THE BIRD OF MANY SONGS
A Navaho Legend
Divide the group into six smaller groups and assign each group one of the words listed below. Read the story. After each of the words is read pause for the group to make the appropriate response.
|
DOVE |
"Coo, Coo" |
|
EAGLE |
"Screech, Screech" |
|
CROW |
"Caw, Caw" |
|
OWL |
"Whoo, Whoo" |
|
ROADRUNNER |
"Beep. Beep" |
|
GREY BIRD |
"Tweet, Tweet" |
|
MOCKINGBIRD |
All the birds together. |
Long ago, when the world was new, all the birds, he DOVE ___, the EAGLE__, the CROW __, the OWL ___, and the ROADRUNNER ___, had brightly colored feathers. When they spread their wings against the cloudless sky, they were like rainbows. When they made their nests on the ground, they were like a carpet of flowers.
One bird, however, the GREY BIRD ___, as not so beautiful. He had been asleep, hidden in the branches of the trees, when the colorful feathers were given to the other birds. The GREY BIRD ___ woke up to find that he alone had a coat of dull, drab grey. It made him very sad.
The wind spirit was sorry to see that the GREY BIRD ___ had been missed. To make up for this mistake, the Wind Spirit gave him a magic necklace to wear. Each bead of the necklace was for a different song. The GREY BIRD ___ tried the beads, one after the other, and was pleased to hear the music that filled the air.
Soon the DOVE ___ and the EAGLE ___ stopped admiring their reflections in the rivers and streams and hurried to listen. The CROW ___, the OWL ___ and the ROADRUNNER ___ tried to sing too, but the only sound that came from their throats was an ugly, rasping noise. The creatures of the woods covered their ears and ran far from the noise as they could.
"Share your song beads with us," the EAGLE ___ and the CROW ___ begged. "You have more than you will ever use."
The plain GREY BIRD ___ did not want to be selfish. He wanted the others to think well of him. So he gave a bead to the DOVE __, the ROADRUNNER ___, and the CROW ___ when they each asked for one. Before he realized what he had done, the GREY BIRD ___ had given away every bead on his necklace.
Now he had no songs and no bright feathers either. Once again, he was sad. The GREY BIRD ___ hid his head under his wing.
The other birds noticed his silence and stopped their singing. "What ca we do to help him?" the CROW ___ asked the OWL ___.
"We must give him back his beads," said the ROADRUNNER ___.
"Oh, no!" protested the DOVE ___, was especially proud of her own sweet melody. The rest of the birds agreed with her.
"Well, if you are not willing to be that, then each of us should share a small part of our beads with him," the EAGLE ___ insisted.
So that is what they did. THE GREY BIRD ___ put together all the pieces they gave him and made another necklace for himself. Now he could sing a little bit of the DOVE'S ___, the EAGLE'S ___, the CROW'S ___, the ROADRUNNER'S ___, and the OWL'S ___ songs. And that is why he is called the MOCKING BIRD ___.
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