stool and stretched your hands up as
high as they would go, you could touch the Sky.
At that time, far on the Horizon, where the Sky was always especially low, there was a
village. In that village, in a little mud hut thatched with straw, there lived a bent Old
Woman.
This bent Old Woman was the oldest woman in that village, possibly the oldest woman in
the world. She was so old she no longer remembered any other way of being. She lived
all alone in her little mud hut, for she had neither friend nor family left in this world. She
had nowhere to go and no one to talk to. So all day long, she would potter round her hut,
first cleaning this corner, now dusting that, now scrubbing this bit of floor, now sweeping
that. The bent Old Woman thought of nothing else any more, except more and more ways
of sweeping and scrubbing her little mud hut.
One hot summer, the land was dry with thirst. There was dust everywhere - on the trees,
on the roofs of huts and houses, in people's throats and eyes, even in the air. All over the
village people were coughing and sneezing and choking with the dust. Even the poor old
Sky was not spared - it was so close to the ground that the slightest bit of wind would set
it coughing with the dust that rose from the parched land.
The bent Old Woman's hut too was covered with dust. The old woman swept and swept
and swept the little hut with her broom. She swept the inside of her hut, she swept the
outside of her hut, she swept the front step and she swept the front yard. But the dust rose
all around her in great brown clouds - the more she swept and plied her broom, the more
the dust that rose from the earth.
The poor Sky began to choke with all the dust that the bent Old Woman was raising with
her broom. The dust got into its throat and tickled its nose and made it sneeze - a great big
sneeze that shook the world with its thunder. People covered their heads and ran indoors
in fright. But the bent Old Woman barely noticed - she kept on sweeping with her broom.
The Sky sneezed again - the dust was becoming unbearable. It got into its eyes and made
them water - so that great heavy drops of rain began falling into the dry dust below. The
bent Old Woman barely noticed - till finally a big splodgy raindrop fell right on to the
patch she had just swept.
The bent Old Woman glared at the Sky and scrubbed the splodgy raindrop away. But then
another raindrop fell, and another, till her swept and scrubbed front step was blotchy with
raindrops.
This was more than the bent Old Woman could bear. She stood up as straight as she could
with her bent old back and shook her fist at the Sky yelling at it to stop raining on her
nice clean front step. She cursed the Sky and threatened it, but the poor old Sky couldn't
stop raining - its eyes were still so full of dust with all her sweeping.
At last, the bent Old Woman was so angry, that she picked up her broom, and thwacked
the Sky with it.
The Sky gave another great sneeze and jumped out of her way. But the bent Old Woman
kept thwacking it with her broom, again and again and again.
Finally the Sky could take it no more - the dust, the Old Woman's cursing, and especially

her broom, thwacking it again and again and again. Sneezing and coughing, thundering
and raining, the Sky flew up, up and away - out of reach of the Old Woman's broom and
swore never to come down again.
So that is why the Sky is so high. Even on the Horizon, where it seems to be touching the
earth, it really isn't any more.