How Zebras Got Their Stripes
by Ally Keating
Once long, long ago deep in the heart of Africa, there
was a herd of zebras. Back then, zebras were white. One day
a little trickery and curiosity changed all of that.
“Hey, Zebra,” said Lion “Do you want to go see the
pool of tar on the other side of the territory?”
“I have never been,” Zebra responded.
“Then let’s go, it is one of my
favorite spots,” Lion said. “Come
on hurry up!” Lion yelled as she
pounced up and ran off towards
the pool of tar. Little did Zebra
know that all of this was one big
trick. When Lion and Zebra got
there, Zebra was so tired she fell
asleep on the rock by the pool of
tar. As soon as Lion was sure
that Zebra was absolutely asleep she started to plot the trick
out.
While Zebra was asleep Lion was drawing up her plan in
the dirt. Lion was going to tell Zebra that one of her favorite
things to do was to go in the mango tree nearby and eat the
mangos right off the tree. Then she would tell Zebra the best
of all mangos grew at the end of the branches. Then Zebra
would go to the end of the branch and Lion would push her
off into the pool of tar.
“Yes, this is a perfect plan!” Lion said to herself, “Now
all I have to do is wake up Zebra then I will put my plan in
motion.” Lion prowled towards Zebra and woke her up.
“Zebra, I am so glad you are awake!” Lion said “I don’t
know about you but I am starving. Do you want to go up in
that mango tree and eat some mangos?”
“Sure, I need help getting up in the tree though.” replied
Zebra.
“That won’t be a problem for a big strong lion,” said Lion
As Lion was hoisting Zebra into the tree she started
plotting what she would do after she pushed Zebra off the
tree and into the tar. Then she started running all these
questions in her head. Who is going to be blamed? What is
Zebra going to tell the herd when they ask what happened?
Then Lion thought of it, she would go get the herd and tell
them that Zebra fell into the tar and if they all helped, they
could pull Zebra out of the tar.
“Yes, this was a perfectly wonderful plan!” Lion said to
himself. When Lion turned around Zebra had already fallen
into the tar. Zebra had already done half of the work! All
Lion had to do was get the herd and she would practically be
done! Lion went to go get the herd of zebras but she couldn’t
find them. By the time Lion got there, Zebra got out and
scraped all the tar off. Zebra had been in the tar so long that
the tar had left some residue and left stripes.
That is why zebras have stripes and why zebras run from
lions.
Why Deer Have Antlers
by Braden Holliday
Long ago there was a deer and a bobcat. They looked
exactly alike until Deer played a trick on Bobcat by ironing
his ears to make them strait and pointy. Bobcat wanted
revenge on Deer.
Deer was getting ready for a party until he forgot his
cake. He ran to the store. Meanwhile Bobcat put sticks and
spider webs in his house so Deer would get stuck and he
would look funny for his party. Later Deer finally got home.
He went straight into the sticks and got stuck. Bobcat
laughed so hard and Deer got so mad that he charged.
Bobcat stepped aside and deer hit a tree. The sticks got
stuck in Deer’s head
and stayed. That is
why deer have antlers.
Why Elephants Have Trunks
by Nia Dowling
In the beginning a long time ago there was only an
African jungle. The African jungle was made up of three
things, Elephant, the Animal Council, and Hippo. Elephant
had a short, stubby, cute nose. He was young and very proud,
and loved to brag about his nose. There was the Animal
Council to keep the jungle in check and that was made up of
the Lion leader, Lioness and Monkey. There was also
Hippo who was very jealous of Elephant and was determined
to make his nose long and ugly.
Hippo had a plan. To make sure he wasn’t going to be
blamed for what he was going to do to Elephant's nose he
waddled to the animal council. Hippo exchanged many words
with the council but from the start both Lioness and Monkey
disagreed. Finally Lion said, “You may go teach Elephant a
lesson.” He also disagreed but he couldn’t risk commotion
and rumors spreading because it was a small jungle and
everyone knew everyone.
After the meeting Lioness was turning everything over in
her head then finally it hit her. All the pieces fit together! She
said to Lion “Hippo lied to us because he is jealous of
Elephant. He is going to do something awful!”
“Well then” said Lion “let’s go!”
Hippo found
Elephant and told
him he must be
thirsty. When
Elephant wasn’t
looking, Hippo hid
in the swamp
Elephant was
going to drink
from. Hippo
grabbed Elephant’s nose and Elephant was so confused
that he just pulled and pulled and STRETCH! Hippo’s
plan was complete! Elephant’s nose was long and very, very
ugly. Poor Elephant. He ran off to join his herd for the rest
of his days. When Lion and the whole Animal Council
showed up Hippo was punished for his wrongdoings. That is
why Elephants have trunks.
How Skunk Got His Smell
by Ian Simmonds
In the beginning skunks did not have a smell. This is the
story of a skunk that was taught a lesson. Long ago in the
forest Skunk wanted all of the animals to think that he was so
brave when he really wasn’t. He said that he could do
anything. It bothered the other animals. It bothered Rabbit
most of all.
One day, Rabbit
decided to teach Skunk
a lesson. He challenged
Skunk to wake up Bear.
