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.
Hello, super great kids.
Happy December.
It's that magical month of snow.
OK, sunshine if you're in the southern part of the world, but here, snow and celebrations.
Very soon, it's Hanukkah and then it's Christmas.
And that means listening to fairy tales.
Today, we have a tale called Lettuce, which was inspired by the German story The Frog Prince.
It's about a silly princess, a smart servant and a prince.
And it's told by storyteller Rosalind Buck.
Did you have a happy week, Super Great Kids?
I went cycling along the River Thames on a cold, sunny day and I stopped to warm up in the sunshine and watched families buying Christmas trees.
Another thing which is making me happy this week is that I'm really looking forward to having a very special guest attend our Midwinter Magic online show, which is happening in just over a week's time.
Her name is Sheila Arnold, and she's a really talented storyteller from the US.
She told us the story about the Weeping Willow.
I just wish I could turn colours.
Yes, that story.
It's one of my favourites.
So do join us Jason Buck, Amy Douglas, me and Sheila Arnold at the online Midwinter Magic Show on Saturday, December the 13th.
You only need one ticket for the entire family.
That's £12.50 or about $16.50 in US money in total.
Or if you're busy, you can download it and watch it later.
And more exciting news.
As the celebration month is upon us in Australia and New Zealand, our book will be published and hit the shops this Thursday, December the 4th.
In Australia, you can get it from bookstores like Dimmock's.
And in New Zealand you can get it from the Indies like The Nile Paper Plus and Wheeler's and Whitcool's.
We're very pleased that the book is becoming available around the world, because embracing the world is what this podcast is about.
You can buy our Super Great Kids stories in bookshops or online.
For a link, go to our website, Super Great Kids Stories, and look under News.
Now, just as we are about to start this week's story, I have a little challenge for you.
How many fairy tales can you think of?
A fairy tale, I think you know, is a story with magic or magical beings.
They don't have to be fairies.
It's often set in a woods or a forest or a castle.
So, for example, Cinderella is a fairy tale and so is Stick Woman.
Here are some word clues to jog your memory.
Bears, beanstalks, dwarfs, pigs, a wolf and witches.
See how many fairy tales you can think of while we have a quick word with the grown-ups.
Ready?
Off you go.
Hello!
Did you know?
The Super Great Kids Stories book is available in bookshops and online around the world.
Our stories are designed to inspire families to leave their screens, learn about the world together and be entertained and awed.
We're delighted that our first book of 30 of our best stories has been published by Bloomsbury.
It's beautifully illustrated by artists from across the globe.
The characters you'll meet include a Nancy eating hot pepper soup, Baba Yaga, the bony Russian witch, Molly and the leprechaun and, of course, the ghost of the bloody finger.
Our book will make a memorable Christmas or birthday gift for you to read and enjoy as a family.
Available worldwide, online and in bookshops.
Go to our website, supergreatkidstories.com for details.
Snip, snap, snout.
Our super great book is out.
Hello, super great kids.
I'm back.
How many fairy tales did you think of?
Here's just a few.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, The Frog Prince, The Ugly Duckling, Rapunzel or Gulbahar, Persian version, and Mama Draga.
Oh, and Baba Yaga.
Can't forget her.
Give yourself a pat on the back if you've got more than three.
Ooh, don't you know a lot of fairy tales?
Hurrah!
They're so good for us all.
And now it's time for our story.
It's told by Rosalind Buck, who is new to Super Great Kids Stories and also happens to be Jason Buck's sister.
This story Lettuce, is inspired by The Frog Prince, which was collected in Germany by the Brothers Grimm.
So let's give a very warm welcome to Rosalind Buck.
Hello, my name's Rosalind Buck and today I've brought along my good friend Granny Ghastly to tell you a story.
And this time it's about Lettuce and the Frog.
Hello, children.
Granny Ghastly here, come to tell you a story.
So buckle up, hang on to your hollyhocks, and here we go.
The night had been long.
There had been a great deal of bustling to and fro, of ladies with their sleeves rolled up, bringing towels and hot water and what not.
Now the Queen was lying propped up on a pile of lacy pillows, eating her breakfast.
She peered down at the cross little red face in the crib next to her.
It had put in its first noisy appearance in the early hours, and now the Queen could faintly hear the strains of a herald's trumpet far below at the castle gate, announcing the good news.
A princess had been born!
Her husband had been stomping around the palace since dawn, proud as a peacock and all puffed up, while the Queen was feeling rather puffed out and peeved.
She put on a set of diamond-studded headphones and turned up the volume so as not to be disturbed.
