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 a new theme of animal stories.
And we're starting with an uplifting tale from South Africa about a type of antelope.
The story is called Tokozani the Eland, told by Ngwena Mfloppe.
How are you, super great kids?
Did you have a happy week?
I'm feeling chipper because the sun is shining, the birds are singing and there's pink and white blossom on the trees.
There's a fun song about the spring which my children sang in school.
The sun is shining and the sky's so blue and I feel happy, happy all through.
I wonder if you know that song.
It's a good one to sing to raise your spirits.
I'm also pleased because we're in a new month of March and we have a new theme, animal stories.
I think a lot of you super great story fans are animal lovers.
I notice when I meet some of you at the online shows that you often have a cat sitting on your head or a dog which is taking up most of your sofa.
Another thing I'm looking forward to this month of March is two online shows.
A scary stories show for ages eight and above, which is on Saturday, March the 28th.
And next weekend Saturday, March the 14th, there's another online show with guest storyteller Despina Ariou from Greece, who will be joining Amy Douglas and Jason Buck and telling stories about birds.
More details about that on our website, supergreatkidsstories.com and on our Facebook page.
Now, as I mentioned, This week's story is an animal story.
So, just before we hear about Tokuzani the eland, here's a question for you.
While we have a quick word with the grown-ups,
How many animals can you think of as you go through the alphabet?
So, beginning with A for antelope and B for bear, can you carry on with an animal beginning with C and see how far through the alphabet you can get?
Ready?
Off you go.
C is for... Hello Super Great Kids, I'm back!
I wonder how far down the alphabet you got?
Hands up if you got all the way to J for Jaguar.
Ooh, well done if you managed that!
Try that little game on your grown-ups later and see how well they do.
Now we're going to hear a story from sunny South Africa, all about a type of antelope called an eland.
It's big with majestic spiralled horns and gentle eyes.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Am I sitting comfortably?
Then let's give a very warm welcome to Rina Mfloppe.
Sanbonani, Sanbonani.
It is so good to be back on Super Great Kids Stories.
Hello, this is Inam Lloope, all the way from Durban, South Africa, ready to tell you another story.
It's a story about an animal that I adore.
It's a very quiet animal.
It's very spiritual to us, the Nguni people of Southern Africa.
And so I thought, why not?
Let's write a book about this animal.
And so I created this lovely, lovely story of a beautiful young yearland called Tokozani.
The story of Tokozani the yearland.
When I first open my eyes, I look at the rising sun and that is the happiest time of my day.
My name is Tokozani the Eerland.
I'm tall and I'm strong.
I love to eat grasses, to eat seeds, leaves, some fruits and herbs.
The majestic Drakensberg Mountains are the true wonders that make my heart sing.
This is the land of our ancestors.
I know many people have never seen an yearland before.
We don't look like cows.
No, no, no, no.
We do not look like giraffes.
Maybe you know of the kudu, springboks.
All of them are our family.
But we yearlands are different.
We live a very quiet life.
My grandfather is a very good storyteller and he's good with our history.
I enjoy listening to him.
You know my grandson in the ancient caves near our home.
I remember you told us about the beautiful rock paintings, the pictures of the earland, of the giraffes, of the elephants, of the rhino.
I added excitedly, yes, he agrees.
All of these were painted by the first peoples who lived here long, long ago.
In the earliest memories I have, I also remember the giant eagle owl.
It was a majestic bird.
My parents and grandparents always listened to him whenever he spoke.
I remember that he came out of the mist and flew down to sit on a big rock.
His powerful wings and big round eyes are impressive.
Sometimes he can be scary.
But he had so much wisdom and whenever there was a dispute among other animals, even King Lion agreed that Eagle Owl could listen to all sides of the story and then give some good advice.
I remember the year when we had so many snakes.
Quite a few animals got bitten and had no idea what to do.
The sun was unusually hot.
Snakes of all kinds beat many people as they tried to hide inside their homes in the villages.
Some of the smaller snakes were hurt as well.
Fear and confusion was everywhere.
My parents and grandparents knew something had to be done and fast.
Eagle Owl was called.
Elephant trumpeted so loud, King Lion roared like thunder, and the rocky cliffs echoed far and wide.
Many animals heard the call and came.
They nervously made their way to the meeting place.
There was not a single cloud in the sky.
The wind blew, but it did nothing to cool things down.
Eagle Owl had already summoned the reptiles to a different place all on their own.
He wanted to know why they were hurting the other animals.
For a while, it seemed like nobody wanted to say anything.
And then a voice was heard among the snakes.
There have been too many wildfires.
Some of us try to hide in deep holes in the ground, but that too can be unbearable when the wind is too strong, replied Black Mamba.
But the animals had nothing to do with the fires, said Eagle Owl.
The problem is that they trample on us when they try to run away, so we bite them in self-defense, of course Cobra explained.
If you stay here quietly, I would like to invite the other animals so we can solve this problem, said Eagle Owl.
He flew to a tall tree nearby and invited the animals to join him.
They all nervously came closer.
Togozani, please come stand next to me, Queen Mother Elephant said.
