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.
Produced by the i-Lab at WBUR Boston. Think about the last time you made a promise.
Maybe you gave your word that you would clean up your toys at the end of the day.
Maybe you assured a friend that you would follow the rules of a game you were playing.
When we make promises, it's nice when we keep them, when we follow through and do what we said we were going to do.
But, as we're about to hear, when we break a promise, we can also break someone's trust.
Woo-hoo! ¶¶ I'm Rebecca Sheer, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Today our story is called Little Coup. Versions of this folktale come from Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Some really great people came together to bring you our adaptation of this tale. including Desmond Borges.
You grown-ups can see Desmond in You're the Worst on FX, and Living With Yourself on Netflix.
He also stars in the upcoming Amazon Prime video series, Utopia.
So circle around, everyone, for a little Coop.
Long ago, when birds first appeared on the Earth, their bodies were bare.
Bald! Not a single one had feathers. Back then, the leader of the birds was Owl.
An owl's first job was to call his brothers and sisters together and hand out their feathers.
Bye, bird. Cardinal, to you I give feathers as red as the sun in the sky.
Wow! Thank you, Owl. Canary, for you I have feathers as yellow as the corn in the fields.
Nice. Thank you, Owl. Parrot. Your green feathers will sparkle like an emerald.
Thanks, Owl. Bluebird, your blue feathers will glimmer like a sapphire.
Oh, thanks, Owl. And Dove, your new feathers are a bit like mine.
So many different shades of brown, they'll look just like chocolate, cinnamon and ginger.
Whoa, thank you, Owl. As the birds twittered over their brand new plumage, Who should appear in their midst?
Hey, everybody. But little Ku. Sorry I'm late.
Little Coo was one of the smallest birds and one of the biggest lazybones.
Little Ku always slept in. But that morning, the pint-sized loafer had rolled out of his nest even later than usual.
We'll be right back. So, Owl, how about giving me some of those feathers, huh?
I was thinking you could start with a teeny, a teeny bit of red, you know, just a pop of color, but then you could give me a whole lot of yellow. with green and blue spots, and then maybe toss in a smidge of brown.
Just to calm things down a bit. I don't want to be too showy, you know?
Owl shook his fluffy head. Actually, little Ku, I'm afraid you're too late.
I've used up all the feathers I have. I've given them all away.
What? Little Ku crossed his featherless wings.
But I... Owl, you can't let me go around naked.
I'll be bald! Not to mention ridiculously plain.
I mean... Look at everybody else. They're so much fancier than I am.
I'm sorry, little coo. If you hadn't lollygagged in your nest all morning, I could have helped you.
But, alas, I have no feathers left. Well, for days after that, little Ku did nothing.
Ugh. but silk. Look at me. I'm so boring.
So drab. So dull. And every time Little Coo complained, The other birds just sighed and rolled their eyes.
But after a while, one of the birds took pity on Little Coo.
Dove. Friends, it isn't right that little Ku should walk around all bare-bodied like that.
Just because he showed up late? I say we give him a second chance.
I say we give him Some of our feathers.
The other birds exchanged a look. Um, with all due respect, Dove...
Cardinal fluttered his crimson wings. Little Coo had his chance to get feathers, and he screwed it up.
Cardinal's right. Canary flicked her golden tail.
Little Ku is a layabout, a loafer, it's not Our fault he was tardy to the feather party.
Uh-huh. Now Parrot chimed in, puffing out her emerald chest.
We don't owe that lazy little bird a thing.
It's like they say, Dove. Bluebird bobbed her sapphire head.
The early bird catches the worm. And in this case, it catches the feather, too.
Wait a second, everybody. Dove held up a pale brown wing.
The other birds fell silent. Hear me out, friends.
What if, in exchange for our feathers, We can convince Little Ku to do something for us.
We could give him... A job. Something to make him useful.
Like... A messenger. He can help us announce events, spread the news, keep everyone in the loop.
What do you think? The birds were quiet for a moment.
And then... You know? I think you're on to something, Dove.
Yes. Being a messenger will teach Little Coup some... discipline, and diligence.
It'll shape up that careless creature in no time.
Dove flashed the birds a grateful smile, but then she noticed that one of them hadn't yet spoken.
Slowly, she turned to the leader of the birds, Owl.
Owl, what do you think? The wise bird closed his glittering round eyes.
When he opened them again, he focused them directly on Dove.
Well... Little Ku doesn't exactly have the most stellar track record.
