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 not one, but two stories from China to mark the Lunar New Year, which is celebrated in many parts of Asia.
The stories are told by Alton Takiyama Chong, and the first is called Why Rat is Number One and explains how the animals were chosen to represent each Lunar New Year.
And the second is The Nyen, which is about a monster with long horns and pointy teeth.
Did you have a happy week, Super Great Kids?
I'm happy.
Because you've been sending in some lovely pictures and very kind messages, which makes my heart sing.
Also, right now we're in the middle of Lunar New Year celebrations, also known as the Spring Festival, which means that winter is coming to an end and spring is beginning.
The birds in my garden are already singing more loudly, as if to say don't worry, spring is just around the corner.
And there are lots of snowdrops and primroses flowering in the woods near my home.
So, Xin Nian Hao, that's Happy New Year in Chinese.
This is the year of the horse.
And just before we start the story, I wonder if you can think of any of the 12 animals which have a year named after them in the Chinese lunar calendar.
Here are a couple of clues.
Well, that's three to set you off.
See how many more animals you can guess if you don't know.
While we have a quick word with the grown-ups,
Ready?
Off you go.
Hello, super great kids, I'm back.
I wonder if you know or managed to guess any of the animals which have a year named after them in the Chinese calendar.
Here's the list.
See how many you got right.
Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
Well done if you already knew some of them.
Now sit back and relax, because Alton is going to tell you a story which explains why those animals in particular get to have a year named after them.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Am I sitting comfortably?
Then let's give a warm welcome to Alton.
Hello, this is Alton Takeyama-Chung, coming to you from the usually rainy Pacific Northwest of the United States.
Today however, Although the ground is wet and soggy, the sun is out and it seems like a cause for a celebration.
Speaking of celebrations, the Lunar New Year is celebrated in many parts of the world, but especially in Asia.
It's celebrated in places like Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Mongolia, Tibet, and the Philippines.
In Korea, the holiday is called Sula.
In Vietnam, it's called Tet.
And in China, it's called the Spring Festival.
I have two stories for you today from China.
The first is called Why Rat is Number One, and it's about how the animals were assigned to the Chinese zodiac.
Now, sit back and enjoy these Lunar New Year's stories.
There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, and this folktale is about how rat became number one.
A long long time ago, jade emperor invited all of the animals to take part in a fabulous race.
You will all start at the grandfather tree in the middle of the forest.
I will sound a thunderclap to start the race.
The first 12 animals to cross the finish line on the other side of the sacred river will have a year of the chinese zodiac calendar named after them.
Now, this time, cat and rat were the best of friends They knew.
Big, strong ox was used to crossing rivers and would probably finish first.
Meow, I hate water and I don't want to get my paws wet.
Yeah, yes, yes, and I'm not a good swimmer either.
No, no, no, but I know, I know.
Maybe we can get ox to carry a cross on his head.
Meow, great idea, friend rat.
It's a beautiful day, and I want to be rested for the race.
Be sure to wake me up before the start of the race.
Yes, yes, wakey, wakey, wakey, wakey.
No problem, no problem.
But winning the race was the only thing Rat could think of.
So instead of waking up Cat, he slunk away silently and then sprinted to the grandfather tree in the middle of the forest.
There he saw Ox moving to the starting line.
Oh, Ox, Ox, you know, you know, together we can win this race.
I mean, you are very strong, and I have great eyesight.
We could be a winning team.
Okay, Rat, you tell me where to go, and we'll get across the finish line first.
When the thunder boomed, Rat slipped on top of Ox's head, and off they went.
With Rat whispering directions in his ears, Ox avoided trees and lumbered toward the finish line ahead of everyone else.
Ox splashed through the sacred river and was heading toward the finish line.
There stood the Jade Emperor with his clipboard and pen.
At the last minute, Rat leapt from Ox's head and crossed the finish line first.
Ox then crossed the finish line moments later.
Yes!
Yes!
I'm number one!
I'm number one!
Yeah!
Ox just kind of rolled his eyes and shook his shaggy head.
He said nothing as he lumbered by the Jade Emperor.
And so you are, Rat.
You are number one, and Ox, you are number two.
Suddenly there was an explosion of water from the river.
Tiger!
Tiger! exploded from beneath the surface of the water, his coat dripping wet.
