The Story of the First Mocking-bird

A nature myth retold from The Book of Nature Myths by Florence Holbrook

Florence Holbrook published The Book of Nature Myths in 1902, collecting stories that explain how animals and natural things came to be. "The Story of the First Mocking-bird" is a Native American legend that tells why the mocking-bird copies other birds' songs instead of singing its own. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story shows a young hero using courage and cleverness to stop a villain, and teaches that cruelty brings its own punishment. The mocking-bird's song is a reminder of a trick that once deceived many.

Band

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

Length

short · about 342 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.