Campfire Stories
Skits and songs are key parts of a great campfire but no campfire is complete without some great stories. Ghost stories, silly stories, folktales and legends, all of these can be great at different times of the evening. Here are a variety of stories for you to enjoy around your next fire.
Not So Scary Stories
Whether you work with Cubs or just younger members of a Scouts BSA Troop, we have all had the same experience. It is late in the evening and everyone is enjoying the fire. Suddenly all of the Scouts are clamoring for scary ghost stories. One of the older Scouts or parents tells a story with a good scare, and all of a sudden none of the younger Scouts can sleep! These stories are perfect for those occasions. These stories start off like a typical scary story, but then end with a joke. You’ll leave them chuckling back to their tents instead of shaking!
Cottage in the Woods
The Viper
The Witch
Silly Stories
The Man on the Train
A boy was on a long train ride to visit his grandparents. Across the aisle from him was a neatly dressed older man, wearing a crisp grey hat and glasses. The boy noticed that he carried a briefcase, and that he looked grumpy.
A minute later, the man opened his briefcase and took out two paper napkins, an apple and a pocketknife. He started to peel the apple with the pocketknife, stacking the peels neatly on top of one of the napkins. When the whole apple was peeled, he wrapped the peelings in one of the napkins, got up, walked to the end of the train car, and threw the peels away.
When he sat back down, the man started to use the pocketknife to slice the apple. He sliced it into perfectly even, thin pieces. Then, just as he had with the peelings, he wrapped the slices of apple in the other napkin, walked to the end of the train car, and threw the apple away.
The boy was confused, and even more curious as the man opened his briefcase again and pulled out an orange, and two more napkins. Once again he carefully began to peel the orange, stacking the peels on one of the napkins…
(From here you extend the story for as long as you like, making the man peel kiwis, limes, lemons, cantaloupe, a watermelon, the stranger the better. Each time the man throws away the peel, then the fruit.)
Finally, the boy couldn’t contain his curiosity any more. He asks the man, “What are you doing?”
The man looks at him, puzzled, and says, “Why, I’m making fruit salad.”
“But why do you throw the fruit away?”
“What a silly question!” replied the man. “Isn’t it obvious? I throw it away because I don’t like fruit salad!”
Bobby Works at the Zoo
Bobby needed a summer job to save some money to go away to college. One day, while telling a neighbor about how he was looking for a job, the neighbor invited him to do a little work at the zoo.
“We have a situation,” he said. “We need a little help for a couple days. If it goes well, I might be able to get you working there full time.” Bobby was excited and agreed to show up the next day.
In the morning, Bobby arrived at the zoo and found his neighbor. “Here’s the situation. Our gorilla has a touch of the flu, and is resting in our gorilla house, away from the zoo visitors. But lots of people come here every day to see the gorilla, and I don’t want them to leave disappointed. I have this gorilla costume. I’d like you to wear it, and sit in the gorilla enclosure. No one will know the difference.”
Bobby thought that sounded easy enough, so he put on the gorilla suit and climbed into the gorilla exhibit. After an hour or two of people staring at him, he started to get bored. He started to pound his chest, or scratch his head. The zoo visitors would ooh, aah, and laugh at him. So he started to think of other ways to entertain them. Before long, he was swinging on a vine. The higher he swung, the more the people liked it. Soon they were clapping and taking pictures. Bobby thought he was doing a great job. “At this rate, I’m sure to get a full-time job,” he thought.
Just then, he swung a little too high. He lost his grip on the vine and went tumbling into the next pen. As he sat up, he saw a lion creeping towards him. Bobby was scared, and as the lion got closer he started to beg him – “Wait, I’m not what you think!”
The lion closed in and Bobby thought he was done for. Bobby was begging for his life. The lion got right up to his nose.
Just then Bobby heard a voice whisper, “Quit your screaming or you’ll get us both fired.”
