Johnny Appleseed-Tall Tale

Johnny Appleseed

Who was Johnny Appleseed? Was he just in stories? No! Johnny was a real person! Johnny Appleseed was born John Chapman on September 26, 1774 in Massachusetts. The apple trees were full of fruit at this time of the year.

Johnny grew up with a big family. There were 10 children all together and they were very poor.

As a child, Johnny grew up with an apple orchard nearby. He helped pick the apples in the fall to be stored for winter eating. Johnny loved apples more than anything in the world. 

That’s not exactly true. Johnny loved animals as much as he loved apples. As a young boy, he’d spend all day in the woods, making friends with the creatures who lived there. Birds, squirrels, raccoons, deer, foxes, and even snakes were all Johnny’s friends. Johnny loved animals so much that he made a vow never to eat them.

When Johnny was 23, Johnny and his family moved west to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Many pioneers passed through the city on their way to settle in the Midwest. It made Johnny sad to think of all those families moving to places where there were no apple trees. It was then that Johnny decided what his mission in life would be. He would travel throughout the Midwest, giving away apple seeds, planting as many seeds as he could, and taking care of apple trees.

Some say Johnny kept sacks of apple seeds in a bag he carried on his back. Others said he had so many seeds he loaded up two canoes, tied the canoes together, and set off down the Ohio River.

Johnny became a friend to the Indians on his travels. They taught him how to hunt for food and make canoes.

Johnny was nicknamed Johnny Appleseed by the American settlers in the early 1800s. He was always willing to lend a hand helping settlers get a start in the new land, and he loved telling stories to children about his wilderness adventures and stories from the Bible.

 One day he came back to where he had planted the first seed. It was a big tree now. A girl was swinging in it. That night Johnny stayed with the girl’s family. He told stories. Everybody liked Johnny. “Stay with us,” they said. “Make a home here.” But Johnny did not stay. “I have work to do,” he said. “I am happy. The whole world is my home.”

Johnny didn’t like to take money for his work, so he was too poor to buy clothes. According to legend, Johnny wore a tin cooking pot as a hat, a coffee-sack tunic for his arms and legs, and went barefoot, even in the winter.

Tales of his adventures traveled as far as he did. Most stories had to do with kindness to animals. Once, when Johnny was walking through the woods, he came upon a wolf with its leg caught in a trap. The wolf’s eyes were filled with pain. Johnny slowly approached it. That wolf would have growled at any other human being, but not Johnny. Johnny gently released its leg from the trap and took care of it until it was well. From then on, the wolf followed Johnny around like a puppy dog.

There were also stories about bears. People said that bears trusted Johnny and they didn’t mind if he wrestled with their cubs.

Johnny made the whole country his home until the end of his life at the age of 71. He became sick for the first time in his life and died a few days later. When he died, he was found resting peacefully under an apple tree.