Hi. Rebecca Shear here.
Here at Circle Round, we're taking time off as we get ready to bring you the ninth season of our WBUR podcast, featuring dozens of folktales from around the world, and an exciting lineup of live episode recordings across the United States.
This week, we're bringing you a special encore edition of the podcast, a really fun story you may have missed the first time around.
Enjoy! Have you ever made a pact?
A pact is an agreement that you make with somebody.
And ideally, you both follow through on your ends of the bargain.
Well, we're about to meet a character who does not hold up his end of the bargain.
And as a result, he ends up getting way less than he bargained for.
I'm Rebecca Shear, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Today, our story is called Strong Mind and Kind Heart.
Versions of this folktale come from the Southeast Asian country of Vietnam.
Some really great people came together to bring you our adaptation of this tale, including Christopher Shawn, whom you might recognize from his lead role on Star Wars Resistance on Disney+.
Watch for Christopher as Batman's first sidekick, Nightwing, in the new action role -playing video game, Gotham Knights.
So, circle around everyone, for Strong Mind and Kind Heart.
Once upon a time, there were two friends.
One of the friends was especially clever, so everyone called him Strong Mind.
The other friend was especially caring, so everyone called him Kind Heart.
Strong Mind and Kind Heart had known each other since the day they were born.
They had played together as children.
Let's go swimming in the river, Strong Mind.
I'll bet I could beat you at a race across.
And when they were all grown up, they worked together.
Watering, weeding, plowing and planting the fields of a wealthy landlord. Not only that, but they lived together too, in the only abode they could afford. A leaky thatched roof hut with cold, creaky floors and cracked, peeling walls.
One morning, before the friends went off to work, Kindheart turned to Strongmind with a smile.
Strongmind? You know how we're always talking about pursuing our studies and becoming great scholars?
Strongmind heaved a wistful sigh.
Ahh. I sure do, Kindheart.
Ever since we were little, our greatest dream has been to study hard and become advisors to the king.
But come on, we both know we could never afford to go to school.
Our dream will never come true.
I wouldn't be so sure about that.
Kind Heart laid a hand on his friend's shoulder.
Listen, Strong Mind, I haven't told you this, but I've been saving up my wages.
And I've got just enough money to pay for your first year of school my first year of school What about your first year of school?
It's your money after all I know but I want to help you You're my best friend, and I want you to live your dream I've got enough money for your first year of school So you can go to classes and study and after that I'll keep working to support you until you graduate And after I graduate?
What then? After you graduate and land your dream job and become an advisor to the king, you can support me while I follow my dream.
What do you say? Can we make a pact?
Strong Mind gazed into Kind Heart's eyes.
Then he wrapped him in a hug.
Of course, we could make a pact!
Thank you, Kind Heart.
I'll never forget your kindness.
So, thanks to Kind Heart, Strong Mind went off to school in the Capitol City.
Kind Heart, meanwhile, stayed home and worked in the Landlord's Fields.
In the blistering sun, in the pouring rain, in the bone -chilling wind, Kind Heart watered, weeded, plowed and planted, sending all the money he made to his oldest and dearest friend in the world.
He also sent letters.
Dear Strong Mind, I hope all is well with you in the capital city.
I'm thrilled that you're finally pursuing your dream.
Dear strong mind, I can't believe you've been gone for a whole year now.
Your brain must be bursting with knowledge.
With every letter kind heart sent, strong mind promptly wrote back.
Dear kind heart, so good to hear from you.
I'm doing great here at school, though I sure do miss my best friend.
Dear kind heart, Dear kind heart, Indeed, It's been a whole year.
Year number two is through.
I've learned so much, and can't wait to tell you about it, All thanks to you!
But, after some time, Dear Strong Mind, Kind heart's letters?
It's been a while since I last heard from you, Began to go unanswered.
Perhaps you're just super busy...
at school? The longer Kind Heart went without hearing from his friend, The more he began to worry, Was Strong Mind alright?
Had something terrible happened to him?
But then, while Kindheart was out doing errands in the village one day, he overheard two villagers chatting in the square.
My goodness, have you heard the news?
Strong Mind finished his studies in the Capital City and graduated top of his class.
Well, no surprise there.
We've always known how brilliant that fellow is.
And now the King knows it, too.
His royal majesty just hired Strongmind to be his chief advisor.
His chief advisor? What an honor.
And what a paycheck.
Word has it Strongmind bought himself a brand new house.
A big beautiful house with his own guards and cooks and everything.
How wonderful! Good for Strongmind.
