WBUR podcasts, Boston.
Greetings, listeners.
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp.
I'm your camp counselor, Erica Henningsen.
This season, we are revisiting some of our best stories about life in the great outdoors.
And do you know who really enjoys being outside?
Our fellow feathery friends, the birds, who every day get to spread their wings and soar to new places and new people.
Today's episode is called The Parakeet's Promise, and in it we'll hear wisdom from one of those friends, wisdom that may just change how you see the world.
So circle around, everyone, for The Parakeet's Promise.
Think about a time you did something generous for someone.
Maybe you gave them some help or some kindness.
When we give to others, they're not the only ones who benefit.
Showing generosity can strengthen our relationships and make us feel more happy and positive.
We're about to meet a character who believes that being generous is for the birds.
Until she meets an actual bird who helps her see things in a whole new light.
Whistling I'm Rebecca Shearer, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Today our story is called The Parakeet's Promise.
Versions of this folktale come from the Southeast Asian country of India.
The Parakeet's Promise.
Some really great people came together to bring you our story, including Broadway stars Lorna Courtney and Shoba Narayan.
Lorna Courtney plays the title role in the brand new Broadway musical And Juliet at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
And Shoba Narayan is currently starring in the Broadway production of Aladdin at the New Amsterdam Theatre.
So circle around, everyone.
For the parakeets promise.
There once was a farmer who spent her days herding her sheep, milking her goats and tending her field of millet, small seed-like grains that grow on tall grassy plants.
The farmer's field was so lush and fertile that it produced far more millet than she actually needed.
Yet instead of giving her extra millet to hungry families in the village say, or sharing it with weary travelers who came wandering past her big, roomy farmhouse,
The farmer kept it all to herself.
This is my millet, and I may do with it as I choose.
And what I choose is to keep it all for me.
Well, early one morning, hours before the farmer usually got out of bed, she was startled awake by an unusual sound outside her window.
What is all that commotion?
It sounds like it's coming from the millet field!
The farmer threw on her work clothes and hurried outside.
When she reached the millet field, she discovered it was swarming with hundreds upon hundreds of birds.
Parakeets, to be exact.
Flittering twittering parakeets with sleek feathers as green as an unripe banana and curved beaks as red as the setting sun.
My goodness!
Where did all of these parakeets come from?
And look at them.
They're gobbling up my millet.
I have to stop them.
The farmer yanked off her hat and waved it around as she zigged and zagged up and down the field.
Hey, you pesky birds!
That's my millet you're devouring!
Get out of here!
Go!
Go!
The air erupted with a great flapping and fluttering, as hundreds of alarmed parakeets scrambled to take wing.
There you go.
Sue!
Sue!
Find someone else's field to plunder.
Once it seemed like all the parakeets were gone, the farmer gazed at her millet field, or what was left of it anyway.
Many of the plants were trampled and the ground was littered with millet grains that the birds had either spit out or dropped in their haste to leave.
Well, those pesky parakeets left a mess, but at least they're gone.
Now I can finally get on with the rest of the things I need to... Oh, no!
Out of the corner of her eye, the farmer saw something that made her heart drop.
It was as green as an unripe banana, with a curved beak as red as the setting sun.
And it was filling that curved beak with grain after grain of millet.
Oh!
Looks like I spoke too soon.
One of those pesky parakeets is still here, and it's loading up on even more millet.
Hey, bird, that's my millet, not yours.
Now spit it out and scram.
But the parakeet did not scram.
It just stood there, cramming its scarlet beak with millet.
Around its neck was a ring of red and black feathers.
Um, bird, did you hear me?
I said, beat it!
This time the parakeet did beat it, but not before giving the farmer a long, thoughtful look and stuffing a few more grains of millet into its curved red beak.
Then the parakeet flapped its wings, lifted into the air, and disappeared into the clouds.
Oh, that bird.
Not only did it stick around after all of its friends left, but it flew away with a beak full of millet.
My millet.
If I see that greedy creature again, I'll make sure it never comes back.
The farmer spent the rest of the day tending her millet field, herding her sheep and milking her goats.
She came back to her farmhouse for a hearty dinner before drifting off to sleep.
