HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

by Rub Borgia

illustrated by Kathie Kelleher

TheNight B i rdThe Night B i rd

1388035

3.2.8

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: Q

DRA: 40

Genre:Folktale

Strategy:Infer/Predict

Skill:Conclusions

Word Count: 1,172

by Rub BorgiaIllustrated by Kathie Kelleher

TheNight BirdTheNight Bird

Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.

Printed in China

ISBN-10: 0-547-25360-5ISBN-13: 978-0-547-25360-2

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The Yanomani Indians from Venezuela tell the story of how, long ago, a giant bird stole the night away from them.

This folktale describes how the Yanomani were able to take back the night for their tribe.

The Yanomani Indians have lived on the borders of a wide river for thousands of years. And, although long ago there had been a moon and stars, for many years the night had disappeared. Since there was no night, it was always daytime and the Yanomani had to sleep in the hot sunlight all night long.

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One day, before the harvest began, a group of young people from the tribe went out to explore the jungle. After a while, they came to a very quiet place. Suddenly, there was an explosion of loud screeching noises. The sound was coming from a strange creature none of them had seen before.

The young people were not ashamed to run away from the horrible noises. When they got back to their homes, they called a meeting with the tribe. Everyone was upset when they heard about the strange creature. The chief listened. He did not give any advice. He just looked at Hebewe, his son, and nodded his head.

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Hebewe knew by the signal his father had given him that it was time to separate himself from the other young people in the tribe. He understood that the time had come for him to do something important and serious with his life. He walked toward the big tree, his favorite place for thinking.

The young man knew that the screeching noises came from the great Night Bird. His father had told him about this creature, called Titirit. Hebewe knew the story of the large bird and how it had stolen the night from his people. It was told that for a long time Titirit was jealous of the chief and, in order to punish him, he had stolen the night away forever.

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Hebewe thought and thought about how he might take back the night. Perhaps he should speak to the Night Bird. Maybe it would listen. After so many years, it was time for night to be returned to his tribe.

Hebewe set out alone toward the jungle. He left so quickly, he did not have time to borrow a weapon. He followed the same path that the others had taken. Hebewe did not know how he would fi nd the Night Bird, but he knew that he would fi nd him. All around him, the jungle animals let him pass as if they understood that something important was about to happen.

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After many hours of walking, he passed by a pit of poisonous snakes. But the snakes watched him quietly and did not try to hurt him. A hungry wildcat walked by without even looking at the young man. Hebewe seemed to be protected from everything. Nothing could hurt him. The jungle seemed more beautiful than ever. It was full of colorful plants and fl owers.

When the young man arrived at the riverbank, he lay down to rest in a patch of shade. The jungle was quiet now. The only sounds were the songs of the crickets and the toads. Slowly he began to close his eyes, and soon he was asleep.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise. Hebewe woke up when he heard the strange sounds behind him. He quickly turned around. It was then that he saw the most incredible sight he had ever seen. He knew that he had found Titirit, the great Night Bird.

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The Night Bird had come from deep in the jungle. Its huge size was enough to scare anyone, and the fl apping of its great wings made a noise Hebewe had never heard before. The young man stared at the bird. He was amazed at what he saw. The creatures back was completely covered by black and grey feathers. Its chest was white and on top of its head, like a crown, were many beautiful bright blue feathers.

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As if it knew it was being admired, Titirit opened its huge wings and lifted off the ground. It landed at the top of a tree, staring down on Hebewe with an angry look.

The young man had not been able to move since he saw the bird. He wondered what would happen if he touched it. He took a few steps forward and reached toward the creature. Suddenly, with a loud screech, the bird opened its huge wings. It attacked Hebewe, knocking him to the ground. Hebewe got up quickly and tried to move toward the bird. But again, the bird knocked him to the ground.

Titirit fl ew from tree to tree, fl ying around the young man and teasing him. But Hebewe did not give up. He was a strong young man. The bird looked very old. Maybe it was afraid of him. Hebewe decided to speak. Maybe the bird would understand him.

From his place on the ground, he spoke to Titirit: Great bird, Titirit, I am not here to hurt you. I only want to touch your beautiful feathers. Let me do this and I will leave you alone.

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Upon hearing this, the large bird stopped fl ying around. It landed gently on a large branch. Its eyes, tired and old, watched the young man. It stayed very still. Hebewe took this as a sign.

Hebewe was scared, but he reached his hand toward the bird. With great care, he started to touch the birds white feathers. The bird watched him without moving, but as soon as the young mans hand touched its chest, Titirit let out a shrill cry.

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Hearing the cry, Hebewe took a step back. Just then, the great Night Birds chest opened wide to show a deep hole. From this hole, thousands of tiny lights fl ew out, shining and dancing around Hebewe.

Hebewe was amazed! He moved away from the bird, which seemed to be losing strength. The black hole in its chest was growing larger and larger. Soon Hebewe was in the middle of darkness.

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The darkness fl owed through the whole jungle and then moved farther to other parts of the Earth.

The wider that the great birds chest opened, the less that was left of the bird itself. Soon, the bird had disappeared completely. All that remained was blackness.

The jungle was covered by night.

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According to the tale of the Yanomani Indians from Venezuela, this is how Hebewe returned the night to their tribe. The tiny lights that came out of the dark hole danced up to the sky and became a million stars shining in the blackness.

Because of the courage of one young man, the Yanomani have slept in quiet, cool darkness ever since.

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Responding TARGET SKILL Conclusions Copy the

chart below. Fill in three story details that show how night was returned to the tribe.

Detail Detail Detail

Conclusion Hebewe worked hard to return night to the tribe.

Text to Text Think of a folktale you have read that has an animal character. Write a paragraph that summarizes what happens in the story. Include only the important details.

Write About It

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adviceashamedbordersborrow

harvestpatchseparateserious

TARGET VOCABULARY

admiredcreatureexplosionpoisonous

signalVenezuelaweaponYanomani

EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY

TARGET SKILL Conclusions Use details to figure out ideas that the author doesnt state.

TARGET STRATEGY Infer/Predict Use clues to figure out more about the selection.

GENRE A folktale is a story that the people of a country tell to explain or entertain.

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

by Rub Borgia

illustrated by Kathie Kelleher

TheNight B i rdThe Night B i rd

1388035

3.2.8

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: Q

DRA: 40

Genre:Folktale

Strategy:Infer/Predict

Skill:Conclusions

Word Count: 1,172