Fabulous Fables & Mystical Myths

For their twenty-first week of poetry Hale after school 3-5 graders explored the world of fables and myths. Fables are stories that usual involve animals as characters and teach a valuable lesson, while myths are ancient stories that explain the early history of humans and other natural events. On Tuesday we read the fable poem “The Dog and the Bear,” written by Lane Tech students Kyla R, Dejah S, and Rachel W. In this fable a young dog is scared of a bear he sees in the woods, but each day he builds up the courage to face his fear. “He daringly went up to the bear, without even a hair-rising and said,” Hey there, familiar face.” Inspired by this fable, students wrote group fables where characters learn interesting lessons.

On Wednesday we discovered how animals were once human in Pat Thompson’s myth poem “My People.” In the poem a young girl is telling a story that her mother had passed on to her, a story where humans went through a supernatural transformation. Those who lived near the canal grew scales/and those who lived on the tops of the trees grew fur to keep out the biting wind/ and some sprouted wings to hunt for food. Students wrote their individual own myths describing the origin of well-known objects and living things.

Please enjoy these fabulous fables and mystical myths below.