My parents nodded in agreement.
I stood there nervously.
The sun was shining down on the pool of frustrated snakes.
I have never seen anything like that ever.
There was silence until Giant Eagle Owl addressed all of us.
He spoke so well and all agreed that we should look out for each other.
After the meeting, all the other animals had left.
Great Mother Elephant had another suggestion.
Can we take Tokozani, the yearland, to go to speak to the human beings?
She asked my parents.
That was the scariest thing I'd ever heard.
But my parents agreed.
We yearlands are the only animals that can sometimes change form to become humans and turn humans into eolans at a special healing ceremony.
You see, there is a spell that can make that happen, Mkulu explained patiently.
It took several days and nights to prepare.
Then we walked down to a big village and met with the community.
The sound of big, loud drums filled the air.
There was a lot of singing and dancing as the people were praying for rain.
I did not want to come too close to the fire.
Go on, my grandson.
I know you can do this, said Mkulu, my grandfather, in his deep, gentle voice.
Then the strangest thing happened.
I could not believe it myself.
My whole body was vibrating uncontrollably and suddenly turned into that of a human.
Can you imagine?
All the drumming and dancing stopped.
There was dead silence.
All eyes were on me.
I could speak like a human, in their language too.
That was magical.
Our mountain community has a request, I said politely.
Can you please take care not to make so many fires that put animals, birds and reptiles in danger?
We need to protect our environment too.
Mother Nature provides everything for us.
We must love her right back.
I also told them about the meeting we had had with the giant eagle owl.
They listened quietly.
An old woman who was a great healer stood in front of me.
It is good.
We are very sorry.
And we promise that we will be better neighbors from now onwards, she said.
For days after that, I was extremely tired.
I slept for many long hours.
But I was quite happy that I had done my bit to help my community.
Which means, well done, my grandson.
My grandmother whispered in my ear, you did really good.
Your parents and other animals are really proud of you.
One afternoon, I was awoken by the rumbling sound of thunder and lightning across the sky.
Huge dark clouds hung over the land.
There were a few light drops at first.
Then they grew heavier and heavier until it was a downpour.
Wah!
Wah!
Accompanied by lightning and thunder.
Wah!
Wah!
Wah!
We all knew the drought was over.
With so much joy in my heart, I stood up and jumped up high doing my rain dance.
So did other animals, big and small, young and old.
We made all kinds of noises.
The springboks sprinted and danced to the rhythm of music only they could hear.
It was quite a sight to behold.
Different birds broke into songs of celebration.
In my mind's eye, I could see the reptiles rejoicing too.
Our respected giant eagle owl quietly watched us from a distance.
My grandfather Mkulu was standing alone at a distance too, with his head held up high and eyes closed.
He was enjoying the rain in his own way.
Later that evening, he called me.
Togozani, Sondela.
Come closer, my grandson, he said.
I walked over to him.
Tomorrow morning, we are going on a very special journey, and I know you will love it.
Can I come with?
I asked too excited for words.
It is our special way to thank you for your bravery.
We know, we know how scared you were to go to the human village.
I smiled at him, feeling lucky to have a grandfather who loved me so much.
We are leaving at dawn tomorrow, so get some sleep, he said quietly.
The orange eastern sky was smiling beautifully when I opened my eyes and I could not believe what I saw.
In front of me were many, many animals.
All of them were our family.
I don't know how they all knew, but the number of yearlings gathered there were a marvelous sight.
My heart beat faster than I could remember.
My grandfather seemed to know all of them.
Then we started on our journey.
I still did not know where we were going to, but I trusted my family.
We climbed higher and higher than I'd ever been before.
From time to time, we stopped and ate some grass and berries.
We even found small mountain streams to quench our thirst.
Are we almost there?
I asked, unable to control my curiosity.
Patience, Togo Zani. patience, he said, smiling with a special twinkle in his eye.
No matter how hard I tried to imagine what the big surprise was, it was no use.
I wanted to run very fast so that I could get there first, but I did not even know where we were going.
When I looked up, I saw two hawks flying round and round above us.
I heard a sound of flowing water.
Everyone was moving faster and faster.
My heart was beating like a drum in my chest.
And there, there it was, the majestic tall waterfall in front of us.
Oh my goodness, I could not believe my own eyes.
Now, This is for you, my grandson.
The Tugela River starts here, said Mkulu.
The majestic Drakensberg Mountains were watching us proudly, as they have done for hundreds and thousands of years before.
I think this must be the happiest day of my life, I screamed as I ran around uncontrollably.
Everyone was looking at me, laughing out loud.
That, too, was the happiest musical sound that I will remember forever and ever.
It feels great to be part of a loving family.
My name, Togo Zani, means be happy.
Thanks to Nina for sharing that story with us.
If you like it, it's available in book form with beautiful pictures.
It's called Tokozani the Eland and it's published by Jakana Media.
There's a link to it on our website and on our Facebook page.
Now, what was your favourite bit of that story?
I think I like the moment when Tokuzani bravely went to talk to the humans to ask them to be very careful and not to cause fires which put other animals in danger.
