WBUR Podcast Boston have you ever given up something you value so that someone else can benefit it's what we call a sacrifice sometimes we make sacrifices to benefit people we know like letting a friend step ahead of us in line sometimes we make sacrifices to benefit people we don't know like donating our possessions or free time to a charity.
We're about to meet a character who makes her own sacrifice.
And when she does, she truly heats things up.
I'm Rebecca Sheer, and welcome to Circle Round, where story time happens all the time.
Today our story is called The Flame Keeper.
It was inspired by tales from the Weichol People — an indigenous group from Mexico, the southernmost country in North America.
Some really great people came together to bring you our version of this folktale — including Cameron Jones and Joy Ofodu.
Grown -ups, you may recognize Cameron Jones from Panic!
on Prime Video and the Showtime series Shameless.
Joy Ofodu is a comedian, voice actor, and host of the podcast dating unsettled.
She'll make her directorial debut with her new film, Heart of Sunshine.
So circle around everyone...
...for The Flame Keeper.
Long, long ago, in earlier times, all the fire on Earth was kept locked away by a The Flame Keeper hoarded the fire in his house atop a mountain and every now and again a desperate group of cold shivering people would venture up the slope and knock at his door.
Flame Keeper, we've come to ask you about your fire.
The only heat we enjoy comes from the sun.
Only like two. Can you please share one little flame?
But each and every time...
Share one little flame?
The response was the same.
I will not share one little flame.
I will not share any of my flame with anyone.
Now get lost. The animals of the world saw the people's suffering.
And one animal took pity on them.
The clever nimble creature known as Appossum had a long, pointed face, small, rounded ears, and, back in those long -ago times, a fluffy, bushy tail.
One day Appossum called all the animals together to make an announcement.
Friends, I have decided I shall visit the flame -keeper's house and bring fire to the people.
Oh, the animals' mouths, snouts, and beaks dropped wide open.
Are you for real, oh, possum?
The Flame Keeper's mountain is steep and tall, and the Flame Keeper is nasty and lean.
He'll never share his fire with you.
Don't worry, I have a plan.
But in order for it to work, I need your help.
I need you to gather wood.
Wood? Yes. The other night I journeyed up the mountain and hid outside the flamethkeeper's house.
When I peek through the window, I saw that he was feeding the fire with wood!
He was dropping in all these branches, sticks and twigs, and the flames gobbled him up.
So while I'm gone, I need you to collect as much wood as you can, then pile it into a big heap at the foot of the mountain.
Can you do that for me?
The animals agreed.
And while they set to work gathering firewood, a possum jumped into action.
First, she scampered through the forest, yanking vines off trees.
Uh! Then she wove the vines into a net.
Over and under, over and under.
After that, she tracked down a papaya tree and picked as many bright orange fruits as she could, pausing every now and then to devour one herself.
Ooh. Gotta keep my strength up if I want my plan to work.
Then, with her net full of papayas slung across her back, Apposum clambered up the mountain, all fired up to face the flamekeeper and set the fire free.
What will Apposum do when she meets the flamekeeper?
Will her plan succeed?
We'll find out after a quick break.
more visibility at indeed .com slash circle round.
Just go to indeed .com slash circle round right now and support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast.
indeed .com slash circle round.
Terms and conditions apply.
Hiring, Indeed is all you need.
Support for Circle Round comes from name bubbles.
Any parent knows that summer camp fun can lead to lost water bottles, missing socks, and disappearing bug spray.
With NameBubbles Custom Name Labels, your camper's gear will always find its way home.
The labels are perfect for clothes, sleeping bags, toiletries, and more, and they're easy to apply, and laundry and dishwasher safe.
Circle Round listeners can get 25 % off with the code circle round.
Make packing for camp a breeze.
Order now at NameBubbles .com and use code CIRCLAROUND for 25 % off your first order.
The reviews are in, and superfans like you are loving the CIRCLAROUND Club, an exciting opportunity to support public radio and get cool stuff, including ad -free episodes and a personalized birthday message from me.
What I like about the Circle Round Club is that Rebecca Scheer sends extra messages and it supports the show and there are no ads.