With a tremendous leap, Tiger's huge paws landed on the muddy shore and with another huge bound, Tiger crossed the finish line.
"'Very good, very good!
A spectacular entrance, Tiger!
You are number three!'
Meanwhile, Rabbit stood perched upon a rock in the middle of the river.
She was huffing and puffing, and was nearly done in.
She had been desperately trying to keep up with Tiger leaping from rock to rock so she could cross the river.
Suddenly, Rabbit slipped and tumbled back into the muddy river.
A moment later, Rabbit bobbed up to the surface, gasping for breath.
She was afraid she was going to drown.
Sputtering.
Her eyes widened as a log floating slowly down by, with wild flailing, paddling water flying up all around her.
Rabbit pressed both her paws onto the log and clung there as tightly as she could.
Unfortunately, the log was moving downstream with the current and away from the shore.
Suddenly, a gust of warm wind pushed the log toward the finish line.
Rabbit let out a sigh of relief as she neared the shore, rabbit dragged herself out of the water and stumbled across the finish line.
"'Congratulations, Rabbit, you are number four.'
A few moments later, over the finish line soared Majestic Dragon.
It shimmered through the clouds, its long tail streaming and lashing across the blue sky.
"'What ho, Dragon?
I expected you to cross the finish line first.'
"'Oh, exalted Emperor, on my way here I saw several villagers who were in trouble.'
A fire had started in their fields, and they were surrounded by a circle of flames.
I could not stand by and watch them burn.
I used my breath to put out the fire.
I also saw a rabbit in the middle of the river clinging to a log, so I used my breath to push the log to shore.
"'Well done, dragon, well done.
You are a noble creature and true to your nature.
You are number five.'
As the dragon and the Jade Emperor were speaking Horse galloped across the river, splashing water as her hooves moved like beating pistons through the shallows.
Horse burst forth from the river and thundered toward the finish line.
She hadn't noticed that Snake had wrapped himself around her leg to hitch a ride.
Snake had seen Rat's trick with Ox, and he thought that he could do the same thing with Horse.
With the finish line in sight, Snake uncoiled himself from Horse's leg and sprang forth in front of Horse.
Horse recoiled and leapt backwards, her hooves thrown up toward the sky.
With a wink and a slither, Snake crossed the finish line.
Yes!
Yes!
Success!
Success!
Snake, you are number six.
Horse lowered her long face in embarrassment and shame. and stepped slowly across the finish line.
Horse, you are number seven.
Meanwhile back at the river sheep and monkey and rooster all floated across the sacred river on a raft which rooster had found.
Together, the three of them worked furiously, using branches as paddles.
When Sheep and Monkey and Rooster reached the far shore, Rooster and Monkey decided to let Sheep cross the finish line first.
I mean, Sheep had been so comforting and formed such a wonderful friendship with them that they felt it was only right to let Sheep claim the eighth place.
If it were not for Sheep, They all may not have made it to the finish line at all.
Monkey, ooh, crossed the finish line next, followed closely by Rooster.
Sheep, you are number eight.
Monkey, you are nine.
And Rooster, you are number ten.
Congratulations.
Great teamwork.
Dog emerged. from the water next, and he shook himself off, sending water cascading everywhere.
And then he scrambled across the finish line, his tongue flapping from his grinning mouth.
"'Dog, you are number eleven, but you are a fast runner and a very good swimmer.
What took you so long to get here?'
Well, you see, Master, you see, it was just a glorious day, glorious day.
Perfect to go play in the water, go play in the water.
Good time, good time.
Good fun, good fun.
Too much fun.
Well, the Jade Emperor stood by the finish line with his clipboard and pen, and eleven animals had already crossed.
There was only one spot remaining in the Zodiac now.
Who would be the last animal in the Zodiac?
Then.
Just beyond the trees they heard a loud, It was Pig.
He moved surprisingly quickly, his little feet trotting away.
Layers of dirt and mud floated away as he entered the sacred river and he emerged on the far bank, pink and clean and shiny.
Pig, you are number twelve.
How is it that you, who have such surprising speed, have fallen so far behind?
Oh, sorry, your exaltedness.
You see, I was hungry and had to stop for a snack.
I felt sleepy after my snack, so I took a little nap.
