These are typed the way the children turned in their final copies after our editing conferences. I fixed spelling and a few missing periods. Every word and every idea is theirs. (The illustrations are on the bulletin board outside Room 14 until the first week of school, if you'd like to come see them.)

A long time ago, the armadillo did not have armor. He had soft brown fur like a puppy. All the animals wanted to pet him, and he was nice, but he was not brave.

Coyote liked to sneak up behind him and nip his tail and laugh. Every time, Armadillo jumped so high he almost hit the clouds.

One day Armadillo went down to the river to Grandfather Rock, who was the oldest and hardest thing in the whole Hill Country. "Please make me hard like you," he said.

Grandfather Rock said, "I can give you some of my skin. But if I do, you can never be soft again, and you will be heavy, and you will have to dig in the dirt for the rest of your life."

Armadillo said yes. So Grandfather Rock gave him little hard plates all over his back, and Armadillo walked home very slowly.

The next night, Coyote snuck up and bit his tail and broke his tooth. He never bothered Armadillo again.

And that is why the armadillo wears armor, and why he digs in your yard. And that is why when you scare an armadillo he still jumps straight up in the air, because he remembers Coyote.

Long ago, every bird had its own song except Mockingbird. She was plain and gray and she could only say "chack." She was very sad.

So she went to Cardinal and asked, "Can I borrow your song?" Cardinal said, "Only for one day." She went to Blue Jay and Wren and Whip-poor-will and asked them too. They all said, "Only for one day."

Mockingbird practiced all their songs all day long, and she was so happy she sang them all night too. When the day was over, she was supposed to give them back. But she had learned them by heart, and you can't give back something that is in your heart.

The other birds were mad at first. But then they noticed she sang their songs even prettier than they did, and they decided to let her keep them.

And that is why the mockingbird sings every bird's song, and why she sings at night. And that is why she is the state bird of Texas, because she is the best singer. Last week the one in our tree did my mom's car alarm.

Long ago the moon was perfectly white and clean, like a brand new plate. She was very proud of it. And back then, Raccoon did not have a mask.

Raccoon was the most curious animal there was. He wanted to touch everything. One night after he had been digging crawdads in the creek, he looked up and saw the moon, and he wanted to touch it more than anything.

So he climbed the tallest pecan tree in the world. He climbed all night. At the very top he stretched out as far as he could and touched the moon with both hands.

But he forgot to wash his hands! He left big muddy handprints all over her.

The moon was so embarrassed that she started hiding part of her face every night, a little more and a little more, until she disappeared. Then she came back slowly, hoping nobody would notice. But they always do.

And Raccoon was so ashamed that he put on a mask so the moon wouldn't know who did it.

And that is why the moon has spots and gets small and big, and why the raccoon wears a mask. And that is why raccoons always wash their food in the water before they eat. They are not going to make that mistake again.

Once upon a long time ago, Cat loved water. She swam in the river every single day with Duck and Turtle and Beaver.

But Cat had the softest, fluffiest fur in the forest, and she was very, very proud of it. She bragged about it all the time. "Look at my fur! Duck, your feathers are so plain. Turtle, your shell is so bumpy."

Duck got tired of it. So one day when Cat was showing off on the riverbank, Duck flapped his wings in the water as hard as he could and SPLASHED her.

Cat's fluffy fur got so wet and heavy that she fell in the river and started to sink. Turtle had to swim under her and carry her to the shore on his back. When she got out, her fur was flat and stringy and she looked like a wet rat, and all the animals laughed.

Cat was so embarrassed that she promised she would never get wet again for the rest of her life. From then on she licked herself clean instead.

And that is why cats hate baths. And that is why my cat Snickers runs under my bed every time she hears the bathtub.

A long, long time ago, the cedar tree was the plainest tree in the Hill Country. In the spring, everybody looked at the bluebonnets and the redbuds and the peach trees, because they had flowers. Nobody ever looked at Cedar. She just stood there being green.

Cedar got jealous. She asked North Wind, "How can I make people notice me?"

North Wind thought about it. Then he said, "In the winter, when nothing else is blooming, I will come by and pick up your dust and carry it to every house in the Hill Country. Then they will notice you."

Cedar said that would be great. So that winter, North Wind came and shook her branches, and a big orange cloud of cedar dust went all over the Hill Country. And everybody sneezed. And their eyes itched and their noses ran. And everybody said, "Oh no, it's the CEDAR!"

And that is why the cedar trees make everybody sneeze every winter. Now everybody notices Cedar. My dad says he wishes they didn't.

Long ago, the hills in the spring were all brown. There were no flowers anywhere, and the people and the animals were sad.

One night Thunder and Lightning had a big fight up in the sky. They stomped and crashed so hard that they cracked the sky, and a big piece of it fell down onto the hills and broke into a million little pieces.

In the morning, Sky looked down and saw the pieces and started to cry, because she wanted them back. She cried and cried, and it rained for three days.

But the rain made the little pieces of sky start to grow. They grew into flowers, and they were the same blue as the sky, and some of them had a little bit of cloud stuck on the top.