Grown Ups support Public Radio and sign up today at www .bur .org slash Circle Round Club.
Welcome back to Circle Round.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Today our story is called The Flame Keeper.
Before the break, a possum asked her fellow animals to gather a big stack of firewood.
Then, she picked a bunch of papayas, and under the light of the moon, she climbed to the mountaintop abode of The Flame Keeper, a mysterious man who was keeping the world's fire to himself.
Poking her head through the window, Aposim smiled her friendliest smile.
Good evening, flamekeeper.
May I come in. The flamekeeper flashed his unwanted visitor a glare.
No, Aposim, you may not come in, especially if you're going to beg me to share my fire, as all those silly people have been doing.
I won't do anything of the sort, but I will offer you these.
She held up her net of papayas.
The way you guard that fire all day and night, you must be hungry.
I'd be happy to give you all the papayas in this net if you let me sleep by your fire tonight.
Then in the morning, I'll get up nice and early and bring you more wood.
The flamekeeper stole a glance at his dwindling stack of branches and his waning stash of food.
Alright. Fine. If you give me those papayas and gather more wood in the morning, you may sleep by my fire.
Thank you, flamekeeper!
Thank you! A possum bounded through the door, and as the flamekeeper tore into the papayas, a possum stretched out by the fire, wrapped her fluffy, bushy tail around her body, and pretended to fall asleep.
Oh, man. What's that about?
Meow. It was late at night, and soon the flamecaper began to nod off.
He fought to keep his eyes open, but within minutes he was snoring away, rivulets of sticky papaya juice streaming down his chin.
A possum rose to her feet and tiptoe'd to the stack of firewood.
She grabbed a stick, clenched it in her teeth, then lowered it into the flames, allowing one end to catch fire.
Then she spun around and raced toward the door, her fluffy, bushy tail wagging with delight.
Unfortunately, as she scurried past the snoozing flame keeper, the thick fur of her fluffy, bushy tail tickled his face and he woke right up.
What's that? But what's going on?
When the flamekeeper caught sight of Opossum, his angry eyes glowed as bright as the fire.
Opossum! You were trying to steal my fire.
How dare you! The furious man grabbed the stick from opossum's mouth and flung it into the flames.
There. So much for your pathetic attempts at robbery, opossum.
I should've known I couldn't trust you, you rascally thief.
Rascally thief? Opassum felt a rush of rage.
You're the one who's been hoarding all the fire in your house and refusing to share it.
If anyone is a rascally thief in this scenario, it's you.
The flame keeper gnashed his teeth.
Next thing Opassum knew, he was lunging right at her, Nyaaah!
Doing his best to grab her fluffy, bushy tail.
A possum jumped back to get away from him.
D Executive off! But in doing so, she ventured too close to the fire.
Her tail brushed against the flames.
And the fur began to spark and smolder.
Oh, no! The flame keeper's face broke into an evil grin.
I've heard of a thief getting caught red -handed, A possum.
But I've never heard of one getting caught red -tailed.
Until now! Ha ha ha ha!
As the flamekeeper fell down in his scarics, clutching his belly and hooting and howling, a possum saw her chance.
With her tail flaming behind her, she took to her heels and bolted out the door.
Oh, my tail! My poor, poor tail!
How foolish was I to think I could take fire from the flame keeper!
Possum fought back tears as she dashed down the steep slope.
But when she neared the foot of the mountain and caught sight of the animal's stack of firewood, her tears vanished.
Wait a minute! I did take fire from the flame keeper!
I did it! Without missing a beat, she sprinted toward the wood pile and took a running leap.
The moment she landed… The fire on her tail spread to the branches, sticks and twigs.
As they began to crackle and spark, a possum dove to the ground and batted her tail on a stone to snuff out the flames.
All the commotion brought the other animals running.
What? Possum, you're back!
And you brought fire, just like you said you would.
But what happened to your tail?
Possum stared at her friends, then she stared at her tail.
The fluffy, bushy appendage was no longer on fire.
But it was also no longer fluffy or bushy.
