[Reading] 21. The Crow - Jayden

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The Crow

It had been a long, cold winter, and all the animals in the forest were freezing. The woods were desolate—the ground was covered with snow, and there was not a speck of green.

Raccoon said, “Crow, you must fly to the Great Sky Spirit and steal fire so that we may be warm and survive the winter.”

Back then, Crow had beautiful, colorful feathers and a lovely singing voice. Crow was also clever and strong, so he agreed to steal fire. He flew for days, for it was a long way.

When his journey was done, Crow snuck into the chamber of the Great Sky Spirit. He lit one end of a long stick on fire and then hurried away to return to his friends.

It was another long journey back home, and the soot and ashes from the fire stained Crow’s feathers black. Smoke made his voice raspy and it was hard for him to breathe. Crow was tired, but he kept flying, steadfast in his promise to the others.

When he got home, the animals hardly recognized Crow.

“Look at your poor feathers,” said Deer.

“And listen to your voice!” cried Chipmunk.

“Crow,” said Raccoon, “you have done a brave thing, and thanks to you we will survive the winter.”

That is why, even today, all crows have black feathers on their bodies and they caw hoarsely instead of sing.