Hello and welcome to Super Great Kids Stories.
Wise tales from storytellers around the world which will make you laugh and sometimes cry.
Recommended for ages 5 to 105.
I'm Kim and I love stories.
Today we have a fairy story from Australia, told by Evita, the Storyteller, who is new to Super Great Kids Stories.
How are you Super Great Kids?
Have you told any stories yet this summer?
If you want to give it a go, try an easy story which you've listened to a lot.
Something like Stick Woman or The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
You can start by telling your teddies or your pets.
They're very good listeners and they don't mind if you can't remember what comes next.
We've been listening to trickster stories recently.
Today's tale is set in Australia.
It's about some fairies who want to play a trick on a greedy lizard.
Australia is one of the largest countries on Earth.
At the moment, Australia is in the middle of winter, which is a good time to be telling stories.
Evita, this week's storyteller, lives in Australia and we were lucky enough to have her call into Wardour Studios in London to record some stories for us while she was here in Europe visiting grandchildren.
Evita has seven grandchildren and four of them listen regularly to Super Great Kids stories.
Hooray!
There's Emiliana, soon to be seven, and Elio, who soon turns five.
They live in Switzerland.
And in Australia, there is Esmeralda, who's seven, and Montgomery, who is five.
What lucky children having a grandma who is a storyteller.
Just before we hear from Evita, here's a little question for you.
If you were telling a story from our podcast, which one do you think you'd like to tell?
Would you tell a fairy tale like Stick Woman, or a trickster story like Anansi and the Hot Pepper Soup?
Or would you go for a how and why story like How the Elephant Got Its Trunk?
And can you think of any noises or sound effects that you'd include in it, like a creaking door or a howling wolf?
Have a think about that while we have a quick word with the grown-ups.
Are you ready?
Off you go.
Hello, super great grown-ups.
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Hello, super great kids.
I'm back.
Did you decide which story you'd tell and any sound effects that you'd add?
Do you prefer making animal noises like a howling wolf or a roaring lion, or monster-y kind of noises like a cackling witch?
Maybe this could be the week that you have a go at starting to tell your very first story.
Now it's time for our story.
So let's give a warm welcome to Evita, the storyteller.
Hello, super great kids.
Hello, Kim and team.
And a big hello to Story Owl, of course.
I am Evita.
I was born in the Alps of Switzerland and I basically lived a bit like Heidi.
And then, many years later, I was lucky enough to go to the land of my dreams, which is Australia, where I now live some of the time near a very good storyteller called Warren Foster.
You might remember his stories.
Now where I live on the far south coast of New South Wales, we've still got big, big old growth forests.
And as a lot of Australians do, they love the outdoors and they go camping a lot.
And one day when we were camping, there was an animal that scared my little boys.
The animal was a lizard.
Now that lizard is called a goanna.
Remember that word, goanna.
So a goanna is a big lizard.
He's black and got lots of yellow and white spots, like a dot painting.
But let me tell you something.
A goanna lizard is not as long as your baby brother's arm.
Not as long as your sister's arm or your mama's.
No, he is longer than your dad's arm.
Oh yes, a very, very big lizard.
So let's go to the story of the guana and the fairies.
Oh yes, there are fairies in Australia.
Who knows if they've always been there. or if they came over by boat.
The earth is our mother.
We must take care of her.
The earth is our mother, we must take care of her.
Deep in the forest there was a clearing, and on that clearing The fairies had just woken up.
There was a lot of twittering and tinkling because they were very, very excited about the party, the feast they were going to have.
You must know that the fairies celebrate the wattle season every year.
Wattles are flowers, tiny little yellow flowers.
But they have a lot of seed and the fairies like nothing more than making Wattle's seed damper.
There they are.
They have collected all the seeds.
They want to thank Mother Earth for all her gifts.
They're sitting down, putting the seeds between two rocks, and they're grinding grinding, grinding those seeds until it becomes flour.
Then they go drip, drip, drip and add some flour petal morning dew.
Then they're stirring stirring, stirring that mixture and kneading kneading, kneading until it's a nice soft dough.
