How The Bear Lost His Tail and Other Stories of the Forest

Animal Stories for Bedtime SALARIYA

how the

bear

lost his tail and other stories of the forest John Townsend

Martina Peluso

How The Bear Lost His Tail and Other Stories of the ForesT

Published in Great Britain in MMXXII by The Salariya Book Company Ltd 25 Marlborough Place, Brighton BN1 1UB www.salariya.com ISBN: 978-1-913971-59-5 © The Salariya Book Company Ltd MMXXII All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

135798642 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Printed and bound in China This book is sold subject to the conditions that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

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Author: John Townsend worked as a Secondary School teacher before becoming a writer of children’s books for all ages. He has also worked for the National Literacy Trust as a ‘Reading Champion’.

Artist: Martina Peluso studied printing at the Institute of Art in Naples. Based in Edinburgh, she has worked for many advertising and publishing companies, and her art has been exhibited around the world.

Editor: Nick Pierce

How The Bear Lost His Tail and Other Stories of the ForesT

Written by John Townsend

Illustrated by Martina Peluso

SALARIYA

Br i lliant Books Make Br illiant Chi ldren

contents page introduction 5 How The Bear Lost His tail 7 HOw the frog became king of the marshes 18 HOW the kangaroo got her tail 28 why owls stare 37 sneaky fox and the silver soup 47 how the stag got his antlers 62 Why dogs became our friends 72 how raven brought light to the forest 84

Introduction

F

orests have a magic all of their own. No wonder they have whispered their stories forever.

Their flickering light, dancing shadows, twirling twigs, creaking branches and symphony of sounds and smells inspired ancient tales about the creatures living deep inside.

Animal stories of the forest, like the trees themselves, have deep and twisting roots. Told over generations, often around campfires in the dead of night, they come from many cultures around the world. Whether beginning in the forests of Africa, America, Australia or Europe, the stories in this book go back a long way, but 5

here they are retold with new twists and turns for the bedtimes of today.

Often created by people living very close to nature, folktales were simple stories passed on by word of mouth. Over hundreds of years of re-tellings, with each storyteller adding different touches, the tales have often changed and adapted. Be they legends, fables, jokes, tall stories or magical fairy tales, so many folktales involve animals of all kinds — more often than not surrounded by an ancient forest.

So, all that remains, is to turn the page and enter the forest where all sorts of animals are waiting as you step among the whispering trees into another, enchantingly wild world.

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HOW THE BEAR LOST HIS TAIL

How The Bear Lost His Tail

L

ong, long ago in the wild, wild woods, the bear lived in a dark, dark cave. Now and again, when the last of the snow had melted, he would come out to doze in the sunshine or to fish in the gurgling mountain streams. The one thing he loved more than anything else was to feel the warm summer breeze ruffling his beautiful, furry tail. That glorious, bushy tail was his pride and joy. All the animals of the forest admired its lush fur, tinged with fine golden strands.

‘What do you think of my wonderful tail?’ he would ask the rabbits of the wood.

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ANIMAL STORIES FOR BEDTIME

‘Awesome, totally awesome,’ they replied, fearing his mighty size and scary claws.

‘Have you ever seen such a splendid tail as mine?’ he called to the squirrels in the trees.

‘Never. If only we had a tail like yours,’ they answered, fearing his strong arms and his big, powerful jaws.

HOW THE BEAR LOST HIS TAIL

‘Aren’t you jealous of my magnificent tail?’ he sneered at the fox. ‘It makes yours look like a scraggy old toilet brush.’

‘Your tail is the envy of the entire forest,’ the fox smiled. ‘With a tail like that, you will always be the greatest of us all.’ Then, with a sly whisper, the fox added, ‘So it’s about time I did something about it.’

All summer long, the bear swaggered through the woods and around the valley, swirling his long tail for all to see. As summer came to an end and the golden leaves of the forest began to fall, he quivered his stunning tail and boasted again to the fox.

‘At least I’ve got my luxurious tail to keep me warm through the winter. I shall wrap it around me snugly in my cave to keep out the bitter cold.

But you will have to shiver all winter long with your moth-eaten tail dragging along behind you like a scraggy old toilet brush.’

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ANIMAL STORIES FOR BEDTIME

The fox said nothing but gave a wicked grin, just as a cunning plan mischievously came to mind.

Already clouds from the north were sweeping in with a flurry of snow, and icy fingers stretched across the lake between the mountains.

‘Fancy a spot of fishing before your long winter sleep?’ the fox asked.

The bear snorted with a great twirl of his tail.

‘Pah, I’m the expert at fishing. I can show you how it’s done properly. What’s more, I’ll have my tail to keep me warmer than a blanket, while you have no more than a scraggy old toilet brush flapping in the breeze.’

‘Oh Bear,’ the fox said slyly. ‘Scraggy though my tail might be, I use it for catching more fish than you could ever imagine. Would you like me to show you how it’s done? I have a special trick for catching the biggest salmon in these waters.

You, too, could lift the plumpest, juiciest fish to keep you fed all winter. I can show you how.’

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HOW THE BEAR LOST HIS TAIL

‘This I must see,’ scoffed the bear, as they made their way across the frozen lake. The ice was already thickening around the edge and the fox pointed to a small hole in the frozen crust.

‘This is the perfect spot to lower your tail through the ice into the water. As soon as the fish see those fine golden strands in your beautiful tail, they won’t be able to resist coming up for a nibble. As soon as you feel a bite, just swish up your tail and an enormous fish will fall at your feet. It’s as easy as that. You’re on a winner for a salmon dinner!’

The fox was grinning from ear to ear and even dipped the end of her own tail into the icy water.

‘It doesn’t feel cold at all,’ lied the fox, pulling her tail out fast. ‘It’s such an easy way to catch fish but you must keep my special trick a secret, or all the animals of the forest will try it for themselves. You surely want to keep the fish only for us.’

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HOW THE BEAR LOST HIS TAIL

‘Don’t worry, I won’t tell,’ the bear winked, as he peered into the small hole in the ice and down to the dark water below. ‘With my wonderfully bushy tail, I shall need a bigger hole.’

With his powerful paws and strong claws, he dug into the ice to make the hole much wider.

‘All you have to do now,’ grinned the fox, ‘is to sit with your back to that hole and drop your glorious tail into the water. Soon all the fish will come to admire it and begin biting. As soon as you feel a tweak, just pull your tail out with the fish on the end of it. Easy-peasy!’

The bear so wanted a big fish supper that he quickly pushed his bushy tail right down through the hole into the icy depths. He gasped as his tail turned numb from the freezing water.

‘You won’t feel anything for a while,’ said the fox. ‘You just have to sit very still and slowly count to the highest number you know. The 13