But I see how much this means to you, Dove.
So, I vote that we give Little Ku some of our feathers.
If, and only if, You promise you will vouch for him.
If something goes wrong with your plan, Can we count on you to make it right?
Dove took a deep breath. Then she nodded her brown head up and down.
Absolutely, Owl. You have my word. What do you think?
Will Little Coup accept Dove's offer? And if he does, will Dove's plan go right or wrong?
We'll find out what happens after a quick break.
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Hiring? Indeed is all you need. need. I'm Rebecca Shear.
Welcome back to Circle Round. Today our story is called Little Coup.
Before the break, we met Little Coop, a lazy bird who showed up too late to get any feathers.
As he groused and grumped about being boring and bald, Dove took pity on him.
She convinced the other birds to give him some of their feathers.
In return, little Ku would become their messenger.
Owl, the leader of the birds, had doubts about Dove's idea So he made Dove promise that if anything went wrong, she would make it right.
When Dove told Little Coup her plan, he was ecstatic.
Oh, finally. This bald body of mine will be covered with speck-
Spectacular, splashy colors! The first birds to offer up their plumage were dove and owl, plucked out some of their brown, tan, and bronze feathers and attached them to little Ku's tail.
Next, Cardinal pressed some of his red feathers onto the top of Little Ku's head.
Yes. Then Canary stuck some of her yellow feathers on Little Ku's chest.
Wow! Parrot fixed some green feathers to Little Coo's wings.
Oh, ho, ho. And finally, Bluebird smoothed some sapphire-colored feathers over Little Ku's tiny face.
Hahahaha! Soon, Little Coo was covered in feathers from head to tail.
He looked himself up and down. Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh. Oh my, check me out. Have you ever seen a bird clothed in such a... rainbow of color.
My tail is as brown as chocolate, cinnamon, and ginger.
My head is as red as the sun in the sky.
My chest is as yellow as the corn in the fields.
My wings... Or as green as emeralds? And my face?
Oh, my face is as blue as sapphires. It's nice to see you so happy, little cool.
Dove laid a beige wing on little Ku's rosy head.
But remember... With all this new plumage comes a very special purpose.
You're the official bird messenger now. So get to work.
To Dove's credit, Little Ku's first days on the job were quite successful.
The colorful creature was constantly winging to and fro, delivering all the birds' messages swiftly and sweetly.
Listen up, turtle doves. The crows are hosting a party.
They want you to know that all the birds will be there and they hope you will too.
Hey, ducks! The geese told me that there are way more snakes than usual lurking around the lake.
So keep an eye on those eggs. Attention all birds!
Roadrunner just had a new brood of babies.
I repeat, Roadrunner just had a new brood of babies.
Feel free to deliver your gifts to her nest in the thorny bushes up the mountain.
But then, things began to change. You see, instead of taking to the skies and conveying information to his fellow birds, Little Ku started spending more and more time down by the river. and staring at his reflection in the water.
Well, hello there handsome. Greetings, gorgeous.
Salutations, you stunner, you. The day soon came when Owl had a very important message he needed to convey.
But when the leader of the birds flew over to Little Coo's nest... Little Coo?
I... Huh? Little Coo wasn't there. I bet you can guess where he was, though.
Yep, down by the river. gazing into the water and talking to his reflection.
Is it just me, or am I even better looking today than I was yesterday?
My brown tail looks even browner. My red head looks even redder.
My yellow chest looks even yellower. My... Little Coo.
Little Coo whirled around. Um... Hi there, Owl.
I didn't expect to see you here. And I didn't expect to see you here either.
I've been looking all over for you. Little Ku, I need you to deliver a message.
A vicious storm is rolling in. It will be here by the end of the week.
All of us birds must form a plan to stay safe.
So please, tell your brothers and sisters that I wish to hold a meeting First thing tomorrow.
Um, sure. Sure, well, yeah, no problem. I'll communicate your message Right away?
Owl thought he saw Little Coo roll his little eyes.
But perhaps it was just his imagination?
In any case, the next morning... Owl eagerly awaited the arrival of the other birds.
He waited. Okay... And waited. And waited.
Any second now. But nobody came. This is odd.
We have such urgent business to discuss, yet no one is here.
Just then, who should chance to fly by but Dove?
Hey there, Owl. What you up to? Why, I'm waiting for you, Dove. and all the other birds.
I called a very important meeting. I told Little Coo to spread the word.
