First Grade
Worksheets
Why Bears Have Short Tails
In the beginning of time, bears had different tails than they do today. Now they are short, but back then they were long, graceful tails with long, thick, black hair. If a bear wished to be noticed, he would wave it in the air.
One winter day, Old Man Bear came down to a frozen lake. There he saw the strangest sight.
Fox sat on the ice with his back to a hole. What was even stranger were the many fish lying on the ice around the hole.
Bear was hungry. He saw the fish and thought about how good they would taste.
As he watched, Fox twitched and flipped his bushy tail out of the water. Holding on to the end of his tail was a large fish.
Bear went over to talk to Fox. His eyes were wide with surprise.
"Good day, Fox," said Bear. "What wonderful fish! Would you teach me to catch them as you do?"
Fox looked up at Bear. There is nothing a fox likes doing more than playing tricks on someone. He smiled a foxy smile and spoke to Bear.
