Have you ever wondered why animals look the way they do? Why doesn't a gorilla
have a tail? How did the leopard get its spots? Why are turtles
so slow?
Throughout history, people have wondered the same things. In some
cultures, people made up stories to explain why the world around
them is the way it is.
These students made up their own stories about the appearance
of rainforest animals.
Page 1:
Why The Sloth is so Slow
By Chris
One hot, steamy, moist day in the AMAZON RAINFOREST lived the sloth.
This wasn’t any sloth, oh no, this was a 2' 4", black
and white, silky, speedy sloth.
VAAARRROOOMMM! This was the sound it made as it raced across along
the branches of the canopy. He was as fast as lightning, and knocked
down everything in his path. "He’s careless! He’s
hurting everyone!" The animals fought.
"We must stop him," thought the animals. So they made
a net of the strongest vine they could find. They thought the net
would capture the sloth, but soon excitement turned to fear. The
net snapped but no sloth. All was hopeless except plan B, the cheetah.
"Pounce, grab!" Cheetah had sloth and threatened to eat
him if he ever runs fast again.
From that day on sloths walk slow in fear of cheetah.
How the Jaguar got his Spots
By Lindsay
As you all know Jaguars have spots. So this one Jaguar, who started
this generation, will tell you the story.
One fall night at twilight Jaguar was wandering around. The night
wasn’t hot nor cold. It was a perfect night until... his animal
enemies came along. The enemies were all the other animals in the
rain forest. They always made fun of him because he looked like
a popsicle shaped like a tiger.
That night he got lost on his way home trying to get away from
the others. He felt himself falling and then, *SPLAT*, right into
a pile of mud. When he came out he smelled really bad, like permanent
paint . He shook himself off, took baths, everything, but it wouldn’t
come off. Everyone stared and thought he looked brilliant. No longer
dumb, but actually quite scary.
So from this day forward that’s how the Jaguar got his spots
and why everybody and everything is petrified of Jaguars.
How the Baboon Got a Red Behind
by Valerie
One night Baboon was crawling in a dark jungle trying to find his
way home. Meanwhile, the leopard witch made a stew. She wanted something
good with it, and thought meat would give her something to chew
on. She took out her broom and set out as she flew through the air.
The only thing you could see was the giant green mole on her nose.
The only animal out that night was Baboon. She saw him and swooped
down and scooped him up on her broom. She said to herself, "What
a tasty treat for me!"
When she got home, she put him in a pot. While she was stirring,
Baboon jumped out. Luckily the only thing burned was his behind,
so he ran to the safety of his home.
That’s how the baboon got a red behind!
How the Jaguar Got its Spots
By Samantha
In the beginning of time the Jaguar and the Tiger were the best
of friends. The Jaguar had a thick, silky coat of dark orange fur,
which he was very proud of. The tiger had the same type of fur as
the Jaguar, but his fur had thick black stripes all over it.
One cold, rainy spring day Tiger and Jaguar went for a walk. Soon
it became foggy and hard to see. Tiger kicked Jaguar in the shins
thinking he was a stick. Jaguar ran home crying from the pain.
The next day Tiger invited Jaguar over for dinner hoping Jaguar
would forgive him. Just as Tiger was serving the steaming hot steak,
Jaguar said, "Are those awful black things really part of your
fur? They are sooo ugly!"
Tiger was very mad so he kicked Jaguar out of his house. As soon
as Jaguar was gone, Tiger started scheming revenge.
Just as the bright moon started to rise, Tiger went to Jaguar’s
house. As soon as he got there, he took out a bucket of pitch black
paint and started to paint big black spots all over Jaguar’s
beautiful fur. When he was finished, Tiger woke Jaguar up and showed
him what he looked like. Jaguar got so mad that he turned red and
ran out.
Ever since that night, all Jaguars have big black spots.
Why Lynx have Hair on their Ears
By Quentin
One day at 5:30, 25 seconds, and 45 milliseconds, a lynx named
Lynxaphere III was walking in the drinking part of the jungle where
there was a watering hole. While he was walking everybody teased
him. The monkeys were teasing about how Lynxaphere III could not
climb. The birds teased him about not being able to fly. The jaguar
teased about him not having any special marks.
When Lynxaphere III was walking home through the "Hoo-y"
part of the jungle which was very dark, creepy and... hoo-y, he
got very scared and started to run. Lynxaphere III’s ears got
caught on a tree. In that tree were an Owl and a chameleon.
"Wazzz up?" the chameleon said.
"Who are you?" said the Owl. "Don’t you have
any respect?"
Owl turned around and a moment of silence came. When Owl turned
around again, there was a mike in his hand. Owl sung "R-E-S-P-E-C-T
that's what it means to me. R-E-S-P-E-C-T Why don't you give it
to me." Then Owl started saying, "Who bumped into my tree
Who Who Who," for the rest of his life.
When you see a chameleon sticking out his tongue he is saying "Wazzz
up."
At this time Lynxaphere III was very, very, very, very, very scared.