They put that dough in a basket, cover it with leaves and hide it under a tree root to rise to be baked the next morning.
But just nearby, behind a bush, Guana is watching.
Guana chuckles.
The fairies have made another wattle seed damper dough, and I'm going to gobble it all up.
His eyes were rolling.
He was so looking forward to that.
He waited.
Oh, yes, he did.
He waited for the fairies to get into their little hammocks and go to sleep.
Then he came out from behind the bush.
Swish, swish, swish.
He walked.
Swish, swish, swish.
He sniffed the air.
And yes, he found that damped doe.
He went right up.
His tongue was going left.
His tongue was going right.
And then he gobbled it up. basket and all.
The next day the fairies were in a total state.
Oh no, not again, they wailed.
That goanna, that old goanna has stolen our dough.
Another year without wattle seed cake.
And do you know something?
Some of the littlest fairies began to cry.
But one fairy jumped up and she said, listen, listen everybody.
Everybody stopped what they were doing.
What?
I know something we can get that will stop that goanna once and for all.
Well now all the fairies were curious and they gathered closer.
What is it?
What is it?
Well, said the little fairy, my brother and I, we went to the human camp the other day and we... The human camp, went the fairy godmother.
She said, you cannot go there.
You know the rules.
It is dangerous.
Humans are very tall.
They have very big feet and they are a bit smelly.
You know you're not allowed to go there, said the little fairy.
But listen listen listen, they have something.
They have something that will stop the goanna.
Now the elder fairies all sat in a circle, mumbling and grumbling and thinking surely no one was brave enough to go to the human camp and get whatever it was.
We are so brave enough, said the little fairy and her brother.
And so are we, said some of her little cousins.
Well, did you know that the grown-up fairies were quite glad that it wasn't them that had to go to the human camp and get whatever it was?
Now the fairy sister and brother explained.
We have to go to the human camp and they usually bring a basket.
And in that basket there are sort of seed pods.
They're about, well, they're bigger than us, but they're fiery red.
Maybe they're a bean.
I don't know, but I know it'll work.
So the fairies tippy-toed and flew and tippy-toed and flew around mossy rocks through bushes until they came to that camp.
And oh dear, those humans were tall, and they lumped about on great big feet.
The little fairy pointed.
See over there?
There's the basket.
We need to go in there and get three of those red beans.
Come on, let's do it.
No flying now.
So the fairies tippy-toed and crawled and tippy-toed and crawled until they came to the basket.
When they got there, oh my, that basket was really tall and high.
The fairy brother said, Sis and I will climb in.
And then we'll hand those beans down.
Get ready to catch them.
So they climbed up, up, up and fell over the rim.
They landed in the basket and were surrounded by vegetables bigger than themselves.
Hmm, what do you think was in there?
Yes, there were potatoes and onions.
There was broccoli.
What else was in there?
Oh, there, over there, near the potato, fiery red.
We've got it, said the brother.
And he handed one up to his sister.
And she said to the other fairies, are you ready?
They held out their little hands and she threw that bean down.
They got it.
Another one, another one.
Oh, they're heavy.
Can you do it?
She said yes.
She jumped in, handed a bean to her brother.
Are you ready?
And the fairies held out their hands and they caught it.
And just as the sister was getting that third bean, a great big hairy hand came into the basket and a voice said Hey Baden, can you hand us a chilli?
The hand came closer and closer and it picked up that chilli.
And the little fairy, she was still hanging on.
Oh no, what do I do?
The hand went higher and higher.
She looked down.
Her little legs were dangling.
Let go, cried all the fairies.
Let go.
And she did crash to the floor.
They picked up those two chillies and ran home, ran home as fast as their little wings and little legs would allow them.
When they got there, the grandmother fairies had already prepared more damper dough.
They had been grinding and stirring and kneading.
Now the grandmother fairies were wearing goggles made of dragonfly wings.
They were wearing gloves made of spider webs, and they had little axes.
And they began to chop.
Can you help me?
Chop, chop, choppity, chop, chop, chop, choppity, chop, until they had a very bright red mush.
