Peter Rabbit has many questions. How did Howler the Wolf get his name? How did Lightfoot the Deer learn to jump? How did Drummer the Woodpecker come by his red cap? When Peter asks Grandfather Frog, Grandfather Frog tells him a story of long ago. This book is a collection of those stories told by Grandfather Frog and many others.

Old Granny Fox and grandson Reddy Fox must use all their cunning to hunt up enough food to survive the long winter. Food in the Green Meadow is scarce but Farmer Brown's hens are locked up tight and protected by Bowser the Hound, so Granny takes a conceited Reddy hunting and teaches him some surprising new tricks to lure in their dinner. Old Granny and Reddy Fox encounter danger and adventure in their quests to keep their bellies full, including a close encounter with Farmer Brown's boy, a clever plot to steal Bowser's food, and an unforeseen thief who might outsmart this sneaky pair.

"Hello, Jerry Muskrat! We'd forgotten all about you," said Mrs. Quack. "What was that you said?" Jerry good-naturedly repeated what he had said. Mrs. Quack's face brightened. "Do you really mean it?" she asked eagerly. "Do you really mean that you know of a pond where we could live and not be likely to be seen by these two-legged creatures called men?" "That's what I said," replied Jerry briefly. "Oh, Jerry, you're not joking, are you? Tell me you're not joking," begged Mrs. Quack. "Of course I'm not joking," returned Jerry just a little bit indignantly, "I am not the kind of a fellow to joke people who are in such trouble as you and Mr. Quack seem to be in."

Blacky the Crow is a clever rascal who lives in the Green Forest and Meadow. He loves to play tricks on the other little people who are his neighbours, and is curious about Farmer Brown’s Boy. Blacky is always thinking about what is right and what is wrong, but he still gets into all kinds of mischief.

Old Man Coyote craftily leads Bowser the hound away from home, and Bowser gets lost. Will Bowser find his way back to Farmer Brown's? Will Reddy Fox finally catch himself a chicken, now that Bowser is no longer guarding the henhouse? This is one of many delightful books by the naturalist Thornton W. Burgess, who wrote children's stories featuring the animals of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows.

The adventures and perils of Happy Jack the Squirrel in the Green Forest, co-starring Happy Jack's cousins Chatterer the Red Squirrel and Striped Chipmunk, friends Sammy Jay, Tommy Tit, Whitefoot the Wood Mouse, and Shadow the Weasel as Happy Jack's enemy.

There's nothing that sly troublemaker Sammy Jay likes better than stealing corn - unless it's playing tricks on the other animals in the forest. Yet Chatterer the Red Squirrel would like to keep his corn, thank you very much, and while he's at it prove he is just as smart as Sammy Jay! Thornton Burgess takes us once again into the charming world of the Green Forest and Green Meadows in this delightful story.

Chatterer the Red Squirrel finds himself in trouble again and is forced to abandon his old home. As the search for a new home begins, Chatterer's curiosity gets the better of him and a moment of carelessness causes him to stumble into a far different home than he ever imagined. This book is Thornton W. Burgess at his best as he captures the personalities and behaviors of the animals in the Green Forest delightfully well and tells a story of mischievousness and unexpected friendship.

Thorton Burgess gives us a collection of stories about the animals, explaining 'when' they got their peculiar traits. As usual the stories are short and delightfully written so as to be enjoyed by child or adult. Have you ever wondered when Mr. Bluebird got his beautiful coat? or when Bob-White won his name? or Old Mr. Bat got his wings:? well these stories explain how they all happened along with many,many more.

This is the story of Peter Rabbit, a mischievous, but cautious, lagomorph who lives in the Green Meadows. Peter Rabbit begins his adventures with a quest for a new name, since his name is far too common for his taste. Having a new name is not quite what he thought it would be, however, and soon he is on to new exploits like outsmarting Reddy Fox and discovering where all his friends spend the winter. This tale co-stars Reddy Fox, Jerry Muskrat, Unc' Billy Possum, Jimmy Skunk, Ol' Mistah Buzzard, Bowser the Hound, and many more of Thornton W. Burgess' delightful characters.

The Adventures of Old Man Coyote is another in the long list of children's books by conservationist Thornton W. Burgess. In this book, the residents of The Green Pasture and The Green Forest are concerned about a strange newcomer, Old Man Coyote. Old Many Coyote matches wits with Old Granny Fox and has encounters with Reddy Fox and Peter Rabbit, and a particularly sharp confrontation with Prickly Porky.

