The Tale of the Great Fire

      Long ago, the Great Spirit created the world, and filled it with plants for the animals to eat. He had to make the plants first, to give them time to grow deep roots and let the trees grow tall. Then he added the insects so flowers could make fruit, then the birds and lizards to eat the insects. Then he made the creatures with fur: the buffalo, the dog, the cat, the the fox, and all the rest. Finally he made people, so they could have food from the plants and the fish, and companions from the animals.

      The land was hot and dry, though, so the Great Spirit sent rainclouds to soothe the thirst of the ground and the people. The storm brought lightning, and with it a fire that blazed across the prairie and into the forests. The people fled on their horses and the animals ran to the mountains to avoid the fire, but many plants burned up and perished. This saddened the Great Spirit tremendously, since the plants could not have run even if they had wanted to.

      So, he planted new seeds. New creatures, plants at their core but with the shapes and abilities of animals. They could follow people around like their horses and dogs, and they could find safety when they needed it. Those are the creatures we call Florabeasts today.