Article
Art by Anne Kennedy

Two Traditional Tales

Folktales from two Native tribes 

By Retold by Joseph Bruchac | Art by Anne Kennedy
From the October/November 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will compare and contrast two short plays based on Native American folktales.

Other Key Skills: supporting details, character, interpreting text, summarize, main idea, connecting to the text, cause and effect, plot, how a character changes, theme, opinion writing, explanatory writing, narrative writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary, read with accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
Osiyo (oh-see-yo), which means “Hello” in Aniyunwiya (ah-nee-yun-wee-yah).

My name is Joe, and I’m a storyteller from the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation. I’m going to share folktales from two Native nations:

  • Possum’s Tail, from the Aniyunwiya, or Cherokee
  • The Great Ball Game, from the Muscogee (muz-goh-gee), or Creek

Both tribal nations have a long tradition of storytelling. These stories explain parts of the natural world, such as why acorns fall from trees or why chipmunks have stripes. They also teach us lessons. As you act out these plays, think about what the stories explain—and what lessons you learn from the characters.


Mvto (muh-doh), which means “Thank you” in Muscogee,

Joe Bruchac

Think and Read: Compare and Contrast

As you read, think about how these folktales are alike and how they are different.

Possum’s Tail

A proud possum learns an important lesson.  

Characters

Choose the character you will play.

Narrators 1, 2, 3  (N1, N2, N3)

Possum

Rabbit

Bear

Woodchuck

Cricket

Scene 1

N1: Long ago, Possum would brag about his tail to all the animals.

Possum: I have the most beautiful tail in the world. No one has a tail like mine. Oh, here comes Rabbit. 

Rabbit: Hi, Possum. Osiyo (oh-see-yo).

Possum: Look at my tail. It is the best of all.

Rabbit: I’m sure it is. But I must go now.

Possum: Oh, here come Bear and Woodchuck.

Bear: Osiyo, Possum.

Possum: Did you come to admire my tail?

Woodchuck: Uh, no. We were just passing by.

Possum: But now you are here. Isn’t my tail good-looking?

Bear: Sure. We have to go now.

Possum: Come back anytime to see my tail!

N2: The other animals were tired of listening to Possum brag.

N3: So Bear called a meeting of all the animals—except Possum.

Scene 2

Bear: Who is tired of hearing Possum brag about his tail?

All Animals: Me!

Woodchuck: What can we do?

Rabbit: I vote we tell him to stop bragging. 

Woodchuck: I agree! I’ve heard enough.

Bear: But will Possum even listen to us? 

Cricket: I have an idea.

N1: Cricket whispered his idea to Bear.

N2: And Bear whispered it to each of the other animals.

Woodchuck: I’m not sure about this . . . 

Cricket: I’m sure.

N3: That afternoon, Cricket went to Possum.

Cricket: Osiyo, Possum. I have a way to help make your tail look even better.

Possum: Oh, really? What is it?

Cricket: I have special medicine. I’ll wrap this old rattlesnake skin around your tail.

Possum: That’s itchy. But if it will make my tail look better, I don’t mind. 

Cricket: Do not take this off for seven days and seven nights. Then show your tail to all the other animals.

Possum: They will be so surprised! I can’t wait to show it off!

Scene 3

N1: Possum did what Cricket said.

N2: Finally, seven days and seven nights had passed.

N3: Possum called all the animals together.

Possum: Everyone, get ready to look at the most beautiful tail in the world!

N1: Possum took the snake skin off his tail.

N2: All the hair on his tail was gone!

N3: Cricket chuckled.

Cricket: It looks like a tree branch with no bark!

Bear: Cricket, what have you done?

N1: Possum was so embarrassed that he lay down and pretended to be dead.

N2: Ever since then, that is what possums do when they are scared or surprised.

Possum: My tail is so ugly now. I have the worst tail of all the animals!

Bear (putting her paw on Possum’s shoulder): Your tail is not so bad.

Rabbit (hanging from a tree): You can use it to hold on to branches.

Woodchuck: You can use it to grab food.

Rabbit: And you can teach your children how to use it too. 

Bear: They can hang from trees with it! 

N3: Possum grinned. 

N1: Possum still grins.

N2: But he never bragged about his tail again.