But can you guess what woke her with a jolt early the next morning?
That's right!
The birds!
Oh!
They're back?
They sure were.
Just like yesterday, the farmer's field was teeming with parakeets, all of them nibbling away on millet.
And so, once more, the farmer darted outside.
Get out of here, birds!
Scoot!
Much to the farmer's relief, the birds did indeed scoot, spreading their wings and taking to the sky.
But much to the farmer's dismay... Oh, no!
One of the birds stayed behind.
The one with the red and black ring around its neck.
You again.
Look at you.
All your friends have moved on, yet you're still cramming your beak with millet?
Don't you know when enough is enough?
Get out of here, you selfish bird!
Go!
The parakeet loaded several more grains of millet into its beak.
Then it gave the farmer a long thoughtful stare and flew away, its bright green body growing smaller and smaller as it soared into the sky.
The farmer hoped that was the last she had seen of the parakeets, especially the one who always stayed behind and pecked around until its beak was overflowing.
And yet, early the next morning... Oh no!
Not again!
Once again, the farmer dashed outside and chased the birds away.
And once again, one of them stayed behind, the one with the red and black neck feathers.
As usual, it was loading its beak with even more millet.
Anger flared across the farmer's face.
But then, suddenly, she got an idea.
She took a breath, put on her sweetest smile, then knelt down on the ground right near the parakeet.
Why, hello there, bird.
You must love this millet, huh?
Always taking so much with you when you go.
Who knew my farm could do such a brisk take-out business?
Parakeet paid the farmer no mind.
It just kept gathering millet in its beak.
You know what, bird?
Go ahead.
Take all the millet you want.
Because eating though you're loading up, you're not flying away.
Like as a wink, the farmer stretched out her hand, seized the parakeet, and held it tight.
You're going right into my house bird, where you'll spend the rest of your life trapped in a cage, so that you'll never steal from me again.
The farmer leaped to her feet and began speeding toward her farmhouse.
But she didn't get far before something happened that made her freeze right in her tracks.
What do you think happened to the farmer?
And what will become of the parakeet?
We'll find out after a quick break.
100 years from now in a land far, far away.
Hang on.
It's not so far away at all, actually.
Hey, Circle Round families.
We're here to share a new listening experience from WBUR, The Midnight Rebellion.
It's a climate podcast adventure for kids eight and up.
Time traveling, problem solving, laughs in danger.
It's here.
Follow the feed to listen.
Oh, and bring your goggles and boots.
That's The Midnight Rebellion, in your feed or wherever you get podcasts.
I'm Rebecca Shear.
Welcome back to Circle Round.
Today, our story is called The Parakeet's Promise.
The Parakeet's Promise.
Before the break, a well-to-do farmer seized a green parakeet who had been flying off with her millet.
But as the farmer clutched the bird in her hand, she was shocked to see that the creature didn't struggle.
It stayed perfectly still.
My, you're an odd one.
You don't seem the least bit scared or the least bit sorry about stealing my millet.
I mean, what do you do with all those grains you carry away each day?
Are you hoarding them in your own little storehouse?
Actually?
No.
The farmer gasped.
The last thing she expected was for the parakeet to actually answer her question.
Wait!
What?
I said, actually, no.
I don't have my own little storehouse.
All I have is my promise.
Now the farmer was both surprised and confused.
Your promise?
Yes, my pledge, my word, my guarantee.
I know what a promise is, bird.
But what does making promises have to do with making off with my millet?
Well, it isn't just about making promises.
It's about keeping them.
And thanks to your millet, I'm not just keeping one promise.
I'm keeping three.
Three promises?
What on earth are you talking about?
Allow me to explain.
The first promise is to pay back a debt.
The second promise is to grant a loan.
And the third promise is to give a gift.
Okay, bird.
Now you've lost me.
The parakeet blinked its bright round eyes.
Let's begin with the first promise, paying back a debt.
You see, I live with my parents selfless, loving birds, who spent years caring for me before they grew so frail and feeble that they could hardly care for themselves.
So every day I gather millet in my beak and bring it home for them to pay them back for all the times they gave me food and shelter and love.
The farmer felt her heart give a little ping.