She brushed the crumbs from the covers, licked the marmalade off her index finger and set about organising the christening.
It would be the most glitzy, ritzy affair this court had ever witnessed.
And there was the guestist to be made up.
All she would start were the three most senior fairy godmothers in the kingdom.
They must be invited before anyone else had even heard there was going to be a banquet.
After all, fairies could be tricksy things.
Meanwhile, down in the kitchen, another event was taking place.
The scullery maid was peeling the spuds for lunch when she heard the bell ring outside the back door.
She went to answer it.
There was no one there, just the daily vegetable hamper.
She picked it up and took it into the kitchen, setting it down next to the sink.
Imagine her surprise when she lifted the lid and found, nestled amongst the salad greens, something pink and wriggly.
She gave a little squeal of surprise.
Oh, my goodness!
Mrs Murphy, the cook wiped her flowery hands on her apron and bowled over to see what the fuss was about.
The pink wriggly thing was wearing a darned vest and a pair of patched bloomers.
It chuckled at her.
And that is how Lettuce, the baby who'd been found in the hamper amongst the salad greens, arrived at the castle.
The day of the christening arrived.
There was a grand luncheon and the kingdom's three senior fairy godmothers were all in attendance bearing baskets of gifts.
Now, at that time I was apprenticed to one of the three, the elderly fairy Treacle Mustard, so I was allowed to come along and take my lunch in the kitchen.
Mrs Murphy produced a huge teapot, cucumber and crisp sandwiches, and her famous fairy cakes.
Fairy cakes is little cupcakes with the top sliced off and cut in two and stuck back on with buttercream.
Now it's a fairy godmother's business to look after special little girls, foundlings and orphans in particular.
Once lunch was over, I smoothed out my skirts and took little Lettuce onto my lap.
Up in the big hall, the christening ceremony was in full swing and the Princess Araganza was being presented to the fairies.
The tradition of the land was that the Queen should choose one gift from each fairy's basket.
The Queen ran her eye greedily over the parcels.
It was hard to make a choice based on the size and the wrappings.
Sometimes the most magnificent presents, like jewels, came in extremely small boxes.
Well, some of these gifts was wrapped in moss, some in plaited reeds and some in hand-pressed paper made from flower petals.
She picked one from the first basket.
It tinkled when she shook it.
Some of the gifts in the second basket was wrapped in leather, some in birch bark.
The queen chose the biggest.
In the third basket, some was wrapped in leaves with a little rosette of acorns, and the very smallest of all was wrapped in a dried orange peel.
She chose that one.
The fairies then took their leave and coffee was served.
Fairies do not drink coffee.
They're bad enough without it.
It was also considered rude to open presents in front of people, so the Queen retired to her chambers.
She eagerly tore off the wrappings.
Under each layer was another, then another and another.
It was like past the flipping parcel.
In the end...
All three turned out to be tiny little boxes carved from a walnut shell with a little silver hinge and inside a little card with something neatly written in curvy, spidery fairy handwriting.
The first endowed the princess with a little turned-up nose.
Well, the queen was beautiful and had a turned-up nose herself.
But the king wasn't that hot, so perhaps it was just as well the princess wouldn't inherit his big red conch.
The second gift was dainty feet.
Oh well, the queen's feet were dainty, but the king had feet of two different sizes, right clod-hoppers, so perhaps it was just as well the princess would not inherit his feet.
That left just one gift.
The queen was unsurprised when it proved to be long hair.
Not even long, thick, shiny, golden hair.
I mean, anyone, well, almost anyone could have long hair, even if it was thin and greasy.
Well, she'd just have to tell the king that their daughter was to be the most desirable princess in the world.
Meanwhile, down in the kitchen...
Little Lettuce was reaching into my basket.
She didn't have a mother to choose for her, so she had to do it herself.
And anyway, there was only one gift, and it was done up in brown paper with lots of string.
The baby cooed as she curled her chubby little fingers around the parcel.
Course I had to open it for her.
Inside was a walnut box with a little silver hinge, and written on the little card in tiny neat writing was all the things I wished for this special little girl.
Good sense intelligence, which she already had.
But just in case patience kindness, and crammed in right at the end so small that you could barely read it, where I'd run out of space.
It said Happy Ever After.
Fast forward to sixteen years later and the Princess Araganza was walking in the palace gardens playing with a golden ball.
She was accompanied by a lady-in-waiting, Lettuce.
Yes, the baby who had been found in the hamper amongst the salad greens had been raised as a companion for the Princess.
