Old Indian Legends

A newly illustrated edition with reader's notes for tricky words. Complete and unabridged.

A song, a straw hut, and a circle of ducks with their eyes shut tight—what could possibly go wrong? Meet Iktomi, a clever trickster whose schemes often turn back on him.

Iktomi, a beaded trickster in fringed buckskins, watches a circle of dancing ducks beside a marsh. Across the wide prairie and through the wooded lands, he’s always hungry, always plotting, and certain he’s cleverer than everyone he meets. But a muskrat may have a quicker way to the fish, a coyote may not be quite as helpless as he looks, and a wish for dazzling feathers can come with a tricky condition. As Iktomi’s appetite and vanity lead him into one surprising encounter after another, will his next clever scheme bring him what he wants—or land him in even more trouble?

This complete and unabridged edition includes reader’s notes for tricky words and shares Dakota legends collected by Zitkala-Sa.

At Wise Minds Press we believe the years between childhood and the teenage leap are a golden window: curiosity runs high, vocabulary explodes and a single page can spark a lifetime of possibility. We were those wide‑eyed readers once—hungry for challenge, eager to roam far‑flung worlds, and guided by parents and teachers who knew the right story could light the path ahead. Today we honor that legacy by bringing time‑tested classics to young readers complete and unabridged, with reader's notes for the tricky words, and original illustrations for Grades 4‑7 (Ages 9‑12).

Our mission is simple: to place in every young reader's hands a bridge to literature's greatest adventures, turning boundless imagination into confidence, empathy, and the readiness to write their own remarkable futures.