Pourquoi Tales and Fables

Story Texts – Pourquoi Tales and Fables

Story: Why Dogs Chase Cats

Once long ago, Dog was married to Cat. They were happy together, but every night when Dog came home from work, Cat said she was too sick to make him dinner.

Dog was patient with this talk for a while, but he soon got mighty tired of fixing dinner for them both after a hard day's work. After all, Cat just stayed home all day long.

One day, Dog told Cat he was going to work, but instead he hid in the cupboard and watched Cat to see if she really was sick.

As soon as Cat thought Dog had left, she started playing games with Kitten. They laughed and ran about. Cat wasn't the least bit sick.

Dog jumped out of the cupboard. When Cat saw him, she stuck a marble in her cheek and told Dog she had a toothache. Dog got so mad at her he started chasing her around and around the house.

And that is why Dogs have been chasing Cats ever since.

Story: The Lion and the Mouse

Once upon a time when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him. This soon woke up the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon the Mouse. The Lion opened his big jaws to swallow her.

"Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse: "If you forgive me this time, I shall never forget it. Who knows, maybe I will be able to help you one of these days?"

The Lion thought this idea of the little Mouse being able to help him was very funny. So he lifted up his paw and let her go. Some time after the Lion was caught in a trap. The hunters tied him to a tree and went in search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by. When the Mouse saw the Lion tied up with ropes, she went up to him and soon chewed through the ropes that held the King of the Beasts.

"Was I not right?" said the little Mouse. “Little friends can sometimes be very big friends indeed.”

Story: Why Bear Has A Short Tail

ONE day the Bear met the Fox, who came slinking along with a string of fish he had stolen.

"Where did you get those from?" asked the Bear.

"Oh! My Lord Bear, I've been out fishing and caught them," said the Fox.

So the Bear had a mind to learn to fish too, and bade the Fox tell him how he was to set about it.

"Oh! It's an easy craft for you," answered the Fox, "and soon learnt.

You've only got to go upon the ice, and cut a hole and stick your tail down into it; and so you must go on holding it there as long as you can. You're not to mind if your tail hurts a little; that's when the fish bite. The longer you hold it there the more fish you'll get; and then all at once out with it, and with a strong pull too."

Yes; the Bear did as the Fox had said, and held his tail a long, long time down in the hole, till it was frozen in. Then he pulled it out, and it snapped short off. That's why Bear goes about with a stumpy tail to this very day.

Story: Why Crocodile Has A Rough Back

A long, long time ago, long before you and I were born, Crocodile had a back as smooth and flat as a stone. One day he was sitting in the hot midday sun by the riverbank, enjoying a sleepy afternoon snooze. Suddenly Rabbit came crashing through the grass and smacked right into Crocodile's side. Crocodile slowly swung his huge head around and blinked at his unexpected visitor.

"Rabbit, why did you wake me, and why are you puffing and blowing so hard?"

“My apologies, Crocodile, but Man sent Brother Dog to chase me down. I've been running all morning. I think Brother Man intends to eat me. I’m always in trouble with Man"

Crocodile smiled a toothy grin. "Nothing ever troubles me," he boasted. “In fact," he said, his tail swishing behind him, "I'd like to see Trouble try to bother me."

"Oh, Crocodile, you should be careful what you say. Trouble doesn't like to be talked to like that."

Crocodile laughed a toothy laugh and went back to his nap. But when he woke up after a few hours, Crocodile began to think about what Rabbit had said and started to get angry. "What does Trouble care what I say? Who does he think he is?"

He got angrier and angrier until he decided to go find Trouble and give him a piece of his mind. He crashed through the tall, dry grass, looking about. "Trouble, where are you? Come out and show yourself!"

He was yelling so loudly that he startled Monkey, who was smoking his pipe high in a tree. Monkey accidentally dropped his pipe, which fell down through the branches and landed right in the middle of the grass. Crocodile was so busy thrashing about that he didn't even notice that Monkey's pipe had set the tall, dry grass ablaze. By the time he smelled the smoke, he was completely surrounded by the hungry flames closing in faster and faster. Crocodile panicked and plowed through the burning field, rushing for the

safety of the river. By the time he splashed into the cool, soothing waters Crocodile's back, once smooth and flat, was now burned and gnarled like the rocky riverbank. He floated along the water, grumbling and muttering to himself. He's been grumpy ever since, and that is why he has a rough back.

