Don was one of five little puppies. With his brothers and sisters he cuddled up close to Mrs. Gurr, the mother dog, to keep warm, for it was rather cool for little dogs, even though there was plenty of straw in the kennel, or house, where they lived. Don shivered and trembled, but when his mother put her soft, warm paw over him and the other little dogs, Don felt better.

Enter Pleasant Valley, the home of the interesting and entertaining creatures and adventures born of American author Arthur Scott Bailey. The Tale of Paddy Muskrat is one of many works penned by Bailey that are part of his Sleep-Time Tales set intended for young children. Come enjoy the turns of luck and whims of the laziest member of the valley. - Summary by Bill Turns Prooflisteners: KevinS and MaryinArkansas

Pinkie is one of a whole bunch of bunny brothers and sisters. Their mother, Mrs. Bunny, is a busy woman and often exasperated with the exuberance and energy of Pinkie. He is not a good student and is considered somewhat lazy but he is a good bunny at heart who loves his numerous brothers and sister bunnies. Follow him on just a few of his adventures and misadventures. - Summary by phil c

Blackie is a coal black cat who lives with two children and their parents. One day she is led astray by a neighboring cat and decides to go for an adventure. Not knowing what to expect, she walks away from her cushion in the sun, plentiful food and lots of petting attention. All does not go as she expects an indeed her scary adventures cause her much anxiety not to mention an empty belly in the days ahead. Follow Blackie on her stroll through the streets and byways of a busy town. A cute story and I promise a happy ending. - Summary by phil chenevert

"Once upon a time, not so very many years ago, a family of rabbits lived in the woods near the top of a mountain. There were six in the family, counting Flop Ear, the funny rabbit, and I speak of him first because this story is going to be mostly about him and his adventures, or what happened to Flop Ear." Another hippity-hoppty tale about an adventurous little rabbit whose left ear just would not stand up straight. - Summary by Phil Chenevert

"Once upon a time, on a beautiful island that stood at the center of a great big lake, there lived in the heart of a kindly old oak tree a dear little squirrel family. There were three in all; father, mother and fluffytail and they were just the happiest family one could imagine." So begins the tale of little Fluffytail and her many adventures. A fun little story. - Summary by Phil Chenevert

The Outline of Science was written specifically with the man-on-the-street in mind as the target audience. Covering scientific subjects ranging from astronomy to biology to elementary physics in clear, concise and easily understood prose, this popular science work is largely as relevant today as when first published in 1922. In this fourth volume , we learn about bacteria, luminous organisms and lower vertebrates as well as domesticated animals. Other chapters are devoted to ethnology, health, relativity theory and philosophy of science.

Allen Chaffee is author of numerous children's books including the Fuzz Wuzz series and a popular rendition of Hiawatha as well as The World of Oz. Here we join the adventures of a the mischievous cub bear, Cinnamon. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Uncle Wiggily, the irrepressable flop eared rabbit, has more adventures and this time he goes underground through the strange world of Wonderland Alice. You are invited to hop along and see what odd and funny things happen. "Once upon a time, after Uncle Wiggily Longears, the nice bunny rabbit gentleman, had some funny adventures with Baby Bunty, and when he found that his rheumatism did not hurt him so much as he hopped on his red, white and blue striped barber pole crutch, the bunny uncle wished he might have some strange and wonderful adventures...

Charles Sternberg was an American fossil collector and paleontologist. He was active in both fields from 1876 to 1928, and collected fossils for private collectors as well as for international museums. This book is part travelogue, part paleontology, and part historical narrative of life on the open prairie. In it, Sternberg tells of his early interest in fossil hunting as a boy, and scientific expeditions from his first in 1876 to one for the Munich Museum in 1901. - Summary by Ava

The People Who Wanted To Live in Caves. This little book takes us back to the time when our ancestors lived, or wanted to live, in caves. Unfortunately the caves of that time were mostly used by large animals like the Sabre Toothed Tiger and bears who could easily kill and eat our ancestors. Thus the subtitle of this book is The Age of Combat. This book, aimed at children, tries to show how certain things could have taken place to enable our species to eke out a living alongside the much stronger beasts, such as why we wanted to live in caves; the hazards and rewards of living in caves; the taming of fire; and how early tools were invented...