Dove cocked her head. Well, I never heard about any meeting.
And definitely not from Little Kool. In fact, I haven't seen him in forever.
Owl took a deep breath. Is that so? Well?
When we birds gave Little Coo our feathers, you said you would vouch for him, Dove.
And if he never communicated my message, then it's up to you to learn what happened.
So go. Find little Ku. Something tells me he might be hanging out down by the river.
And sure enough, that's exactly where Dove found Little Coo.
Standing at the water's edge, and yes. Good day, good looker.
What's up, wonderful? gazing at his reflection.
Little Coo! Little Coo turned around. Oh!
Hey there, Dove. How's it shaking? How's it shaking?
Little Koo, you didn't deliver Owl's message.
I'm the one who got you this messenger job.
Do you have any idea how bad you made me look?
Little Coo burst into laughter. Oh, you don't need me to make you look bad, Dove.
Those boring brown feathers of yours, they're so plain.
So drab. Unlike my own glorious plumage.
The tiny bird fluffed and preened his many-colored feathers.
Dove felt her heart sink. But... Little cool.
The other birds and I gave you that glorious plumage.
We took pity on you, so... Pity? You want to talk about pity?
Well, I pity all of you. I am so much more magnificent than any of you will ever be.
In fact... Tiny eyes flashed. I am way too magnificent for some... silly little messenger job. stunning specimen like myself shouldn't be tiring out his Marvelous wings delivering invitations to parties?
No offense, Dove, but that job you gave me is for the birds.
Or for the other birds. Anyway, the less gorgeous birds.
Okay? I quit. And with that, Little Coo flapped his wings, lifted his rainbow-colored body into the sky, and flew far, far away.
As Dove watched little Ku disappear behind the clouds, she felt her cheeks burn. both with anger and embarrassment.
How could little Ku do this? After all we did for him.
But I assured Owl that if things went wrong, I would make them right.
And a promise is a promise. Guess it's time to be true to my word.
Then she took off into the sky to chase after little Coot.
Legend has it she's still looking for him. calling out for Little Coo wherever she goes.
In fact, some say that's why we describe the call of a dove as a coup.
But here's the thing. As Dove searches high and low for little Ku, she's not alone.
You see, despite everything that happened, Owl knew that Dove's heart was in the right place when she hatched her plan.
So guess what? Owl has been helping Dove out and looking for a little coo to...
Only owl is no longer known as just owl.
In parts of North and South America, he became what's known as the burrowing owl.
Unlike other owls who sleep all day, the burrowing owl stays up all day with his head sticking out of a hole in the sand, and while other owls call out with a hoo-hoo, Do you know what the burrowing owl says?
You guessed it. He calls out with a coo-coo. in hopes that someday, somehow, He'll track down the vain little bird who got away.
. . . Now it's your turn. When it came to admiration, little Ku was all about himself.
But can you think of some other person in your life whom you admire?
Someone you look up to or... just think is pretty darn cool.
Figure out who your person is, then find some paper and make them a card.
You can draw pictures or use words to show and tell your person why you think they're so great.
Then drop the card in the mail, or if you can, deliver it in person. and I guarantee you will make their day.
This week's story, Little Coup, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
It was edited by Circle Round's executive producer, Catherine Brewer.
Our original music and sound design is by Eric Shimalonis.
Our artist is Sabina Han. Sabina has drawn a black and white illustration for every Circle Round story, and you can print them out and color them. ask a grown-up to visit our website and click on Soundtrack and Coloring pages.
Special thanks to this week's actors, Gabriella Fernandez-Coffee, Kevin Corbett, Jessica Rao, Jefferson Russell, Laura K. Welsh, Dolores King-Williams, and Desmond Borges.
You grownups can see Desmond in You're the Worst on FX, and Living With Yourself on Netflix.
And watch for him in the upcoming Amazon Prime video series, Utopia.
Our featured instrument this week was the classical guitar.
You can learn more about this plucked string instrument and see a picture on our website.
Again, That's wbur.org slash circleround.
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Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR 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 Philomena. I live in Texas.
My favorite Sugar Island story is the enchanted paintbrush, because it makes everything that she paints real.
My name is Nicky, I live in Alexandria and My favorite Circle Round story is the rooster.
I'm Liza. I live in North Carolina. My favorite story of Circle Round is the mountain spring because I like the part when the man and woman turned young again.
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 circleround, or wherever you and your grown-ups get your podcasts.
