At the Central Park Zoo in New York City, there were two penguins named Roy and Silo, who adored each other. It is typical for penguins to find a partner, a mate – one other penguin that is special to them. Usually, it is one female and one male penguin that like each other and become a penguin…

One day some worker bees made a honeycomb in the hollow trunk of an oak. They settled nearby to rest. Then, the drones from their hive flew by. The drones said, “We made that honeycomb. It belongs to us.” “You did not make that honeycomb,” replied the worker bees. “You know very well that you did…

Janeen K. Grohsmeyer, adapted from the story, “Circles of Light: The Flaming Chalice.” In the dark nights and the darker days of World War II, guns blazed all over Europe and airplanes dropped death from the sky. Many people tried to escape from the war. These people were called refugees. Some…

(Light a chalice, if there isn’t already one lit, and have some matches at hand.) Have you ever watched a candle burn? (Lean forward to impart the secret.) The fire is alive. Watch it! It moves. It flickers. It dances on the wind. It changes with every breath of air. (Demonstrate this.) Fire is…

Adapted from a West African folktale. Note: The one-reader version uses masculine pronouns for Hyena and Hare and female pronouns for Butterfly. In the multiple-reader versions, all the characters are gender neutral….

Written by Tracey L. Hurd. This is a story is about a boy who loved the outdoors. His name was Henry David Thoreau. All his life, he loved nature. It was almost as if he had a small, still voice inside him that whispered, “Go outside. Be amidst the trees, and lakes, and grass. This is your true…

Adapted with permission from the version of a Native American folktale on Stonee’s WebLodge: A Native American Lore Website. I. Adapted short version A long time ago, humans came into being and they loved the world. They loved the springtime with the beautiful emerging green plant life….

Adapted from a Jewish folktale from Poland In this fun and participatory story a farmer lives in a house with his wife and children and the grandparents, and it is so noisy that he thinks he will go crazy. The rabbi advises the farmer to bring his animals into his home, too. First chickens, then…

You never know what the wind will blow in or which way the wind blows. The wind can change directions and maybe change your life. It happened to John Murray. As a young man, John Murray had excellent fortune blow his way. He had a fine education, a steady job, a loving wife, and a young son. Life…

Adapted from a National Park Service website; used by permission of Wind Cave National Park. In this Native American legend, Lizard sings a happy song about his home: “Zole, zole, zole, zole, zole, zole, rock is my home.” Bear wants to learn the song. Lizard shares the song, but Bear keeps…

This is a story about a city. The name of the city is Makkah al-Mukarramah, but sometimes it is called Makkah or Mecca. This city is in Saudi Arabia. It is a city thousands of years old. This is also the story of a man. His name was Muhammad….

Once upon a time in Kenya, on a peaceful river near the east coast of Africa, a herd of hippopotamus was surprised by heavy rain. The rain washed them away from their river home, toward the Indian Ocean. Then came something worse. A tsunami! In the huge, windy storm the ocean waters became strong.

Adapted from Hebrew scripture. Once long ago, in the city of Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, there lived a man named Elimelech. Elimelech was married to Naomi and they had two sons, Kilion and Mahlon. The time came when a great famine struck Bethlehem and none of the farmers could produce enough…

Inspired by a story in Tales for the Seventh Day: A Collection of Sabbath Stories by Nina Jaffe (New York: Scholastic Press, 2000). Once a there was a great chef who was famous throughout the land. She was so good she taught other people how to cook and their food was almost as tasty as hers….

Adapted from The Empty Pot by Demi (New York: Henry Holt, 1990); permission pending. Long, long ago, the Emperor of an ancient land was old and dying. He loved children but had none of his own. So the Emperor decided to choose one of the children of his land to be the next Emperor….

Once there was a farmer. He was very old and ill and knew he would soon die. He had lived a good life and his only regret was that his three children fought all the time. None of them seemed interested in taking care of the large farm the old man had established. They were rather lazy….

Adapted from Christian scripture. There once was a father, who had two sons. The younger son wanted to leave home and travel to distant lands. He asked to have his inheritance. So the father divided his wealth and gave each son his half. The older son stayed at home, continuing to work with his…

“The Magic Vase” was adapted from “The Magic Vase” as retold by Margaret Silf in One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World, compiled by Margaret Silf (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2003), 41-42. Used by permission, all rights reserved. There was once a poor family who lived in a drab…

Seven-year-old Steven dragged his backpack down the unfamiliar pathway to his new house. School was over for the day, but Steven was not looking forward to going home. Yesterday a big moving van had brought all his stuff to 746 Maple Street and inside would be a mess of half-emptied boxes. This…