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...

Sharp Eyes, the Silver Fox is another tale of adventure that follows a young silver fox from his birth in the woods of England, through training by his parents in how to survive, to some rather bad mistakes he makes leading to his capture and being placed in a zoo.

This is another in the Kneeland Animal Stories by Richard Barnum. Follow the many adventures of the little Chunky Hippo from his home in Africa to the circus. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Although David Alec Wilson is best known for his writings about Thomas Carlyle, he was a Scottish civil servant who spent much time in India. This collection of stories draw from those experiences, where tales of tigers, leopards, crocodiles, elephants and monkeys are part of the cultural fabric. These range from short vignettes to several multi-part stories, all sure to entertain. - Summary by Larry Wilson

David Cory is the author of more than 40 childrens books. This book is in his series of Puss in Boots, Jr. The roots of the legend of Puss in Boots seems to go back to Italian folklore. These books are written for younger readers, about second grade and up, hence the "junior" designation - Summary by Larry Wilson

Toto is the littlest beaver in his family and in the pond. He has much to experience and learn as he experiences the world and has adventures. A fun children's story that has many animals all chipping in to make life interesting for the newest beaver. - Summary by phil chenevert

Old Joe was the biggest, fightingest, craftiest coon in the Creeping Hills. No one had ever been able to catch him; not even Precious Sue, a bluetick hound peerless in tracking down coons. But Harky felt that this autumn the hunting would be different. Old Joe was in for trouble. Precious Sue had a pup who looked like a natural-born coon hunter. With his web-footed paws he was as skillful in the water as any coon. And on land, Duckfoot had a nose that beat every other hound hollow. Harky had a few troubles of his own...

This is a story on the circus animal series by Richard Barnum. Follow adventures of Shaggo, The Mighty Buffalo from prairie to circus life. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Winkie is a girl woodchuck that is always up for any adventure. And she and her sister Blinky have a lot of them as they scurry through the forest with their friends looking for things to eat and to have fun with. Winkie is not called the wily woodchuck for no reason; she manages to evade trouble most times but not all and those times makes us hold our breath wondering if Winkie will manage to grow up to be a big woodchuck at all. - Summary by phil chenevert

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

Soon after his arrival to the lovely, cool summer escape of Devering Farm, Bonnie Prince Fetlar knows his new home will be a good one. Set in the mountainous Canadian countryside, the farm is a nurturing home for children and a safe-haven for animals both domestic and wild. But Prince Fetlar is a wise Shetland pony, and senses that the place is not without mysterious secrets. From saving the life of the beautiful "White Phantom" to solving the mystery regarding his boy owner's lost mother, there is never a dull moment for the small horse with a big heart. Additional proof-listening by Jessie Wang

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

The land of the Eskimo is the most inhospitable desolate portion of Mother Earth inhabited by man. Well has the Eskimo need of his cheerful watch word, or salutation, of Aksuse, which means be strong. This is the story of a Polar Bear and his involvement with his environment and men. But not just any polar bear, the biggest and fiercest of them all. The Czar of the Frozen North, is in a class quite by himself. He is not nearly as large as his cousin the Kadiak bear, but that huge beast inhabits a comparatively small area and is little known, while the white Czar ranges along the shores of the Arctic sea round the entire world...

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

“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...

] 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

Follow the adventures and escapades of these delightful bears! There is one story for each day of the month from master story teller H.R. Garis who brought us the stories of Uncle Wiggily, Curlytops, Buddy, Teddy, and many others. This is one of his Bedtime series.

Lightfoot is a delightful little goat who jumps from one adventure to another, some heroic some just mischief, but always a lot of fun. This is one of the Kneetime Animal Stories series written under the name of Richard Barnum. - Summary by Larry Wilson

London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. Opening in 1828, it was originally intended to be used as a collection for the scientific study of animals. The animals of the Tower of London menagerie were transferred to the zoo's collection in 1831-32. It was opened to the public in 1847. It is managed by the Zoological Society of London , and is situated at the northern edge of Regent's Park. Charles John Cornish was a well known popular English naturalist and author; he published this book in 1895. - Summary by David Wales

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