A Retelling by the Busy Bees, Room 13

Once upon a time the whole world was made of water. The animals that lived in the water were friends. The beaver would splash his tail up and down in the water. The otter would dive in the water. The loon would swim with its young babies on its back. The muskrat could breathe underwater the longest of any of the animals. The last animal was an old, very large, painted turtle, not a box turtle. His name was Mackinauk. He was kind to all of the other animals. He would cheer them up when they were sad by singing songs. He would let the animals join together to rest up on his large back.

One day, the winds told Mackinauk to get rich soil from the bottom of the water to make a new land. Mackinauk asked his friends if they would help him to get the soil. Loon tried first but she wasn’t able to get all the way down. Beaver tried next but he couldn’t get the soil either. Then Otter tried but she couldn’t get it either. When Muskrat offered to help the other animals laughed at him. They thought he was too small and since none of them were able to do it, they didn’t believe he could do it.

Muskrat took a deep breath and dived deep into the water. He was gone so very long that the other animals thought he was not coming back. Finally, Muskrat zipped out of the water! He was clutching the rich soil in his hands. He threw the soil onto Mackinauk’s back.

Magically, the soil started to spread. Trees sprouted, grass sprouted, and flowers bloomed. Mackinauk had turned into an island. He had turned into a piece of land where the animals could rest and find peace and quiet. Today, we call this island “Mackinac Island”.