The Story of the First Butterflies

A nature myth retold from Florence Holbrook

This story comes from The Book of Nature Myths by Florence Holbrook, published in 1902. It is a Native American creation story that explains how butterflies came to be. Myths like this one were told to help people understand the natural world and to teach that beauty is a gift meant to be shared. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The tale invites young children to see the world as full of wonder and thoughtful design.

Band

Purple · Pre-readers and first readers, about 4 to 5

Length

short · about 369 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

The Book of Nature Myths, Florence Holbrook · Project Gutenberg

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (6 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.