Illustration of a bear and turtle talking to each other in a forest
Art by Becca Hall

Turtle’s Race With Bear

In this Seneca folktale, Turtle is tired of Bear’s bragging!

By Joseph Bruchac (retelling)
From the October/November 2023 Issue
Lexile® measure: 500L
Vocabulary: boasted, challenge, signal, victory
Think and Read

As you read, think about the character traits of Turtle and Bear. How do they act?

One day, Bear was walking around. He was bragging. “I am the biggest animal,” he boasted. “I am the strongest animal. I am the fastest animal.”

Then a small voice spoke up from the ground.

“You are not the fastest animal!” the small voice said.

Bear looked down. A little turtle was there. She was sticking her head out of her shell. She was looking up at Bear.

“You are not the fastest animal,” Turtle said again.

Bear laughed. “Ha! You are the slowest animal.”

Turtle stuck her head out farther. “I challenge you to a race,” she said.

A Plan to Race

Bear laughed again. “Ha ha ha!”

“Are you afraid to race me?” Turtle asked.

Bear stopped laughing. “I am not afraid of anything,” Bear said. “I will race you. Tell me when and where.”

“We can race tomorrow. We can race at the big round pond. You can run around the outside. I can swim along the edge of the pond.

“The first one to get back where we started will be the winner.”

Then the two of them went to look at the pond. It was almost winter. The pond was covered with ice.

Turtle explained the race to Bear.

Turtle’s Idea

“How can we race if the pond is icy?” Bear asked.

“I can make a hole in the ice,” Turtle said. “Then I can swim underwater. I don’t mind the cold.”

Bear shook his head. “No. You are trying to trick me. I cannot see through the ice. You will just pretend to swim around. You will just hide under the ice. Then you’ll come back out again.”

Turtle said, “I will make holes around the edge of the pond. I will stick my head up from each hole. You can see how far I have gone.”

Bear agreed. They would meet the next morning. Then they would have their race.

Turtle told Bear to catch up with her. 

The Race

Bear went home to his den. He slept all night. The next morning, he went to the pond.

Turtle was waiting. There were holes in the ice all around the pond.

Turtle was not alone. All the other animals were there. They were tired of hearing Bear brag all the time. They hoped Turtle would win.

The signal was given.

The race began. Turtle crawled to the first hole. She plopped into the water. She disappeared under the ice.

Bear began to walk around the pond. He was sure Turtle would be slow. Suddenly, Turtle’s head popped up from the next hole in the ice.

“Here I am, Bear,” Turtle called. “Catch up with me.”

Bear was surprised. He began to run.

Then, from the next hole in the ice, Turtle’s head popped up again. “Here I am, Bear. Catch up with me.”

Bear ran faster. He ran as fast as he could. He ran so fast that his feet hurt.

But Turtle’s head popped up farther and farther ahead.

“Here I am, Bear. Catch up with me!” she said.

“Here I am, Bear. Catch up with me!” she said again.

“Here I am, Bear. Catch up with me,” she said again. Her head was popping up out of the ice farther and farther ahead.

Turtle’s head was popping up farther and farther ahead of Bear.

The Winner

Before Bear was halfway around the pond, Turtle crawled out.

She had made it all the way around the pond first!

All the other animals congratulated Turtle. They told Turtle she had done a great job. Bear was too tired to finish the race.

He dragged himself back to his den. He was so tired that he slept all through the winter. Ever since then, Bear sleeps all winter.

Turtle Helpers

Turtle waited by the pond. Then she tapped on the ice three times. From every hole in the ice, up popped the head of another turtle. They all looked just like her!

“Thank you, my friends and relatives,” Turtle said. “Today we won a great victory. It is not just a victory for turtles. It is a victory for everyone who has been called slow.”

“Hooray!” said all the turtles. “Hooray!”

Turtle spoke to the animals about her victory. 

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About the Story

Social Studies Focus:

Native American Heritage Month

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Implementation

  • Small group; whole group; independent reading

Pairings and Text Connections

From the Storyworks 2 Archive

Before-Reading Resources

  • Text Preview Bookmarks:
    (5 minutes) Students can cut out the fiction bookmark and
    use it to preview the text.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow
    (5 minutes) Help students become familiar with vocabulary
    words they will see in the article.
  • Play the Folktales Slideshow
    (5 minutes) Help students learn about the folktale genre.
  • Play the Author Video
    (5 minutes) Introduce students to Joseph Bruchac, the Native American author who wrote “Turtle's Race With Bear.”

Suggested Reading Focus

Comprehension, nonfiction text features (30 minutes)

  • Ask the Think and Read question to guide students as they read.
  • Stop to discuss the Pause and Think questions. These offer a quick comprehension check.

After-Reading: Skills Practice (15 minutes for each activity)

  • Quiz: Comprehension check
    This quiz is also available in a lower-level version.
  • What Is the Setting? Writing
    Students can write about where the story takes place and draw a picture.
  • Character Traits
    Students can identify the character traits of a character in the story. Be sure to check our new Skill Power video about identifying character traits!

Text-to-Speech