Buford Goes to the Bank
Buford, a fairly handsome Southern Bullfrog, hops into a bank lobby one day, brief case neatly tucked under his right foreleg. Buford hops up to the first open teller window and sits down in front of a teller, Miss Mary Greene. He announces, “I need a loan.”
Miss Greene, not wanting to look too uncool with this frog talking to her, pauses only briefly to reflect on this situation, then says, “Well, the Everglades Savings and Loan doesn’t usually give loans to amphibians.” Quickly opening the brief case, Buford produces construction permits and blueprints. Showing them to Miss Greene, he says, “But I need a loan. You see I have this construction project in mind. Down in the swamp, we need affordable housing for all my in-laws and out-laws. I have the permits. Freddy, an architect newt friend of mine has drawn up the plans. Everything is approved and in order. So you see, all I need is the financing.”
For Miss Greene, this is getting stranger by the moment. It isn’t enough that there is this talking frog only inches in front of her, but now he is talking about plans, permits and a newt architect. Just before she loses it completely, Miss Greene blurts out, “I can’t help you. You must see our loan officer, Miss Black. Wait here for a moment and I’ll get her.”
Miss Greene is gone for a while. After several minutes of animated conversation at the other side of the bank she returns with the loan officer. “Hello, I’m Miss Patricia Black, the Loan Officer here. How can I help you?” Well, Buford goes through his speach once again, tells her about the plans and permits, about the housing and his friend Freddy the newt architect. Thinking she could put an end to this foolishness quickly, Miss Black asks, “What do you have to put up for collateral for a loan? You must have something of value to mortgage against a loan like this.”
Buford digs into his brief case once more. “I have this!” he exclaims as he draws forth a crystal trinket on a silver chain. “I can’t give you a loan based on this THING,” Miss Black says, pointing at Buford’s treasure. Buford begs. He pleads. Finally, Buford demands to see the bank manager. Miss Greene, the teller, leaves for a moment to get the bank manager. Another animated conversation ensues at the other side of the bank. The manager comes over and asks “What’s the problem, Miss Black?” “Well, Mr. Brown…” and the Loan Manager explains that the frog wants to take out a loan, to construct housing in the swamp for his in-laws and out-laws and he has plans and permits, but all he has is this trinket as collateral. The manager bemused by this whole situation, takes the trinket in hand, examines it carefully, then hands it back to Buford saying, “It’s a knick knack, Patty Black. Give the frog a loan.”
The Dog in the Wild West
One hot and dry day in the Wild West, this dog walks into a saloon and says, “Gimme a beer”. Evidently this type of thing wasn’t too rare ’round those parts because the bartender said, “I’m sorry, but we don’t serve dogs here.” The dog then took out a silver dollar, dropped it on the bar, and said, “Look, I got money, and I want a beer.” This scene had the potential to get ugly. The bartender, getting a little irate, said one more time, “We do not serve dogs here. Please leave.” The dog growled, so the bartender pulled out a gun and shot the dog in the foot! The dog yelped, and ran out the door.
The next day, the swinging bar doors were tossed open and in walks the dog that had been in the saloon the day before. He was dressed all in black. A black cowboy hat, a black vest, three black cowboy boots and one black bandage. The dog looks around, waits for the talking to quiet down, and says, “I’m lookin’ fer the man who shot my paw.”
Fables and Folktales
How Raccoon Got His Coat (Native American)
Many years ago, Raccoon looked different than he does today. He used to be all silver, smooth from nose to the tip of his tail. This is the story of how all that changed.
Raccoon was heading home after a night of hunting when he passed Raven’s home in the forest. Raccoon noticed that Raven was just inside the house, and as he passed he caught a glimpse of five beautiful silver rings – rings that Raven had stolen and stashed away for safekeeping. Raccoon instantly wanted the rings, and was determined to get them.
Later that night, after it grew dark, Raccoon put his plan into motion. He put on a mask to hide his face, and lit a torch to carry under his chin. You can imagine how scary he looked! He snuck quietly up to Raven’s home, and started to make eerie sounds at the windows. “Ooooh! Ohohohooooh!” he cried.
