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When you think about being a good friend, what does that mean to you? Maybe it means saving a space
for a buddy on the bus, or helping out when a pal is sad or has a problem. Maybe it just means
having a whole lot of fun together. In today's story, we'll meet two women who prize friendship
above all else until that friendship is tested by an unexpected discovery.
I'm Rebecca Schier, and welcome to Circle Around, where story time happens all the time.
Today, our tale is called The Friendship Orchard. This story originally comes from Kazakhstan in
Central Asia. Some really great people came together to bring you our tale, including two favorites
from NPR, Linda Worthheimer and Susan Stamberg. So Circle Around everyone for The Friendship Orchard.
Veronica and Victoria were as close as two friends could be.
Ever since they were little, they vowed they'd always look out for each other.
And even now, with their hair silver and their hands weathered with age, the women had each other's
backs, no matter what. Together, Veronica and Victoria pooled their money to buy a farm in the hills.
Veronica owned the land where they lived and grew vegetables. Victoria owned the sheep and cows.
Winter was a specially cruel in their part of the world, so life was often difficult
and the women earned very little. One particularly cold December, there was such a vicious snowstorm
that all the sheep and cows disappeared. The animals simply vanished in the massive snowdrifts.
Victoria took it a specially hard.
Oh, Veronica, I worked my tail off to scrounge up enough money to buy these animals.
I spent so much time and care keeping them healthy and strong, and now I failed.
I might as well quit. Veronica couldn't believe her ears.
Come on, Victoria. It's not your fault the sheep and cows disappeared,
and you can't go off and leave me here to run this place by myself.
Who'll help with the garden when the spring comes? Who'll tell me wonderful stories around the
evening fire? You belong here on this land with me. I know, but no buts. We always said we'd look
out for each other. So listen, I'm going to make you the owner of Half Our Land. You'll take the
lower half and I'll keep the upper half. Victoria reached out and gave Veronica a hug.
Oh, Veronica, you are the truest friend ever. Thank you.
The following spring, after the snow had melted and the winds had died down,
Victoria was digging in her half of the field when her hose struck something hard.
Oh, as she dug into the rich black soil, she unearthed a small iron chest, and when she opened it,
oh my! Her eyes were nearly blinded by the glint of gold coins, thousands of them.
My goodness, I must show Veronica! Victoria found Veronica on her half of the field,
also digging with a hoe. Victoria was nearly out of breath for running.
Veronica, Veronica, you're rich, my friend. You're rich! Victoria told Veronica all about the
iron chest filled with gold pieces. Veronica smiled. But Victoria, you found the gold in your
half of the field, not mine. The treasure was yours and yours alone. Oh, you are too generous.
But don't you see you're the one who convinced me not to quit. You have given me my life back.
How can I take anything more? No, no, no, clearly, fortune meant for you to find the gold.
Take it, my friend. Oh, Veronica, I can't do that. Yes, Victoria, you can.
No, but really, I insist. The two women went back and forth like this for quite some time.
Eventually, they both grew rather annoyed. Quit being so stubborn! Just take the gold!
Stop, Bern, at least I'm not the one being ridiculous. The gold is yours. No, it's yours! The
friends bickered long into the night. By morning, they were exhausted. It's clear we will never
settle this argument on our own, Veronica. I actually agree with you on that one, Victoria.
Come, let's go to the village and meet with the judge. She's the wisest man around. Maybe he'll know
what we should do. So, Veronica and Victoria headed to the village to speak with the wise judge.
They brought the chest of gold coins with them, taking turns carrying it because it was so heavy.
When the women arrived at the judge's chamber, they hoisted the heavy chest onto his desk.
Then they took a deep breath and shared their story. When they were finished, the judge nodded slowly.
He looked at the coins. He looked at the women. Then he closed his eyes. When at last he opened them
again, his face broke into a broad grin. All right, friends. I know exactly what you must do.
What do you think the judge will say? Will he solve Victoria and Veronica's dilemma?
Will? We'll find out after a quick break.
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Before we get back to our story, did you know that in addition to listening to Circle Round,
you can carry it, eat lunch with it, and read it? Visit the swag link at wbur.org-circle-round and
get your very own Circle Round backpack, lunch box and picture books. And bonus, each book comes with
an autographed book plate signed by me. Give to WBUR and get some really cool Circle Round goodies
as our way of seeing things. Now, if you're swag today, wbur.org-circle-round.
I'm Rebecca Sheer. Welcome back to Circle Round. Today, our story is called the Friendship Orchard.
When we left off to lifelong friends Victoria and Veronica had asked the wise judge to solve a
problem. The women shared land on a farm. One of the women, Victoria, uncovered a chest of
gold coins on her half of land. But since the land was a gift from Veronica, Victoria felt Veronica
should have the coins. Veronica, on the other hand, thought Victoria should keep the gold.
After all, finders keepers. After considering the women's case, the judge took a deep breath
and spoke. Victoria, Veronica, here is what you must do. Take this gold to the marketplace and by the
highest quality fruit seeds you can find. Bring those seeds back to your farm and plant them on your land.
The orchard that grows will be an orchard of friendship. Let its fruits feed those less fortunate.
Let its shade help cool a weary traveler and let its beauty remind everyone how truly spectacular
nature can be. Rather than let the gold divide to lifelong friends, let it unite as many people as
possible. Victoria and Veronica loved the idea. They thanked the judge and together they carried
the chest of gold coins to the marketplace. The friends walked up and down the aisles but couldn't
find anyone selling fruit seeds. Soon their legs and arms ached. Veronica, why don't we call it a day
and try again tomorrow. I could not agree more, Victoria. Let's go home. As Victoria and Veronica
left the marketplace, they heard a strange sound. Are those birds? It sounds like thousands of them.
