Otto's Tales: The Boy Who Went to the Sky | PragerU Kids

[Music] welcome to otto's tales story time brought to you by prageru kids i'm jill and today and today [Music] sit good boy do you want to hear a story today yes i'm sharing a tale from the cherokee native americans all about playing ball yes okay ready get comfy [Music] let's read the boy who went to the sky once upon a time in the days before there was a moon in the sky there was a boy who was a great ball player in his village he was one of the best in his cherokee nation he could catch really well run really fast kick really far and almost never lost a game one day his village thought it'd be a fun idea to play against another cherokee village from the other side of the ridge so the teams met halfway and started to play the rules of the game were clear just as they always were the ball must be kicked into the goal no throwing allowed this game was important as it would test each village's strength and honor and the boy found himself feeling well nervous he wanted to play his very best to win like he usually did it was a tough game with the other team making goals and gaining points the boy became frustrated discouraged and forgot about his honor i must make more goals he thought he then did something that went against the rules of playing he scooped up the ball with his hands and threw it towards the goal he was certain that no one noticed as they were all busy running back and forth the ball whooshed through the air and went straight into the goal just as the boy had intended but it didn't stop there a strange thing happened the ball went through the goal and then went up up up into the air it kept going and going higher and higher everyone who was watching gasped they couldn't believe their eyes but it was happening right in front of them or rather above their heads then the boy who went against the rules of the game bounced up from the earth and left towards the ball it looked like he jumped to follow it but he too kept going and going higher and higher up up up into the clear blue sky went the ball and the boy until both of them could no longer be seen the villagers watching were confused was it magic they rubbed their eyes looking up squinting to try to find where the boy and the ball disappeared to in the sky they were nowhere so with wonder everyone quietly returned to their villages what the tribe witnessed was a great lesson the boy's wrong play must have been seen by the great spirit of the cherokee people that night after the boy disappeared into the sky a most peculiar event happened when the braves sat around their warm campfires a huge round silver ball appeared high in the dark night sky it seemed to hang there everyone looked up at it it brightened the trees in the forest with a lovely soft light and looking closely the face of the boy who had not played fair earlier that day could be seen in the round glowing ball the moon had gone to the heavens the ball taken from the game and every night after that the moon looked different waxing waning a large round ball or a thin sliver in the sky it was odd but amazing when the moon looked small it was because someone had not played fairly earlier that day and it was soon understood in the villages that the boy and the ball went to the sky to remind everyone to never cheat and so it happened that the cherokee people only played ball during a full moon the end i never heard that one before you know native american tribes have so many incredible stories that we can learn great lessons from having honor was an important virtue to the cherokee people in this story and it's still an important virtue for all of us to learn and demonstrate now playing fair and honestly at school at home on teams and everywhere we go is important having honor is what makes us good citizens to make our country and our world better auto how we play the game on and off the field matters right thank you for watching otto's tales check out some of our other stories too keep reading keep watching and keep playing fairly where'd you go [Music] we're so glad you joined us for today's reading otto's tales is made possible through the generous support of donors like you you can help us keep the stories coming by going to prageru.com donate today