The Singing Scoutmaster: Paul Bunyan Creates the Great Lakes

One year, Paul Bunyan and his trusty blue ox, Babe, decided to head north in search of new land to explore. The pair had already traveled far and wide, transforming forests into logging camps and carving out paths that later became rivers. When they finally reached the northern lands, they were surprised to find the area completely dry and desolate. There were no rivers winding through the fields, no ponds for wildlife, and not a single lake for miles around.

"This place sure looks empty, doesn't it, Babe?" Paul said, scratching his head as he looked over the vast, barren plains. "How's anyone supposed to settle down here without a good lake or two?" Babe nodded in agreement, his large blue eyes reflecting the dusty land around them.

Determined to make the land livable, Paul decided to take matters into his own hands. He grabbed his mighty shovel, a tool so large it could have been used to move mountains, and began to dig. With each powerful scoop, Paul tossed dirt and rock high into the sky, sending it flying for miles. The chunks of earth landed far away, forming new hills and ridges that stretched across the landscape. As he worked, the ground beneath his feet trembled, and the sound of his shovel striking the earth echoed like thunder through the valleys.

Babe, eager to help, used his enormous horns to drag along the ground, carving out even deeper basins in the soil. The pair worked tirelessly, moving dirt and rock until the sun dipped below the horizon and rose again. Soon, there were five gigantic holes scattered across the land, each one large enough to hold an entire ocean's worth of water.

"That ought to do it!" Paul said with satisfaction, wiping the sweat from his brow. But empty holes weren't enough. The land needed water. So, Paul called upon his mighty strength and stomped his foot so hard that the ground quaked. "Let's fill 'em up!" he shouted.

Far off in the distant mountains, streams and rivers heard Paul's command and began to surge forward. Water gushed and roared, racing across the plains to reach the newly dug basins. The rivers flowed faster and faster, filling the massive holes with crystal-clear water. The dry, barren land was transformed into a sparkling expanse of lakes that shimmered under the sunlight.

As the lakes filled to the brim, they seemed more like seas than simple bodies of water. Their shores stretched farther than the eye could see, and the depths held enough water to quench the thirst of an entire continent. "Well, Babe," Paul said, looking at their handiwork, "I reckon we've made something special here. These lakes will be a source of life for people and animals alike."

When settlers began to arrive in the region, they were astonished to find the great bodies of water that Paul and Babe had created. The lakes were so vast that they called them the Great Lakes. The newcomers quickly built towns and ports along the shores, using the lakes as a hub for trade and travel. Boats carried goods from one end of the lakes to the other, and fishermen cast their nets into the clear waters, catching fish by the dozens.

The Great Lakes became the lifeblood of the region, providing fresh water, food, and a way to transport goods. The people who settled there would often gather around their campfires at night, telling stories of how Paul Bunyan and his mighty blue ox had shaped the land with their own hands, turning a dry wasteland into a land of abundance.

Even now, as ships sail across the Great Lakes and people fish along their shores, they can still see the marks of Paul Bunyan's giant shovel and Babe's deep hoofprints etched into the land. And whenever the water levels rise and fall, folks like to say it's because Paul or Babe have stopped by to check on their lakes, making sure they're still doing their job, bringing life and prosperity to the northern lands.