Turtle Island - Native American

Hello there. I am the Great Turtle, and my shell is as old as the clouds. Before there were fields of green grass or tall, whispering trees, there was only water, a great, shimmering sea that stretched as far as the eye could see. I swam slowly through this quiet, blue world, with my friends the geese, the beavers, and the tiny muskrat, feeling the cool currents slide over my strong shell. We were all happy in our water world, but something was missing, though we did not know what it was. We didn't know it yet, but our peaceful home was about to change forever because of a story that people now call the myth of Turtle Island.

One day, a bright light appeared in the sky above. It was a woman, falling gently from a hole in the sky world, her hands holding onto something precious. The geese saw her first and with a great honking, they flew up together, making a soft feather bed with their wings to catch her. They carefully brought the Sky Woman down to the water and asked for my help. 'Great Turtle,' they squawked, 'will you let her rest on your back?'. I agreed, and my wide, sturdy shell became her safe island in the middle of the endless water. But the Sky Woman needed earth to walk on and to plant the seeds she held in her hand. One by one, the strongest animals tried to help. The sleek otter dove deep, but the water was too dark. The busy beaver tried his best, but he couldn't reach the bottom. Finally, the smallest of them all, the little muskrat, took a deep breath and said, 'I will try.'. He dove down, down, down, and was gone for a very long time. We all waited, watching the water for any sign of him. When he finally came back up, he was so tired he could barely move, but in his tiny paw, he held a small speck of mud from the bottom of the sea.

The Sky Woman took the precious bit of earth and placed it carefully in the center of my shell. She began to walk in a circle, singing and dancing, and a miracle happened. With every step she took, the earth on my back grew larger and larger. It spread out to become fields and forests, hills and valleys, until a whole continent rested on my shell. This land, this wonderful home for all the plants, animals, and people who came after, became known as Turtle Island. My shell became the foundation for their world. This story teaches us that every creature, no matter how small, has a gift to give and that by working together, we can create something beautiful. Even today, when people tell the story of Turtle Island, it reminds them to care for the earth that supports us all, a world that began with a little bit of courage and a whole lot of love.