th e sev en towe rs of wonder The Tower of Courage
t he se v en tow er s of won der t he tow er of c ou r age Volume I
THE SEV EN TOW ER S OF WONDER Stories of Virtue Compiled & Retold by bill gor dh With Drawings by john hutton the tow er of cour age Volume 1 thor n willow pr ess 2 01 1
For Jenny, Cody and Rachel; and in memory of my mother and father, Gwen and George Gordh. bil l g or dh
For Kathleen; and in honor of my teacher, Walter Crane (1 8 45-19 15) joh n h u t ton
c op y r igh t 2 0 1 1 t hor n w il low pr e s s , lt d.
procl a m ation from the k ing a nd queen of thor n w illow woods Let it be known that the following volumes were put forth on paper by the Royal Scribe and illustrated by the Master Illuminator. They recount the adventures, discussions, and stories collected by Possum and Raccoon. The stories can be found in the Seven Towers of Wonder erected by Possum and Raccoon with the assistance of many friends in Thornwillow Woods. Upon the discovery of these story-filled towers, the king and queen of Thornwillow, recognizing their value to wonderers, wanderers, thinkers, seekers, dreamers, and readers throughout the world, have overseen the creation and distribution of these books.
c on t e n t s Volume 1 the tow er of cour age In this first volume of seven, Possum and Raccoon, ever adventurous and diligent, set out with great promise to collect stories with which to construct the magnificent Tower of Courage. Their winding path through the expansive Thornwillow Woods is described in great detail over the pages that follow and leads them to discover a sufficient number of dazzling tales for a structure seven stories high!
Dewando and the Flying Head (American Indian Iroquois )
17
The Story of Tom Thumb ( Germany )
25
Inchworm Mountain ( American Indian Miwok )
39
A Bundle of Sticks ( East Africa )
47
Mehmet, the Brave Little Mouse ( Turkey )
57
Three Friends ( Thailand )
65
Sumac and the Magic Lake ( Ecuador )
73
I
n t h e m iddl e of the Thornwillow Woods, there’s a lovely clearing with big, tall trees surrounding a grassy green patch. That’s where Possum and Raccoon like to spend their afternoons in the summer. They love the clearing because they can see so much sky, and when the sun is too hot or bothers their eyes, they can move to the side of the clearing where the trees provide some welcome shade. They sit and discuss life in the forest or lie on the ground and chat as the clouds float by overhead. Possum and Raccoon are the best of friends, and they have been as long as they can remember. On the day this story begins, Possum and Raccoon were sitting, leaning back against a grand old oak, and they were looking across the clearing in peaceful silence. Raccoon broke the silence with one of her typical out-of-nowhere, wonderful ideas. “Let’s build a tower, Possum!” It took Possum a moment to respond. He was listening to a Black-throated Blue Warbler singing a beautiful song, and he was trying to spot the little bird. “What?” he asked.
13
“Let’s build a tower!” repeated Raccoon. Possum looked across the clearing as he pondered Raccoon’s proposal. He liked the idea. He nodded as he began to imagine a tower rising in their clearing. “How tall?” he wondered aloud. Raccoon thought about Possum’s question and gauged the height of the surrounding trees. “I’d say about seven stories,” replied Raccoon. Possum thought about this for a moment and replied, “Raccoon, finding seven stories is going to be quite a job.” Raccoon smiled and announced, “Possum, if any two animals in all of Thornwillow Woods can find seven good stories to build a tower, those two animals are us!” “I bet we can find them,” agreed Possum, “but where?” Raccoon replied to her good friend, “The Thornwillow Woods are full of great storytellers. I think the real trick is to figure out which stories to use for our tower. I believe our tower should house certain kinds of tales.” By this time, Possum and Raccoon had begun walking and were halfway across the clearing. Possum thought about and liked the idea of the themed tower, but no theme came to mind. The sun was very bright and when they entered the forest, their eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness in the woods. “You know,” said Possum to Raccoon, “every time I come into the woods after being in the bright sunshine, the darkness scares me.” “That’s it!” exclaimed Raccoon, “That’s it!” “What’s it?” asked Possum. “Our tower!” replied Raccoon. “What are you talking about?” asked Possum. “I’m talking about our tower and the stories we need to find.
14
You were just saying how you are afraid in the dark woods sometimes. Well, everyone is scared sometimes!” “That’s true,” said Possum, “but what does that have to do with our tower?” “We will build a Tower of Courage!” replied Raccoon, “and each story will add something to what we think about courage!” Possum smiled and nodded in agreement. “That is a great Raccoon Idea,” declared Possum. And then in one breathless stream of words, Possum summed up their new project: “We will find seven stories of bravery and bring them back to our clearing and build a seven-story tower of courage, and everyone for miles around will come and learn all about the notion!” Raccoon was pleased as well. Now to find the first story. “Listen to the wind in the trees,” remarked Possum as they walked along. “A little spooky, don’t you think?” They stopped and Raccoon was about to make a comment when a voice from above joined their conversation. “Nothing to worry about. It’s just a little wind. There are no more Flying Heads in the Thornwillow Woods.” Possum and Raccoon looked up to see their friend Johnny Squirrel up on a branch. “Flying Heads!?” both friends exclaimed at once. “Now that’s something to be afraid of!” added Possum. “But you don’t need to be afraid,” Johnny said, “all because of the courage of a woman named Dewando.” Possum and Raccoon looked at each other and smiled. They both knew they had just found their first story. “Can you tell us about ‘Dewando and the Flying Head’?” asked Raccoon.
15