Let's go take a look. The women turned a corner and came upon a dozen horse-strawn carriages,
each one holding cage after cage of exotic birds. The brightly colored creatures had been captured
in the thick forests and high mountains and would be sold at the market as very expensive pets.
Veronica looked at Victoria with sad eyes. It isn't right for these wild birds to be locked in a cage.
Victoria nodded in agreement. Maybe there's something we can do to save them. The women approached
the merchant, leading the caravan of horses and asked the price of the birds. He took one look at
their muddy overalls and work boots and laughed. Do you want to know how much money for these birds here?
From more than you have, I'm afraid. The two friends exchanged a look. Veronica undid the clasp on
the chest of gold coins. Release the birds back to the wild and all this gold is yours. The man's
eye is practically bogged out of his head. Yes, yes, whatever you say. Men released those birds at once.
Victoria and Veronica heard the sound of a thousand clinking locks. Then the sound of two thousand
wings flapping happily up into the air. Now that the friends had given their chest of coins to the man,
their load was lighter as they strolled back to their farm. But their hearts were heavy. Now they'd
never have their friendship orchard. The next morning, after a long night's sleep, Victoria and
Veronica woke up to another odd sound. Victoria, do you hear something outside? I do. A kind of
scratching maybe? I think it's coming from the field. The friends hurried to the field and were
greeted within a astonishing sight. The thousand exotic birds from the marketplace the day before were
standing on the ground and scratching at the dirt. In each bird's beak was a seed. And as Victoria
and Veronica watched in wonder, the birds dropped the seeds into the loose, rich soil. Then they used
their feet to smooth over the dirt and cover the seeds. Next thing the friends knew the thousand
birds had flapped their wings and taken off into the sky. As the rainbow-colored cloud of birds flew off
into the distance, an actual cloud rolled in, bringing with it drop after drop of rain.
Miraculously, the moment the water hit the ground, the seeds began to sprout and grow.
The friends looked on an amazement as all of a sudden the field was covered with apple trees and
pear trees and apricot trees. All of them boasting long leafy branches and bursting with clump
juicy fruit. Victoria put a hand on Veronica's shoulder. Well, pal, it looks like the judge was
right after all. We got our friendship orchard. Veronica smiled. Or maybe we had it all along.
Or turn. Think about one thing you can do this week to be a good friend. Can you invite a buddy
over to play? Share half your sandwich at lunch. Maybe you can let a friend take the first turn in
a board game or a puzzle. Talk about your plan with a grown-up. And have that grown-up tell you
something he or she will do to be a good friend this week. Then make a deal that you'll both go out
and do it. And plant the seeds of your own friendship orchard.
This week's story, The Friendship Orchard, was written by me, Rebecca Sheer,
and edited by Circle Around's Executive Producer Jessica Albert. Original music and sound
designs by Eric Shimalones. Our artist is Sabina Han. And we have a bunch of Sabina's Black and
White illustrations on our website, ready for you to color. Ask your grown-up to visit wbur.org slash
Circle Around and click on Coloring Pages. Special thanks to this week's performers,
Maurice Parent, Craig Wallace, and NPR's Susan Stamberg and Linda Orthimer. Susan is a special
correspondent for NPR and Linda is Senior National Correspondent. You can hear amazing reporting
by both them by tuning into your local public radio station. The featured instrument in today's
story was the Celeste. You can learn more about this member of the percussion family and see a
picture on our website, wbur.org slash Circle Around. If you haven't yet subscribed to Circle Around,
find us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you have a few moments,
please write us a review. It helps other people find the show. Circle Around is a production of
WBUR Boston's NPR News Station. I'm Rebecca Sheer. Thanks for circling round with us.
Now that you've made it to the end of this Circle Around episode, we want to know what's your
favorite Circle Around story? Thousands of fans just like you have been telling us about the
Circle Around stories they like best. Take a listen. Maybe one of their favorites is one of yours too.
Hi my name is Fia. I live in Dublin and Ireland. My favorite story is the Giant's Causeway
because the Fondermont gets tricked because we're muggled just as a baby. My name is Emma and I live
in Oakland, California. And my favorite story is the birth of a different friend. And my favorite
part is in the lion's game. And that's in his face. My name is Talia and I live in Baltimore,
Maryland. And my favorite Circle Around story is Pulling Strength because I like the part where you
ask the villagers to pull the strings. All of the villagers are already at the same time and
his waist gets so small. My name is Emma and I live in South Carolina. And my favorite Circle
Around story is the Fondermont part because I like the part where it says I'm ready to skip and skip and skip.
I'm Talia and I'm from Austin, Texas. My favorite Circle Around story is Porcupines plan.
And my favorite part is when Porcupines is telling all the jokes.
My name is Kimlin and I am from South Carolina. And my favorite Circle Around is a coconut
a day and I like the part where the girl seems to treat me. Hi Reddies, you're harder at my
favorite Circle Around story. My name is Vigo and my favorite Circle Around story is Leidenbaw.
We are Shrawblast Adulis. My name is Maggie. I live in Massachusetts. My favorite Circle
Around story is the banana sway like the part where the tortoise and the monkey have a race.
Did someone mention a story you've missed? Not Tory. Grown ups, you can find all of our Circle
Around stories. Plus links to the Circle Around Club, picture books, coloring pages, and oh so much
more on our website, www.wru.org slash Circle Around.