The Adventures of Bob White is another in the long line of children's books by conservationist Thornton W. Burgess. In this book, Bob White and Mrs. Bob White make a new home near the Old Briar Patch where they become neighbors with Peter Rabbit. We learn what Bob White likes to eat, how he protects his nest from being discovered, and who his friends and his enemies are. We also learn that sometimes it's not good to know everything, that arithmetic can be a useful tool, and that a Bob White needs to stay far away from the two-legged creatures who carry fire-sticks.

"In this engaging story, Bobby Raccoon suffers a series of mishaps. Following a bad dream, he bites his own tail, is given a dreadful fright, learns that Farmer Brown's Boy is a kind friend, survives an encounter with Buster Bear, gets a terrible shaking and more, but, happily, is rescued by Peter Rabbit and eventually finds a new home."

This is the 6th compilation of childrens bedtime stories by conservationist and newspaper columnist author Thornton Waldo Burgess. Burgess used his outdoor observations as plots for his stories. The stories involve his earlier developed characters such as Peter Rabbit, Sammy Jay and Grandfather Frog. - Summary by afutterer.

Author and editor of numerous children's books, Thornton W. Burgess was also a noted conservationist. In writing for youngsters he combined a gift for storytelling with his love of the outdoors, creating an entertaining menagerie of animals whose adventures he skillfully recounted in a series of charming fables. In them, he taught young readers about nature and encouraged them to love the "lesser folk in fur and feathers." In this delightfully told tale, Burgess chronicles the escapades of Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who's known throughout the Green Forest as a mischief maker...

Chatterer the Red Squirrel finds himself in trouble again and is forced to abandon his old home. As the search for a new home begins, Chatterer's curiosity gets the better of him and a moment of carelessness causes him to stumble into a far different home than he ever imagined. This book is Thornton W. Burgess at his best as he captures the personalities and behaviors of the animals in the Green Forest delightfully well and tells a story of mischievousness and unexpected friendship. - Summary by Jill Engle

This is the story of Peter Rabbit, a mischievous, but cautious, lagomorph who lives in the Green Meadows. Peter Rabbit begins his adventures with a quest for a new name, since his name is far too common for his taste. Having a new name is not quite what he thought it would be, however, and soon he is on to new exploits like outsmarting Reddy Fox and discovering where all his friends spend the winter. This tale co-stars Reddy Fox, Jerry Muskrat, Unc' Billy Possum, Jimmy Skunk, Ol' Mistah Buzzard, Bowser the Hound, and many more of Thornton W. Burgess' delightful characters. - Summary by Jill Engle

This is the story about Tommy and how he came to better understand the animals around him. Tommy has a favourite stone that he likes to sit upon to think about his day and ponder his troubles. He comes to name this stone the wishing-stone, as it seems to grant his impulsive wishes to become various animals that happen to cross his path while sitting there. Tommy learns first-hand about the exciting life of these animals and gains a new perspective after each exciting adventure. - Summary by SweetHome

Continuing the adventure of Buster Bear, we meet his twins, Boxer and Woof-Woof, from their first bath to misadventures with neighbors including Peter Rabbit. - Summary by Larry Wilson

“Tommy scuffed his bare, brown feet in the grass … A scowl, a deep, dark, heavy scowl, had chased all merriment from his round, freckled face. It seemed as if the very freckles were trying to hide from it. Tommy didn’t care. He said so. He said so right out loud. He didn’t care if all the world knew it. He wanted the world to know it. It was a horrid old world anyway…” Soon, Tommy finds the “wishing stone.” His wishes transform him into a mouse, and then a succession of animals of the forest giving him a new perspective and exciting adventures, including times with Peter Rabbit and other forest friends...