The Great Ball Game

Birds and animals face off to decide which group is better. Who will win?  

Characters

Choose the character you will play.

Narrators 1, 2, 3  (N1, N2, N3)

BIRDS

Blue Jay

Cardinal

Hawk

Crane

ANIMALS

Squirrel

Rabbit

Deer

Bear

Bat

Scene 1

N1: Long ago, the birds in the sky argued with the animals on the ground.

Blue Jay: We birds are the best!

Squirrel: No, we land animals are better!

Cardinal: We have feathers.

Rabbit: We have fur.

Hawk: We can fly high!

Deer: We can run fast!

Crane: Let’s have a ball game. 

Bear: The winner can say they are the best.

Crane: And the side that loses must do whatever the winners tell them to do.

All Birds: Agreed!

All Animals: Agreed!

Scene 2

N2: They decided to play until the sun set.

N3: Those who could fly went to one side. They were the birds.

N1: Those with fur and teeth went to the other side. They were the animals.

N2: One creature stayed in the middle.

N3: He had wings, but he also had fur and teeth.

N1: Who was this mysterious creature?

Bat: It’s me, Bat!

N2: Bat flew to the birds.

Bat: I have wings. Can I be on your team?

Blue Jay: Nope. You have fur and teeth. 

Cardinal: You must have feathers to be a bird.

Hawk: You’re different! We do not want you on our team.

N3: So Bat flew to the animals on the ground.

Bat: The birds will not take me.

Rabbit: Why not?

Bat: They said I’m different.

Bear: It’s all right to be different. You can be on our team.

Squirrel: But you’re small. Even smaller than me!

Deer: You might get hurt. Wait on the side. 

Scene 3

N1: Then the game began.

N2: Rabbit had the ball.

Rabbit: Aaah, what is happening?

N3: Hawk had flown down and picked Rabbit up.

Hawk: Gotcha!

N1: Then Hawk dropped Rabbit, who dropped the ball.

N2: Rabbit ran and hid in the bushes. 

N3: To this day, Rabbit still hides when he sees Hawk.

N1: Next Cardinal grabbed the ball.

N2: Then Bear got it away from Cardinal.

N3: And so the game continued. Neither side could score.

N1: Until Crane got the ball and soared toward the animals’ goal.

Crane: I’m going to score!

All Birds: Crane! Crane!

N2: It seemed the birds were going to win.

N3: Until a dark little shape flew out of a tree.

N1: It was Bat!

N2: He stole the ball from Crane!

All Birds: No! Stop him! 

N3: Bat was a great flier, darting back and forth.

Blue Jay: I can’t catch him!

Cardinal: Where is he?

All Animals: Go, Bat, go!

N1: Just as the sun set, Whoosh!

N2: Bat scored the winning goal.

All Animals: Bat! Bat!

N3: This is how Bat came to be accepted as an animal.

Bear: Bat, you can decide what the birds must do. 

Bat: You birds must leave this land for half of each year. 

N1: So every fall, as the leaves change, the birds fly south for the winter.

N2: And every day as the sun sets, Bat still comes flying over to see if the animals need him to play ball. 

Think and Write

What do these two folktales have in common? How are they different? Answer in a paragraph. Then pick which play you like better and explain why.

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Can't Miss Teaching Extras

Continue reading folktales from Native tribes in “Two Turtle Tales,” another package written by Joseph Bruchac! Students will love watching our Meet the Author video to learn more about Joseph’s writing process. Then dive into Character Traits in our skill builder! 

In “Possum’s Tail,” Possum learns an important lesson. Read another play about a character who learns a hard (yet important!) lesson in “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” 

“The Great Ball Game” explores important topics like individuality and teamwork. Continue this conversation by reading “The Horse and the Donkey,” a play about the importance of working with others. Then click the Resources tab for a worksheet on identifying the moral of the story. 

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Preparing to Read

2. Close Reading

3. SEL Focus

4. Skill Building and Writing

5. Differentiate and Customize

Struggling Readers, Multilingual Learners, Advanced Readers, Creative Writing

1. Preparing to Read

Introduce the Text and Preview Text Features

  • Ask students to predict what these plays will be about based on the titles, subtitles, and illustrations on pages 24-25 and 27. Review the predictions after reading.

