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 iLab at WBUR, Boston. Hi, Rebecca Shear here.
We've been hearing a lot from our listeners around the world.
Listeners like you. and many of you have been asking for more stories extra episodes to help you get through this time of social distancing, when we're all spending a bunch more time at home than we're used to.
Well, you asked and we are answering. Today we're bringing you a special bonus episode of Circle Round.
It's all about the magic that happens when we're kind to others, especially when we've never met them before.
¶¶ I'm Rebecca Shearer, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Today our story is called... of poi. Poi is a popular food where our tale originally comes from.
Hawaii, the only island state in the United States.
And hey, if you're looking for something extra to do while listening to today's tale, Ask a grown-up to print out the coloring page for this week's story.
All they need to do is visit our website, wbur.org slash circleround, and click on Soundtrack and Coloring pages.
Also, stay tuned for a special activity at the end of our tale.
Kindness bingo. Okay, so circle around everyone for a cup of poi.
Thank you. Bye. Pele was the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes.
Among the goddess's favorite things was disguising herself as a human. sometimes a sprightly young girl, sometimes a creaky old woman, then wandering through the villages of Hawaii, Among the People.
One evening, as the sun was going down, Pele assumed the form of a frail, elderly woman with a bent back, a wrinkled face, and straggly hair as silver as the moon that shimmers in the night sky. a tattered cloak hung from her bony shoulders and her Pale fingers clutched a gnarled cane as she hobbled down a country lane and up the stone path. of a large, grand house.
Hello? Anybody home? Yes. Just as Pele suspected, the door was answered by a well-heeled... woman wearing glittering earrings and bracelets and dressed in fine shoes and clothes.
And the fancy woman had no idea that the feeble elderly beggar standing before her was actually the ferocious goddess of fire and volcanoes.
Um, what do you want? My husband and I are in the middle of dinner.
Billy snuck a glance through the doorway and spied an equally extravagant man sitting at a large table.
The table was covered with a fancy tablecloth and enough delicious foods to feed an army. bowls of juicy mango, platters of fresh fish, and an enormous pot of the sticky pudding-like dish called poi. made from the yam-like root vegetable known as taro.
If you please, ma'am, I've been traveling all day and somehow I've lost my way.
It's getting late and I'm very hungry. Could you please share some of your food?
The fancy woman fidgeted with one of her sparkly bracelets and shifted her eyes.
Share some of our food? Um... Sorry, lady.
My husband and I don't have any food to spare.
Now, you remember what the woman and man's table looked like, right?
It was piled with bowls of mango, platters of fish, and gobs and gobs of poi.
Clearly, this couple had plenty of food to spare.
Pele fixed her gleaming eyes on the woman's shifty wife. ones well ma'am i don't need much more than a bite or two How about some slices of mango?
Again, the woman looked away. Nope. No mango.
Fish, then? Just one itty-bitty piece? The woman shook her head.
All right. Well, how about some poi? Just one cup of poi.
"'Ahoy!' the woman threw up her hands. "'No!'
No poi! Look, lady, I told you. My husband and I don't have...
Any food to spare. No mangoes, no fish, and no poi.
Pele felt her heat begin to rise. Just as the goddess's sharp eyes were beginning to glow like molten lava, she took a deep breath. and tried her best to smile.
Very well then, ma'am. I understand. Thank you for your time.
And with that, Pele leaned on her cane and shuffled away from the grand house and back to the country lane.
Before long, she came to another house, a much smaller one, more of a hut, really. the entire thing could have fit inside the first house's dining room.
Peli noticed that beside the hut was a teeny tiny garden.
A dry and dusty garden with nothing but a handful of scrappy and wilted taro plants.
She lifted her crinkly hand and knocked on the hut's door.
Good evening, ma'am. How may I help you? that the man who answered the door wore a shabby, stained shirt and a warm, broad grin.
Behind the man, a little boy sat at a rickety wooden table.
On the table were two small cups of poi.
I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but I've gotten lost and my belly is as empty as a square.
Scooped out pineapple. Could you please share some food?