Skunk said “But Bear
is fierce when he wakes
up.” Skunk foolishly
goes to Bear’s den, shivering with fear. The animals secretly
followed Skunk. It was very dark and Skunk could barely
see. When Skunk is about to wake up Bear, he roars very
loud. It scared Skunk. He let out a stench and all the animals
laughed. Skunk was very embarrassed.
And to this day skunks smell and only come out at night
when no one can see them.
How Zebra Got Its Stripes
by Ben Eddy
Long ago in Africa, Zebra was all white and friends with
Lemur and Warthog. Lemur was deceitful and wanted Zebra
to have stripes like him. Warthog told Zebra that Lemur was
going to do something sinful. Zebra didn’t believe Warthog
and said, “Lemur is my friend and wouldn’t do that” and then
he walked away.
Later that day Zebra took a nap under a sun beam.
While Zebra slept, Lemur gathered dark berries and mashed
them into paste. Zebra was still sleeping when Lemur painted
the paste in stripes on his body. When Zebra awoke the
paste had dried already. Zebra was so angry he ran into a
tree. After that Zebra was so stunned that he couldn’t think.
Then Lemur started to laugh in his tree top perch. He
thought it was hilarious that Zebra ran into a TREE! Lemur
said to Zebra” I just wanted you to be like me.” He kept on
laughing. Zebra got so mad he picked up Lemur and tossed
him to South America. Zebra was then satisfied. That’s why
zebras have stripes and why lemurs are mostly in South
America.
Why Horses Have Hooves
by Grace Walker
A long, long time ago there were only 3 animals on
Earth: Horsefly, Horse, and Pig. They were all friends in
the forest. One day Horse and Horsefly were playing hide
and seek. Horse was seeking and Horsefly was hiding.
Horse was trotting around looking for Horsefly. He did not
find him so he said “Horsefly I give up you can come out now.”
Unfortunately Horsefly did not. So Horse backed up and
knocked down a tree. It fell just beside Horsefly. So
Horsefly got mad and yelled at Horse.
Horsefly got
so mad at Horse he
stung Horse’s feet.
They swelled up
like a fat blueberry.
He had a friend
who was very smart,
his name was Pig.
Pig was a very smart fellow. So Horse went to him for help.
He got there and talked to Pig. Horse asked Pig “Do you
have anything for me”?
“I think I have something for this”. So Pig went to get
some mud. “This will do the trick” said Pig. Pig put the Mud
on Horse’s feet. Pig said “just let it get as hard as a rock and
you will be good”.
“Thanks pig, I will”. So Horse waited a few days and
finally it was as hard as a rock. “Perfect” said Horse. “Now I
can go get it off” said Horse.
So he went back to Pig’s house. Pig took him into the
room and took it off. It did help the swelling go down, but all
of his toes formed together and they turned into hooves.
That is why horses have hooves.
How Black Bear Got Black
by James Tanner
Long, long ago in the forest, bears were all brown or
white. One day a clever brown bear wandered off because he
smelled food. Where the food was the Indian hunters were
eating fish. Bear loved this kind of fish that comes out at
night. The fish could see Bear so he never got to eat them.
The Indians had dogs. One of the dogs did not like Bear.
When Bear snuck up
on the hunters he hid in
the brush. The dog
sniffed all around Bear
and barked at Bear. The
hunters looked over and
saw Bear. The hunters
grabbed their bows and
arrows. They walked over
near Bear and Bear
climbed up a tree. The
medicine man set the tree on fire to get Bear down. Bear
climbed down the tree through the black smoke and ran to a
nearby pond. The smoke stuck to his fur. When he jumped
into the pond it didn’t wash off. Now the bear can hunt the
night fish. So that is how the black bear got black.
Why Hedgehogs Have Spikes
by Sarah Sherman
One day there was a Hedgehog, he was the smallest
animal in the forest. He was brown like bark on trees so he
could blend in. Hedgehog was always hiding from Fox. Fox
bullied everybody but he bullied Hedgehog the most! One
day Hedgehog was taking a walk in the forest and
Owl swooped down from the trees and said, “You can’t
keep on coming in
the middle of the
forest. Fox lives
close by and he is
going to get you “
“No he won’t
ever get me. Don’t
you know I am the
best hider in the
forest?” Owl tries to warn Hedgehog but he is not listening.
Then Hedgehog saw a huge shadow behind him …
It was Fox! He came up and pushed Hedgehog down
the hill. There were spikes all over the hill. Hedgehog was
covered with spikes all over his back and from that day on
Hedgehog never came out of his tree and that’s why
Hedgehogs have spikes.
Why Cheetahs Run So Fast
by Reese Horne
Once on a hot
summer day in the
desert plains of the
African Sahara, a
friendly, short legged,
puny Cheetah was
playing with his two
friends, Giraffe and
Zebra. They were having fun playing in a water hole and then
Cheetah turned around to admire the sunset, and in a minute
when he turned back around, his friends were gone!