Set a Purpose for Reading 

  • Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 23 and the Thinkand Write box on page 29.

  • Remind students to keep these prompts in mind while reading the plays.

Introduce Featured Skill

  • Build on the Think and Read prompt by explaining the plays’ featured skill: Compare and Contrast. Encourage students to look for ways that the plays are similar and ways that they are different.

Introduce Vocabulary

  • Show or assign the Vocabulary Slideshow to preview challenging words. Then assign the Vocabulary Skill Builder before or after reading.

2. Close Reading

Reading and Unpacking the Text

  • Storyworks 3 plays provide a perfect opportunity for students to build fluency.
  • Perform the plays as a class or have students follow along as they listen to the audio Read-Aloud.
  • Project or assign the Close-Reading and Critical-Thinking Questions.

Close-Reading Questions

  • Read the introduction from Joe Bruchac, the author. What does this teach you about how the plays are similar? The introduction from Joe Bruchac teaches me which tribes the folktales are from. It teaches me that both nations have a tradition of storytelling and that these stories explain parts of the natural world. (compare and contrast)
  • Read Scene 1 in “Possum’s Tail.” What do you learn about Possum in this scene? In this scene, I learned that Possum loves to brag about his tail to all the animals. (character) 
  • Read Scene 2. What does Cricket tell Possum he will do to make his tail look even better? To make Possum’s tail look even better, Cricket says he has special medicine. He wraps an old rattlesnake skin around Possum’s tail. He tells Possum not to take it off for seven days and nights. (plot)
  • Read Scene 3. What did the rattlesnake skin do to Possum’s tail? The rattlesnake skin made all the hair on Possum’s tail disappear. (cause and effect)
  • How do Possum’s feelings about his tail change in Scene 3? At first, Possum is embarrassed because his tail looks ugly. But he feels better after the other animals tell him how he can use his tail. He can use it to hold on to branches, grab food, and teach his children how to hang from trees with it. He grins but he never brags about his tail again. (how a character changes)
  • Read Scene 1 in “The Great Ball Game.” Why do the birds and land animals decide to have a ball game? The birds and the land animals decide to have a ball game to decide which group is the best. The losing team must do whatever the winners tell them to do. (summarize)
  • Read Scene 2. Why does Bat join the animals’ team? Bat joins the animals’ team because the birds won’t accept him because he’s different. He has fur and teeth instead of feathers. (cause and effect)
  • Read Scene 3. What happens just as Crane is about to score and the birds will win the game? Bat flies out of a tree and steals the ball from Crane. Just as the sun sets, Bat scores the winning goal. (plot)
  • What does Bat decide the birds must do at the end of the play? How does this affect what happens in nature every fall? Bat decides to tell the birds they must leave the land for half of each year. This affects what happens in nature every fall, because birds fly south for the winter. (main idea)

 

Critical-Thinking Questions

  • What lessons do you think the storyteller wants you to learn from the animal characters in each folktale? The lesson the storyteller wants me to learn from “Possum’s Tail” is that it’s wrong to brag. The lesson the storyteller wants me to learn from “The Great Ball Game” is that it’s all right to be different. (moral, interpreting text)
  • Would you like to read more folktales from tribal nations? Why do you feel this way? Use details from the plays in your answer. Answers may vary. Students should include details from the plays in their response. (connecting to text)

3. Skill Building and Writing

Featured Skill: Compare and Contrast

  • Distribute or digitally assign the Compare and Contrast Skill Builder.
  • Ask students to write a response to the Think and Write prompt on page 29.

Differentiate and Customize
For Striving Readers

Have students describe what’s happening in each illustration in the plays. What are the animals doing? How do the illustrations help show what happens in each play? Ask pairs or individual students to write a caption for each picture and then share their captions with the class.

For Multilingual Learners

Possums and bats (two of the main animal characters in these plays) may be unfamiliar to your multilingual learners. Show pictures of these animals and ask students to describe how they look. Pay careful attention to the possum’s tail, and to the bat’s wings, fur, and teeth.

For Advanced Readers

Have students research another Native American folktale that explains why something in the natural world happens, such as “Why the Moon Has One Eye” or “How Rabbit Got Wisdom.” Then ask students to share details of the folktale with the rest of the class. How is this story similar to and different from these two plays?

Text-to-Speech