Storytime: Otto's Tales — Today Is Columbus Day with Michael Knowles | Kids Shows

Welcome to Otto's Tales. As a dad, I am so glad that Prager U is making shows and books for kids. Today, we're going to read a story about how Prager U's favorite bulldog, Otto, traveled more than 500 years back in time with his best friend, Dennis. Together, they meet someone very, very special. Want to know who it is? Let's find out in Otto's Tales. Today is Columbus Day. Ruff, ruff. Today is Columbus Day. What an exciting day it's been. We pretended to be explorers and travel the world. Dennis pulled out a suitcase. This can be our time machine, he said. Hop in. We're going on another big adventure. With my stumpy tail wagging, I jumped in Dennis' lap. Zoom. Let's go exploring, Otto. And don't forget the map. We landed in Spain in 1492. Christopher Columbus was about to sail the ocean blue. I'm Christopher, he said. Nice to meet you. We're Dennis and Otto. How do you do? My father was a wool weaver in Genoa, Italy, but I've sailed to Iceland, Ireland, and Africa. My home is at sea. He continued. I'm going to be like Marco Polo and travel the world. Christopher pulled out a map, which he carefully unfurled. He came up with a plan to sail across the Atlantic. This was no small journey. Its goal was quite gigantic. He said, I'm going to sail to India by heading to the west. Dennis asked, how can you be sure that route really is the best? I have a compass and quadrant, which I will use every day. These tools will help guide me so I won't lose my way. For his voyage, he could find no eager sponsors. They feared he'd get lost or devoured by sea monsters. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella finally agreed. They gave me three small ships, for which I'm grateful indeed. Dennis replied, that's a nice gift from the king and queen of Spain. Columbus said, it's not just a gift. They have a much to gain. We watched the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria set sail. I said to Dennis, I hope Columbus's voyage does not fail. They zoomed. We were on Columbus's ship going for a ride. We zoomed so fast, I almost fell off the side. Three weeks into his journey, Columbus was far from completing. His crew began to grumble and lose hope of succeeding. Columbus, fearless and rather quite confident, helped the men stay the course toward the Asian continent. After 10 long weeks, Columbus finally spotted land. I was so happy, I jumped out and kissed the sand. But this was not India. This was a different place. And there were natives here, who were of a different race. The settlers and natives got along quite a lot, but also had trouble with each other, and sometimes they fought. Dennis and I wandered around, enjoying the warm sun. I love exploring, Dennis said. This is so much fun. Columbus established a settlement and brought back many treasures. This would open new trade routes and many more endeavors. The king and queen were as happy as could be. We want to send you on more voyages, not just two, but three. The news of Columbus's discovery traveled very fast. People wanted to see this new world with opportunities so vast. This would eventually lead to a wondrous new creation, the United States of America, a mighty great nation. We said goodbye to Columbus, our new explorer friend. We were learning so much, I didn't want it to end. We jumped in our suitcase, even though I was hesitant, and Zoom went to 1937 to meet the U.S. president. Hurry Otto, shouted Dennis. There's no time to delay. President Franklin Roosevelt has something important to say. We ran a long way as fast as we could. We didn't want to miss it. This was going to be good. From this day forward, we heard the president say, this day in October shall be called Columbus Day. Then we jumped in our suitcase and once again Zoom. We Zoom, Zoom, Zoom back to Dennis's room. That was my favorite adventure yet, I barked. You say that every time, Otto. Well, I never knew what an adventurous man Christopher Columbus was. That's right, said Dennis. His hard work and perseverance paid off, even though he never discovered a faster route to India like he wanted. But he found something even better, I barked. Is that why we celebrate Columbus Day? Dennis explained. We honor Columbus for his courage, for being the first person to connect the new world to the old world of Europe, and for making America possible. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be here, I said. You're right, Otto. Happy Columbus Day. Happy Columbus Day. Ruff, ruff. The end. What a great adventure. Not only because of the excitement of exploration, but because this story teaches us about courage and perseverance. Having courage and perseverance means that we don't give up, even when we're facing the unknown. Christopher Columbus didn't give up, and because of that, he discovered the new world, which later became America. And that's something we celebrate every year. I hope you enjoyed this book. Check out more videos like this at prageru.com slash kids. See you next time. We're so glad you joined us for today's reading. Storytime is made possible through the generous support of donors like you. You can help keep the stories coming by going to prageru.com slash donate today.