They carefully cut the dough in half, and in one half they mixed that red mush.
Ooh, it began to look bright, bright pink.
They put it in a basket, covered it with leaves, and set it under the tree roots to rest.
But just nearby, you know who was watching, don't you?
Gwenna was watching.
Gwenna was drooling.
Oh, those fairies have made another dough for me.
Oh, I'm just going to wait until they're asleep and then I will go and gobble it up.
He waited.
Now, my dear friends, do you think those fairies went to sleep?
They did not.
They hid behind a rock and they watched.
They watched as the sun went down and Gwena came up swish, swish, swish.
Drip, drip, drip went his drool.
He rolled his eyes.
He wiggled his tongue and said, more dough just for me.
And then he found the basket.
He took a great big sniff.
Then he opened his mouth wide and gobbled it up.
Basket and all.
Ooh, this one tastes even better than the last one.
It is so tasty, it is.
That poor goanna began to run around in circles.
It was spicy.
It was hot.
Help!
Help!
Fire!
His circles were getting crazier and crazier.
Steam was coming out of his nostrils.
He looked around.
Water!
Water!
He yelped and swish, swish, swish.
Swish swish swish, that goanna ran for the creek, the river, and he jumped in headfirst and he began to drink.
Can you help that poor goanna drink?
He drank.
He stuck out his tongue, waved it about.
No, still hot, still hot.
Back in he went. until finally his tongue felt a lot better.
And that creek, that river, he'd nearly drank it dry.
But then he heard it.
He heard a voice.
He heard a giggle.
Silly Goanna, why do you steal our damper dough?
Why didn't you just ask for a share?
Come on, don't be silly.
Well, Guana felt cross.
Guana felt angry.
And he turned around and he lurched towards those fairies.
Hang on, he thought.
Fairies were laughing.
Oh, no.
That Goanna had drank so much water that his belly was too full of water.
He turned around and he tried to swish, swish away, but it sounded something like this.
Well, That goanna was never seen in those parts again.
But the fairies, the fairies feasted all day and all night long.
Come little fairy, hold my hand, let us do a little dance.
One step here, one step there round in circles, light as air.
One step here, one step there round in circles, light as air.
And that is the end of my story.
Ah, thank you so much Evita, for sharing that brilliant tale.
I love the way Evita includes little songs as part of her storytelling.
That was a bit scary when the huge hand came into the basket where the fairies were hiding.
Imagine that!
Eek!
I wonder if Evita's children stopped being scared of the goanna once they heard that story.
Have you ever come across a goanna?
I think they look a bit like dragons, but they don't usually breathe out fire, unless they've been eating chillies, of course.
And here's my question.
How do you think you would have stopped Goanna from stealing all your dough?
Would you have built a trap to catch it?
Or would you have got your dog to guard the dough?
Ask your grown-up what they'd do if they knew someone was stealing their party food.
Now, it's time to say hello to some owlets who've recently joined our storytelling club.
So let's spread our wings and fly around the world with StoryOwl to meet them, beginning in Canada, in Beaconsfield in Quebec, to greet twin owlets Avery and Emrin, who are seven, and Brian, who is four.
Avery and Emrin became owlets for their seventh birthday in July.
They enjoy listening to the stories in the car, at home and before bed.
Their favourites include Hey Ho, The Anansi Tales, The Luck Child and Baba Yaga Stories.
And let's fly south now to sunny Florida, to say hello to Owlet's Kaya, who is six and a half, and her sister Selina, who is three and a half.
Kaya has been listening for three years and she says she's a huge fan of the podcast and enjoys reading the owlet letters.
Her favourite story is Lullaba and the Eagle from Sudan.
And Selina's favourite is Masha and the Big Brown Bear from Russia.
Good choices.
And heading north now, let's fly to Leafy, Maine in the US to greet Owlet Birch.
Birch is four and his favourite story is Troll Ale.
Good choice, Birch.
That story goes very well with last week's story, The Witch's Stone.
Both those stories make me laugh a lot.
And whoosh!
Let's flip-flap-fly across to Maryland now to greet Owlet Charlotte, who is six.
