Hi, Rebecca Shear here. Before we get to our story, exciting news.
Circle Round is going back on tour. with live recordings across the united states our first stop Sunday, October 5th in Parker, Colorado at the Pace Center.
And Circle Round Club members are invited to a special post-show meet and greet with me and composer Eric Shimalonis.
Get your tickets at wbur.org slash circle around and click on events.
We're announcing more tour stops soon, so stay tuned.
We look forward to circling around with you live.
WBUR podcasts, Boston. MUSIC PLAYS Hi, Rebecca Shear here.
If you've been listening these past few weeks, then you know we've been taking time off. as we gear up for all sorts of cool stuff.
Not only are we working on Circle Round's sixth season, We're also releasing the first two Circle Round picture books and going on a book tour.
To learn more about how to get your Circle Round books and how to see us live, visit our website, wbur.org.
We'll be back with a brand new episode A wonderful story you may have missed the first time around.
Enjoy! Think of one thing you like about yourself, something that makes you proud.
When we feel good about ourselves, everything can feel good. but we're about to meet a character who doesn't feel good about herself.
There's one particular thing she doesn't like.
And she'll do whatever it takes to change it.
Woo-hoo! I'm Rebecca Sheer, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Today, our story is called Rabbit's Wish.
Versions of this tale originally come from West Africa.
Latin America, and the Caribbean. Some really great people came together to bring you our adaptation of this folktale, including Ryan Michelle Bathay.
Grown-ups, you might recognize Ryan from the movie One for the Money and from the NBC series This Is Us.
She's also starring in the TV series First Wives Club, coming to BET September 19th.
So circle around, everyone, for Rabbit's Wish.
Everything about Rabbit was tiny. Her body was tiny.
Her legs were tiny. Even her ears were tiny.
Unlike the long ears you see on rabbits today, back when our story takes place...
Rabbit's ears were more like nubby, fuzzy stumps on top of her head.
Ugh. Why do I have to be so small? so insignificant.
If only I could be enormous. Like elephant.
Or tall. Like giraffe. Or strong. Like bull.
Why do I have to be eensy weensy puny little me?
One day, Rabbit finally worked up the courage to ask Earth Spirit the creator of all the animals, to grant her wish.
Rabbit, you wish you were what now? bigger, you're wonderful just the way you are, and I should know.
I created each and every animal to be special in their very own way.
Special, huh? What's so special about me?
Well, I specifically fashioned you to be one of the swiftest animals around.
"'I also made you one of the smartest, maybe too smart.'
All sorts of creatures have fallen for your crafty tricks.
Rabbit shrugged. Whatever. So I've got speed.
I've got brains. But seriously, what good are those things when I'm such a... tramp.
Most everyone is bigger than me and stronger.
Not to mention how many other animals want to eat me.
I mean, come mealtime, it's like I'm at the wrong end of an all-you-can-eat buffet.
A snack bar. A smorgasbord! Okay, Rabbit, I hear you.
And I tell you what. I can make you bigger, but you have to earn it.
Rabbit quivered with delight. That's fine.
I'll do anything you say. You name it. I'll make it happen.
All right. Here's what you need to do. must bring me two things.
First, a whisker from Lion. Second, A feather from eagle.
Rabbit's eyes grew wide. She started trembling so hard her whiskers were shaking.
Um... With all due respect, Earth Spirit, Lion, Eagle?
Those are two of the big scary animals who want to eat me.
For breakfast, and lunch, and dinner, and midnight snack.
Oh, I know. I didn't say the task would be easy.
But then you're a quick one, Rabbit, in body and mind.
You'll figure it out. Now hop to it. Rabbit dragged her fuzzy feet back to her snug burrow underground.
Well, this is... Great. Just great. I ask Earth Spirit to make me bigger.
And now she wants me to get Lion's Whisker and Eagle's Feather? all those guys ever think about is their next meal.
How could I possibly ever? Wait a minute.
Their next meal. That's it. Rabbit's mind raced as she scrambled out of her burrow.
Then she bounded off to the forest, where a lion was creeping out of his den.
It was still early in the day, and he was just about to start his morning hunt.
Hey, lion! Lion! When Lion's gaze landed on Rabbit...
He began to salivate. Hello, Rabbit. Delivering me breakfast in bed, are you?
Actually... Lion, if you play your cards right, I can deliver you two breakfasts.
Lion cocked his shaggy head. Come again?
What do you mean, two breakfasts? Well, Lion...
