1. When Arthur first sees his animal friends, he calls them "people." According to the contemporary poet Gary Snyder, the Sioux used to refer to animals as "the creeping people," fish as "the swimming people," and birds as "the flying people." Conduct some research into Native American attitudes toward animals and nature, and compare them to White's views. What did the Sioux think humans could learn from the "creeping people?"

2. Native American mythology includes many legends of people taking on the shape of animals, but so do the mythologies of other peoples, including the Celts. White mentions the Children of Lir. White also mentions Cervantes's belief that Arthur was turned into a raven. That belief seems to have been developed by the people of Cornwall, who knew the legends of the Celtic god Bran, whose name means "raven." Read some Celtic...