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.
The first story today is a ghost story from Spain told by Cat Weatherill.
It's Halloween!
I hope you've all had a good week.
If you're celebrating Halloween, you might have been carving pumpkins or planning what to dress up in.
Halloween is a good opportunity for listening to and telling stories by the fire.
So another thing you could do is practice telling the Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
Today, as a Halloween treat, we're sharing not one, but two stories with you.
First, we've got a slightly scary ghost story from Spain told by Cat Wetherill.
And second, for those of you who aren't so keen on ghost stories, we have a happy, magical fairy tale from Northern Ireland about a horse, a princess and a boy called Jack.
This first story has a ghost and a haunted house in it.
It really is not super scary.
If you want something a bit scarier, you could become an owlet and listen to this month's witchy stories.
Now, just before we begin, while we have a quick word with the grown-ups, could you have a think about a favorite halloween costume which you've worn or seen someone else wearing, and why you like it?
While we have a quick word with the grown-ups ready, Off you go.
Hello Super Great Kids, I'm back.
Which was your favourite scary costume?
My favourite was a werewolf dressed in grey with a grey painted face and blood dripping down from his fangs.
That wolf simply stood on my step and howled.
Very effective.
I gave it rather too many treats and quickly closed the door.
And the funniest outfit I've ever seen was a little boy dressed as a fried egg.
He had a face painted yellow for the yolk, and then his dad had cut out a large roundish piece of white cardboard and fitted it round his face.
I don't know if it scared me really, but it certainly made me laugh.
And now it's time to meet our ghost.
So, are you sitting comfortably?
Am I sitting comfortably?
Then hold the hand of your grown-up in case they're scared, and let's give a warm welcome to ace storyteller Cat Wetherill.
And let the ghost come floating out.
Hello, my name is Cat and the story I have for you today comes from Spain.
But it doesn't take place on a sunny beach.
It's a story that comes from the mountains and it's set in the winter when there's a lot of snow.
And it's a story about a woman who has seven boys, seven sons, and they're all very different.
One was big and one was small.
One was tiny.
One was tall.
One was fast and one was slow and one i just don't know.
One was big and one was small, one was tiny, one was tall, one was fast and one was slow and one i just don't know.
And that mom and her boys all lived together in a very small house and they never had enough money for food and rent.
And one day there came a knocking at the door and it was the landlord, the man who owned the house.
And he said, Oi, you lot, you'll have to go.
You haven't given me any rent money for weeks.
And the mum said, You can't throw us out.
It's the middle of the winter.
It's snowing.
Where are we supposed to go?
And he said, I don't know.
That's not my problem.
He said, Go on, get off, the lot of you.
And so the mom and her boys had to pack the few belongings they had into bags and off they went.
And it was a terrible cold day.
They had holes in their boots, and so soon their feet were freezing and wet and the wind was nipping at their noses and biting their ears.
And by the time they got to town, it was already getting dark.
But they found a shop that was still open and the shopkeeper was very kind.
He gave them bread and milk and cheese, even though they didn't have much money.
And the mum said to him, you have been very kind.
Just one last thing.
Do you know anywhere where we can spend the night?
Because we've got nowhere to go.
And the shopkeeper said, oh, it's difficult if you've got no money.
Oh, I do know somewhere.
There's a big old house up on their hill.
That's empty.
You could stay there, mind you.
I know why it's empty.
It's haunted.
It's got a ghost.
And I don't know what the ghost is, but there is definitely a ghost.
And the mum said, Oh...
I don't want to take my boys to a haunted house, but we've got nowhere else to go.
And so off she went up the twisting turning path that led to that creepy old house on the hill, the mum and her seven boys.
One was big and one was small, one was tiny, one was tall, one was fast and one was slow, and one I just don't know.
Well, when they reached that creepy old house, the mum opened the front door and they all went inside.
Oh, it was dark and cold.
No one had lived there for the longest time.
So everything was covered in dust.
There were holes in the curtains and the carpets.
There were spiders crawling up the walls and huge great dusty cobwebs hanging from the ceilings.
And there were mice and rats scritching and scratching under the furniture.
But in the kitchen they found a big pile of firewood and lots of candles.
And soon the mum had the candles burning bright and the fire roaring and they sat and they had their bread and cheese and milk and were all warm and cosy.
But outside the house, the weather was worse than ever before.
The wind howling and roaring and suddenly it blew in at the kitchen door and...