I also liked the bit where there was a great storm and Lena made great sound effects for the thunder, lightning and rain.
There are lots of opportunities, when you're telling stories, to add sound effects and it's much more fun.
When Lena was writing the book, she actually visited those waterfalls in the Drakensberg Mountains.
If you're an owlet, you can hear her talking about that exciting trip on our Patreon page.
More fun facts about Elans and South Africa in our subscriber owlet letter this week.
I wonder if you can draw a picture of Pokozani standing by the waterfalls or maybe listening to the African eagle owl.
Send your pictures via our website to supergreatkidsstoriescom and we can share them with other story lovers on our Facebook page or on our website.
Picture gallery.
And now it's time to fly around the world with StoryOwl to say hello and a big thank you to the owlets who recently hopped into our nest and joined our storytelling club.
Let's start in Canada and say hello to Amelia, who is eight, and Felix, who is six.
They live in the capital, Ottawa.
Felix's favourite story is The Boy Who Drew Cats, and Amelia's is How the Mosquitoes Became.
But they say they like all the stories.
Let's head south now to New York State in the US, where Owlets, Rylan and Collins, who are eight, have been listening for about three years.
They love the scary stories and the not so scary ones.
Some of their favourites are Anansi and the Hot Pepper Soup, The Velvet Ribbon and Bonita, the Tricky Sheep.
They hope to someday see a live storytelling show.
And staying in New York State, let's head now to Elmira, in the beautiful Finger Lakes region, to say hello to Enna, who is seven, and Theo, who is four.
They listen in the car and when they're colouring.
Theo loves How the Lion Dance Became and Enna loves All the stories, she can't pick just one.
Their mum Helen's favourite is A White Bear for the King.
Ah yes Helen, I really like that one too, A Winter Favourite.
If you like that story, you might like a book I've just read called The Last Bear by Hannah Gould.
And let's take a long flight west now to Colorado to say to Ari, who is four.
Ari especially likes the trickster stories.
I wonder if you have a favourite trickster, Ari?
Let's fly back east now across the US to New Jersey, to say hello to Everly, who is eight and lives in Union.
Everly has listened every day for a year.
Wow, that's very loyal.
And her favourite is The Witch's Stone.
Ah, now that is a very funny story.
And she also sent in a beautiful picture of the Southern African story, The Rain Bird.
Let's head to the sunny south, to Georgia, next to say and hello to owlets millie, who is one and a half levinston, who's six, and four-year-old rayleigh, who live in fort oglethorpe and really enjoy listening to the stories.
Let's fly up to Madison Wisconsin now, where Hilda, who's seven, and nine-year-old Wanda listen every morning while they're having their hair braided by their mum.
Hilda's favourite story is The Old Woman and Her Pig because of all the great sound effects.
Wanda loves cats, so naturally she's a fan of The Boy Who Drew Cats.
Good choices.
Flying west now, all the way to Issaquah, near Seattle, to say hello to Owlet's Ben, who is seven and four-year-old, Flo.
Ben's been listening since 2020, which is when we started.
That makes you super-duper fans.
Their all-time favourites are The Old Woman and Her Pig and The Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
Let's fly down the coast to sunny california.
Now to san jose, where owlett rocco who's three and a half lives.
He loves the ghost of the bloody finger and all of the baba yaga stories.
I think baba yaga is a magnificent witch, but she is pretty scary too.
So well done for being brave, rocco.
And finally we head inland to New Mexico to say hello to Owen, who is six and lives in Santa Fe.
His favourite stories are The Cherokee Tale Bird with the Big Feet, Rumpelstiltskin and, of course you've guessed it The Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
I wonder if you can tell that story, Owen?
And our pick of the week picture goes to eight-year-old Ember from California who's drawn a picture of the Japanese story Inch Boy, known in Japan as Isenboshi.
We love the imaginative way you've drawn the Oni, the terrifying red ogre with bulging eyes, sharp horns and his huge open mouth showing rather disgusting teeth.
And you've drawn Inch Boy standing there bravely on the ogre's tongue, holding a needle as a sword, all ready to save the princess.
Well done.
A brilliant drawing of a very good story.
Thanks very much, Ember.
If you want to see that picture and others, go to our website supergreatkidstoriescom 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 outlets for your super great support.
It's because of you that we can keep finding new storytellers in different countries.
If you'd like to support us on Patreon or on Apple Podcasts, we'll say hello to you on the show.
You can hear our stories advert free and you'll have access to all the stories in the Super Great archive.
Plus, depending on your level of subscription, 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, supergreatkidsstories.com.
And finally, thank you very much to all of you who have bought a copy of our super great book.
And to any of you who've reviewed it online.
It's very kind of you and cheers me up on grey days.
Oh, and if any of you happen to live near Cobham in Surrey, do come to a free event at the Cobham Bookshop on March, the 21st, at 1130, when I'll be signing books and telling stories.
It'll be lovely to meet some of you.
That's about it for this week.
Next week, the inimitable Toop tells an animal fable from India, the Brahmin and the Hole.
Keep telling those stories and singing those songs.
This podcast was produced at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.
