Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox (Tall Tale)

A "tall tail" is an American story about a person that is larger than life. The descriptions are

 exaggerated-much larger than real life.

-When American settlers began building the country they would gather together in the evening

 telling each other funny stories.  The story of Paul Bunyan is such a story.

-Paul Bunyon is the tall tale of a a lumberjack who, tradition says, cleared forests from

 the northeastern United States to the Pacific Ocean.

-Some people say Paul Bunyon was a creation of storytellers from the middle western Great 

Lakes.  Paul Bunyon was given credit for creating the Great Lakes.   Others say the stories 

orginated from French Canada.

-Paul Bunyon was born in the northeastern state of Maine.  His mother and father were shocked

when they first saw the boy that was so large that it took 5 storks to carry him to his parents.

-When the boy was only a few weeks old, he weighed more than forty-five kilograms.

-As a child he was always hungry.  His parents needed ten cows to supply milk for his meals.  

He eventually ate fifty eggs and ten containers of potatoes everyday.

-Young Paul grew so big that his parents did not know what to do with him.  Once when he was 

sleeping, he rolled over and caused an earthquake in his village.  This incident caused the 

goverment to request that they move somewhere else.

-His father built him a large baby cradle to take him up the coast of Maine but Paul would

roll over and cause huge waves along the coastline.

-His parents brought him back to land and took up residence in the woods. This is where he 

grew up.

-Paul helped his father cut down trees.  He had the strength of many men.  He was also extremely

fast.  He could turn off a light and then jump into his bed before the room got dark.

-Maine is very cold most of the year.  The snow cover Paul's home and nearby forest.  The snow

was an unusal blue color.  When Paul went out to see the snow he discovered a baby ox.

-He brought the ox into his house and put him near the fireplace.  After the ox warmed up he still 

remained blue.  Paul decided to keep the ox and name him Babe.

-One evening Paul put Babe in his barn.  When he returned in the morning the barn and Babe 

were gone.  As he looked into the field of grass, he saw Babe with the barn on top of  his back.

-Babe followed Paul everywhere and grew larger everyday.  Everytime Paul looked, Babe grew 

larger and larger. 

-In those days North America was filled with thick, green forests.  Paul could clear large

wooded areas with a single stroke of his large, sharp axe.

--Paul taught Babe to help him with his work.  With both their combined strength they could

straighten roads to make tree cutting easier.

-Paul and Babe the Blue Ox left Maine and moved to the west to look for more forest work.  

Along the way Paul dug out the Great Lakes to provide drinking water for Babe.   They

settled near the Onion River in Minnesota.

-Paul's camp was the largest in the country.  It would take a man one week's food supply to

walk from one side of the camp to another.

-Paul decided to create a crew of lumberjacks that he named the Seven Axemen.  Each man

was more than 2 meters tall and weighed more than 160 kilograms.  All of the Axemen were

named Elmer. That way they all came running when Paul called them.

-The man that cooked for the group was named Sourd

ough Sam, after the substance used for

making sourdough bread.  He made everything except coffee.  Paul was known for making

the best coffee in the camp.

-Every Sunday, Paul and his crew ate hotcakes.  Each hotcake was so large that it took five men

to eat one.  Paul usually had ten or more hotcakes.  

-What is Paul Bunyon's weaknesses? Diminished intellect- While Paul Bunyan is usually able to 

solve problems with brute strength, he is frequently shown to not be the brightest when it comes 

to book-smarts.

-What landmarks did Paul Bunyon create?  Lumberjack Bunyon and his trusty companion, Babe

the Blue Ox, are said to have created the Grand Canyon, the Mississippi River, and the Great

Lakes among other landmarks.

-What is the nickname of Paul Bunyon? As one of America's legendery figures, a Herculean 

lumberjack, earned the nickname of "Mr. Minnesota" (though Michigan and Maine also

claim him.) 

-As "Mr. Minnesota" he is said to have created Minnesota's 10,000 lakes when his huge footprints

filled the water as he explored the state.

-What happened everytime Paul Bunyon sneezed? Exaggeration in tall tales makes the main 

character seem larger than life.  When Paul Bunyon sneezed he blew the birds from Maine

to California.

-How tall is 63 axe handles?  Paul is described in song that he was  "63 axe handles high".  As

the average axe handle is about 18 inches long, that would make him about 94.5 feet (29 meters)

tall.  As a baby he was said to be "10 axe handles high".

-What is the moral of Paul Bunyan: Use the gifts you have been given to do thoughtful things to

show care for others and society in general. 

-