It just so happens I've heard about a top...
Secret way you can make two of me. You just pluck out your magic whisker poke my fur two times, and then voila!
Two rabbits. Lion scoffed. I don't have a magic whisker.
You sure about that? Try it. Hmm. I'm pretty hungry, and hey, what have I got to lose?
Other than... You know, a whisker. Lion lifted his paw and yanked out a whisker.
Then he poked rabbit's fur with it two times.
Nothing's happening. There's still just one of you.
Hmm... Maybe you're not doing it right.
Here, let me try. Rabbit snatched the whisker from Lion's paw.
But instead of poking herself with it, Do you know what she did?
Do you? Oh, you know what that music means.
Time for a quick break. We'll find out what happens next in just a moment.
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I'm Rebecca Shear. Welcome back to Circle Round.
Today our story is called Rabbit's Wish.
Before the break, we met Rabbit. Everything about Rabbit was small, including her stumpy little ears.
So she asked Earth Spirit, the creator of all the animals, to make her bigger.
Earth spirits said she would grant Rabbit's wish if the swift, sly creature could bring her two things. lion's whisker, and eagle's feather.
Ever the trickster, Rabbit cooked up a plan.
First, she zipped over to the forest to see Lion, who immediately wanted to eat Rabbit for breakfast.
But she used her smarts to play a trick on him.
She got him to believe his whisker might be magic.
And as soon as he pulled it out, she grabbed it from him and began leaping away.
Lion growled and took off after Rabbit. But the little creature was so fast, by the time Lion reached Rabbit's burrow, she'd already shimmied through the narrow hole. where the giant beast could never reach her.
I'll get you next time, Rabbit. Next time!
Then he skulked off to go hunting, and Rabbit fell asleep.
A few hours later, she woke up all refreshed, nibbled some turnips, then climbed out of her burrow and bounced over to the river.
It was lunchtime, and Eagle was soaring in the sky, her sharp eyes fixed on the water below.
Hey, Eagle! Eagle! Over here! When Eagle saw Rabbit, the majestic bird swooped down, her pointy talons outstretched.
Good afternoon, Rabbit. You're just in time for lunch.
Just a minute, Eagle. If you play your cards right, I can make you two lunches.
Intrigued, Eagle glided down to the ground.
Wait, what do you mean, two lunches? Well...
It just so happens I've caught wind of a very special way you can make two of me.
You just take your magic feather, wave it over me two times, and then... Shazam!
Two rabbits! Eagle scowled. Holys! I don't have a magic feather.
You sure about that? Just try it. right then.
Might as well give it a go. I am famished.
Eagle used one of her talons to pluck out a feather.
Then she waved the feather over Rabbit two times.
Wait. Nothing's happening. There's still only one of you.
Hmm. Maybe you're not doing it right. Hang on.
Let me try. Rabbit seized the feather from Eagle's talon.
And can you guess what she did next? That's right, she clutched that feather in her fuzzy little paw and began scampering away.
Eagle flapped her wings and took off after Rabbit.
But... As with Lion, by the time Eagle reached Rabbit's cozy burrow, Rabbit was safe and snug underground.
This isn't the last you've seen of me, rabbit.
I've got my eagle eye on you. Then she spread her wings and flew away.
Rabbit waited until the coast was clear.
With Eagle's feather in one paw, and lion's whisker in the other, she scuttled out of her burrow and proudly showed her items to Earth Spirit.
"'Well, well, well! I am impressed, Rabbit!'
You've succeeded in obtaining two objects from two animals who could...
And you've done it just as you are. with nothing but swift feet and a swift mind.
Alright, alrighty. I get it. I'm swift. I'm smart.
But I told you, Earth Spirit, none of that matters if I'm not.
Pig! Come on, Earth Spirit. You promised you'd grant my wish.
Earth Spirit saw the desperation in Rabbit's eyes and let out a sigh.
All right, Rabbit. A promise is a promise.
Now try this on for size. There was a blinding flash of light.
Then Rabbit felt a tug on her front side.
Next, she felt a tug on her backside. Her entire body was stretching and growing, growing and stretching, until she was nearly as big.
As a goat! Holy moly! Look at this! Rabbit was looking herself up and down, admiring her new, bigger self. when she heard some familiar voices, some familiar angry voices.
There she is. The trickster who stole my whisker.
And? My feather! It was Lion and Eagle, and they were rapidly heading her way.
Uh-oh. Rabbit's instinct was to scamper off, like she'd always done before. but her new bigger body felt all out of proportion.