All the candles were blown out except one, and the boys were thrown into darkness.
And as they sat there in the dark, they heard a voice saying, Bring me a light.
Bring me a light.
And the boys went, Ghosts!
And the voice came again.
Bring me a light.
Can you hear that? said the mum.
Someone in the house needs a candle.
Well, we've got one.
You can take it to him.
And she gave the candle to the biggest boy, the oldest boy.
And he said, what, me?
Go on my own through this big creepy house with the... No, no, I'm not going.
You can't make me.
And she said, oh, you big baby, you're the biggest.
I'll put you in a nappy.
Go on, you're supposed to be the bravest.
Go on, off with you.
And that poor boy, with his knees knocking together like castanets, had to go through this big old creepy house on his own.
And it was a funny thing.
But as he walked, he could hear footsteps behind him.
But as soon as he stopped...
The footsteps stopped.
And he said, oh no, it's the ghost behind me with the... No, I don't want to see it.
I want to go home.
I want my mum.
And then he said, no, no, I have to be brave.
And he turned and looked and oh, it wasn't.
A ghost at all.
It was his brothers, his six brothers.
And they said, you can't go on your own.
We're coming with you.
And off they all went.
One was big and one was small.
One was tiny, one was tall.
One was fast and one was slow.
And one I just don't know.
Well, they went all around that big old house.
Didn't find any ghost.
But then they came to a dining room, big feasting room, and there was a chair in the middle of the room and sitting on the chair was the ghost and it was an old old man with a long white beard and he'd been sitting in the chair for so long that the beard had grown down to the ground and had wrapped around the legs of the chair and he looked up and he saw the boys and he beckoned with his hand and said bring me a light, bring me a light.
And that biggest boy with his knees knocking together harder than ever had to take the candle to the old man and he held it over the old man's head.
Now the old man had a big book on his lap and as soon as the candle light came over him he opened up the book and it was full of empty pages.
But he had a pen, an old pen, with a nib and a little pot of ink, and he started to write, filling page after page after page with writing, while the boy stood there holding the candle for hours and, Just as morning was coming, little lemony fingers of light coming through the holes in the curtains, the old man got to the very last page and the very last paragraph and the very last line and then he put down his pen and he slammed the book closed and he said Yes.
Yes!
I've done it!
I've finished!
Now I'm happy!
Now I can go to heaven!
And the boys looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.
Who was this man?
And the biggest boy said, Sir, what do you mean you've finished?
You can go to heaven.
Who are you?
And the old man said, I am the ghost of the man who lived in this house.
And when I was alive, I had a dream.
I wanted to write a book.
I had a wonderful story in my head and I wanted to share it with the world.
So I sat down and I began to write.
But the truth is, I was already an old man when I began and I ran out of time.
I died before I had finished writing it.
And that's why I have been sitting here every night in the dark for a hundred years trying to get the story done.
But it is so dark in this house at night i can't see to write, and sometimes people have come to the house and i've asked them for a light and they've run away screaming.
He said but tonight you boys have been brave enough and kind enough to help and i want to thank you in return.
Boys, when you go down to the kitchen, look in front of the stove.
On the ground there's a big flat stone.
Lift it up.
See what's underneath.
And with that, the ghost stood up, put the book down on his chair, and he disappeared.
He just vanished into thin air.
And I don't know where he went, but he must have been happy there because he never came back.
Well, the boys ran down to the kitchen and, sure enough, in front of the stove there was a big flat stone.
They lifted it up.
Underneath there was a hole in the ground and it was full of coins, gold coins.
So the boys were rich and they bought that house on the hill for their mum and they did it up lovely, with new furniture and new carpets and curtains, And they used some of the money to make sure that that old man's story was turned into a proper book.
And they sent it out all around the world and people loved it.
And you know, for as long as those boys lived, they all stayed exactly the same.
One was big and one was small, one was tiny, one was tall.
One was fast and one was slow and one I just don't know.
Well done for listening to that story.
Give yourselves a pat on the back.
You've been in a haunted house and you've come out just fine.
And thanks to Cat Weatherill for that story.
I do love a song story.
Do you think you'd have been brave enough like that oldest son to take a candle to the ghost?
I think it was really thoughtful of those boys to make sure the old man's story was turned into a proper book and sent out into the world.
And here's my question.
What would you have done if you'd found all that gold?
Perhaps there are some people that you'd like to help.