Raccoon thought that Raven would be scared and run away, but instead, Raven ran straight out to meet the intruder. Raccoon had to change his plan, and so he led Raven into the woods with his spooky sounds, then creeped back to the house while Raven was searching the woods.
Raccoon opened Raven’s trunk and found the five rings, even more beautiful than he had thought! He was ready to run off with them when he realized he couldn’t carry all five rings and the torch. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of his tail and an idea came together – he slid all five rings onto his tail, and made off into the night.
The next day, Raven realized his trunk had been moved. When he opened it, he knew that he had been tricked – that one of the forest animals had taken his beautiful rings. Raven went to each of them – Bear, Owl, Eagle, Chipmunk – but none seemed to know anything about the missing rings. Finally, Raven visited Raccoon.
“Hellooo, Raccoon,” said Raven.
Raccoon met him gruffly. “I was sleeping, Raven,” he said, “What do you want?”
“Someone has taken five silver rings from me,” Raven said. “Do you know anything about that?”
“No, I don’t. May I go back to sleep now?” Raccoon retorted.
“Are you sure?” Raven asked.
“I’m certain. And I’m tired. Why don’t you leave me be?” Raccoon said.
Raven apologized and thanked Raccoon, but when Raccoon turned to go back to bed, Raven saw five dark rings of tarnish on his tail.
“Ah hah!” Raven said. “It was you!”
Raccoon apologized and admitted what he had done, but Raven didn’t think that was enough. “From now on,” Raven said, “you will bear the marks of what you have done. Your face will show the mask with which you hid yourself, your hands will be blackened by the soot from your torch, and your tail will always be tarnished by what you stole.” And so it was.
Raccoon never stole from Raven again, but he’s never really stopped his thieving ways. He still comes to us in the night, looking for things he can take, wearing his bandit’s mask.
Stone Soup
A traveler had been walking for many days when he came upon a village. The traveler was hungry and tired, but had nothing to eat, and had no money. What he did have was a cooking pot, and so he set out to make the best of things.
He built a small cooking fire just off the road in the center of town, and put his cooking pot on it. He filled the pot with water.
As he waited for the water to boil, some villagers stopped and asked him what he was doing. “I’m making Stone Soup,” he said. “It’s an ancient and mystical recipe handed down through my family.” Then, he took a round stone out of his pocket and dropped it into the pot.
The traveler started to tell stories of all of the places he had been and the interesting things he had seen. Several villagers stopped to listen to him, and the traveler began to attract a crowd. The traveler kept telling stories, only to stop to taste his soup. “Hmm… coming along nicely,” he said. “A little salt would really help bring out the flavor.” A village woman scurried off to get some salt, curious.
The traveler continued to tell stories, of ships and animals and long distances on the plains. More villagers gathered, and the traveler would only stop to taste the soup. “Delicious… but an onion and a few carrots would really make it perfect.” A villager that had an onion and some carrots to spare ran to his cellar to get them.
The traveler went on with his stories, of kings and battles and secret treasures. Every few minutes he would stop, and taste, and comment. “A piece of beef might really be delicious.” “Perhaps some celery…” Each time a curious villager would run home and come back with a new ingredient.
Finally, the soup was ready. The traveler was gracious enough to share the soup with all of the villagers – a delicious magic soup made only with a stone.
Chipmunk and Bear (Native American)
Long ago when animals could talk, a bear was walking along. Now it has always been said that bears think very highly of themselves. Since they are big and strong, they are certain that they are the most important of the animals.
As this bear went along turning over big logs with his paws to look for food to eat, he felt very sure of himself. “There is nothing I cannot do,” said this bear.
“Is that so?” said a small voice. Bear looked down. There was a little chipmunk looking up at Bear from its hole in the ground.
“Yes,” Bear said, “that is true indeed.” He reached out one huge paw and rolled over a big log. “Look at how easily I can do this. I am the strongest of all the animals. I can do anything. All the other animals fear me.”
