Long ago Beaver did not look like he does now. Yes, he had two very large front teeth, but his tail was not wide and flat. It was thick with silky fur. Vain Beaver is inordinately proud of his glorious tail. When he's not bragging about his tail, Beaver spends his time grooming it, while the other woodland creatures go about their business of finding food and shelter for their families. Eventually Beaver's boasting drives away his friends and he is left on his own. But when his tail is flattened in an accident (of his own making), Beaver learns to value its new shape and seeks to make amends with his friends. Based on an Ojibwe legend.

A Native American legend about how the beaver got its flat hairless tail. Includes teaching notes.

Legends are made from what most people thought could never be done. Someone did the impossible. Something happened that no one thought would ever happen. Sheer determination wins out over the unthinkable task. And so it is with the legend of Bucky the beaver. His story is carved in trees all over the world and passed on by father to child throughout time. His story is one of remarkable determination and willpower in spite of his handicap—his buckteeth—and the tremendous teasing from all the other beavers. He alone would set the example for all that would give an ear to the story. No one could believe that a little bucktoothed beaver could change the world for the better and set the bar so high for us all to aspire to. Never give up!

Coyote and the other land animals devise a plot to steal fire from Curlew, the keeper of the sky world, and they successfully bring fire to Earth, protecting it against the month-long rain that Curlew sends down to extinguish it.

A clueless beaver discovers the impact his actions have on others.

A dark and bloody past lurks beneath the folklore of the Little Beaver Creek watershed in Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. The first American frontiersmen hesitantly settled this region in the late 1700s following more than forty years of warfare. Fables like Barbara Davidson, the Pig Lady of Cannelton, sprang from this long, horrific conflict. The legends of Esther Hale, the White Lady of Sprucevale, and Gretchen's Lock rose shortly thereafter, whereas the age of the Indian Rock petroglyph remains hotly debated. Today, most locals know these stories. But few know the purpose of Indian Rock or why Barbara's restless spirit sometimes appears with a pig's head. Using methods honed over twenty years of service as a Department of Defense intelligence analyst, author Michael Kishbucher uncovers the history and potential origins of these and other tales.

The tie-in to the classic situation comedy that defined the TV era of a whole generation of baby boomers, "The World According to Beaver" is both an in-depth episode guide and a study of the meaning and impact of "The Beav". Photos.