Sorry.
Meanwhile, about this time, Cat woke up from her cat nap.
She yawned and she stretched and she realized that Rat was nowhere to be found.
When she got down to the sacred river, she discovered that the race was all over and that Rat had finished first.
Oh, she was devastated and furious at the same time and vowed to get even with Rat.
That is why, to this day, Cat still hates the water and chases Rat whenever she sees him.
The second story is called The Nien.
Do you ever wonder why the color red and fireworks are such an important part of the Lunar New Year celebrations?
There's a very old Chinese legend which might explain these traditions.
Once long, long ago, there lived in the deep forests of the Great Mountains a monster called the Nian.
Larger than a house and stronger than a hundred men.
It had the body of a bull with two long horns and the head of a lion with many sharp, pointy teeth.
At sunset on the last day of the year, the Nien would come out of the dark forest, come down out of the mountains to prey upon people and their animals.
Each year, the people would flee their villages before the monsters' arrival and take refuge in the hills, far from their homes.
The Nien would leave before sunrise when the new year started.
The villagers called that dangerous evening, which bridged the old and the new years, as the Niengan, or the Passing of the Nien.
On one such afternoon, on the last day of the year, people were preparing to run to the hills when an old man with a long white beard appeared in the village, begging for food.
Most of the villagers were preparing to flee the Nien.
None of them paid any attention to him.
An elderly woman, however, took pity upon him and gave him some rice.
She told him that he should run for his life while the Nien was coming.
"'Run away?
I just got here.
No, no, I would rather stay.'
"'Aren't you afraid of the man-eating Nien, of the long horns and the sharp pointy teeth?'
"'No, not really.
I am an old man, and these old eyes have seen much.
If you allow me to stay in your house tonight, I will drive the monster away.'
While unable to persuade the crazy old man with the long white beard to flee, the elderly woman left her house at his disposal and ran to the hills with the rest of the villagers.
That night the Nien stormed into the village, finding it empty.
The ravenous monster searched from house to house, looking for pigs chickens cats dogs, anything left behind by the villagers.
It smashed open gates with its long horns and chewed through doors with its sharp, pointy teeth.
It bellowed with rage at finding nothing to eat.
The Nian was about to smash his way through the old woman's gates when suddenly it jumped back.
It reared up and screamed with terror.
The gates were covered with dazzling red paper and the yard was filled with brightly lit candles.
Before the Nian could collect its wits, the doors of the house blew open and there appeared that crazy old man with the long white beard, dressed in a magnificent red cloak, shouting and hurling burning bamboo sticks before him.
The burning bamboo exploded with loud cracking sounds and the Nian was terrified of the color red and the loud noises.
It had had enough.
Then Nian fled the village, dashed up to the great mountains and dove into the deep forests and disappeared into the cold quiet dark, where it once again felt safe, vowing to return the next year to feed and plunder the villages.
At sunrise, the villagers returned to their nearly destroyed village.
To their surprise, the old woman's house was untouched.
The old Roman remembered the crazy old man with the long white beard who said he would drive the monster away.
Seeing the red paper pasted on the door, the smoldering bamboo sticks and the candles burning their last drops of wax in the courtyard, the villagers realized how the crazy old man with the long white beard had driven the beast away.
And that crazy old man was gone.
"'How could he have known what the beast feared?'
"'He must have been an immortal come here to teach us how to keep the monster at bay.'
From that time on, each year the Nien returned and each year the villagers dreaded its visit and prepared.
Each year, before the Niengan, the most dangerous night, All the villagers would light lanterns and decorate everything with red and make lots of noise to keep the Nian away.
At dawn, when the Nian retreated to the forest, the people would turn out to congratulate each other on their survival.
They would visit their neighbors and relatives, shaking their hands and say in Mandarin or in Cantonese, both meaning Congratulations and wishing you good fortune, great happiness and prosperity in the new year.
Thank you, Alton, for sharing those stories with us.
And Happy New Year if you're celebrating more fun facts about chinese new year and what to look out for in spring in our owlet letter for subscribers.
I wonder if you can draw a picture of the nian with the body of a bull and the head of a lion and many pointy teeth.
Send your pictures via our website to supergreatkidsstoriescom and we can share them with other story lovers on our website.
