WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
This Circle Round episode was recorded live at the Cleveland Museum of Arts, Gartner Auditorium in Cleveland Ohio, on March 14th 2026.
You can hear all of our live Circle Round episodes and learn more about our picture books, merch newsletter and Circle Round Club on our website wburorg slash circleround.
Think about a time you felt afraid.
Fear is a normal and common emotion.
We all feel it.
And talking with someone about what scares us can really help.
In fact, as we'll hear in today's tale, when we talk with someone about our fears, it can be downright magical.
I'm Rebecca Shear and welcome to Circle Round.
Live at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner Auditorium in Cleveland Ohio.
Today our story is called Copper and Dumplings.
You'll find versions of this tale from the East Asian island nation of Japan.
Joining me on stage is a trio of talented local actors, Nina Domingue, Xavier Hype, and Bob Keefe.
Providing musical accompaniment is the one and only Eric Shimalonis.
So circle around everyone for Copper and Dumplings.
The baker lived in a cottage at the far edge of the forest.
Every morning.
She would rise at dawn, then bustle to the kitchen and whip up batch after batch of her specialty, sweet sticky rice dumplings.
The baker sold her dumplings at the village market.
Her customers adored her, not just because her rice dumplings were the most delicious they had ever tasted, but because her prices were the lowest they had ever seen.
You would like one dozen rice dumplings, sir?
That'll be one copper piece, please.
That's right, just one copper piece.
And madam, you'd like two dozen rice dumplings?
That'll be two copper pieces.
That's right, just two copper pieces.
The baker was nowhere near as rich as her sweets, but she was comfortable content with her lot in life.
And yet, with each passing year, things began to change.
As the baker grew older, her eyes began to fade.
Her fingers became stiff and sore, and standing over a hot stove made her back and feet ache.
The baker was slowing down, and her business was too.
Before long, she couldn't afford to buy ingredients to make her dumplings or food to fill her belly.
One chilly autumn night, as the baker huddled in her cottage, hoping her heart's crackling flames would drown out her stomach's rumbling groans, she heard two voices bellowing outside the door, freezing out here.
We saw smoke rising from your chimney.
Let us sit by your fire.
The baker struggled to her feet and shuffled to the window.
The moment she peered outside, her blood turned cold, for lurking at her door were two hulking, hairy Tengu evil winged goblins with red faces, tangled eyebrows and bulbous noses the size of rolling pins.
Oh dear, I mustn't let the Tengu come inside.
If I do, they're sure to cast a spell on me.
They'll either bewitch me into mindlessly carrying out their whims, or they'll make me disappear.
Forever.
Hello.
We know you're in there.
And since you won't let us in.
We'll let ourselves in.
The door flung open and in barged the Tengu, their wings flapping and their eyes blazing as they barreled to the hearth.
You need to work on your hospitality, Q-Man.
Yeah, how dare you let us shiver outside like that?
We should cast a spell on you.
Yeah, a spell.
The baker's heart hammered so loud she could hear it in her ears, but she did her best to smile.
Clearly, you two gentlemen are upset and cold.
So please, make yourselves cozy by the fire.
I'll brew up some tea.
She rushed to the kitchen and, though her trembling hands slowed down her process, she came back with a steaming hot pot of tea.
Here you go, gentlemen.
I would offer you a snack, but times have been hard and my cupboards are unusually bare.
The Tengu slurped the tea, then wiped their shaggy mouths with the backs of their hairy hands.
Grrrr!
That was the best tea we've ever tasted.
Downright delicious.
But it wasn't nearly enough.
So make us more.
Before we cast a spell on you.
The baker shuddered and fetched more tea.
Her hands were shaking so hard she nearly dropped the pot in the Tengu's laps.
Boy, oh boy, human.
You seem nervous.
All jittery and jumpy.
Do the two of us scare you?
The Tengu's red faces broke into menacing grins.
So wide and broad, the baker could count every sharp yellow tooth.
Do you scare me?
The baker had no idea what to say next.
And then, before she knew what she was doing... No!
You don't scare me.
The Tengu were thrown for a loop.
We don't scare you?
But we're Tengu!
We're big and mean and cast spells.
And trust us, we're about to cast a doozy of a spell. after we finish this delicious tea.
The baker felt a rush of relief.
Thankfully, she had bought more time.
I'm glad the tea is to your liking.
And believe me, gentlemen, I know all about your powers, but I don't really see you as big and mean.
You don't?
No.
No.
I see you as travelers who needed to come in from the cold.
You are my guests, and I'm not afraid of guests, unlike some other things.
The baker wasn't sure where she was going with this, but the tangu seemed intrigued.
