Way beyond, once upon a time, some of the Osages lived in the sky. They did not know where they came from, so they went to Sun. They said, "From where did we come?" He said, "You are my children." Then they wandered still further and came to Moon. Moon said, "I am your mother; Sun is your father. You must go away from here. You must go down to the earth and live there." Thus begins the first selection in Katharine Berry Judson's remarkable collection. These are the stories passed from generation to generation by the Osage, the Dakota, the Omaha, the Ponca, and other peoples who have inhabited the Great Plains of America for many, many generations. The myths explain the unknown origins of their known world. The legends inspire great deeds through the ancient acts of those who came before. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.