Davy Crockett and the Frozen Sunrise

Long ago, in the mountains of Tennessee, there lived a backwoodsman named Davy Crockett. People said he could run faster than a fox, jump over a river, and grin so wide that the moon grinned back.

One winter, it got colder than anyone could remember. It was so cold that even the icicles shivered, and the wind froze into long blue sticks. The rivers froze, the trees froze, and even the snowflakes froze stiff in the sky.

One morning, Davy woke up and saw that it was still dark outside. He waited and waited, but the sun did not come up. “Something is wrong,” said Davy. “The sun is late, and the sun is never late.”

So Davy put on his fur cap and his warmest coat. He packed a big jar of warm, slippery grease, and off he went through the snow. He climbed higher and higher, up to the very top of the tallest mountain, where the sky begins.

There he saw what the trouble was. The great wheels that turn the earth around had frozen solid, and they could not move an inch. And the sun was stuck fast between two huge blocks of ice, shivering and blinking. “Poor old sun,” said Davy. “Don’t you worry, I will get you moving.”

First, Davy opened his jar and rubbed the warm grease all over the frozen wheels. Squeak, squeak, went the wheels, as they started to wiggle. Then he spread more grease on the sun’s face, until the ice began to melt and drip. Then Davy gave the wheels a mighty kick with his boot. Crack! The ice broke apart, the wheels began to turn, and the earth started spinning again.

Slowly, slowly, the sun rose up into the sky. It shook off the last bits of ice, and it shone warm and bright over the whole land. The snow sparkled, the rivers began to flow, and the birds started to sing.

Davy tucked a little piece of the sunrise into his pocket to keep his hands warm. Then he walked home down the mountain, whistling a happy tune. And when he got home, he used that bit of sunrise to light his fire and make himself a hot breakfast.