Think about a time you returned a favor—a time when someone did something kind for you, so you turned around and did something kind for them.
In today's tale, when a tiny critter has the chance to return a favor, she finds a colossal way to give back.
I'm Rebecca Scheer and welcome to Circle Around, where story time happens all the time.
Today, our story is called In the Willow Tree.
Versions of this tale come from the East Asian country of Taiwan.
Some really great people came together to bring you our adaptation of this folktale, including Stephanie Koenig and Patrick Lewis.
Grownups, you may know Stephanie Koenig from The English Teacher on FX and the Apple TV Plus mini -series, Lessons in Chemistry.
And Patrick Lewis stars as Axel in Cobra Kai, the Karate Kid sequel series on Netflix.
So circle around, everyone, for In the Willow Tree.
In the middle of a forest, beside a swift, sparkling stream, there grew a graceful willow tree.
On the forest floor beneath the tree, inside a rotting log that had been mouldering for years, there lived a humble ant.
Though Ant lived below the willow tree, she spent a lot of time scurrying up and down its trunk so she could feast on the honeydew.
Yummy, yummy, yummy.
Now, you may know honeydew as a juicy melon, but a tree's honeydew is different.
It's actually the sticky liquid left behind after itty bitty insects called aphids feast on the tree's sap, and Ant couldn't get enough of the stuff.
Oh, boy. This honeydew was so scrumptious, I could eat it up all day.
Mmm, mmm, mmm. One morning, as Ant was guzzling down some particularly luscious honeydew, the wind suddenly picked up, and a great gust of air swept Ant right off the tree.
Yikes. Next thing she knew, she was tumbling downward. Whoa!
And heading straight for the sparkling stream.
Oh, this is bad. This is very bad.
I can't swim. Once Ant hit the water, she floundered around, trying to make her way to shore.
Oh, oh, can somebody help me?
Please! I don't think I can make it.
Now remember, ant was a teeny tiny thing, no bigger than the nail on your pinkie finger.
So as you can imagine, since her body was so teeny tiny, her voice was too.
And though she was calling out with all the energy she could muster.
Help me! No one in the forest could hear her.
Well, maybe not no one.
Huh? Who is that crying for help?
Wood Pigeon was a big gray bird about the size of a bowling pin.
Like all other pigeons, Wood Pigeon had an extraordinary sense of hearing.
So even though he made his nest in the willow tree's upper branches, he could hear Ant's desperate cries.
Without missing a beat, he opened his wings and swooped down to the water where Ant was still flailing around.
Woodpigeon, can you help me?
Please! Woodpigeon thought fast. He grabbed a twig with his beak, then tossed the twig into the water.
See that twig, little one?
Climb onto it. With any luck, it'll float you back to dry land.
After some scrabbling and scrambling, Ant managed to pull herself out of the current and onto the twig.
Phew! To her delight, the twig eventually drifted to the edge of the stream.
And within moments, Ant was back on dry land.
My goodness! That was a close one.
Thanks for saving my life, Woodpigeon.
Oh, don't mention it.
It's what any self -respecting animal would do.
Maybe. But, listen, Woodpigeon, I promise you, some day I'm going to return the favor and save your life.
Woodpigeon fixed Ant with a stare.
Then he tossed back his head, stretched open his beak, Ant laughed.
That's a good one, Ant!
How could a creature so small possibly save the life of a creature so big?
I mean, what did the narrator say before?
I'm the size of a bowling pin, while you're the size of a fingernail?
A pinky fingernail, to be precise.
And that proves my point.
I'm big, you're small, you could never save my life.
So don't go making promises you can't keep.
And with that, Wood Pigeon turned around, spread his wings and flew away.
A few days later, Wood Pigeon was napping in his nest when a dark shadow fell over the willow tree.
The shadow belonged to Hawk, a fierce bird of prey even larger than Wood Pigeon, with broad wings, razor -sharp talons, and a beak to match. Hawk had excellent vision.
And when she caught sight of Wood Pigeon snoozing away, she began circling over the tree.
She circled lower and lower before settling on a branch above Wood Pigeon's nest. And happened to be crawling around the Willow's trunk, eating honeydew, and when she spied Hawk feasting her hungry eyes on the sleeping woodpigeon, the insect shuddered from her antennae to her abdomen.
Oh no! It looks like Hawk is set on making Woodpigeon her next meal.
I did promise Woodpigeon I would save his life one day, and now it's my chance to make good on that promise.
The only question is, how?
How do you think Ant will protect Woodpigeon from Hawk's hungry clutches?
What would you do if you were the teeny tiny insect?
We'll find out what happens after a quick break.
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Welcome back to Circle Round.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Today our story is called In the Willow Tree.
Before the break, Wood Pigeon saved Ant from drowning.
When Ant promised that someday she would return the favor, Wood Pigeon dismissed the incy -weancy insect with a laugh.
of life. Sometime later, Wood Pigeon was napping in his nest in the willow tree, when who should come winging over, eager to make the sleeping bird her next meal.