“Can you stop the sun from rising in the morning?” said the Chipmunk.
Bear thought for a moment. “I have never tried that,” he said. “Yes, I am sure I could stop the sun from rising.”
“You are sure?” said Chipmunk.
“I am sure,” said Bear. “Tomorrow morning the sun will not rise. I, Bear, have said so.” Bear sat down facing the east to wait.
Behind him the sun set for the night and still he sat there. The chipmunk went into its hole and curled up in its snug little nest, chuckling about how foolish Bear was. All through the night Bear sat. Finally the first birds started their songs and the East glowed with the light that comes before the sun.
“The sun will not rise today,” said Bear. He stared hard at the glowing light. “The sun will not rise today.”
However, the sun rose, just as it always had. Bear was very upset, but Chipmunk was delighted. He laughed and laughed. “Sun is stronger than Bear,” said the chipmunk, twittering with laughter. Chipmunk was so amused that he came out of his hole and began running around in circles, singing this song:
“The sun came up, The sun came up. Bear is angry, But the sun came up.”
While Bear sat there looking very unhappy, Chipmunk ran around and around, singing and laughing until he was so weak that he rolled over on his back. Then, quicker than the leap of a fish from a stream, Bear shot out one big paw and pinned him to the ground.
“Perhaps I cannot stop the sun from rising,” said Bear, “but you will never see another sunrise.”
‘Oh, Bear,” said the chipmunk. “Oh, oh, oh, you are the strongest, you are the quickest, you are the best of all of the animals. I was only joking.” But Bear did not move his paw.
“Oh, Bear,” Chipmunk said, “you are right to kill me, I deserve to die. Just please let me say one last prayer to Creator before you eat me.”
“Say your prayer quickly,” said Bear. “Your time to walk the Sky Road has come!”
“Oh, Bear,” said Chipmunk, “I would like to die. But you are pressing down on me so hard I cannot breathe. I can hardly squeak. I do not have enough breath to say a prayer. If you would just lift your paw a little, just a little bit, then I could breathe. And I could say my last prayer to the Maker of all, to the one who made great, wise, powerful Bear and the foolish, weak, little Chipmunk.
Bear lifted up his paw. He lifted it just a little bit. That little bit, though, was enough. Chipmunk squirmed free and ran for his hole as quickly as the blinking of an eye. Bear swung his paw at the little chipmunk as it darted away. He was not quick enough to catch him, but the very tips of his long claws scraped along Chipmunk’s back leaving three pale scars.
To this day, all chipmunks wear those scars as a reminder to them of what happens when one animal makes fun to another.
Heroic Figures
Tarzan
One day, an ape named Kala found an odd-looking baby. The baby seemed out of the jungle’s animal community as it had no fur. The baby looked so cute that the ape held him in her arms. Further, she discovered that the baby’s parents were killed by a leopard named Sabor and it was the same leopard who took away her baby as well.
Kala adorned this little baby and decided to take care of him. Kala was happy to be a boy’s mother and took him to her family. When she went there, a leader named Kercheck was not happy with Kala’s decision to raise a human baby and demanded to take him back. However, Kala was afraid to take him back as it would be a threat to his life, so she pleaded with Kercheck to allow her to raise the baby and assured him that he will be a good son.
Kala named the baby boy Tarzan. Tarzan grew quickly and he was a very enthusiastic person who wanted everything around him. He made a lot of friends and was an expert at mimicry too. This curiosity made him mimic every animal in the jungle and he made a unique sound called Tarzan Yell. Further, he made the female ape Trek his friend. One day, she dared him to pull the hair of an elephant. While he was approaching an elephant, the elephant’s son mistook Tarzan as Piranha. Tarzan frightened all of the elephants and there was a huge mess then.
Moreover, the elephant’s team headed the gorilla’s ground in anger, crushing all their food, houses, and even the gorilla’s baby. When Kercheck found that Tarzan was behind all the mess, he angrily marked a statement to Tarzan that ‘you can never be one of us’ and told the same thing to Kala and left.
