As fire creeps toward the village of the First People, First Man and First Woman must find a way to quench the flames. First Woman asks the Bird People, the River People, and the Water People for assistance, but everyone she speaks to has an excuse.
“Not me,” said Mockingbird. “The smoke would hurt my voice and I would never sing again.”
“Not me,” said Snail. “I carry my house with me and I am slow.”
“No,” said Beaver. “We’d like to help, but our river home would become a desert if we changed the flow of water.”
At last, First Woman asks the mysterious Frog for help. Will he be able to stop the flames before they reach the village?
Author Patricia Hruby Powell’s retelling of this Navajo folktale is as graceful as it is compelling, and as magical as the mythical time it describes. Enter the village of the First People … and become a part of the time when the world was new.