He looked here and there, up and down, hilly nilly, no
Giraffe or Zebra! Meanwhile, Lion lured Cheetah’s friends
by offering a luxurious stay in his den. “Come on” he coaxed,
“I will give you your best stay”.
However, Cheetah didn’t know where they were and so
he started to feel very lonely and sad. He did not even have a
clue to where Zebra and Giraffe were. He had looked under
the old vine tree, in the bulrushes near the play area, and even
under the water hole in their special secret cave. No Zebra
and Giraffe! So he went to his last resort, Eastern Mirage,
who was the wisest and oldest element in all the desert plains
of Africa. He took pity on the unknowingness of Cheetah
and said “You have been tricked by Lion and his slyness like a
desert fox. He has taken your friends Zebra and Giraffe for
his own. I will give you speed, strength, and height to run to him
and talk to him.”
Now, Cheetah had mixed feelings about talking to Lion,
but he ran there and did. He said, “You don’t have to take
friends, just make friends, and you can make friends with me
and my friends.” Lion pondered the thought, and finally said
yes. They raced each other to the waterhole and jumped in
and had fun for what seemed like ages. When they went to
their dens and domains that starry night, they all dreamed
happy dreams. And now undoubtedly, without a question,
that is why cheetahs run so fast.
How Cocker Spaniels Got Long Ears
by Andrew Gibson
Long ago in the jungle Cocker Spaniel had short ears.
He didn’t hear that well. This was a problem because he
would get words mixed up. The other animals knew this was a
problem. One day Cocker Spaniel was walking along and
saw Parrot. Parrot said, “Hi. It is good to see you.”
Cocker Spaniel said,” You need a needle?”
Parrot said, “You can’t hear that well.” Then he flew
away.
When Cocker Spaniel was on his way home, two wolves
crept up on him. They jumped out and grabbed his ears at
the same time. The wolves pulled and pulled and pulled both
of his ears. Cocker Spaniel felt mad and bit one wolf on the
nose. That scared them away. The next morning Cocker
Spaniel saw Parrot. Parrot said, “How are you today?”
“I am fine, thank you.” said Cocker Spaniel.
Parrot said, “You can hear me!”
“Yes, I hear everything now,” said Cocker Spaniel and
the next time I will hear an enemy. From then on cocker
spaniels had long ears.
How Rainbows Got Their Color
by Rylee Spence-Baker
One day Chickadee and Mocking Bird kept bumping
into each other and it was their last straw. They were sitting in
a tree all frustrated with each other.
Chickadee said, “Don’t
you see Blue Jay and
Cardinal? They are so
beautiful against the sky.”
Chickadee had an idea. He
found a stray feather and he
told Mockingbird, “Come
here, look what I found.”
So they gathered all of
the feathers up and started
swirling them in a puddle and
they were colorful. When they were done they held the
feathers in their beaks and flew across the horizon. They
looked back and saw beautiful stripes in the sky.
Now until this day everybody says thanks to the birds for
coloring the sky and the first person on the Earth named
them rainbows. So now until this year and many others, they
call them rainbows.
Why Horses Have Tails
by Haley Sacre
Horses have tails. They run and kick. Do you know why?
Long ago, horses couldn’t swat flies because horses didn’t
have tails. One day, Horse was happily chewing grass in a
flowery field. It was a hot, muggy day. All of a sudden a fly
landed on Horse’s back.
Horse couldn’t reach the fly and she ran all over the field.
She tried everything. She stomped, she ran. She even
rubbed against a tree to try and rub it off. Horse didn’t know
that the tree she rubbed on had honey dripping down the
trunk. The honey dripped on her behind. Horse went and
rolled in the hay to try and get the honey off. Now horse had
honey and hay on her behind. Horse didn’t know how the tail
worked. When horse was running around the field the tail hit
her back and the fly flew off. This happened to every horse.
The honey dried. That’s how horses got tails.
Why Kangaroos Jump Really High
by Anthony Hearn
Once upon a time in a very tropical jungle an animal
named Kangaroo was always getting teased a lot!
Everybody would challenge Kangaroo to a jumping contest.
He could not really jump because he had the smallest feet in
the whole jungle. He tried all of their challenges and he lost
every challenge he took. Kangaroo started to think he was
not special at all.
Later on Kangaroo was walking on the jungle trail when
his companion Zebra could not get his favorite ball down from
the huge tree. Zebra tried everything to get his ball back.
Then Kangaroo told Zebra that he could help. Then he
accidently stepped in some sticky stuff. He tried as hard as
he could and his feet started to stretch. Kangaroo tried
jumping really high and he got the ball out of the big tree. He
never knew that he could jump that high. Then he had a plan, a
really good plan.
Kangaroo was trying to run down to the jungle with his
new big feet but he couldn’t so he tried hopping there and he
was catapulted all of the way to the jungle. Then he finally
reached all of the animals and said I challenge everyone to a
jumping contest. Everyone started to laugh. Nobody
believed in him but then they stopped and formed a line and
Cheetah started counting down, 3, 2, 1, jump! Everyone
jumped at the same time and Kangaroo jumped twice as high
as everyone else. Everybody was surprised. They did not
know he could do it. That’s why Kangaroos jump really high!