If it isn't... Too much trouble? Oh, no trouble at all.
Come in, come in. My son and I were just about to sit down to dinner, and you are more than welcome to join us.
Hey, kiddo, look. We have a guest. The little boy jumped up from his stool and led Pele to the table.
Welcome to our house. Would you like some poi?
Oh, I'd love some, boy. Thank you. But I only see two cups here.
Are you certain you and your father have enough? to share?
Of course we do. Daddy and I always share.
Right, Daddy? Absolutely right, son. Here.
The man handed Pele his cup. Take my poi.
Eat all you want. And enjoy. Pele took the cup and spooned the entire helping of gooey, sticky poi into her mouth.
This is the most scrumptious boy I've ever tasted.
Would it be too much to ask for another cup?
It's so very tasty and I haven't eaten all day and I...
Before Pele could utter another word, the little boy pushed his cup in her direction.
Here, have mine. So Pele devoured a second cup of poi.
Goodness gracious, I tell you, this poi is exquisite.
We still have a bit more left in the pot on the stove.
I'd be happy to scrape it out for you. I wish we could offer more, but our taro garden didn't do so well this year.
The ground was so dry and dusty. We could hardly grow a thing.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. But no need for more poi.
My belly is nice and full. This was a very fine meal, friends.
Thank you for taking care of a hungry old stranger.
You're very welcome, ma'am. Will you come back and see us again?
Pele's bright eyes gleamed. Oh, you'll see me again.
Don't you worry about that. Then, the disguised goddess of fire and volcanoes leaned on her cane and lifted herself from the table.
As she shambled out the door and back to the road, the man and boy could have sworn they heard a low rumbling, saw a cloud of gray smoke, and smelled something burning.
The next morning, when father and son went out to check on their dry and dusty garden.
They could hardly believe what they saw.
Whoa! Instead of a few scrappy and wilted taro plants, their garden was bursting with row after row of strong and hardy taro plants. their broad, heart-shaped leaves stretching toward the sky.
The man knelt down and scooped up a handful of soil.
He noticed it wasn't dry and dusty at all.
Instead, it was dark and rich. And do you know why?
Because the soil was volcanic soil. one of the most fertile soils in the world. volcanic soil contains actual ash from a real volcano.
So volcanic soil is chock full of minerals and nutrients that make plants thrive.
And from then on, the father and sons' plants did thrive.
All thanks to a fierce, fiery goddess with a burning belief that if you plant, seeds of kindness, you should harvest the rewards.
Now it's your turn. Have you ever played bingo?
Well, now that you've heard today's story, how about giving kindness bingo a try?
First, you'll need to make your kindness bingo board.
So find a big piece of blank paper or poster board and draw a big square.
Then divide that big square into nine little squares, so three rows of three.
In each square, Have your grown-up help you write one kind thing you can do over the next few months.
It can be as simple as sending a card to a friend you haven't seen in a while, helping a grown-up in your home clean up, or telling someone in your family a funny joke when they're feeling blue.
Once you've written all nine squares, hang your kindness bingo board somewhere you can see it.
Then every time you complete an act of kindness on the board, fill in that square.
You can color it, stamp it, paint it. You can even cut out paper hearts or stars and stick them on.
When you've completed your kindness bingo board, we'd love to see it.
Have a grown-up snap a photo, then email it to us at circleround at wbur.org.
And hey, no need to stop at just one kindness bingo board. play as many times as you'd like.
Just get a new piece of paper or poster board and draw a whole new square. with nine new acts of kindness, or 16, or 25, The possibilities are endless.
Today's story, A Cup of Poi, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
It was edited by Circle Round's executive producer, Catherine Brewer.
Circle Round's original music and sound design is by Eric Shimalonis.
Our artist is Sabina Han. Special thanks to this week's actors.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Please stay healthy and in high spirits.
And as always, 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 Lidl, and I live in Blue Latch, Ohio.
And my favorite story is Clever Monka because she's a trickster.
I'm Kabir and my favorite story from Circle Round is the tug of war because I like when turtles be nicer and gets elephant and hippo to be nicer.
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.