“The stranger and the unknown must be always looked on with distrust.” --  Billy Mink The Green Forest and the Smiling Pool are full of adventure for Billy Mink and his animal friends – Bobby Coon, Jerry Muskrat, Juniper Hare and the others. But, danger lurks with a plot from the Robber Rats. How will Billy Mink win the day? This is the first of the "Smiling Pool Series" of stories by prolific author of 150 animal books for children, Thornton W. Burgess. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Tuktu and her brother, Aklak, are Eskimo children who live happily with their beloved reindeer in the Northland. When Tuktu is lost in a fog, she meets Santa Claus or the Good Spirit as she knows him. This generous little girl wants to share her reindeer with the children of the world and so works to help Santa on his annual Christmas journey. - Summary by Jude Somers

“Folks aren’t so sure about you when You spring surprises now and then.”  Little Joe Otter.Join Little Joe Otter and Peter Rabbit in their adventures that include encounters with Farmer Brown and a treacherous trapper. This is the second of the "Smiling Pool Series" of stories by prolific author of 150 animal books for the children, Thornton W. Burgess.

These are the fantastic adventures of Galopoff, the talking pony, and his friends. Galopoff experiences some amazing adventures in Russia, meeting some famous people of his time, and joining a circus, until his story finally culminates in a great happy end. - Summary by Carolin

Gypsy is a particularly smart little dog, who knows a lot of tricks which he performed with his owner, a street artist. But one day, he is stolen from this owner and kidnapped, and brought aboard a ship to be transported away. Luckily he gets to meet Galopoff, the talking pony, on that ship, who helps him escape. A world of adventure opens to Gypsy, until he finds a good home. - Summary by Carolin

Snow Geese which left James Bay, Canada, arrived at the Louisiana Gulf coast "60 hours later after a continuous flight of over 1,700 miles at an average speed of 28 miles per hour." This is just one of the many intriguing facts about bird migration contained in this 1998 circular from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Informative and up-to-date chapters discuss flight speed and rate of migration, migration routes, and techniques for studying migration. A final chapter, Future Directions, concludes...

A treasure trove of more than two hundred poems, this gem of an anthology compiled by Mary E Burt is indeed a most valuable set of poems to read or listen to. Published in 1904, Poems Every Child Should Know contains some well-loved verses like Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, Lewis Carroll's delightful parody Father William, Felicia Hemans' deeply-moving Casablanca and other favorites. It also has lesser-known but equally beautiful pieces like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Arrow and The Song, Robert Browning's The Incident of the French Camp, Eugene Field's nonsense lyrics Wynken, Blynken and Nod and a host of other wonderful verses...

The Lords of the Housetops reveals the cat through the creative lenses of 13 authors. Consequently, this carefully chosen collection of stories is as complex, charismatic and clever as a cat.

Vance Rudolph's informative work about butterflies includes a summary of current butterfly literature, butterfly body structure, life cycle, and egg laying process, as well as their classification and survival strategies. - Summary by Tatiana Chichilla

A collection of my favorite short children's stories and rhymes.

Cat Tales is the first of a series of kid-friendly collections of animal stories and non-fiction. There’ll be one or two grade-school-level texts on the animal, with eight-nine fiction works. Source for these is Project Gutenberg.

The first volume published by the Boone and Crockett Club, entitled "American Big Game Hunting," confined itself to sport on the American continent. This second volume presents a number of interesting sketches written by club members who have hunted big game in other lands. Essays include: Hunting in East Africa, To the Gulf of Cortez, A Canadian Moose Hunt, A Hunting Trip in India, Dog Sledging in the North, Wolf-Hunting in Russia, A Bear-Hunt in the Sierras, The Ascent of Chief Mountain, The Cougar, Big Game of Mongolia and Tibet, Hunting in the Cattle Country, Wolf-Coursing, Game Laws, and Protection of the Yellowstone National Park. - Summary by Michele Fry

Here is a period piece, covering 47 breeds, about the early days of dog breeding, the birth of the American Kennel Club which firmly established breed standards, and the development of bench shows and field trials. Each article, written by a premier breed expert of the day, sheds light on how today's breeds were sculpted from the best traits of dogs of yesteryear. Old dog training theory and methods of treating disease are discussed. Editor Shields called this book “the grandest work on the dog ever published...

"Birds and Nature" was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds, animals and other natural subjects with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1897-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." - Summary by J. M. Smallheer

The Living Animals of the Natural World, subtitled "a popular Natural History", proposed to present the most updated version of the wonders of the Animal World in a new and clearer form. It used photography instead of the traditional illustrations of the life of beasts, birds, fishes, insects, corals, and the subjects photographed were obtained from every part of the world, many of them from the most distant islands of the Southern Ocean, the great barrier reef of Australia, the New Zealand hills, the Indian jungle, the South African veldt, and the rivers of British Columbia...