Tarzan was very upset to hear this statement, while Kala could see that he was hurt. So, she said, “You are the greatest son ever and everyone’s the same from the heart only the bodily appearance differs”. Tarzan affirmed to his mother ape that he will be the best ape ever.
Over the years, Tarzan practised all the activities of jungle animals like how they speak, walk or talk. He practised all the required skills and became mighty. One day, Sabor was attacking the gorillas. Suddenly, Tarzan came there, chased the leopard and killed him. He not only saved the gorilla families but also saved the life of Kerchak and his family.
The gorillas were just recovering from this incident, they heard the sudden voices of gunshots and started hiding in a jungle, while Tarzan decided to check what was going on. He saw a girl in a yellow dress who was struck by a group of baboons who were trying to chase her. Tarzan could not bear this up, he swung through trees and saved her. Tarzan was very curious to see human creatures after so long in a jungle.
Tarzan raised his hand against her and studied it but still did not understand, she told Tarzan her name was Jane Potter. She and her father came to the deep forests of Africa to study apes, as she was curious to know the story of a wild man.
Kercheck came on the spot and asked Tarzan to come back, but Tarzan said the humans were not there to hurt them, in fact, they were stuck up by a herd of baboons. Kercheck did not listen to him and told him to come back, Tarzan went back to gorillas.
Jane was explaining to her father about the incident and the story of Tarzan, then suddenly Tarzan came into the group’s human camp. The hunter Clayton played an evil plan to catch Tarzan and Jane was excited to take him back to England to the world of humans and offered him clothes so that he can lead a normal life. Tarzan went to Kala to discuss this invitation, and then Kala told the story of his parents and how they died and allowed him to go back to his world.
Tarzan lovingly hugged Kala and said that no matter where he lived, he would always be his son. He came back to Jane, where she helped him with clothes and soon they boarded the ship bound for England and sailed.
While sailing, Clayton revealed all his evil plans of selling apes at a higher price and tied Jane and Tarzan in a call. Hearing this, Tarzan cried loudly in despair.
Hearing the sound, all Tarzan’s friends got to know that he was in trouble and they all went near the ship and managed to escape Tarzan from the cell and brought him back to the jungle.
Acknowledging that Tarzan escaped, and after finding him, Jane’s father aimed to shoot him, however, the shot missed and Kercheck was shot.
All of this happened suddenly, Tarzan grabbed the gun from Clayton and smashed it into a tree. Both the men climbed up the tree and started fighting, however, Clayton fell off the tree and died on the spot.
Tarzan went to the dying Kercheck and asked for forgiveness. However, Kerhcheck said, “Forgive me for not understanding you. Please take care of your family son”. Tarzan realized that the jungle was his home and he belonged to this place.
After this, Tarzan told Jane and her father that he would not leave them for England. Jane and her father rowed their boat to go back and lastly wished goodbye to Tarzan, while Jane could not resist herself and decided to stay with Tarzan in a jungle for her entire life and finally, the couple stayed happily forever.
John Henry
Now John Henry was a mighty man, yes sir. He was born a slave in the 1840’s but was freed after the war. He went to work as a steel-driver for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, don’t ya know. And John Henry was the strongest, the most powerful man working the rails.
John Henry, he would spend his day’s drilling holes by hitting thick steel spikes into rocks with his faithful shaker crouching close to the hole, turning the drill after each mighty blow. There was no one who could match him, though many tried.
Well, the new railroad was moving along right quick, thanks in no little part to the mighty John Henry. But looming right smack in its path was a mighty enemy – the Big Bend Mountain. Now the big bosses at the C&O Railroad decided that they couldn’t go around the mile and a quarter thick mountain. No sir, the men of the C&O were going to go through it – drilling right into the heart of the mountain.