When Sky saw how pretty they were and how happy everybody was, she stopped crying and said they could stay, as long as they came back to visit her every spring.

And that is why bluebonnets are blue with white tips, and why they only come in the spring, after it rains.

A long time ago, Roadrunner was the best flier of all the birds. He could fly higher than Eagle and faster than Hawk. And he bragged about it every single day.

Finally Hawk said, "Let's race to the river and back. If you lose, you have to walk for the rest of your life."

Roadrunner laughed. "I never lose."

The race started and Roadrunner zoomed way out in front. He was so far ahead that he decided he had time to stop for a snack. He saw a lizard on a rock, and he landed to eat it. But the lizard ran. Roadrunner chased it, and it ran under a cactus, and he chased it some more, and it ran down a hole. By the time he gave up, Hawk was already back.

So Roadrunner had to keep his promise. He had to walk. But he was still so fast that he decided to run instead.

And that is why the roadrunner runs instead of flies. He can still fly a tiny bit, like a chicken, but only when he really has to. And that is why he always looks mad, and he is still chasing lizards.

Long ago, the summer nights were very, very dark. The moon went to bed early, and the stars were too far away to help.

All the little animals were scared of the dark. The baby rabbits couldn't find their mothers and the little mice got lost on the way home.

There was a tiny brown bug named Firefly, who didn't have any lights. She felt sorry for the little animals. So one night she flew up, up, up to where the sun had gone to sleep behind the hills, and she very quietly took one tiny spark from the sun's blanket. It was hot, but she held on to it all the way home.

When she got back, she found out she glowed! She flew around all night and helped all the little animals find their way. Then she shared her spark with all her brothers and sisters and cousins so there would be enough for everybody.

And that is why fireflies light up on summer nights. They are still helping the little animals get home. That's why you should let them go after you catch them in a jar, because they have a job to do.

Long ago, Buzzard had the most beautiful feathers on his head of any bird. They were long and shiny and they curled at the ends. He combed them every morning and looked at himself in the creek for about an hour.

One day Buzzard said, "My feathers are so beautiful that even the Sun should see them." So he flew up higher and higher to show the Sun. The other birds yelled, "Don't do it!" but he didn't listen.

He got so close to the Sun that his head feathers caught on fire. He had to dive all the way down into the river to put it out. When he came out, the top of his head was bald and red, like a bad sunburn.

After that he was so embarrassed that he didn't want to eat with the other birds anymore. He just waited until everybody was done and ate the leftovers.

And that is why buzzards have bald red heads and eat roadkill. Gross. And that is why they still fly in circles way up high. They are looking for their feathers.

A long time ago, Jackrabbit had tiny little ears like a mouse. But he was the nosiest animal in Texas. He always wanted to know everybody's secrets.

Whenever two animals were talking, Jackrabbit would hop over very quietly and lean his head in close to listen. Then he would tell everybody what they said. Everybody was mad at him.

One night Owl and Deer were having a private talk under the big oak tree. Jackrabbit snuck up and leaned in so close that his little ears were almost touching Owl.

Owl grabbed both his ears with her claws and pulled, to teach him a lesson. She pulled and pulled. When she let go, Jackrabbit's ears were stretched out so long they flopped over his eyes.

Owl said, "There. Now you can hear everything from far away, and you don't have to come so close."

And that is why jackrabbits have such long ears. And that is why you can never sneak up on a jackrabbit, because he can hear you coming from a mile away.

Long ago, Possum was the best actor in the whole forest. Every Saturday night he put on a play for all the animals, and he played every part himself. He was a king, and a pirate, and a cowboy. Everybody clapped.

One night on the way home from his play, Possum ran right into Coyote. Coyote licked his lips and said, "You look like a good dinner."

Possum was so scared he couldn't run. So he thought, I will do the best play I have ever done. He grabbed his heart and said, "Oh! Oh! I am dying!" Then he fell over on his back with his tongue sticking out and his feet in the air. He held his breath. He even made himself stink.

Coyote sniffed him and said, "Yuck. I'm not eating that." And he left.

Possum waited a long time, and then he got up and went home. He taught his kids how to do it, and they taught their kids.

And that is why possums play dead. It is the only play they still do.

A long time ago, the Sun had a problem. In the summer, she got so hot that animals would get sick from it, because nobody warned them to go find some shade.

So the Sun called all the animals together and said, "I need somebody to tell everybody when it is getting too hot."

Dog said, "I'm too busy." Horse said, "I'm too busy." Lizard said, "I like it hot," and went back to sleep on his rock.

Then a little brown bug crawled up out of the ground. It was Cicada. She had been sleeping underground for years and years, and she had just woken up. "I'll do it!" she said.

The Sun was so happy that she gave Cicada the loudest voice in the world for such a little bug. And every summer when it gets really hot, Cicada climbs up in the trees and buzzes as loud as she can so everybody knows.

And that is why cicadas sing in the summer. When they get loud, my grandma says, "Better get inside, it's going to be a hot one." She is always right.