Charlotte enjoys listening in the car.
Her favourites are the trickster stories and she particularly enjoyed the rabbit tricks wolf story told by Gail Ross from the Cherokee Nation.
And let's eat some healthy owl sneaky snacks now, because we're going on a long flight to Catherine in the Australian outback, to greet Owl at Eli, who is seven.
Eli has been listening at bedtime since he was three and he can't listen to the scary stories about trolls and ogres, but he loves the rhythmic storytelling of Toop.
His favourite story is Why the Rattlesnakes Rattle, told by Toop, which incidentally is included in the Super Great Kids Stories book.
I wonder if you have goannas where you live, Eli.
I expect you probably do.
Back to the US now to greet four-year-old owlet Sidha, who lives in Pennsylvania.
Sidhar shared a picture he drew of the Ghost of the Bloody Finger, with big round eyes and a big open mouth.
Sidhar especially likes listening to the scary stories when he's in the car or when he's out camping in the wilderness.
And let's head east to Massachusetts next.
Where six-year-old Kestrel says she listens to the stories every evening.
Her favourites are the Baba Yaga stories.
Yes, mine too, Kestrel.
And I like the way Baba Yaga has got pet geese or crows who sleep on her roof.
And heading a long way west.
Now to Minnesota.
Let's greet Owlets Manu, who is seven, and Maite, who is five.
Manu's favourite is Tianzhe and the Yellow Dress.
Maite's favourite is Baba Yaga and Little Brother.
They really like the stories with rhymes, songs and musical instruments.
And of course, they love the spooky ones.
And let's head on down now to Palisade Colorado, to greet Owlets Harper, who is six, and Adeline, who is four.
Harper and Adeline, especially like The Belly Button Monster, The Two Silly Witches and Bakur and the Dragon.
They even tell those stories to friends and family and with an English accent.
Brilliant that you're telling them.
Well done.
They hope to come to a show in the UK one day.
Well, we look forward to meeting you there.
And finally, let's head to the west coast of the US, to Santa Rosa in California, to say hello to Peter, who turns seven this week.
Peter listens with his mum and they have so many favourite stories.
But their current favourite is The Boy Who Drew Cats from Japan and our recent story, The Witch's Stone.
Glad you enjoyed that one, Peter.
Hope you had a happy happening day.
And that's it for Owlet Welcomes this week.
We really appreciate your support.
More welcomes next week.
And our pick of the week picture goes to seven-year-old Maggie from Shreveport in Louisiana for her drawing of the old woman up the hill story.
I just love the way you've drawn that enormous monster towering over the old woman who has her hands on her hips and her grey hair neatly piled on her head.
She certainly does not look as if she's scared of that monster.
She was a toughie in the story, wasn't she?
And she held her nerve and got a great reward for keeping calm.
If you'd like to see Maggie's delightful picture, go to our Facebook page facebookcom.
Forward slash supergreatkidstories or our Instagram at supergreatkids, underscore r.
Send us drawings, paintings or collages of your favourite story.
Or, if you like, this week's story, you might like to draw a picture of the greedy lizard with steam coming out of his mouth while the fairies giggle away.
And you might even get a mention on the podcast as the artist who drew Picture of the Week.
Send your drawings to facebookcom, forward slash supergreatkidstories or to our website supergreatkidstoriescom, and Story Owl will reply to you.
And thanks to all of you who are subscribing to our podcast.
We really appreciate those of you who feel you can support us on Apple or on Patreon.
It helps us to pay our storytellers and it gives you access to all of the Super Great Scary Stories and, depending on your level of subscription, to over 50 bonus stories.
Plus, you'll get access to our Super Great Kids Stories Express, which cuts straight to the story, which is very good for listening to stories back to back.
Visit our website for more details, supergreatkidsstories.com.
That's it for now.
Remember, you'll get a discount if you order our super great book before September the 11th.
You'll find the discount link in the news section on our website.
Thank you for your support.
Keep telling those stories and singing your songs.
Have a happy week.
This podcast was produced by Kim Normanton and David Smith at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.
