The Legend of Paul Bunyan
“Man, it’s so cold out here,” said one of the lumberjacks. “I think that my ears are ice cubes!” He moved closer to the campfire.
Another lumberjack answered. “You think this weather is cold? Remember the year that ol’ Paul Bunyan dug Lake Michigan? The temperature dropped to 68 below!”
Storytelling has always been a favorite hobby in America. People enjoy telling tall tales. Tall tales are stories that exaggerate, or overstate the facts, to make people laugh or teach people a lesson. Tall tales served to amuse and encourage people. Men who gathered in logging camps in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota told the tales of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe. Loggers told stories about Bunyan’s amazing strength, speed, and brains. They said that Bunyan himself made such landmarks as Puget Sound, the Grand Canyon, and the Black Hills.
WORKSHEET & Sample PDF Activity
Sample PDF Activity
Newspaper writers who visited heard these stories about Bunyan. They enjoyed the stories, too! So, they returned to their offices and printed stories about Paul Bunyan for all people to enjoy.
The stories about Paul Bunyan are still popular. They show us things that Americans value. Bunyan is strong and his hard work pays off. Stories about Bunyan also teach people that they can live through hard conditions.
