How Some Animals Became What They are Today

1. How Some Animals Became What They are Today Fictional Stories by The Four Corners Third Grade Monday Group

2. Greetings parents and guardians of our wonderful third grade partners! This Fall we began an exciting new internship with Four Corners School where the third graders visit Greenfield High School for an exciting new educational experience. We work as partners each Monday and Wednesday to explore the wonderful world of science together. Our first lessons were all about adaptation and how the environment influences each species. We introduced the third grade to our Science Center which houses a variety of plants and animals. Students learned about living organisms and how they interact with their environment. Our lessons emphasized the link between animals and plants, how plants and animals react to our changing environment. As we examined the adaptations of our unique plants and animals, we also enjoyed reading many wonderful children's stories that included many unique explanations of how organisms got to be the way they are - both scientific and fictional. One of the favorite stories was a Native American Tale about how “Bear Lost His Tail”. It is lots of fun observing unique adaptations and we enjoyed many of the cultural stories. We soon learned they’re not only physical but often behavioral characteristics that help species survive. We then enjoyed researching many unique cultural stories of how adaptations occur. Many stories were recorded by Rudyard Kipling but many more were discovered by the high school students from Native American cultures. The third graders then created their own wonderful creative stories of how many of our wild creatures got to be they way they are. We hope you enjoy our fun first project! Happy Holidays Greenfield High Science Center

3. How Bear Lost His Tail -- An Iroquois Tale Back in the old days, Bear had a tail which was his proudest possession. It was long and black and glossy and Bear used to wave it around just so that people would look at it. Fox saw this. Fox, as everyone knows, is a trickster and likes nothing better than fooling others. So it was that he decided to play a trick on Bear. It was the time of year when Hatho, the Spirit of Frost, had swept across the land, covering the lakes with ice and pounding on the trees with his big hammer. Fox made a hole in the ice, right near a place where Bear liked to walk. By the time Bear came by, all around Fox, in a big circle, were big trout and fat perch. Just as Bear was about to ask Fox what he was doing, Fox twitched his tail which he had sticking through that hole in the ice and pulled out a huge trout. "Greetings, Brother," said Fox. "How are you this fine day?" "Greetings," answered Bear, looking at the big circle of fat fish. "I am well, Brother. But what are you doing?" "I am fishing," answered Fox. "Would you like to try?"

4. How Bear Lost His Tail -- An Iroquois tale Continued…. "Oh, yes," said Bear, as he started to lumber over to Fox's fishing hole. But Fox stopped him. "Wait, Brother," he said, "This place will not be good. As you can see, I have already caught all the fish. Let us make you a new fishing spot where you can catch many big trout." Bear agreed and so he followed Fox to the new place, a place where, as Fox knew very well, the lake was too shallow to catch the winter fish--which always stay in the deepest water when Hatho has covered their ponds. Bear watched as Fox made the hole in the ice, already tasting the fine fish he would soon catch. "Now," Fox said, "you must do just as I tell you. Clear your mind of all thoughts of fish. Do not even think of a song or the fish will hear you. Turn your back to the hole and place your tail inside it. Soon a fish will come and grab your tail and you can pull him out." "But how will I know if a fish has grabbed my tail if my back is turned?" asked Bear.

5. How Bear Lost His Tail -- An Iroquois tale Continued…. "I will hide over here where the fish cannot see me," said Fox. "When a fish grabs your tail, I will shout. Then you must pull as hard as you can to catch your fish. But you must be very patient. Do not move at all until I tell you.“ Bear nodded, "I will do exactly as you say." He sat down next to the hole, placed his long beautiful black tail in the icy water and turned his back. Fox watched for a time to make sure that Bear was doing as he was told and then, very quietly, sneaked back to his own house and went to bed. The next morning he woke up and thought of Bear. "I wonder if he is still there," Fox said to himself. "I'll just go and check.“ So Fox went back to the ice covered pond and what do you think he saw? He saw what looked like a little white hill in the middle of the ice. It had snowed during the night and covered Bear, who had fallen asleep while waiting for Fox to tell him to pull his tail and catch a fish. And Bear was snoring. His snores were so loud that the ice was shaking. It was so funny that Fox rolled with laughter. But when he was through laughing, he decided the time had come to wake up poor Bear. He crept very close to Bear's ear, took a deep breath, and then shouted: "Now, Bear!!!" Bear woke up with a start and pulled his long tail hard as he could. But his tail had been caught in the ice which had frozen over during the night and as he pulled, it broke off -- Whack! -- just like that. Bear turned around to look at the fish he had caught and instead saw his long lovely tail caught in the ice. "Ohhh," he moaned, "ohhh, Fox. I will get you for this." But Fox, even though he was laughing fit to kill was still faster than Bear and he leaped aside and was gone. So it is that even to this day Bears have short tails and no love at all for Fox. And if you ever hear a bear moaning, it is probably because he remembers the trick Fox played on him long ago and he is mourning for his lost tail. Note: This Native American tale is from the website: www.firstpeople.us, a site with many native American tales from many of the tribes that are in the United states. This particular version of “How The Bear Lost His Tail” is the Iroquois version from that site