With her longer, heavier legs, She was like a gawky baby calf taking its first awkward steps.
She could hardly keep her balance. Without thinking, Rabbit staggered to her burrow.
But when she tried diving down the narrow hole... as she'd done so many times before, her new, bigger body got stuck.
Lion and Eagle were getting closer and closer.
Rabbit fought to blink back tears. Our spirit.
Hey. Our spirit. Listen. I was wrong. I never should have asked to be a different size.
I was fine before. No, no, no, no, no. I was...
Awesome! Please! Can you turn me back the way I was?
Earth Spirit thought for a moment. Well...
I can't reverse a wish once I've granted it.
But there is one thing I can do. There was another flash of light, and all at once, Rabbit felt herself... shrinking and shrinking until her body was small enough to slip through her burrow hole and and escape the mighty paws of Lion.
Shucks! And the menacing claws of Eagle.
Woo-trats! Now Rabbit's body was back to its regular size, but her ears... her formerly stubby ears, they were still big.
You see, Earth's spirit had left rabbits' ears long. as long as a corn cob.
Not only that, but they could tilt and turn in any direction, so that now... when other, bigger animals wanted to get revenge for rabbits' tricks.
She could hear them coming from a mile away.
Since then, not once has Rabbit wished to be enormous like Elephant. or tall like giraffe, or strong like bull.
In fact, she's never asked Earth Spirit to change anything about her.
Ever. Because on that fateful day, the quick footed, quick witted creature learned something very important. bigger doesn't always mean better.
Sometimes, small can be best of all. Mm-hmm.
Now it's your turn. In our story, Rabbit learned to appreciate her small size, to feel good about it.
What's something about yourself that you appreciate?
Maybe you're a really helpful person and you go out of your way to assist others.
Maybe you play a musical instrument and you always carve out time to practice.
Maybe you work really hard to keep your room clean.
Find some paper and draw a picture of whatever it is about yourself that makes you feel proud.
Then if you like, share it with us ask your grown up if they can post a photo of your picture on Instagram and tag us Our handle is at CircleRoundPodcast.
This week's story, Rabbit's Wish, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
Circle Round's original music and sound design is by Eric Shimalonis.
You can find Eric's compilation of music from season one of Circle Round And I'll see you next time.
The music of Circle Round. Circle Round's story editor is Virginia Marshall.
Our artist is Sabina Han. Sabina has drawn a black and white picture for every Circle Round story, and you can color them in.
Ask a grown-up to visit our website, wbur.org, and click on Coloring Pages.
Special thanks to this week's actors, Evan Casey, Dolores King-Williams, Gamalia Farms, and Ryan Michelle Bathay.
Check out Ryan in First Wives Club on BET.
The comedy series launches on September 19th.
And look for her on the big screen in 2020 in the romantic drama Sylvie.
This week's featured instrument was the marimba You can learn more about this percussion instrument and see a picture on our website.
Again, that's wbur.org slash circle round.
Have you subscribed to Circle Round yet?
Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
And please write us a review. It helps other families find the show.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for circling around with us.
One of the best things about creating Circle Round is hearing from listeners like you.
Circle Round fans have been telling us about their favorite Circle Round stories, and we're excited to share some of their voices with you.
Hi, my name is Ada and I live in Columbia, South Carolina, and my favorite circle-round story is the unwelcome guest.
And I like the part when he says, food code, taste these.
Hi, my name is Gabito and I live in Berkeley. and I really like the show and my favorite show is The Basilisk Stare.
My name is Mary, and I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and my favorite circle around Ashes for Sale, I like the part where The bandits think the mask is a real crocodile.
My name is Ella and I live in Baltimore.
And my favorite Circle Round story is The Loaves of Bread.
My name's Anderson, I'm from Colorado and my favorite Circle Round story is The Royal Advisor.
My favorite part is when the Queen gets her new Royal Advisor.
My name is Daisy and I live in Los Angeles.
And my favorite story is the magic touch.
My name is Dorsey. I live in Germantown, Maryland, and my favorite Circle Grand Story is the noblest tale.
I like the part when Luma finds the dragon.
Hi, my name is Iris, and my favorite trick goes around Story is The Princess and the Magic Mirror.
I like the part when Ezra says, What is that?
Did someone mention an episode you missed?
No problem. You can find every single Circle Round story on our website.
That's WBUR.org slash Circle Round, or wherever you and your grown-ups get your podcasts.
