Because he nearly froze to death before Paul found him. Here is one version of the story:
" Well now, one winter it was so cold that all the geese flew backward and all the fish moved south and even the snow turned blue. Late at night, it got so frigid that all spoken words froze solid afore they could be heard. People had to wait until sunup to find out what folks were talking about the night before.
Paul Bunyan went out walking in the woods one day during that Winter of the Blue Snow. He was knee-deep in blue snow when he heard a funny sound between a bleat and a snort. Looking down, he saw a teeny-tiny baby blue ox jest a hopping about in the snow and snorting with rage on account of he was too short to see over the drifts.
Paul Bunyan laughed when he saw the spunky little critter and took the little blue mite home with him. He warmed the little ox up by the fire and the little fellow fluffed up and dried out, but he remained as blue as the snow that had stained him in the first place. So Paul named him Babe the Blue Ox."
2) When an animal's coat is described as "blue", it usually refers to a shade of grey that takes on a bluish tint, a diluted variant of a pure black coat.This designation is used for a variety of animals, including dog coats, some rat coats, cat coats, some chicken breeds, some horse coat colours, Paul Bunyan's Ox and rabbit coat colours.
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Because he nearly froze to death before Paul found him. Here is one version of the story:
" Well now, one winter it was so cold that all the geese flew backward and all the fish moved south and even the snow turned blue. Late at night, it got so frigid that all spoken words froze solid afore they could be heard. People had to wait until sunup to find out what folks were talking about the night before.
Paul Bunyan went out walking in the woods one day during that Winter of the Blue Snow. He was knee-deep in blue snow when he heard a funny sound between a bleat and a snort. Looking down, he saw a teeny-tiny baby blue ox jest a hopping about in the snow and snorting with rage on account of he was too short to see over the drifts.
Paul Bunyan laughed when he saw the spunky little critter and took the little blue mite home with him. He warmed the little ox up by the fire and the little fellow fluffed up and dried out, but he remained as blue as the snow that had stained him in the first place. So Paul named him Babe the Blue Ox."
That's from here:
http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/mn3.html
Paul Bunyans Ox
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RE:
why is paul bunyan's cow blue?
1) He's an Ox, not a cow.
2) When an animal's coat is described as "blue", it usually refers to a shade of grey that takes on a bluish tint, a diluted variant of a pure black coat.This designation is used for a variety of animals, including dog coats, some rat coats, cat coats, some chicken breeds, some horse coat colours, Paul Bunyan's Ox and rabbit coat colours.
Paul Bunyon doesn't have a cow he has an Ox. He was blue because born during a blizzard.
there are two different explanations in the versions i have read:
1. the snow that fell when paul found the cow in a snowbank was blue
2. the cow was really, really, really cold and the color never wore off
i have also heard those both used in the same version, but hope this helps!
She an Ox. Her name is Babe, and Blue in animal coloring used to mean black without warm or grey tones. and her hoofprints made the Great Lakes.