6. How the King Cobra got its Long Tail   One day the king cobra was slithering around in the tall grass. He then came across a hole that a human had been digging. After the cobra went into the hole to cool down from the hot sun, the human reached in, and grabbed the cobra by its tail. Reacting to the surprise grab, the cobra bit the human. Raged with anger, the human continued to pull on his tail to remove him from his garden hole. His tail began to stretch and stretch, as he started to come out of the hole, he quickly latched on a root with his fangs, the human pulled and pulled, until he could pull no more. The snake then released and slithered his way out of the hole and realized he had the longest tail in the world. THE END

7. The Turtle and the Hermit Crab by Gabe Once upon a time, there was a turtle and a hermit crab. The turtle believed everything that the hermit crab told him. The hermit crab said “ try this shell ” But the shell of the hermit crab was too small. One day when the turtle was walking on the shore, he found a shell big enough for him. When he found the shell , he thought about what the hermit crab had said and he tried on the shell. He tried to get out of the shell, but couldn’t! He was stuck with the shell forever! Then, the turtle gave birth and the baby turtles were born with shells too. That is how turtles got their shells!

13. How the Polar Bear got it’s White Fur By: Tyler and Chris One day the bear had caught a big fish. The bear was playing in the snow when a hungry fox came by and asked the bear for his fish. The bear said “No, catch your own,” so the fox left and was unable to catch a fish. Later on the fox came back and asked the bear “can you go under the snow?” the bear said “of course!” The fox replied “I bet you can’t stay under as long as me!” To which the bear replied “I bet I can.” So the bear dropped his fish and got ready to go under the snow. The fox said “ready, set, go!” and the bear leaped into the snow and the snow and the fox ran off with his fish. The bear remained there for hours and when he arose his fur was frozen white!

14. How the Tiger Got Its Stripes One time there was a tiger. The tiger liked to be near fires. His friends always told him to get away from fires because they’re dangerous but he never listened to them.

15. One time there was a super big fire and it was REALLY hot. There was an eagle that was near the fire and it said come close to the fire and the tiger listened so the tiger got on fire and it got black stripes. And that’s how the tiger got stripes. THE END  By: Caleb and Matt D

28. Once upon a time, there was a wild dog that had really dull teeth. Then, one day, he was so hungry and somehow found this incredible metal tree. The dog soon realized that he could sharpen his teeth with this magical tree and finally got to eat his prey. Since his teeth were sharp now, he ate his prey such as squirrels and foxes happily for the rest of his life. That is why dogs have such sharp teeth.

29. How the Cat Got His Whiskers

35. Once there was a toroise named Savanna. She lived in Africa. She met a friend. One day her friend decided to play a trick on her. So, one day Savanna followed her friend and when she got there she saw a lion. She got scared so she hid in her shell. The End!

38. How the Hedgehog Came to Be • One upon a time there was furry little rabbit. The little rabbit saw a porcupine and instantly fell in love. The rabbit and the porcupine both went on a date in the forest to the 99 Porcupine. They ate leaves, grass and worms. They drank water from the pond in cups. “It’s a lovely day to take a walk,” said the rabbit girl. “Of Course!” said the porcupine. As they took a walk through the magical forest they saw three magic mushrooms. Both of them ate the top of the mushrooms and a baby appeared! The baby wasn’t quite a rabbit or a porcupine, it was a hedgehog! Then the hedgehog ate the mushrooms, after he ate the mushroom a baby boy hedgehog appeared. The first girl hedgehog and the boy hedgehog fell in love. The End