To her surprise, she found she was a little bit moved by the bird's devotion.
So, you're paying a debt back to your parents.
That's very sweet.
But what about the second promise?
The one about granting a loan?
How do you explain that?
Well, I don't just live with my parents.
I live with my children, too.
Ten young chicks who can't yet fly and leave the nest.
So, I gather millet to feed my little ones.
As a loan.
After all, just like I do with my parents, my children will take care of me when I am frail and feeble.
The farmer couldn't help but smile.
Okay, so I understand the debt and the loan.
But that third promise you mentioned, the gift, what's that about?
The parakeet cocked its feathery green head.
Well...
I may share a nest with my parents and children, but I share a forest with hundreds of other birds, thousands even.
And many of those birds are unable to get out and gather their own food.
They're going through their own struggles and hardships.
So I always promise to save some grains of millet for them.
As an act of kindness.
Of generosity.
Of charity.
And really, what greater gift is there than that?
The farmer didn't answer the parakeet's question.
Instead, she was quiet for a moment.
Then, she held out her hands. uncurled her fingers and let the tiny, big-hearted bird fly away.
Goodbye, my parakeet friend.
Go keep your three promises and come back any time.
Well, from that day forward, the farmer no longer kept all of the millet she grew.
Instead, she divided her field into three parts.
She set aside a small section for herself.
She set aside a larger section for the parakeets themselves.
And she set aside the largest section of all for the community.
Anyone in the village, town or countryside who was struggling to get by and could use the gift of a full belly and an even fuller heart.
Now it's your turn.
What are three promises you can make to help benefit others?
Maybe you can promise to donate clothing or toys to a shelter or books to a library.
Perhaps you can promise to be more patient with a younger sibling or to help a grown-up with some chores.
Maybe you can promise to take turns with a friend when you're playing your favorite game.
Think about your three promises, then share them with a grown-up in your life.
Then ask them to share three promises of their own.
After that, make a pact that you'll both go out there and make your promises come true.
This week's story, The Parakeet's Promise, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
It was edited by Nora Sachs.
Our original music and sound design is by Eric Shimalonis.
Our artist is Sabina Han.
Sabina has drawn 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, head to our website, wbur.org slash circleround, and click on Coloring Pages.
And while you're at WBUR.org slash Circle Round, you can find a link to our brand new picture books.
We've adapted several of your favorite Circle Round episodes as fun, colorful books.
And you can find them all at WBUR.org slash Circle Round.
Just click on Books.
Special thanks to this week's actors.
Lorna Courtney. and Shoba Narayan.
Lorna Courtney plays the title role in the brand-new Broadway musical And Juliet at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
And Shoba Narayan is currently starring in the Broadway production of Aladdin at the New Amsterdam Theatre.
Our featured instrument this week was the Bonsuri.
To learn more about this bamboo flute from India and to see a picture of Eric Shemelonis playing it, visit our website.
Once more, that's wbur.org slash circleround.
Grownups.
If you enjoy what you hear on our podcast, please write us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to Circle Round.
It helps keep Circle Round going strong so we can continue circling around with you for years to come.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news 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 Karen and I live in Ghana.
And my favorite Circle Round story is the Charming Flute.
And my favorite part is when Anastasia played her flute and all the animals came.
My name is Corazon.
I live in Manhattan.
My favorite Circle Round story is the King of the Forest.
I like the part where a cricket tells Kiki of the Forest that he is going to bring his mosquito friends.
I'm Francis.
I'm from Austin, Texas.
My favorite story is fighting like cats and dogs.
I like the part when the man cries for that pearl that the queen of the river gave him.
Hi, my name is Maude and I live in Vermont.
My favorite circle round is Stella and the Dragon, because I like the part when Stella has no children and then she has 100 children.
And I also like dragons.
My name is Lincoln.
I'm from San Jose.
I like the song for the spirits.
And I like the part when the fisherwoman gets the treasure.
Hi, my name is Ellie.
I'm from Minneapolis.
And I like the episode about the golden pine tree because it keeps changing.
Hi, my name is Shreya and I live in India.
My favorite Circle Round story is Magic Dutch.
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 Circle Round or wherever you and your grown-ups get your podcasts.
