The First Thanksgiving | Thanksgiving Books Read Aloud | Stories for Kids

linda hayward's

first

thanksgiving

illustrated by james watlin a step three towards

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ing the book plymouth england 1620 a ship is in port receiving passengers the people on board seem too poor and too ordinary to be famous and yet , their names are now in history

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now, almost 400 years later, we still tell their story these are the people we call the pilgrims they are about to sail to a strange new land called america they have been warned that the indians may attack them even the The trip will be dangerous There may be pirates or hurricanes Many ships set sail and were never seen again The pilgrims are risking their lives Why did it start with the king The king declared that everyone should belong to his religion The pilgrims wanted their own religion They tried to meet secretly but the king sent spies to watch their homes sent soldiers to arrest their leaders even their neighbors turned against them so the pilgrims decided to leave england now they are finally on the ship that will take them across the ocean the mayflower other people have joined They are all waiting for a better life in America They have left their homes They have said goodbye to their friends They have also said goodbye to England The Mayflower is on its way The ship is full There are 102 passengers in total Most of them have to stay in a congested place below deck it is cold and damp there is no water to wash or bathroom every day the pilgrims eat the same pickled beef cheese and dry stale b

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some of the bread is full of worms even the water tastes bad on the other side of the ocean the mayflower It is battered by terrible storms week after week huge waves crash on the deck it seems as if the little ship is going to break in two but the mayflower is still afloat after nine long weeks at sea one morning a lookout throws a dark speck in front of the land What an exciting sight They have arrived at their new home The ship approaches The pilgrims see a sandy beach and many trees America looks wild and strange Is it safe?

There are Indians hiding in the forest. A search party disembarks. The men walk for miles and miles. Suddenly they see Indians, but the Indians get scared and flee. The men continue exploring. They find wonderful things. Baskets of corn. A spring. They bring fresh water to the boat. How sweet it tastes now. pilgrims must choose a good place to live a place with a harbor and fresh water and fields to plant finally they find the perfect place here a stream flows into the harbor a large rock marks the landing they call this place new plymouth the pilgrims begin a new life In a new land there is a lot to do.

They must build houses before they can abandon ship, but it is winter. Bad weather slows them down. It takes weeks to finish a single house and there is barely enough to eat. The pilgrims survive on the ship's food, roots, wild birds and shellfish, as they wish. a plate of pudding and a piece of meat on a nearby hill the pilgrims build a platform for their cannons they know the Indians are watching them they can see the smoke from their campfires they can hear them in the forest there is a guard posted day and night how hard it is that It is the

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winter, every day is gloomy and cold, fierce and icy winds pass through the settlement, freezing rain falls for hours, the pilgrims huddle around their campfires, they feel miserable and alone, almost everyone gets sick, many people die, the small group of pilgrims fall.

It gets smaller and smaller at the end of winter only half of the pilgrims are still alive the pilgrims bury the dead at night in secret tombs the Indians must not know how few pilgrims are left and how weak those few are the long sad winter Spring passes and the Indians seen nearby come closer and closer and one day an Indian enters directly into the settlement. The children are terrified but the Indian smiles and says welcome. His name is Samusat. He speaks English. He learned it from the ship captains. The pilgrim makes him samusat many questions they ask gifts they want to trust this friendly Indian samosa returns with an Indian name squanto squanto speaks even better English he likes pilgrims and decides to live with them shows them how to survive in the desert how to hunt deer and where to find them berries and herbs also shows them how to plant corn the Indian way the Indians put fish in the ground when they plant their seeds the fish enriches the soil the pilgrims want to make friends with all their Indian neighbors squanto and samasat tell them about the Indian king called mesosoit he is a great and wise leader mesoyet comes to visit plymouth the pilgrim governor bows and kisses the hand of the indian king massasoit bows and kisses the governor's hand then they talk together a treaty is made the pilgrims and the indians will not harm each other another there will be peace the Indian leader draws his sign the governor writes his name this treaty remains in place for 54 years in April the Mayflower sets sail back to England the pilgrims are sad to see him leave but none of them are leaving with him they all want him to stay In America the pilgrims work hard all summer in the fall the fields are full of good things to eat it is a time of abundance for the pilgrims how grateful they are because they have food and shelter and new friends the Indians the pilgrims decide to invite the Indians to a

thanksgiving

feast the messiah promises to come what a surprise messoi arrives with 90 indians the pilgrims are worried how they can feed so many people but masasau knows what to do he sends some men to the force they return with five deer now there is enough for everyone the The oldest pilgrim says a prayer of thanks then the festival begins everyone eats a lot of turkey lobster goose venison onions pumpkins corn bread and berries the festival lasts three days the people eat and sleep and then eat again the Indians do special dances the pilgrim men run races have shooting matches children play games like tag and blind man's bluff everyone has a great time as the years go by more people from england come to america the small town of plymouth gets bigger and bigger the children of the pilgrims grow up and have children of their own and also celebrate harvest festivals in 1863 abraham lincoln the president of the united states of america makes thanksgiving a national holiday the first thanksgiving you never forget