Lynxaphere III ran very, very, very, very, very, fast and hairs
came out of his ears. This is why Lynxes have hair on their ears.
Why Turtles Move so Slowly
by Amber
Once there lived a turtle who always always tried to be brave like
all of the other turtles. So he was going to go in the deep, scary,
dark woods where no turtle had ever been.
Turtle did not know about the little evil monster that lived in
the forest. He saw the monster running up ahead of him and he was
shocked!! He wanted to be brave, so he kept on going. As he got
closer he saw how scary the monster really was and he started to
run. He ran and ran until he was out of breath. When he tried to
run faster he realized he couldn't because the little monster had
stolen his Kid Power. Kid Power makes turtles have youth and energy.
When he returned, all his friends wondered why he was moving so
slowly and looked so old. Then his friends asked, "Why are
you moving so slowly and why do you look so old?"
Turtle said, "The little evil monster did this to me."
They said, "Yeah right! We'll believe it when we see it."
So his turtle friends went into the forest. When they came out,
they were all old and slow, too. Turtle said, "Now do you believe
me?"
"Yes, I’m sorry," his friends said.
That's how the turtle became slow.
Why Gorillas Don’t Have Tails
by Alex
Once upon a time, on a very clear, sunny day in the middle of the
Amazon Rain Forest, a very, very long time ago, there was a gorilla
named Gorilafer. He had the longest, most beautiful tail in the
whole rain forest, even if it was black.
When he was just a little cub, his enormous father told him never
to go in the water of the north. So did every other father in the
rain forest. As he got older he was the fastest monkey in the trees.
He loved to show off his beautiful tail. He challenged every one
to a race.
Then one day the jaguar said, "I dare you to put your tail
in the water of the north." He knew what his father told him,
but he didn't want to be embarrassed, so without realizing what
he was saying, Gorilafer said yes. So he put his tail in the water.
Then when he pulled it out, he had no tail and everyone started
to laugh at him.
So from that day on Gorilafer never had a tail. Also know from
that day on no gorilla ever had a tail. That is why gorillas don’t
have tails.
How the Tiger Got its Stripes
by Meghan
Long, long ago when the first of all animals were created, there
lived a tiger. The tiger was upset because he was the only animal
that was one solid color and he didn’t have any dots or stripes.
He wished for stripes or dots every day and every night. But his
wish never came true. He kept trying even though his wish didn’t
come true. Tiger was very smart and very kind but he was always
being made fun of.
One day, his only friend, the leopard, came to him and said, "Why
don’t you come to the jungle dance with me?" The leopard
is his only friend because the leopard is only friends with people
for who they are, not for their stripes or colors.
Meanwhile, the tiger said, "OK! I could paint stripes on myself
to make myself look beautiful."
"Whatever you say," said Leopard.
The tiger painted stripes on himself and went to the dance. He
left the dance early because he was being made fun of, as usual.
He went to the wash hole when he left the dance. He tried and tried
and tried to get off the painted stripes, but he couldn’t.
It was impossible! He decided to go to the wise cheetah.
When he got to the wise cheetah, he said, "O, wise cheetah,
I have tried and tries to wash of f the stripes but they won’t
come off."
The wise cheetah said, "Did you paint them on?"
"Yes, I did," said the tiger.
Now the wise cheetah said, "Have you wished for stripes?"
"Why yes I did," said the tiger.
Wise cheetah said, "Look at your stripes now. Then think of
what they looked like when you painted them on. Are they different?"
"Yes," said tiger, "I painted only straight lines
on but these are straight and vertical lines."
The wise cheetah explained that he had wished so long and so hard
for the stripes that he got them. The tiger was happy because his
wish came true. The tiger still looks like that today.
That is how the tiger got its stripes!
Why the Frog is Green
by Nick S.
Once upon a time there was a Japanese tree frog. He had no color
to him, instead he was white. He was bumpy, slimy, and he smelled
like dirty socks because he played in garbage. A bowl of green paint
made from berries and different kinds of leaves was under a nearby
tree used for inscriptions. The year was January 3rd, 12,000 BC.
One day the frog was hopping around trying to catch a fly for dinner.
The fly was flying above a branch. So the frog climbed and climbed
until it got to the branch. The frog crept nearer and nearer to
the fly and then he slipped, fell from the tree, and landed into
the bowl. The frog got out and tried washing it off but nothing
worked. So he stuck with the color and it all turned out pretty
good.
How the Leopard Got its Spots
by Nick D.
About 600,876,123 years ago in a scorching hot field, there lived
a leopard who was blank. He had no activity on him. Everybody looked
at him strangely. They thought, "What on earth is that thing?"
He was sooo disappointed, he wished he was never even thought of
being born. His mom didn’t even want to have a baby, especially
like him. He felt like he was so dull and plain.
One day there were some kids playing with bombs and black paint.
He thought, "Why dont I go over there. I might get some spots
and look good so my parents will notice me."
The kids blew up the paint and it spilled all over him. The paint
was non washable, so the spots stayed on for ever and ever and ever.
That is how the leopard got its spots.
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