What kinds of other things?
Yeah, if we tangu don't scare you, then what does?
The baker bit her lip.
I shouldn't say.
It's too embarrassing.
The Tengu are really intrigued now.
Come on, human.
You've got to tell us what scares you.
If you do, we won't cast a spell on you today.
Yeah.
Instead, we'll come back tomorrow.
Give you time to say your goodbyes and whatnot.
The baker felt another wave of relief.
All right, you've persuaded me.
I will tell you what I'm afraid of.
She glanced around the cottage.
Her eyes fell on an empty bag of rice.
I am afraid of rice dumplings.
Rice dumplings?
Yes.
Yes.
Sweet, sticky rice dumplings.
They terrify me.
The Tengu scanned the baker's face, seeking a glimmer of a smile or some other hint that she might be joking.
You're telling us you're actually afraid of rice dumplings?
Why?
The baker thought fast.
Well, when I see sweet sticky rice dumplings, I wind up eating so many that I'm sick for days weeks, sometimes months.
But while rice dumplings may scare me, there's something else that scares me even more.
The Tengu leaned forward.
What is it?
Yeah, what scares you more than rice dumplings?
The baker paused and looked around again.
This time her gaze landed on her coin purse, her empty coin purse.
What scares me even more than rice dumplings are copper pieces.
Copper pieces?
Yes, what I am petrified of more than anything are copper pieces.
Whatever for?
Yeah, what's so scary about a copper piece?
Only everything.
Do you know what would happen if I had a mess of copper pieces in this cottage?
I'll tell you what would happen.
Villagers would be knocking at my door all day long, begging to borrow from me or sell me things that I neither want nor need.
Robbers and thieves would come sneaking over at night.
It would be awful.
The baker let out a long, shaky breath.
But hey, enough about me.
What are you two afraid of?
The Tengu folded their brawny arms across their burly chests.
We aren't afraid of anything.
We told you we're big and mean and cast spells.
Like the spell we're going to cast on you.
Tomorrow!
Right!
I get it.
The two of you are powerful.
So powerful that you're going to come back here tomorrow and cast a spell on yours truly.
But come now, everyone is afraid of something.
Surely there's one thing that scares you?
And you might as well tell me about it, because once you cast your spell, I won't be able to breathe a word of it.
The Tengu grew quiet.
Judging by the sheepish looks on their faces, the baker knew she had struck a nerve.
All right, fine.
If you must know... There is one thing that scares us.
And that thing is... Oh, I can't say it.
It gives me the creeps.
Well, I can't say it either.
Then how are we going to tell her?
How about we say it together?
That could work.
Okay.
The one thing that scares us is... Oh, you know what that music means.
We'll find out what scares the pants off those tricky tango after a quick break.
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I'm Rebecca Sheer and welcome back to Circle Round.
Live at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner Auditorium in Cleveland Ohio.
Today our story is called Copper and Dumplings.
Before the break the baker convinced the hairy-winged goblins known as Tengu to put off casting a spell on her by one day.
The clever old woman somehow shifted the conversation to things that scared her, or supposedly scared her.
Her two worst fears, she claimed, were copper pieces and the sweet sticky rice dumplings she once baked and sold for a living.
When it was time for the Tengu to admit their worst fear, they were so petrified they had to say it together.
The one thing that scares us is... Thickets!
The baker tilted her head.
Thickets?
You're afraid of...
Thickets.
Yes.
Do you have to say it so many times?
Say what?
Thickets.
You did it again.
You've got to understand those dense clumps of twisty, thorny brambles and brushes are dreadful.
They get all tangled in our wings.
And our hair.
They catch us and trap us.
It's terrible.
It's horrible.
It's no good and very bad.
The baker handed the tangu a tissue.
They blew their rolling pin-sized noses so loudly it shook the walls.
I hear what you're saying, gentlemen.
If I were in your shoes, I, too, would be afraid of thickets.
Ah!
Even whispering it is scary.
Anyway, I should call it a night, gentlemen.
This old gal needs some sleep.
And you do, too.
If you're going to cast a doozy of a spell on me tomorrow, a little rest is just the ticket.
She said it again.
No, you doof.
She said ticket.
Oh.
The tangu wiped their noses, then lumbered out the door.
And once they had disappeared into the forest, the baker, bundled into her coat and boots, grabbed a pair of gardening shears and stepped outside.
She meandered through the trees, using her shears to cut through the thickly tangled underbrush.
Then, one armful at a time, she hauled the brambles back home.
The baker worked hard.
And when the Tengu came back at sunrise to cast their evil spell, they made a terrifying discovery.
