Otto's Tales: The Legend of John Henry | PragerU Kids

[Music] welcome to Otto's Tales I'm Jill this is Otto and today I'm sharing a famous story about a man of strength spirit and steel Otto I had no idea how strong you are you've been working hard right buddy yeah uh can I try I doubt these are heavy oh oh my goodness these are really heavy you weren't kidding could I have some help okay you really are strong I guess I should stick to reading then right okay be careful buddy let's read the legend of John Henry Once Upon a Time in the state of West Virginia in the early 1870s there was a mighty man named John John Henry was his name he was born a slave but became a free man he was tall and strong and ready to earn great things for his family so John worked on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad as a steel driver it was hard work with low pay and long hours he drilled holes into Big Bend Mountain to create the now famous great bend tunnel a thousand men worked beside him but John was the strongest fastest most powerful steel driving man around no one could match his strength or spirit that there's a real steel driving man the crew would yell as Jon's heavy Hammer clanged through Rock going to die with a hammer in my hand John would shout back day after day the steel driver's Hammer threw the scorching summer sun and the freezing Mountain Winters through the Big Bend Mountain they worked Rock by rock with each explosion the Great Bend tunnel started taking shape this was dangerous work and John Henry knew it going to die with a hammer in my hand he'd Bellow but through his sweat a smile was on his face one morning the CNO railroad boss visited and brought along something that the workers had never seen before it was a machine bigger than them with parts that look like some of their tools fellas this here is a steam powered drill it can do the work that you're doing but faster and better than any man now a steam power drill was something exciting but John Henry didn't like the idea of a machine doing the work that he was so good at he stepped forward better than any man you say John questioned the workers fell silent we'll see about that John Henry grinned the crowd cheered that there's a real steel driving man they shouted going to die with a hammer in my hand John answered the challenge was on right there at the Mountain Man against machine with a rush and a slam John Henry wielded two great hammers 20 lb each in his hands clang clang clang clang into the mountain he pounded his drill faster and stronger than he ever had before dust and rocks sputtered everywhere his fellow workers how f with pride John Henry drilled tirelessly and the Machine was steadfast clang clang bang bang John Henry was determined to beat the new machine Against All Odds after 35 minutes John Henry held up his hammers in Triumph the steam drill had made a 9-ft hole but John had drilled a 14t hole he proved himself better than the machine that there's a real steel driving man the camp hollered John smiled but the mighty man was now tottering exhausted he crashed to the ground the workers his friends rushed to his side but it was too late he died with a hammer in his hand the foreman muttered the crowd was silent and bowed their heads from that day on workers everywhere through and Beyond the great Ben tunnel and cnno railroad honored Mr Henry as the hero who proved that human strength and spirit was better than any machine the end well I wasn't expecting the story to end that way I mean I know I know OT I know this story's ending is not exactly happy but let's talk about it okay in this tale John Henry is a man of hard work of skill and sacrifice he was a man who gave everything for a greater good and John is seen as a hero for his spirit and strength he was like Superman a Man of Steel that's right and he proved that being a human being is much more valuable than a machine no matter how great a machine might be that's right you see the lesson in the story now okay I know that was a tough one thank you for watching ot's Tales check out some of our other stories too keep reading keep watching and never forget how important human strength and spirit are byebye thank you for watching this episode we hope you learned a lot now you know we've got more right Prager you kids is dedicated to teaching what most schools aren't our American values history and blessings you can watch more on our website and parents you can subscribe to get all our shows delivered to your inbox only at Prager kids.com