October, 2025 | USFolktales.com

John Henry and the River Tunnel

October 17, 2025

When the rails first crossed the Appalachians, the mountain itself seemed to rise up and say, “Not through me.” The company men, wearing suits too fine for the dust they kicked up, pointed at the dark gorge by the river and said, “We’ll put a tunnel there, boys. The train

Raven and the Snowless Winter

October 17, 2025

American Myths

In the earliest days, the land was green and gold all year long. Rivers shimmered, but they ran shallow, and the salmon—who once filled every stream—could not return home to spawn. The forests whispered in thirst. The People prayed for cold to come, but no frost ever touched the earth.

Sky Woman’s Basket

October 17, 2025

American Myths

Before there were rivers to name or hills to climb, there was only the wide wind and the endless water—sky reflected upon sky, stretching without beginning or edge. The stars hung low and silent, waiting for something solid to shine upon. High above that water lived a woman called Sky

Br’er Rabbit and the Millstone

October 17, 2025

American Folktales

Morning crept slow over the Georgia hills, bringing with it a syrupy kind of heat—the kind that made every creature move slower except for Br’er Rabbit, who never could sit still long enough to get sticky. He hopped down a red-dirt path, whistling a tune that might’ve been cheerful if

Coyote and the Borrowed Light

October 17, 2025

American Folktales

Long ago, before rivers remembered their names and before the People could see their own shadows, the world slept under an endless twilight. The stars shivered faintly above, too small and too far to warm the darkness. Nights and days were the same gray hour. The People stumbled when they