Every inch of the baker's cottage and yard was covered with twisty, thorny thickets.
She said the word.
Who cares about the word?
We've got the real thing.
It's all over the cottage.
All around it, too.
There's no way I'm touching that stuff.
Me either.
But we can't cast a spell on the baker if we can't get her.
You're right.
So we won't get her.
Instead, we'll get revenge.
The baker, who could see and hear everything through a gap in the window, watched the tangu fly off.
When they returned, each one held a very large, very full sack.
The goblins beat their wings and fluttered into the air, hovering over the chimney on the bramble-covered roof.
I'll empty my sack into the chimney first.
And when the baker sees what's inside, she'll be scared out of her wits.
The baker shuffled to the hearth and waited.
The fire had long since died down, and when she saw what came cascading down the chimney, she smiled, though she pretended to scream.
My fireplace is filling up with rice dumplings.
Sweet, sticky rice dumplings.
It's my second worst nightmare come true.
Up on the roof, the Tengu grinned as they called down the chimney.
You think that's bad, human?
Cause we're about to send your worst nightmare!
The Tengu emptied the other sack down the chimney.
And can you guess what came tumbling into the baker's hearth?
That's right.
Copper pieces.
Oh no!
Oh dear, I'm scared out of my wits.
I'm quaking in my boots.
I wish those copper pieces would stop pouring down.
Someone make them stop!
Please.
But the copper pieces kept coming, clinking and clanking as they formed a big, shiny pile.
Now that the baker's hearth was bursting with rice, dumplings and copper pieces, the Tengu flew away, satisfied with their supposed revenge.
As for the baker, well, she was satisfied too.
After all, thanks to the hairy winged goblins, she now had thousands of rice dumplings to sell at the market and thousands of copper pieces to save for a rainy day.
And from then on, she lived in comfort and contentment and never tangled with the Tengu again.
On each card, draw one thing that gives you courage and makes you feel safe.
Next time fear pays a visit, take a breath, pull out a courage card, and use it to help you through.
This week's story, Copper and Dumplings, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
It was edited by Dean Russell and performed by Nina Domingue, Xavier Heip, and Bob Keefe.
Eric Shimalonis composed our original music and played it live on the KOTO.
You can learn more about this Japanese stringed instrument and see a photo of Eric playing one on our website, wburorg slash circle round.
Circle Round's artist is Sabina Han.
Sabina has created a black and white coloring page for all of our Circle Round stories and you can print them out and color them in.
Grown-ups, visit our website, wbur.org slash circle round, and click on coloring pages.
And while you're at WBURorg slash Circle Round, you can check out our Circle Round picture books, Circle Round Club and sign up for your monthly Circle Round newsletter, The Lion's Roar.
Find it all at WBUR.org slash Circle Round.
Grownups.
If you enjoy Circle Round, please leave us a five-star rating or review on your favorite podcast app.
And if social media is your jam, please join our communities on Facebook and Instagram.
Our handle is at Circle Round Podcast.
We'd love to stay in touch.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR.
I'm Rebecca Shear.
Thanks for circling round with us.
Now that you've made it to the end of this Circle Round episode, we want to know what's your favorite Circle Round story.
Thousands of fans just like you have been telling us about the Circle Round stories they like best.
Take a listen.
Maybe one of their favorites is one of yours, too.
My name is Viv, and I'm from New South Wales, Australia.
And my favorite story is over the sea.
And my favorite part is when the starfish tricks the whale by scratching in his ears.
My name is Nilla, and I live in San Jose, California.
And my favorite story is the Zodiac 12.
And I like the part when the rod pushes the cat in the water.
My name is Nala.
I live in Sutcliffe, New York, and my favorite circle round story is Chameleon's Conch.
I've been like a part one, so you guys put some down.
I'm Martin.
I'm from Rainforest, Illinois.
My favorite story is The Very First.
My name is Rose.
I live in Portland.
My favorite circle around stories is onions and garlic.
My name is Rocco.
I live in Portland.
My favorite story is Price Master.
I like when Price Master says, Price Master!
Hi, my name is Levi.
I'm from Boise, Idaho, and my favorite Circle Round episode is the three-legged plot.
Why I like the three-legged plot is when it goes skippity, skip, skip, skip.
My name is Nell.
I live in Boise, Idaho, and my favorite Circle Round story is the farmer's coin.
My favorite part in it is when she cuts open the fish and finds the coin.
Did someone mention a story you've missed?
Not to worry.
Grown-ups.
You can find all of our Circle Round stories, plus links to the Circle Round Club, picture books, coloring pages and oh so much more on our website wburorg slash circleround.
