Pocahontas and John Smith Story ~ Folktales

Stories for Kids 4/5 (1)

A Story From: United States

Read Time: ["6 to 10mins"]
For Ages: 5 to 7yrs., 8 to 10yrs.

The Story of Pocahontas and John Smith

~ Folktales Stories for Kids
This is the story of Pocahontas, John Smith and the leader Powhatan. This
story tells of the time Pocahontas saved the life of settler John Smith, as also
seen in the Disney version. It is brought to you by Stories to Grow by.
In the spring of 1607, three ships landed on the shore of what is now
America. About 100 men – no women were asked to come – stepped
onto the sand to start a new life.
The men built 20 cabins and a fort to go around them all. They called
their new town Jamestown. But they were not the only ones living on
that land.
Up and down the coast and for miles into the woods lived tribes of
Native Americans. Today, the area is called Virginia. Back then, it was
called the Powhatan Confederacy. Over 30 tribes in the Powhatan
Confederacy were ruled by one chief. His name was Powhatan.
Chief Powhatan’s scouts told him that new men had landed on the
shore. They told him the men had built a fort. They also told him the
new men spoke in words no one had heard before. They wore clothes
no one had seen before. Powhatan knew all that. What he did not
know – and what he wanted to know most of all - was, where did they
come from? Why were they here? And what would it be like to be their
Chief?
But they were not the only ones living on that land.

His scouts told him some other news, too, that was most odd. No
crops had been planted around the fort. No canoes were anywhere
near the fort, and the men did not even stand by the river to fish. The
men did not go into the woods to hunt, either. Said Powhatan, “These
men do not know how to plant, ride a canoe, fish or hunt. It will be
easier than I thought to be their Chief.
We will bring food to them – corn, beans and squash. Without us, they
will starve. And I, Powhatan, who rules 30 tribes, will rule over them,
too!” “Father let me come with you!” said Powhatan’s daughter
Pocahontas. No one had seen her slip into the longhouse. “I want to
see the fort, too.” “Surely not!” said her father. “You have work to do
here. When you are done, you may play with your sisters.”
“I, Pohawtan, who rules 30 tribes, will rule over them,
too!”

“I play with them every day!” said Pocahontas. “Father, please! I’ll be
good!” Powhatan smiled. “Ah, my princess,” he said. “How can I say
no to that face?” At last, an adventure for Pocahontas! She felt sure
that if she had to sew beads onto one more moccasin, or fill one more
basket with berries, she would burst! So Chief Powhatan, with scouts
carrying baskets of corn, beans and squash, and with Pocahontas
beside them, all went over to the fort.
When they got there, they set down the baskets. And stepped back. In
a minute, men burst out of the fort with big smiles on their faces. You
can be sure there was much joy! Pocahontas saw something else that
made her smile, too. Four boys a bit older than she came out with the
other men. She waved to the boys. They waved back! When the
grown-ups were trying to talk to each other with their arms and hands,
she said to them, “Want to play?”

Men burst out of the fort with big smiles on their

faces.

They did not understand her words. But soon they were showing her
how to play tag and stickball. And she was showing them how to do
cartwheels. After a while, Powhatan called, “Pocahontas! It’s time to
go.” Every four or five days after that, Pocahontas came back with the
others to the fort. Each time, Powhatan’s scouts carried corn, squash,
and beans. Sometimes for a special treat, maple sugar,
too. Pocahontas learned the names of her new friends – James,
Nathaniel, Richard and Samuel. And they learned hers. She also
learned the name of their leader, John Smith.
As the days got shorter, the rain stopped coming. The corn in the fields
dried up. The squash and the beans on the vine dried up. Berries on
the bushes dried up. “We cannot take food to the fort anymore,” said
Powhatan. “We need to save all we have so our people will make it
through the winter. We must go to the fort and tell them.”

“We cannot take food to the fort anymore,” said

Powhatan.

When the men in the fort heard the news, they got angry. They
marched into their cabins. They came out with guns, and shot the
guns into the sky. Powhatan got angry, too. He said, “I warn you,
white men! Do not go anywhere near our village! If you do, you will
be sorry!” The men of Jamestown could not understand what
Powhatan was saying. But they could tell from his face that they were
not friends anymore.
Soon after that, John Smith was going through the woods looking for
food. He was close to the village of Powhatan. Too close. Powhatan’s
brother and some of the tribe saw him pass. In a flash, they jumped
out at him. They held John Smith down and took him back to
Powhatan’s village. “Now it will be done, once and for all,” said
Powhatan. “I will be Chief to all the people in the fort.”

“Do not go anywhere near our village! If you do, you

will be sorry!”

That winter, John Smith could not leave the village. Still, Powhatan
made him feel at home. Pocahontas, who knew him from before,
spent time with him. Day after day, they would teach each other the
words that each other’s people spoke.
As the snow melted, the people of Powhatan’s village started to get
ready for a festival. Powhatan called John Smith into his longhouse.
“The festival will soon be here,” he said. “What festival?” said John
Smith. Now he could better understand what Powhatan was
saying. “The festival to mark the time when your people join my
people. When I become your Chief.” “That will never happen!”
shouted John Smith. Powhatan did not know the words the young
man was saying. But the Chief could tell that John Smith was
angry. “Your people have no choice!” said Powhatan. “If you will not
join my tribe, you must die!”

“That will never happen!” shouted John Smith.

No one saw Pocahontas slip into the longhouse. Powhatan said: “Put
his head on the rock!” Two strong braves grabbed John Smith and
pushed his head down on a rock. Powhatan lifted a large rock above
him, ready to strike. “No!” the girl cried out. All of a sudden,
Pocahontas rushed up and bent over John Smith, placing her own
head over his. Powhatan held the rock high in the air. “Pocahontas!”
he cried out. “Move away!” “I will not move!” she said, turning her
head to the side. “Let him be. Let all of them be!” Powhatan held up
the rock. Then, he lowered his arms. “My daughter,” he said in a soft
voice. “You are right. No good can come from hurting these people.”
After that, Powhatan set John Smith free. Powhatan’s tribes brought
food again to the men in the fort, this time smoked meat and fish. In
return, the men in the fort gave them glass beads and copper. They
traded what they could, and each was the better for it.