Soft Child: How Rattlesnake Got its Fangs

A Native American legend tells how Sky God helped Rattlesnake to defend himself.

Ages 4-8

Joe Hayes is one of America's premier storytellers. He grew up in a small town in southern Arizona where he learned Spanish from his classmates. As he got older, Joe began gathering old stories from the Southwest. Joe has earned a distinctive role as a bilingual storyteller.

Joe Hayes is one of America's premier storytellers-a nationally recognized teller of tales from the Hispanic, Native American and Anglo cultures. His bilingual Spanish-English tellings have earned him a distinctive place among America's storytellers. His bilingual books are used in schools all over the United States. For twenty-six summers Joe has been the resident storyteller at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe. He has shared stories in over 3,000 schools and spoken at educational conferences throughout the country. He has appeared at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN, and one of his tales was chosen for the book Best Loved Stories Told At The National Storytelling Festival. His first book, The Day It Snowed Tortillas, was published in 1982. It is a collection of some of Joe's favorite Hispanic stories from New Mexico, and has become a regional classic.