Thanks to the burning hot flames, every single hair had been scorched off.
And Opossum's tail was now skinny, pink, and bald.
But you know what? That skinny, pink, bald tail wound up coming in quite handy.
To this day, Opossum uses her naked muscular appendage to climb trees and balance on branches.
She even uses it to pick up and grasp onto food.
What's more, ever since that fateful day, Opossum has held a place of honor in Mexico.
The Ouchol people revere the opossum as a symbol of wisdom because of the kind and courageous way she put her life and tale on the line to bring warmth and light to the world.
Now it's your turn.
A possum took a chance to make the world a better and brighter place.
What's something you'd like to take a chance on, or something new you'd like to try?
Perhaps you can try placing your own order at a restaurant, or climbing higher on the playground.
Maybe you can try out for a new team, or try making a new friend.
When we take chances, it stretches us and takes us out of our comfort zone.
But, even if it's challenging, it can bring big and bright rewards.
This week's episode, The Flame Keeper, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
It was edited by Dean Russell.
Our original music and sound design is by Erik Schimelonez.
Erik's featured instruments this week were the congas and bongos traditional to Latin percussion.
To learn more about this family of instruments used in Latin and Latin American music, and to see a photo of Eric playing them, visit our website – wbur .org slash CircleRound.
CircleRound's artist is Sabina Hahn.
Sabina has created a black and white coloring page for every single CircleRound story.
And you can print them out and color them in.
Grown -ups visit our website, wbur .org slash CircleRound, and click on coloring pages.
Special thanks to this week's actors, Cameron Jones and Joy Offodu.
Cameron Jones's credits include Panic!
on Prime Video and the Showtime series, Shameless.
You can also see him in the award -winning short film, Chocolate with Sprinkles.
Joy Offodu is a comedian, voice actor, and podcast host who heads her own company, Enjoyment Endeavor.
Joy is working on a short film about fathers and daughters.
You can find a link to this project and learn how you can be part of it on our website, wbur .org, circle round.
Love circle round and want to circle round with us in even more ways while also supporting public radio?
Join the circle round club and we'll send you ad -free episodes, bonus bedtime stories, music education videos, special circle round swag, a monthly newsletter and early access to our live events.
You can also add on fun perks like our snuggly Circle Round lion, our handy dandy tote bag, and a personalized birthday message from me.
Sign up today and support the public radio podcast you love at wbur .org slash Circle Round.
Grownups, if you have a moment, can you do us a favor?
Please leave us a 5 star rating or review on whatever podcast app you're using right now.
It helps other listeners find the show so we can make the Circle Round circle even bigger.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for Circling Round with us!
Now that you've made it to the end of this Circle Round episode, we want to know what's your favorite Circle Round story?
Thousands of fans just like you have been telling us about the Circle Round stories they like best.
Take a listen. Maybe one of their favorites is one of Your's too.
Hello, my name is Maxwell and I'm from Perth, Australia.
And my favorite circle around story is the laughing canoe because I like the part when the canoe tries to suck the fishy woman cousin up.
My name is Esther, I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
My favorite circle around story is the bright yellow hat because I love flowers.
My name is Angie and I'm from Massachusetts and my favorite is The Shepherd's Disguise and I like the part when The Shepherd tricks Proto.
My name is Adela I live in Chicago, Illinois and my favorite circle around Story is Hungry Hippo and I like the part when hippo interrupts everybody when they want to share.
Hello, my name is Sawyer.
I live in Muckatiel, Washington.
My favorite find around Story is the star fruit tree.
I like the part when the older sister saying it's left on the island of gold because who cares if you gets left on an island of gold if you can't sell the gold to anyone to get food.
My name is Lucy. I live in Muckletale, Washington, and my favorite Circle One story is the Rikes—Cakes and the Oneys.
I like the part when they hop in the pan and they try to float away, but then the Oneys suck all the water out.
Did someone mention a story you've missed?
Not to worry! Grown -ups you You can find all of our CircleRound stories, plus links to the CircleRound Club, picture books, coloring pages, and oh -so -much more on our website, wbur .org -slash -circleround.
