Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox

Long ago, in the great north woods of America, a very big baby was born. His name was Paul Bunyan, and he was so big that his parents had to rock him to sleep in a wagon instead of a cradle. When baby Paul giggled, the windows rattled, and when he sneezed, the trees bent over. He ate forty bowls of porridge every morning, and he was still hungry for more. By the time he was grown, Paul was taller than the tallest pine tree.

One winter, the snow fell blue instead of white, and everything was cold and blue. While Paul was walking in the blue snow, he found a tiny baby ox shivering in a snowdrift. The little ox was blue all over from the cold, so Paul carried him home and warmed him by the fire. Paul named him Babe, and the two became the best of friends. Babe grew and grew, but he stayed blue for the rest of his life. He grew so big that you could line up forty-two axe handles between his horns.

Paul became the greatest lumberjack who ever lived. With one swing of his giant axe, he could chop down ten trees at once. Babe helped him by pulling the logs, and he could pull a whole forest in one afternoon. Wherever Babe stepped, his giant hooves left deep holes in the ground. The rain filled up the holes, and that is how Minnesota got its ten thousand lakes.

Paul’s camp was full of hungry lumberjacks who loved pancakes. The cook made a griddle so big that it was as wide as a whole field. To grease it, the helpers tied slabs of bacon to their boots and skated round and round on top. Paul could eat a stack of pancakes taller than a house, with a whole lake of maple syrup.

Once, Paul walked across the West and dragged his heavy axe behind him. The axe dug a long, deep line in the ground, and people say that is how the Grand Canyon was made. Another time, Paul and Babe pulled a crooked river until it was as straight as a rope.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox worked hard and played hard all across the land. Nobody knows where they are now, but some say they are still out there in the great north woods. And if you hear a big laugh echo through the trees, it might just be Paul Bunyan.