Story: Why Turtles Don’t Fly South

Turtle was walking around when he saw many birds gathering together. They were making a lot of noise, and Turtle was curious.

"Hey," Turtle said, "What is happening?"

"Don't you know?" the birds said. "We're getting ready to fly to the south for the winter. Soon it's going to be very cold here and the snow will fall. There won't be much food to eat. Summer lives down south all of the time and there's plenty of food."

As soon as they mentioned food, Turtle became even more interested. "Can I come with you?" he asked.

"Look here," the birds said, "can you hold a stick hard in your mouth?"

"That's no problem at all," Turtle said. "Once I grab hold of something no one can make me let go until I'm ready."

"Good," said the birds. "Then you can hold on hard to this stick. These two birds here will each grab one end of it in their claws. That way, they can carry you along. But remember...you HAVE to keep your mouth shut!"

Turtle grabbed onto the middle of the stick and two big birds came and  grabbed each end. They flapped their wings hard and lifted Turtle off the ground. Soon, they were high in the sky and headed south.

Turtle had never been so high off the ground before, but he liked it. But before they had gone too far, he began to wonder where they were. He wanted to ask, but he couldn't talk with his mouth closed. Turtle rolled his eyes. But the two birds just kept on flying. Then, Turtle tried waving his

legs at them, but they acted like they didn't see him.

"Mmmmmmph," Turtle said, trying to get their attention. It didn't work. Finally, Turtle lost his temper.

"Why don't you listen to........." but that was all he said, for as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, he had to let go of the stick, and he started to fall. Down and down he fell. He was SO frightened that he pulled his head and legs inside his shell, to protect himself. When he hit the ground, he hit so hard that he ached all over. He crawled into a nearby pond and dug into the mud as far as he could get. Then, he fell asleep and he slept all through the winter and didn't wake up until spring.

So that is why today, ONLY the birds fly south while turtles sleep through the winter.

Story: Why the Cat Kills Rats

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a great King, who had ruled for fifty years. The King had a very faithful cat who worked as his housekeeper, and a rat who worked as his house-boy. The king was very fond of the cat. It was the cat’s job to watch over the King’s store, where all his food was kept. The cat had worked for the King for many years. The rat was very poor. He fell in love with one of the king's servant girls, but was unable to give her any presents, because he had no money. At last the rat thought of the king's store, where all the food was kept.

“I could steal some of the King’s food and give it to my sweetheart,” thought the rat. “The King has so much food, he will never notice.”

So in the night time, the rat chewed a hole in the roof of the store. Being quite small, he had little difficulty squeezing through the hole in the roof and getting into the store. He then stole some corn and pears, and gave them to his sweetheart. At the end of the month, the cat had to count all the things in the store, and give the numbers to the king. When she counted up all the bags of corn, and the piles of pears, she found that a lot was missing.

“Someone has been stealing your corn and pears,” she told the King.

The king was very angry at this, and asked the cat for an explanation. But the cat could not explain where the corn and pears had gone. Then one of her friends told her that the rat had been stealing the corn and giving it to the girl. When the cat told the King, he was very angry. He called both the cat and the rat to the throne room.

“You are both fired,” said the King. “You must leave my house.”

The King’s guards chased the cat and the rat from the palace. The cat was so angry at losing her job that she jumped on the rat and ate him up. Ever since that time whenever a cat sees a rat she jumps on it, and eats it, because she is still angry at losing her job with the King.

            Why the Sea Is Salty?

Hundreds of years ago there was a king who had a very unusual stone hand mill. It looked like any other stone hand mill but it had special powers. All one had to do was say what one wanted and turn it and out would come what had been requested. If gold was requested, gold would come out. If rice was requested, rice would come out. Whatever was requested, the small hand mill would produce it.

A thief made up his mind to steal the hand mill because once he had heard of it he couldn't get it out of his mind. For days and days he thought about how to steal it but he could not come up with a plan.

Then one day he dressed like a scholar and visited a court official who had access to the royal palace. They chatted about this and that and finally the thief said, "I heard that the King buried his strange hand mill in the ground because he doesn't trust his ministers."

"What's that? The King doesn't trust his ministers? Where did you hear such talk?"

"That's what they say in the countryside," said the thief, happy he had sparked the man's interest. "They say the King dug a deep hole and buried the hand mill because he is so afraid that someone will steal it."

