Paul Bunyan is an American legend. Legends often start with an unusual story about an event or person. The story is told over and over again. As time passes, the story gets exaggerated. Storytellers add to the story. Soon it becomes larger than life—a legend.

So how did the legend of Paul Bunyan start? Historians believe it is based on a combination of tales about two real life men. Both were French-Canadian lumberjacks who lived in the 1800s.

Pippa and Ling stopped at the fountain. They each threw in one coin. “Make a wish!” said Ling.

“I already did,” said Pippa.

“What did you wish for?” asked Ling.

“You’ll see,” said Pippa.

Pippa had wished for wings. She waited patiently for them to grow. She reached her hand around to her back. Were they there?

They were not.

“I guess my wish is not coming true,” said Pippa.

“Look!” said Ling. She pointed to Pippa’s feet. There were very small wings growing out of her sneakers.

“Wow!” said Pippa. “My wish worked!”

When Opal woke up it was raining. In her bedroom. Actually, just over her bed. The rest of the room was dry.

She looked out the window. It was sunny. But above her head it was wet, wet, wet.

Opal looked up and saw the small, black rain cloud. It was hovering. “Why?” asked Opal.

She walked into the hall. The rain cloud followed. “Grrr,” thought Opal.

Her brother Eddie came out of his room. He didn’t have a rain cloud over his head. He had a sunbeam.

“What is up with this?” asked Opal. She was grumpy.

Have you met Jack and Annie? If you’ve ever read the Magic Tree House books, you know who they are!

Jack and Annie are the main characters in this popular series. They travel through time in their tree house. They visit far off lands and go to distant time periods.

Mary Pope Osborne is the author of the Magic Tree House books. She wrote the first book 30 years ago. She is still writing today. The books have sold more than 143 million copies. That’s a lot of happy readers!