She went everywhere with her, taking the blame for any mischief the princess got up to and doing anything the princess was too lazy to do for herself.
Now, Lettuce had paid good attention to all the lessons that Araganza couldn't be bothered to listen to, and had passed all her exams for her with flying colours.
As a result, the princess was rather ignorant, which was a pity, because she had a good brain, but she didn't use it.
What's more, although she was beautiful, with a little turned-up nose, dainty feet and, to her mother's relief long thick, shiny golden hair, she was spoiled and selfish, which is not a good look.
Lettuce was bright and sunny, with a smile that lit up the room.
So there was Araganza, thrown and catching her golden ball, when suddenly, whoops, she tripped over them of her dress and it flew out of her hands.
Plop, it went, landing in the basin of an ornamental fountain.
Now, not one of them.
Shallow things where people throw pennies and make a wish and small boys jump in and fetch the pennies out again.
No, the water was green and cold and you couldn't see the bottom.
Araganza picked herself up and ran over to peer into the depths.
Sitting on a lily pad in the middle of the basin was a frog.
It stretched out a little green leg and pointed its foot at the water.
Was that your ball I just saw going down?
Yes.
Araganza answered him, call as you like, as if being spoken to by frogs was an everyday occurrence.
I can fetch it up for you, if you like.
Well, Araganza might have been spoiled, but she was rather fond of the golden ball and she knew her father was unlikely to fork out for another one in hurry.
Oh, yes, lovely.
OK.
All right.
So, what will you give me in return?
Ribbit.
Oh, anything you like.
Well, in that case, I would like you to take me back to the palace.
Ribbit.
And let me eat from your plate.
Ribbit.
Drink from your goblet.
Ribbit.
And sleep on your pillow.
Ribbit.
Okay, fine, whatever.
Is that a promise?
Yes, yes, the ball, please.
Okay.
Rub it.
And the frog dived into the deep green weedy water and swam out of sight.
A few moments later, he reappeared, holding the golden ball.
Here you are.
Rub it.
Now you will fulfil your side of the bargain, but Princess Araganza had snatched up the ball and was already running back towards the palace.
Lettuce looked at the frog, which looked back at her with its little gold eyes.
She scooped it up, popped it into her apron and ran after her mistress.
Dinner had already been announced, so Araganza rushed to the table and sat down with a skid and a plonk.
Lettuce placed the frog on the table next to the princess's plate, where it began to slurp at her soup.
Araganza pulled a face.
''Yuck!
Take that naughty slimy thing away!''
The king saw the frog and asked what was going on.
When Araganza explained about the ball and the promise, he spoke sternly.
''A promise is a promise whether it's to a prince or a frog.''
Lettice sighed.
''Oh, don't worry.
I don't mind if it eats from my plate.''
The frog hopped over and started flicking its tongue in and out as it ate her peas.
It dipped its whole head in and chugged noisily at her goblet.
When dinner was over, Princess Saraganza scraped back her chair and, without asking to be excused, started to leave the room.
The frog wiped a smear of raspberry parv liver from its mouth.
Grrrr!
If it's bedtime now, princess, then I'm ready to turn in too, after such a delicious meal.
Let's go to your room.
Aracansa looked horrified.
No way, I'm not having a cold wet frog on my nice clean pillow if you think I am.
The king looked across the table.
Is this part of the bargain too?
Remember, a promise is a promise, whether it's to a prince or a frog.
Lettice scooped up the frog and she carried it to her bedroom.
She popped it on her pillow and kissed it on the nose, telling it she'd be back once she'd put the princess to bed.
Once Princess Araganza was safely tucked up and snoring, Lettice tiptoed back to her own room.
To her astonishment, the frog was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, there was a rather good-looking, if slightly green and damp, young man with a fine gold circlet on his head he smiled at 'That's the first hot meal I've had since that enchantress turned me into a frog.
'and you were the kindest, sweetest and most beautiful princess I could have wished to meet and marry'.
"'Lettice blushed and looked at her feet.
"'Oh, but I'm not a princess.'
"'The prince laughed.
"'Well, that can soon be arranged.'
In the morning, when no one came to bring her breakfast, no matter how loudly she shouted and rang her bell, Princess Arakanza stormed into Lettuce's room.
She wasn't there.
The place was deserted and her toothbrush was gone.
Eventually, after a big search, a damp note was brought which had been found on the kitchen table.
It said...
Things aren't always what they seem.
Look out for the invite to our wedding.
P.S.
Keep your own promises next time.
Underneath was a very curly princely signature and a smiley face underlined with a piece of wilted pondweed.