A thousand men would lose their lives before the great enemy was conquered. It took three long years, and before it was done the ground outside the mountain was filled with makeshift, sandy graves. The new tunnels were filled with smoke and dust. Ya couldn’t see no-how and could hardly breathe. But John Henry, he worked tirelessly, drilling with a 14-pound hammer, and going 10 to 12 feet in one workday. No one else could match him.
Then one day a salesman came along to the camp. He had a steam-powered drill and claimed it could out-drill any man. Well, they set up a contest then and there between John Henry and that there drill. The foreman ran that newfangled steam-drill. John Henry, he just pulled out two 20-pound hammers, one in each hand. They drilled and drilled, dust rising everywhere. The men were howling and cheering. At the end of 35 minutes, John Henry had drilled two seven foot holes – a total of fourteen feet, while the steam drill had only drilled one nine-foot hole.
John Henry held up his hammers in triumph! The men shouted and cheered. The noise was so loud, it took a moment for the men to realize that John Henry was tottering. Exhausted, the mighty man crashed to the ground, the hammer’s rolling from his grasp. The crowd went silent as the foreman rushed to his side. But it was too late. A blood vessel had burst in his brain. The greatest driller in the C&O Railroad was dead.
Some folks say that John Henry’s likeness is carved right into the rock inside the Big Bend Tunnel. And if you walk to the edge of the blackness of the tunnel, sometimes you can hear the sound of two 20-pound hammers drilling their way to victory over the machine.
Sacagawea
Sacagawea grew up near the Rocky Mountains in land that is today in the state of Idaho. She was part of the Shoshone tribe where her dad was the chief. Her tribe lived in teepees and moved around during the year to gather food and hunt bison.
One day, when she was around eleven years old, Sacagawea’s tribe was attacked by another tribe called the Hidatsa. She was captured and enslaved. They took her all the way back to where they lived in the middle of what is today North Dakota.
Life with the Hidatsa was different than with the Shoshone. The Hidatsa didn’t move around as much and grew crops such as squash, corn, and beans. Sacagawea worked in the fields for the Hidatsa.
In 1804, an expedition led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark arrived near to where Sacagawea lived. They had been sent by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase and the lands to the west. They built a fort there called Fort Mandan and stayed for the winter.
Lewis and Clark were looking for guides to help them through the land to the west. They hired Charbonneau and asked him to bring Sacagawea along so she could help interpret when they reached the Shoshone.
In April of 1805 the expedition headed out. Sacagawea had given birth to a son that winter named Jean Baptiste. She brought him along, carrying him in a cradleboard tied to her back. He was only two months old.
Late that summer, the expedition reached the land of the Shoshone. Lewis and Clark met with the local chief to trade for horses. They brought in Sacagawea to interpret for them. Much to her surprise, the chief was Sacagawea’s brother. She was so happy to be home and see her brother again. Sacagawea’s brother agreed to trade for horses. He even provided them with a guide who helped them through the Rocky Mountains.
Sacagawea continued on the journey. It wasn’t easy. They were often cold and hungry and she had to carry and feed a baby. Having Sacagawea on the trip also helped to keep the peace with the Native Americans. When they saw a woman and child with the group, they knew it wasn’t a war party.
The expedition finally reached the Pacific Ocean in November of 1805. They were amazed at the sight of the ocean. Sacagawea was especially amazed at the size of the remains of a beached whale they saw on the ocean shore. They stayed near the ocean for the winter before beginning the journey home.
It took Sacagawea and the expedition most of the next spring and summer to return home. Not much is known of her life after this. Some historians think that she died just a few years later of a fever on December 20, 1812. Others say that she returned home to the Shoshone and lived for another seventy years and died on April 9, 1884.
Story Telling Game
Have the group sit in a circle around the fire. The leader starts by saying, “Once upon a time there was a”. Then go around the circle and each person adds one, and only one, word to the story. Depending on the size of the group you can go around the circle once, or several times. The stories are almost always hilarious and barely make sense, which only makes them more fun. Periodically repeat what has been said so far, so that everyone can keep track of the story.