Picture gallery on our Facebook page facebookcom.
Forward slash.
Super great kids stories.
And now it's time to fly around the world with Story Owl, to say hello and a big thank you to the owlets who've recently hopped into our nest and joined our storytelling club.
Let's begin in Scotland to say hello to Hannah, who is seven.
And she lives in Glasgow.
Hannah has been listening to the podcast for years.
And when her mum asked her which was her favourite story, she replied, all of them.
Well, that's very nice, Hannah.
And staying in the UK, we fly south to Reading to say hello to seven-year-old Molly.
Her favourite stories are Molly and the Skeleton.
And the ghost of the bloody finger.
A long flight now across the Atlantic Ocean to the US state of Pennsylvania to greet Owlet Claire, who is seven and lives in Westchester.
She especially likes the Baba Yaga stories.
Me too, Claire.
A quick hop down to Bourke in Virginia to say to Owlet Una, who is five and became an owlet at Christmas time.
Her favourite story is The Two Silly Witches.
Let's fly all the way west to Ashland in Oregon to greet Owlet Nakai, who is eight and has been listening for years, especially on road trips.
Nakai particularly likes the anansi trickster stories heading south now down to alameda in california, to say hello to adelaide, who is six, and her sister astrid, who has just turned six.
They often listen to stories on family trips And Astrid's favourites include The Boy Who Drew Cats and The Little Fir Tree.
And Adelaide's favourite is The Boy and the Snow Wolf.
Good choices, girls.
And let's head east now, all the way to North Carolina, where Jack, who is six, and four-year-old Sebby listen every night before bed.
Their favourites are The Ghost of the Bloody Finger and Ashpet, which is Cinderella set in the Appalachian Mountains.
Sebby and Jack recently visited London where they bought the Super Great Kids Stories book.
Marvellous, how exciting to come to London and lovely that you got the book here too.
And let's fly west to El Paso in sunny Texas now to say hello to Owlets Sebastian, who is eight, and Lucia, who is turning six.
Their favourite recent stories are A Nancy and the Talking Watermelon, The Two Silly Witches and, of course, The Ghost of the Bloody Binger.
They've been listening to the podcast on the way to school since 2021 and they came to see us at our live show in London.
That makes you super fans.
Let's fly a long way back across the ocean now to Ireland, the Emerald Isle, to greet Sinead, who is seven and was born in Calgary in Canada and now lives in Dublin.
Lucky you, having experience of two different parts of the world.
Sinead's favourite story is East of the Sun and West of the Moon.
And finally, a short hop across the Irish Sea to Chester here in the UK to say hello to Owlet Eva, who is six.
She loves listening to stories at bedtime and she's a big fan of the Baba Yaga tales.
Ooh, that's very brave of you, listening to Baba Yaga tales at bedtime.
I hope you don't have nightmares about witches either.
And our Pick of the Week picture goes to Margo, who lives in San Luis Obispo in California.
Margot sent in her stonkingly good illustration of the story from India, Bikubai and the Coconut.
We love the way you've drawn all the people dangling from the tree and clinging on to each other's ankles.
I also noticed the special details which you so carefully included the bindi on the woman's forehead and Bikubai's twirly moustache.
It's a fun story, isn't it?
If you want to see that picture and others, go to our website supergreatkidsstoriescom and click on the tab Artwork and Photos.
Or go to our Facebook page, facebook.com forward slash supergreatkidsstories.
And if you follow us on Instagram, you can see our picture gallery at supergreatkids underscore art.
That's it for this week.
Thanks to all Owlets for your super great support.
It's because of you that we can keep finding new storytellers in different countries.
For Owlets this week, we've got a bonus story told by me called The Monster Under the Bed.
And there's a spooky jack story told by Despina Ariu.
You'll have access to at least 45 super great scary stories and over 60 bonus stories.
Plus, you'll get access to our super great kids stories express with short introductions, no adverts, purely story.
Great for listening to stories back to back.
Visit our website for more details supergreatkidsstoriescom.
And finally, Thanks very much to those of you who've bought a copy of our book for yourselves or for any of your friends.
And to those of you who've reviewed it online.
Very kind of you.
Thank you.
Keep telling your stories and singing your songs.
This podcast was produced at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.