As Kindheart listened to the villagers' chat, it pained him that Strongmind hadn't delivered this exciting news himself.
But it thrilled him that his best friend's dream had finally come true.
And now Strongmind can make good on his promise and support me as I follow my dream.
Tomorrow, I'll journey to the capital city and pay my oldest and dearest friend a visit.
But when Kindheart reached his friend's big, beautiful house in the capital city, he was stopped at the gate by a stern guard in uniform.
Hold it right there, sir.
Who are you and what business do you have here?
Um, my name is Kindheart.
I'm Strongmind's oldest and dearest friend.
I wonder if he's at home.
Kindheart. Hm. The name doesn't ring any bells, but all right.
One moment, please." The guards spun around and marched into the house.
He found Strong Mind in the lavish library, pouring through a pile of thick books.
Sir, a kind heart is here to see you.
Strong Mind scowled.
Tell him to go away.
But with all due respect, sir, he says he's your oldest and dearest friend.
Strongmind rolled his eyes.
Listen, he may have been a friend once, but that was before I became so successful.
With a fabulous job and a fabulous house!
I don't have time for little people like Kind Heart anymore.
Tell him to go away!
So that's exactly what the Guard did?
But wait! Why would Strong Mind want me to go away?
I'm his oldest and dearest friend!
His oldest and dearest friend.
So you say, buddy. But I'd suggest you move along.
Strong Mind wants nothing to do with him.
Stinging with hurt and reeling with confusion, Kind Heart staggered away from the house, and out of the city.
He found himself beside a rushing river, where he collapsed on the bank with a sob.
How could my oldest and dearest friend in the world claim that he doesn't know me?
I mean, here he is, living the dream, the dream that I helped him achieve.
And suddenly I'm a complete stranger?
After I worked so hard for him, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, and month after...
Help! Someone, please.
Help! Kind Heart looked out across the water, and what should he see flailing and thrashing around in the swift current but a woman?
Tiger, can you help me?
Please? Of course I can.
Don't you worry. Without hesitating, Kind Heart plunged into the river.
By the time he swam the woman back to shore, her body was still, and her eyelids were closed.
Ah, dear me! Oh, are you alright, miss?
Can you hear me? Can you— Clear as a bell.
To Kindheart's surprise, the woman popped open her eyes and sprang to her feet.
Well done, Kindheart.
You passed the test?
Kindheart was dumbstruck.
Test? Wha—? What test?
And how do you know my name?
Oh! We fairies know everything.
Kindheart's jaw dropped.
Fa— Fairies?! Fairies, you say?
Yes, we've had our eye on you for some time now, kind heart.
Some of the other fairies wanted to see just how kind your heart truly is.
So they sent me to pretend I was drowning in the river, and you saved me!
You dove right into that ice -cold water without a second thought.
So, you passed the test. And now, you shall get your reward. what reward do you think the fairy is talking about we'll find out what it is after a quick break what are circle round listeners saying about the circle round Club the newest membership opportunity for superfans like you here's a taste I love being in the circle and club because the snuggle times are perfect for when you want to listen to Circle Round, but you don't have that much time.
Grown -ups, get your Circle Round superfan signed up today at wbur .org slash circle round club.
Welcome back to Circle Round, I'm Rebecca Scheer.
Today, our story is called strong mind and kind heart.
Before the break, Kind Heart was devastated after being turned away from the big beautiful house of his oldest friend, Strong Mind.
On the way home, Kind Heart saved a woman who seemed to be drowning in the river.
But she was actually a fairy, testing his kindness.
And now, she said, she would give him his reward. Here, kind heart, take my hand.
Kind heart took the fairy's hand and before he knew what was happening the two of them were lifting up into the air.
They went whizzing through the sky.
And within minutes they were back on the ground right in front of kind hearts leaky thatched roof hut.
So, kind heart, this hut, this is the place you once shared with Strong Mind?
Your oldest and dearest friend.
Oldest friend maybe.
but definitely not dearest. Would you believe he turned me away from his fancy new house in the capital city?
The fancy new house that he wouldn't even have by the way, if it weren't for me.
Years ago we made a pact.
I toiled for years to support Strong Mind helping him follow his dream of going to school and becoming a royal advisor.
After that, he was supposed to support me, help me follow my dream, yet he claims he doesn't even know me.
It isn't right! The fairy fixed Kindheart with a twinkling gaze.
Don't you worry, Kindheart.
We'll make things right.
Starting now. She flicked her fingers, and all at once, Kindheart's thatched roof hut vanished.
