The Rainbird Tales: Tall Tales about Animals and Nature from Finland

By Marita Rainbird

"The Rainbird Tales" is a fascinating journey through northern nature and seasons for people from all walks of life. In old legends the rainbird is a provider of rain for animals and plants, a generous and helpful nature spirit. Today, the bird also collects exciting stories during her travels around the world.

The author wrote the fables out of love for nature and interest in human behavior. The stories tell about country animals, their dreams and fears, about their struggle for freedom, fame, love and belonging. Many of the characters of the book have their counterparts in real life. The fables spiced up with warm humor and illustrations are full of unexpected twists and turns during the animals' eventful adventures in the mysterious northern nature.

Take a deep breath and dive into the colorful world of "The Rainbird Tales" where cows can fly and dogs sing tango.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Release date: May 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9789528012528

Marita Rainbird

Marita Rainbird on seikkailumielinen media-alan ammattilainen ja tarinankertoja Helsingistä. Hän on saduillaan ja luovilla tarinankerrontametodeillaan inspiroinut eri ikäisiä ja kulttuuritaustaisia ihmisiä ympäri maailmaa tuoden heidän elämäänsä toivoa ja iloa. Ja matka jatkuu ... Marita Rainbird is an adventurous media professional and storyteller from Finland. She has inspired people of all ages and races with her stories and creative storytelling methods bringing hope and joy to different parts of the world. And the journey continues …

Book preview

To my beloved family

and to all those

who believe that cows can fly.

Content

Northern Seasons

Summer

The Flying Cow

The Human Sheep

The Seagull’s Song

The Pig and the Briar Roses

The Wagtail Time

Autumn

The Rabbit and the Ghost

Old Maid’s Realization

Horse as a Tractor Driver

The Motocross Fly

The Computer Cat

Winter

A Reindeer’s Dream

An Ostrich on Skis

The Happy Squirrel

The Moonstruck Rooster

The Singing Dog

Spring

Swan Love

The Frog and the Monster

The Greedy Duck

The Colourful Hen

Sheep Philosophy

Author’s Note

Finland’s nightless summers and dayless winters can trigger your imagination and make it run wild. With this in mind, enter the vivid world of The Rainbird Tales where anything can happen anytime for any reason.

Northern Seasons

Far, far away in the North there is a peaceful country called Finland. It is a land where Santa Claus lives enjoying the beautiful nature with forests and lakes.

There are four different seasons in Finland that transform the silent snow-covered winter to a green summer full of light and life. Temperatures vary from +30°C in summer to -30°C in winter.

Summer

In the summer the weather is warm and the days are long. It is a season of the Midnight Sun with bright nights. In Lapland, home of Santa Claus, the sun never sets for two months. Nature, animals and people are very much alive in the summer that lasts three months from June to August. The air is filled with birdsong and the scent of blossoming flowers.

The Flying Cow

There once was a cow named Daisy. Daisy was fed up with her life as a provider of milk on the farm. It seemed to her as though the lovely summer days were wasted. Life was all about chewing the cud and listening to the buzzing of flies. The only variations to her days were milking times, when the farmer’s wife patted her fondly and the farmer admired her beautiful limpid eyes while the milking machine hummed in its familiar way.

One fine summer’s morning Daisy had had enough. For quite some time she had admired the swallows that skimmed and darted about freely in the blue sky. Daisy wished to be free too, free to fly and to see the world. She wanted to be a flying cow!

At the hottest hour of the day, Daisy decided to set off, she simply left the pasture behind. It was time to learn how to fly. Daisy meandered across the meadows and admired the fragrant meadow blossoms and the sun-kissed countryside. The lake looked very tempting in the summer heat, but swimming would have to wait. She would need to find a steep hill from which she could practice flight.

Daisy continued on her way with determination, without fatigue, hunger or thirst. Far off on the horizon she spied a high hilltop at the foot of which there was a large open meadow. An ideal spot for flight practice! A high hilltop and a