And now it's time to spread our wings and fly around the world with StoryOwl to say hello to some new owlets who've hopped into our nest and joined our club.
We start very near Buffalo in New York State, where Juniper, who's about to be seven, loves listening in the car and at home.
She has so many favourite stories.
Lately, she's especially loved the Russian tale, Masha and the Big Brown Bear.
And Juniper sent us a lovely picture of that story.
A long way west, next to Portland in Oregon next, where Ida D has just turned seven.
I hope you had a happy day, Ida.
She says she likes every single story.
Well, that's very nice to hear.
Such enthusiasm.
That's what we like.
Heading east across the Atlantic to Northamptonshire.
Here in the UK, let's say hello to Malachy, who is six, and Orla, who's 13, who've been listening since Malachy was a baby.
Orla's favourite is the boy and the snow wolf, and Malachy's favourite is Molly and the leprechaun.
Very good choices.
And back across to the US now to greet Adelaide, who's four.
Adelaide lives in Vermont, which must look great at this time of year with all those leaves changing colour.
Her favourite stories are The Master Cat and The Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
Adelaide loves listening to the stories in the car and in the bath, heading all the way across to Washington State, on the other side of the US, next to Duval, to say hello to Amalia, who will be nine very soon, and her brother Robert and sister Vivienne.
They love the Anansi stories, Chistou and The Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
Next, a very long flight across the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to Kenya, in East Africa, to say hello to Owlets Sheko, who's five Bua, who's three Taya, who's seven and ten-year-old Ayana in Nairobi.
They call themselves the Goo Goo Girls.
They love listening during long car rides, especially when visiting their grandparents.
Their favourite stories are The Grumpy Gecko, The Belly Button Monster, Maui and the Giant Fish, and Lullaba and the Eagle.
Back to the US now and all the way to Dallas, Texas.
Hello to Gideon, who's 10, Lucy and Hugo, who are 8-year-old twins and 4-year-old Ella.
They've been listening for years and their favourites include Tiddalink, The White Mouth Frog and Spider Stories, including The Christmas Spiders.
Further west now to San Francisco, where Aya, who's seven and a half, has been recording her own story podcasts inspired by Super Great Kids stories.
Well done, Aya.
She loves drawing pictures of the stories too, and her favourites are Eggshell Soup and Molly and the Skeleton.
And finally back to the UK and to Inkbarrow, near Worcester, where Jonas, who's six four-year-old Heidi and their one-year-old brother Brodie all live.
They came along to the Cheltenham Literature Festival, where I was telling stories earlier this month.
Jonas's favourite is the ghost of the bloody finger.
And Heidi loves the wide-mouthed frog.
And you've been sending us lots of brilliant drawings recently.
Our pick of the week picture goes to five-year-old Nina from County Meath in Ireland.
And she sent us a terrifying drawing of the oni or ogre from the Japanese story Inch Boy.
He's got magnificent horns, sharp claws and pointed jaggedy teeth.
Marvelous, Nina.
There's a very good picture of that only in our super great story book.
Thanks for sharing your imaginative drawing, Nina.
And thanks to all of you who've sent pictures to our Facebook page.
If you'd like to see them, go to facebook.com forward slash supergreatkidsstories.
And if you follow us on Instagram, you can enjoy our gallery at supergreatkids underscore art.
Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we do.
And thanks so much to our super great owlets who are supporting our podcast and making it possible for us to find new storytellers and share these wise little stories.
If you'd like to help us, you can subscribe 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 get access to 60 Owlet bonus stories and over 40 super great scary stories.
And this month there are two subscriber scary stories for Halloween.
And 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 on long journeys.
And a reminder that next week we're celebrating the publication in Canada and the US of our very first super great book.
The book has 30 of your favourite stories, including Anansi and Baba Yaga and, of course, the ghost of the Bloody Binger.
And it's beautifully illustrated by artists from around the world.
We're very pleased with the way it's come out.
Story Owl is particularly tickety-boo because she's on the front cover.
The book is available at Barnes & Noble, Bloomsbury US and Bloomsbury Canada and Amazon.
The publishers Bloomsbury have done a really great job.
It looks brilliant and will make a beautiful Christmas gift.
Thanks to all of you super great listeners who pre-ordered it and have helped to push it up the book charts.
Happy reading and remember there's an extra story this halloween week for those of you who don't like scaries.
It's called jack and the magic horse and it's told by liz weir from northern ireland.
This podcast was produced at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.