Then she flicked her fingers once more, and where the hut once stood, with its cold, creaky floors and cracked peeling walls.
There now loomed a majestic, skyscraping palace made of sparkling green jade.
Kind Heart watched in wonder as the doors of the jade palace opened wide and out streamed dozens upon dozens of guards and butlers, footmen and cooks.
Meet your new staff, Kind Heart, and welcome to your new home.
I was thinking our first order of business should be throwing a housewarming party.
I'll organize everything, including the guest list. Just leave everything to me." True to her word, the fairy threw herself into preparing for the party.
She used her magic to create scrumptious plates of food and dazzling decorations.
And as for the guest list, she wrote out just one invitation to just one person.
Dear Strong Mind, your presence is humbly requested at a housewarming banquet at the Jade Palace tomorrow.
When it came time to deliver the invitation, the fairy sent an entire fleet of footmen and horses to Strong Mind's big, beautiful house in the capital city.
When Strong Mind spotted the magnificent horses and their shiny leather bridles, he was immediately intrigued.
He grabbed the invitation from one of the footmen and eagerly began to read… Dear Strong Mind, Your presence is humbly requested at a housewarming banquet at the Jade Palace tomorrow!
Come dine and meet the palace's new owner, Fancy Dress Only!
Huh! I'm not familiar with this Jade Palace, but it sounds downright luxurious!
Right up my alley! Count me in!
The next day, Strong Mind put on his poshest attire and journeyed to the Jade Palace.
When he arrived, he was bowled over by its colossal size and glistening jade walls.
As a butler led Strong Mind through a maze of extravagant rooms, he found himself overcome with curiosity.
Hmm, this Jade Palace is so spectacular, it even rivals the King's castle.
I wonder who owns this amazing edifice.
At long last, Strong Mind was ushered into a grand and glorious banquet hall, where he found a lengthy table set with plates of pure silver, cutlery of pure gold, and goblets of pure crystal.
Sitting at the head of the table, dressed in a long flowing gown, was The Fairy, though to Strong Mind she looked like a regular human.
The Fairy lifted her arm and waved a bejeweled hand.
Greetings. You must be Strong Mind.
Welcome to the Jade Palace.
I hope you didn't get lost on your way in.
With one thousand rooms under one roof, the new owner and his two hundred servants are always getting turned around.
Strong Minds head was spinning.
One thousand rooms?
Two hundred servants?
And look at that banquet table!
It was long enough to seat an army.
Aye, thank you madam.
It's an honor to be here.
Where might the owner be?
Oh, right – our host. The Fairy smiled.
He's been detained, but he said we should get started without him.
Please, sit down. The moment Strong Mind took a seat a parade of butlers began carrying course after delectable course into the hall.
With every platter of sumptuous marvelous food and every glass of strong expensive wine Strong Mind grew more and more impressed and more and more envious.
After the dessert course, a platter of pastries piled so high it took two butlers to carry Strong Mind wiped his lips with a milk napkin, and grinned.
Good madam, this meal has been exquisite.
I must confess I feel quite envious of our host's life.
The fairy laughed, her plan was working.
Envious? You? But you're the King's chief advisor.
You have everything you could possibly want.
Not everything! As a young man, I had nothing but a pathetic, leaky, thatched roof hut in the countryside, with peeling walls and creaky floors.
It was miserable. Then I became the King's chief advisor, and I got a big house and a big staff of workers.
But all of that pales in comparison with this splendor.
Strong Mind leaned forward, his hands trembling with greed.
I tell you, I would trade everything I have to lead the life our host leads.
I would give up my house, my job, everything." You'd really give up everything?
Strongmind turned his head.
Striding into the hall was a man with a dark mustache and long beard. A velvet cap was pulled over his eyes.
Little did Strong Mind know, but the man was actually Kind Heart, in disguise.
You truly would trade everything you have to lead my life?
Strong Mind jumped to his feet and bowed. Good sir, you must be the owner of the Jade Palace.
And yes, I would trade everything I have, in a heartbeat.
I see. Kind heart stroked his fake beard as if deep in thought.
You know, Strong Mind, it just so happens that I've always dreamt of being an advisor to the king, just like you.
So I tell you what.
He threw a quick glance at the fairy.
My friend here happens to know a bit of magic, so she will see to it that the trade is made.
Really? Strong Mind's excited eyes danced between Kind Heart and the fairy.
When can we get started?
Well, tonight, you will sleep in one of my palace's guest bedrooms. You may take your pick, there are dozens to choose from.