The Living Animals of the Natural world, subtitled "a popular Natural History", proposed to present the most updated version of the wonders of the Animal World in a new and clearer form. It used photography instead of the traditional illustrations of the life of beasts, birds, fishes, insects, corals, and the subjects photographed were obtained from every part of the world, many of them from the most distant islands of the Southern Ocean, the great barrier reef of Australia, the New Zealand hills, the Indian jungle, the South African veldt, and the rivers of British Columbia...

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1898-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1898-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1898-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

] Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1898-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

You get to choose what you want to read! So long as the source is Public Domain for you, any short story or chapter that tells of legends, heroes, myths, or ancient lore, is welcome. We are looking for representations of many different cultures within each collection. If you have questions of whether a source is Public Domain for you , I recommend asking about that in this project's discussion before you begin recording. Simply post the question with a link to the source you've found. :) Limit of 2 sections per reader in a given Myths & Legends collection. - Summary by Lynette Caulkins

The American Bee Journal is the “oldest bee paper in America established in 1861 devoted to scientific bee-culture and the production and sale of pure honey. Published every Wednesday, by Thomas G. Newman, Editor and Proprietor” In this volume are short articles and correspondence on a variety of topics from Extracting Bees to Raspberry as a Honey Plant. - Summary by Larry Wilson

The American Bee Journal is the “oldest bee paper in America established in 1861 devoted to scientific bee-culture and the production and sale of pure honey. Published every Wednesday, by Thomas G. Newman, Editor and Proprietor” In this issue are included articles on wintering bees, foulbrood, introducing queens, hives, and reports from Vermont, New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts, among other topics and correspondence. - Summary by Larry Wilson

The title says it all: stories about dogs. - Summary by david wales

This collection is dedicated to recordings of short mythical or legendary works which are in the Public Domain. The stories tell of legends, heroes, myths, and ancient lore from many different cultures.

This collection is dedicated to recordings of short mythical or legendary works which are in the Public Domain. The stories tell of legends, heroes, myths, and ancient lore from many different cultures.

This book is written from the horse's point of view, much as Black Beauty was. Indeed, it is intended to be a companion book to Black Beauty, filling in more background as seen by the horse. The title is actually White Dandy or Master and I: A Horse's Story. What do horses talk about among themselves? Do they have personalities, some dour and unhappy others buoyant and upbeat just as we humans do? Do horses anticipate good times and fear bad owners? Well, if you listen to a chapter or two of this book you will have a delightful glimpse into a horse's life and thoughts.

How true is the old saw: "Dogs have families, but cats have staff"? Cats have been favorite domestic pets for thousands of years. This is a study of their history, characteristics and suitability as pets, together with some charming cat tales. A must-read for cat lovers of all ages.

The journal of British naturalist Bruce Frederick Cummings, spanning from his early childhood through to his early death from complications stemming from multiple sclerosis. The diary combines beautiful, lyrical passages concerning the natural world with more introspective ruminations reminiscent of Kafka. Although successful and scandalous upon their publication in 1919, interest in the diaries has faded along with public interest in naturalism and diary writing more generally. However, Cummings' work is very modern is its forthright confessional tone and contains some deeply moving pieces of writing not easily forgotten. - Summary by Adam Whybray

A little bee is born in a large and busy hive. At that time, the hive is going through a period of unrest and there are fears that it will become subdivided into separate colonies. The little new-born, Maya, is under the care of a strict but loving teacher. One day, driven by curiosity and rebellion, Maya escapes from the safe environs of the hive and flies into the forest. Here, she encounters all sorts of interesting, exciting, frightening and funny things. The Adventures of Maya the Bee is the story of the intriguing days that follow...

This 1915 novella was published as the First World War raged. "Belgium lies bleeding. Across her level, lush meadows the harsh-shod hosts of war have marched. Beside her peaceful waters the sons of God have spilled each other’s blood. Beneath her noble trees have raged the fires of human hate. Her king and his brave warriors have fought to save that which was their own and, driven back, have left their smiling land to suffer the desolation which has ever been the conqueror’s boast. Her ancient cities smoke...

This 1916 book is a collection of sixteen of the author's dog stories previously published in magazines.