"That's nonsense!" said the official. "The King's hand mill is beside the lotus pond in the inner court."

"Oh, is that so?" said the thief, trying to control his excitement.

"No one would dare try to steal the King's hand mill," said that official. "Who would even think of trying when the thing is lying right beside the lotus pond where there is always lots of people coming and going."

The thief was so excited that all he could say was "Yes" and "That's right" until he was able to leave.

For many days the thief studied the situation. Then one very dark night, he climbed the palace wall and stole the hand mill from beside the lotus pond.

He was brimming with pride and confidence as he made his way back to the wall. But once outside the palace, he was overcome with fear of being discovered. His heart skipped a beat every time he met someone on the street. He decided to steal a boat and go to his hometown to hide because he knew that once the theft was discovered, everyone in the city and on the roads would be questioned.

Once at sea the thief lay back against the bow of the boat and laughed. Then he began to sing and dance as he thought about how rich he was going to be. Then he thought about what to request from the hand mill. He did not want to ask for something common and easy to obtain.

"Salt! Salt!" he suddenly shouted. "I'll ask for salt! Everyone needs salt. I can sell it and become a rich man. I'll be the richest man in the country."

He fell down on his knees and began turning the hand mill, singing as he did, Salt! Salt! Make some salt! Then he began dancing and singing about being a rich man.

And the hand mill kept turning and turning. Salt spilled over the sides of the small boat but the thief just kept dancing and singing and laughing, all the time thinking about the big house he was going to have and the numerous servants who would serve him lavish meals.

Finally the boat was so full of salt that it sank to the bottom of the sea. And, since no one has ever told the hand mill to stop, it is still turning and making salt, which is why the sea is salty.

Story: How the Bat Came to Be

Long ago, as the Sun began to rise one morning, he got tangled up in the top branches of a very tall tree. When morning did not come, all of the animals went out to look for Sun. They looked everywhere, but no one could find him.

"Maybe Sun is caught in a tall tree," said a small brown squirrel. The squirrel began to go from tree to tree. At last, in the top of a VERY tall tree, he saw a glow of light. He climbed up and saw that it was Sun.

"Help me, Little Brother," Sun said.

The small brown squirrel came close and began to chew at the branches in which the Sun was caught. The closer he came to Sun, the hotter it got. The more branches that he chewed free, the brighter Sun's light became.

"I must stop now," said the small brown squirrel. "My fur is burning. It's all turning black."

"Help me," said Sun. "Don't stop now."

The small brown squirrel continued to chew, but the heat of Sun was hotter and brighter.

"I am growing blind," said the squirrel. "I must stop."

"Just a little more," said Sun. "I am almost free."

Finally, the squirrel chewed the last of the branches free. As soon as he did, Sun rose up into the sky. But the squirrel was blinded by the brightness of Sun. His long tail had been burned away and his fur was now all black. The Sun looked down and felt sorry for the squirrel.

"Thank you Little Brother," said Sun, "I will give you a gift. From now on you will be an even better flyer than the birds. Because you came too close to me, my light will always be too bright for you, but you will see in the dark and you will hear everything around you as you fly."

Then the small animal which had once been a squirrel dropped from the branch, spread its leathery wings and began to fly. He no longer missed his tail and his brown fur and he knew that when night came again, it would be his time. And so it was, long ago, that Sun showed his thanks to the small brown squirrel who became the first bat in the world.

Story: Hawk's Sewing Needle

Long ago, baby birds had no feathers. Because they had no feathers, mother birds had to sew feather suits for their children. Chicken had a lot of children, so she was always sewing. Unfortunately, Chicken lost her needle. So she went to visit her friend Hawk.

“Hello Hawk,” said Chicken, “May I borrow your needle so I can sew feather suits for my children.”

“Yes of course,” said Hawk, “But you must promise to bring it back.”

So Chicken went home with Hawk’s sewing needle. One day, she dropped the needle onto the ground. When she looked, she could not find it.

When she did not return the needle, Hawk came looking for Chicken. But Chicken and her children hid in the forest every time that Hawk came by.

Finally the angry Hawk yelled into the forest at Chicken.

“Since I can't sew feather suits for my children,” shouted Hawk, “I will take the feather suits from the chickens!” And that is how it is to this day. That is why Hawks hunt chickens, why chickens scratch and peck at the ground looking for Hawk's lost sewing needle.