Then tomorrow, you and I will trade lives.
You will live the life I have been leading, And I will live the life you have been leading." Strongmind could hardly believe his ears.
He grabbed his host's hand and pumped it up and down.
I thank you, sir. You are doing me a generous favor.
And you're doing me a generous favor too.
Sleep well, Strongmind.
Strongmind took one last sip of wine, then hustled out of the banquet hall to select his sleeping quarters after traipsing from floor to floor and room to room.
He finally settled on a spacious chamber with velvet tapestries on the walls and a crystal chandelier glittering high above a fluffy feather bed.
He had a big, smug smile on his face as he drifted off to sleep.
I can hardly wait. Tomorrow, all of this will be mine.
But the next morning, when Strong Mind woke up again, something was decidedly different.
For starters, he was not sleeping in a fluffy feather bed.
What? And hanging above him, there was no crystal chandelier.
Huh? What's more, the walls around him were not covered with velvet tapestries.
Hey. As Strong Mind swiveled his head around, he discovered the entire Jade palace was gone.
Instead, he was sitting on a cold, creaky floor.
Above him was a leaky, thatched roof, And around him were walls that were cracked and peeling.
Ah! It can't be. It can't.
And yet, it was. Strong Mind was back in the old hut he used to share with Kind Heart, for the fairy had corrected his wish.
And now Strong Mind was leading Kind Heart's life.
Kind Heart's real life, before it had been touched with magic.
Oh, no. As for Kind Heart, well, he and Strong Mind traded places, right?
So Kind Heart woke up in Strong Mind's big, beautiful house in the capital city and he went to work as the King's chief advisor.
At long last, the good, faithful fellow was living the life he had always dreamed of deep in his kind, kind heart.
Now it's your turn.
Think about a time you were a good friend.
Maybe you made an extra special birthday card for a classmate.
Perhaps you helped a buddy put up flyers to find their lost cat.
Or maybe you lent an ear, as one of your pals told you about their tough day.
Find some paper and draw a picture of you being a good friend.
After that, share your drawing with your friend!
If you like, share it with us!
Grown -ups, you can snap a photo of your kiddo and their artwork and email it to us at circleround .org.
This week's story, Strong Mind and Kind Heart, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
It was edited by Nora Sachs.
Our original music and sound design is by Eric Shimelonis.
Our artist is Sabina Han.
Sabina has drawn a black and white coloring page for every single circle round story, and you can print them out and color them in.
Grownups, head to our website, wbur .org slash circle round, and click on Coloring Pages.
And while you're at wbur .org slash circle round, you can also find a link to our brand -new picture books.
We've adapted several of your favorite circle round episodes as fun, colorful books.
And you can find them all at WBUR .org slash circle round.
Just click on books.
Special thanks to this weeks actors.
Theodore Chin, Shelly Lee, Jessica Rau, Jefferson A.
Russell and Christopher Shawn.
Watch for Christopher in Star Wars Resistance on Disney Plus and check him out as Batman's first sidekick, Nightwing in the new action role playing game Gotham Knights.
instruments. Our featured instrument this week was the goochung, a plucked zither dating back 2 ,500 years.
To learn more and see a photograph, visit our website.
Once more, that's wbor .org slash circle round.
Grownups if you enjoy what you hear on our podcast, please write us a five -star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to circle round.
It helps keep circle round going strong, so we can continue circling round with you for years to come.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR News Station.
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.
Hi, my name is Calim.
I'm from Ethiopia. And my favorite story is of crocus pocas, and I love when the old lady turned into a young woman.
My name is Uma, and I'm from Portland, Maine.
And my favorite circle around story is giant steps.
I like the part where the giant tells the woodcutter a bunch of jokes, like the humanitarian joke.
My name is Ilan and I live in Bewelton, California, and my favourite circle round story is Chameleons contest and I like the part when Chameleon says, are you sure you want to throw in the towel because I could keep doing this all day.
My name is Parker, I live in Seattle, Washington, and my favorite episode is the Crystal Story Box.
And my favorite part is when a Nazi the spider drops all the stories on Earth.
Hi, my name is Nova and I live in Oakland, California and my favorite story is Look Like falls and my favorite part is when the king comes back.
I'm La 'Yona and I live in Oakland, California.
My favorite circle around the story is the Persimmon Sisters.
And my favorite part is when the two sisters stop fighting.
Hi, my name is Marie and I'm from Alabama and my favorite circle around the story is is Misery Loves Company, and I like the part when Misery talks to the farmer.
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, webur .org.
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