But Hawk? Ant was feasting on the tree's honey dew at the time, and the moment she spotted the ferocious bird of prey, she knew she had to do something.
My voice is too quiet to scare Hawk away and I'm too weak to fight her off.
But I must find a way to save Woodpigeon.
I must! She swallowed one last gulp of honeydew, then scuttled up to the branch where Hawk was perching.
She edged closer and closer to the fierce predator.
When she was just inches away, she took a running leap, then spraying into the air, landing smack dab in the middle of Hawk's belly.
Ant quickly got to work burrowing through the thick layer of belly feathers.
And once she was touching Hawk's skin, Do you know what she did?
She opened her tiny jaws as wide as she could, and bit down.
Hulk's eyes bulged as she cried out in pain, Ow!
Something just bit me.
The great bird began writhing around, trying to shake off her invisible attacker.
But Aunt held on tight.
Then she opened her jaws and took another bite.
Ouch! Then another.
Ouch! Then she began crawling all over Hawk's body, taking sharp, tiny bites as she scuttered around.
Ouch! Eeek! Ow! Ow!
All the yelping and yowling roused Woodpigeon from his sleep.
The moment he laid eyes on Hawk, he urgently beat his wings and rocketed into the sky.
Once, he was a safe distance away, Ant took one final chomp, then leaped off of Hawk's body and onto the branch. Hawk let out one more cry, then took to the air, flying away faster than you can say honey do.
I am out of here. The next morning, Ant was hanging out in her rotting log beneath the willow tree when she heard a familiar voice.
Ant, are you in there?
Ant crept out into the open air, and there was Wood Pigeon, his round eyes shining bright.
All the forest animals are talking about how you saved me from Hawk.
Is that true? Are you the one who scared him away?
Ant drew herself up to her full height and smiled.
Indeed, I am the one who scared Hawk away.
Though that's probably pretty tough to believe, given that I'm no bigger than a fingernail.
Don't you mean a pinkie fingernail?
A sheepish grin flickered across Woodpigeon's face.
Look, Ant. It turns out I misjudged you.
And it wasn't fair.
So that's why I came over here today.
I wanted to say thank you and sorry and I'll never underestimate you again.
Well, I'm happy to say that Woodpigeon stayed true to his word. What's more, he and Ant wound up becoming the closest of friends.
And even though one was as large as a bowling pin and the other was as small as your pinkie nail, The two pals always found a way to see eye to eye.
Now it's your turn.
A fun way to keep track of the kindness we show others is by playing Kindness Bingo.
Find a big piece of blank paper or poster board and draw a big square.
Then divide that square into nine little squares, so three rows of three.
In each square write down or draw one kind thing you can do for others.
It could be as simple as greeting a neighbor with a smile or a wave, taking turns with friends, or offering someone some encouraging words, or a hug or a high -five.
Once your nine squares are ready, hang your kindness bingo on the wall or fridge.
and each time you complete an act of kindness, put a check mark or sticker on that square.
Your goal is to have all the squares filled in.
Once your Kindness Bingo Board is complete, we would love to see it.
Ask a grown up to snap a photo of you and your creation and email it to circleround -at -wbor .org.
With your permission, we may feature you in The Lion's Roar, the monthly newsletter of the Circle Round Club.
More on this super fun club for super fans like you in just a moment, but first...
This week's episode, In the Willow Tree, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
It was edited by Dean Russell.
Our original music and sound design is by Eric Shimelonis.
Eric's featured instrument this week was the urhu.
You can learn more about this ancient fiddle from Asia and see a photo of Eric playing one on our website, wbur .org slash circle round.
circle round's artist is Sabina Hahn.
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.
Special thanks to this week's actors, Stephanie Koenig and Patrick Lewis.
Patrick Lewis stars as Axel in Cobra Kai, the Karate Kid sequel series on Netflix.
Stephanie Koenig stars in The English Teacher on FX and the Apple TV Plus miniseries, Lessons in Chemistry.
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circle round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for circling around 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 Martha I live from New Zealand And, my favorite circle round is The Loving Bird. And, I like the pot when the bird laughs.
My name is Eleanor, I live in Cleveland, Ohio.
My favorite circle round story is a song for the spirit I like the part where he picks the food and the next day when he goes fishing, he gets a shark.
My name is JJ. I live in Cleveland, Ohio.
my favorite circle round story is the pasta coke.
I like the part where the soldier spreads butter on his face and says, it's very hot in here.
My name is Olivia, I'm in Cleveland, Ohio.
My favorite circle round in the car hotel.
I like a pasta, we get the car hotel.
My name is Remy and my favorite circle round story is the three little critters.
I like the part where they take the rooster.
My name is Mekhi and I live in East Hampton, Massachusetts.
My favorite story is the only in the life because I like the part where the ogres learn so hard that all the water spills out.
My name is Clementine and I live in Portland, Oregon.
And my favorite story is Claudia the Quirt cause they have a horse named Clementine and my name's Clementine.
We love you, Bacchus here.
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