The Princess Araganza stamped her dainty little foot.
Oh, thank you very much Rosalind, for sharing that story.
I like the little twist at the end so the spoiled princess didn't get to marry the prince.
I wonder if the prince got a little bit less green as the magic of the spell wore off.
And do you think Princess Araganza might have learned something from Lettuce?
See what your grown-up thinks.
If you were going to draw a picture of that story, I wonder what you'd draw?
Would you draw the frog turning into a prince?
Or maybe the frog sitting on the dinner table and eating peas?
Or the froggy in pyjamas sitting on a lacy pillow and waiting for a kiss?
Do send us a picture if you feel in the mood for drawing.
Send it to StoryOwl at supergreatkidsstoriescom or at facebookcom.
Forward slash supergreatkidsstories.
And now it's time to fly around the world with StoryOwl to say hello and thank you to all the owlets who recently joined our storytelling club.
We start by heading south, to Santiago, the capital of Chile, to greet Valentin, who is nine and listens every night at bedtime after his mum has read him one of the stories from our new book, Lucky Valentin.
One of his favourites is The Fairy Boots, told by Amy Douglas.
Good luck, Valentin, with your new school in the new year.
I'm sure you'll do well.
Let's head north across to the UK now where Caspar, who is four, lives in Allendale in beautiful Northumberland.
Caspar's favourite is the Japanese fairy tale, Inch Boy.
And back across the Atlantic to the US again.
Let's say hello to Jordan, who is six, and to four-year-old Ike.
They live in Bourke in Virginia.
And their favourite stories are...
Baba Yaga, The Ghost of the Bloody Finger and Molly and the Skeleton.
Up to Quebec in Canada now, where Cameron, who's seven and a half, loves all of the stories, especially The Bird of a Thousand Colours told by Wendy Shearer.
And staying in Canada...
Let's head to Prince Edward County in Ontario to say hello to Clark, who is six.
Clark has many favourites, including The Ghost of the Bloody Finger, Stone Soup Bonita, the Tricky Sheep and The Baba Yaga Stories.
Back south across the border, down to the US state of Texas, next to say hello to seven-year-old Asher and his brother Arlo, who is three, and they live in Houston.
Asher's favourite stories are Rumpelstiltskin and Tom Tit Tot and Arlo says well he likes them all.
That is just great Arlo across now to orinda in california, where clark, who is five, and his two-year-old sister flynn and their grown-ups like to listen to the stories together when they're driving to the mountains or to the coast.
Clark's favorite story is how maui slowed the sun, told by emmy bidwa, and staying in sunny california.
Let's greet stella, who is eight, from walnut creek.
She's been listening for three years now and she loves the Baba Yaga stories and the Ghost of the Bloody Finger best of all.
And a quick hop back to Texas, next to say hello to Camille, who turns seven this month and lives in Round Rock.
Her favourites are Troll Ale, The Weeping Willow and all of the Baba Yaga stories.
Camille listens every day and likes to do crafts while she's listening, lovely camille.
So welcome all you new owlets, and thanks to all of you who've hopped into our nest and are supporting us on apple or patreon.
We depend on your generosity and support to keep making this podcast.
It helps us to pay our storytellers and it gives you access to lots of extras, like all the Super Great Scary Stories.
And, depending on your level of subscription, you get lots of bonus stories and 150 stories from our new archive.
Plus, you'll get access to our Super Great Kids Stories Express, which cuts straight to the story.
Great for listening to stories back to back.
Visit our website for more details at supergreatkidsstories.com.
And our Pick of the Week picture is from five-year-old Leo, who lives in Wauwatosa Wisconsin, in the US.
He and his sister Emma, who is three, really enjoy the podcast and have been listening for nearly three years.
Thank you, Leo, for sending your beautiful pictures of the stories.
How the Whale Got His Sad Song, Hey Ho and El Cangrejo.
Three crackers.
I really love the huge, sad blue whale that you've drawn spurting water out of its blowhole while the eagle carries him up in the sky.
And yes, we now have a new picture gallery for those of you who want to send in a picture but don't have Facebook.
Do send any of your pictures inspired by our stories to our website supergreatkidsstoriescom or to our Facebook page facebookcom.
Forward slash supergreatkidsstories and we'll post them for everyone to enjoy.
That's it for now.
Remember, we have an online show with Jason Buck, Amy Douglas and Sheila Arnold coming up in just over a week's time, on Saturday, December the 13th.
Hope to see you there.
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 festive Fitzrovia in London.
