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W-B-U-R Podcasts Boston
Here at Circle Around, we're taking time off as we gear up for all sorts of exciting things.
This month, we're recording live episodes in Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington,
and Chicago, Illinois. We're also getting ready for our annual live recording with members of
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Circle Around Club. With so much going on at Circle Around, this week we're bringing you an
encore edition of the podcast. A really great story you may have missed the first time. We'll
be back with a new episode soon in the meantime. Enjoy!
Think about the last time you opened your ears and listened. Oftentimes the best thing we can do
for the people we cherish is listen to them. We can hear them out as they tell us how their day was,
how they're feeling, what they're thinking. In today's tale, we'll find out what a wonderful gift
a good listener can be. I'm Rebecca Sheer and welcome to Circle Around, where story time happens
all the time. Today our story is called The Friend Ship. Versions of this tale originally come
from the island nation of Japan. Some really great people came together to bring you our adaptation
of this folktale, including Kara Patterson, who stars in the Disney Plus series Turner and Huch.
You Broadway fans may have seen her breakout performance as the only female in the 2017
Tony Award winning play, Jitney. So Circle Around everyone, for The Friend Ship.
Long, long ago, at the tippy, tippy top of a steep steep hill, there grew a tree. It was a tall tree.
Its branches stretching so high they nearly brushed the clouds. It was a thick tree too.
With a trunk so broad it would take you a good five minutes just to walk around it.
Far below the tree, at the bottom of one side of the steep steep hill,
there lived a woman named Raina. Raina shared a small, drafty house with her mother.
A frail old woman whose bones were so rickety and crickety she hardly ever got out of bed.
Raina, could you please fetch me another blanket? I feel such a chill.
Of course mother. Here you go. Thank you dear.
On the other side of the hill lived a rich landowner or Lord. The Lord had a grand mansion with
countless rooms, countless corridors and countless servants whom he bossed around to know and...
Cork! This soup is called Taylor, these pants are torn. Footmen, these boots are dull.
Polish them at once. Among the Lord's servants was Raina, who worked as a laundress,
washing and scrubbing the wealthy man's extravagant garments till they looked like new.
But even then... Laundress! The Lord never failed to complain.
This robe is dingy. Watch it again.
Early each morning when Raina climbed up the steep steep hill to go to work,
she would always stop and say hello to the tall, tall tree.
Greetings and salutations tree! Don't your leaves look extra lush and green this morning.
And to leave each evening when she climbed the hill to get back home,
she would say hello again. Good evening tree. That was some rain we had today huh?
I'm glad you got a nice long drink. Raina had been passing by the tree for so long,
she thought of it as an old friend. She talked to the tree when she was happy.
Great news tree! Mother actually got out of bed today for a moment anyway.
And she talked to the tree when she was sad.
Ugh... The Lord fired yet another baker today tree, just because he burnt one cookie.
One cookie! I feel so bad for him and his family.
Every time Raina spoke, the tree's branches waved and swayed almost as if it heard her words and
understood. One year, Mother's health took a turn for the worse. Raina called the village doctor,
and after paying the bill and buying the prescribed medicine, Raina was down to her last penny.
The next morning on her way to work, she shared her woes with the tall, tall tree.
Oh tree, I'm in such a pickle! I mean, I'm glad Mother will get better, but now all my savings
are gone. Not that I had much of course, but now I have nothing. I'll have to start from scratch,
and the Lord pays me so little for my work as a laundress. It'll take me forever to build up another
nest egg. The tree's branches waved and swayed as Raina racked her brain for an idea.
Then all of a sudden, it came to her. I know what I'll do.
Every day, the Lord lets us servants have one plate of leftovers from the kitchen.
I'll take a few morsels for myself. Then bring the rest home for Mother. That way, I can save some
of the money I usually set aside for buying food. After that, every time Raina went to work,
she began stashing away bits of food and bringing them home to Mother. But then, one fateful day,
excuse me, what do you think you're doing? Why are you putting that food inside that basket?
My servants are allowed to eat one plate of food from the kitchen, but you're not permitted to
bring it home. I'm sorry, sir. It's just that my mother. She's so old and frail, and I spent our
last cooling to buy her medicine. And so we can't afford to spare me the sob story. Rules are
rules and what I say goes. You're fired. But, sir, this food isn't for me. It's for-
I don't care if it's for the Emperor himself. Your services are no longer needed.
That night, when Raina climbed the hill, she couldn't help herself. She fell to the ground,
pulled her knees to her chest, then leaned back against the tall, tall tree, and began to cry.
Oh, tree! I'm really in trouble now. Without a job, I have no income. And without an income,
I have no way to make ends meet. What will become of me and mother? Oh, how I wish someone could
tell me what to do. A river of tears ran down Raina's face. Her body shuddered as she sobbed
and sobbed. And then, all of a sudden, I know what you can do, Raina. You what? Raina sat bolt upright.
Who said that? Where are you? I'm right here, Raina. I've always been here.
And I have a plan that won't just help you make ends meet. It'll set you up for life.
Who do you think spoke up just now? And what might their plan be? We'll find out after a quick break.
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Welcome back to Circle Round. I'm Rebecca Sheer. Today, our story is called The Friend Ship.
Before the break, the wealthy lord fired Reyna for bringing food to her ailing mother.
On Reyna's way home, she passed the tall tall tree atop the steep, steep hill and told her old friend
everything that happened. Usually when Reyna spoke to the tree, it swayed and dipped its branches as if it
understood every word. But this time, wait a minute, that voice I heard just now, it didn't belong to you,
tree? Did it? Actually. The tree fluttered its leaves. It did. So, you talk? Well, usually, I just
listen. And I've been listening to you for years now, Reyna. Hearing you talk so lovingly about your
poor old mother. Hearing you complain about that disagreeable lord. And I've been watching you too.
Watching you trick up this hill at the crack of dawn to go to work. Watching you bring morsels of
food back home so your mother can eat. That's why I'm going to help you. Reyna was stunned.
All these years she'd been talking to the tree, not once did she expect it to talk back.
Oh, that's so very kind of you tree. So very kind. But no offense. How can a tree help me support
myself and my mother? Oh, you'd be surprised. Again, the tree fluttered its leaves. Listen Reyna.
Word has it that that unpleasant former boss of yours is building a ship. A gigantic ship.
The most massive ship this part of the world has ever seen. And do you know what he's using to make that ship?
I don't know. Wood? That's right. But not just any wood. He's using mine. Your wood? Reyna clamped a
hand to her chest. You don't mean he's chopping you down. I'm afraid he is. He wanted the very best
wood from the thickest tallest tree. And well, that would be me. In a way, it's kind of an honor.
But he can't do that. He can't just. Oh, but he can. And he will. But here's the good part.
The Lord is going to turn me into this gargantuan ship. Right? Thing is, I'm not going to move.
Reyna cocked her head. Not going to move. You mean you're not going to launch? Nope. The Lord will try to launch me, of course.
After spending all this money and all this time building this whale of a ship, he'll have this big launching ceremony. Right?
He'll show me off to all the people and he'll try to set me afloat in the water. But I'm not going to budge.
Oh, tree. Reyna found herself grinning. That's positively wicked of you. I know.
Right? And the Lord will be so desperate to get me to launch that hill to anything. Anything to propel me into the water.
And that's where you come in. Now listen up. Reyna leaned in and listened as the tree told her exactly what she should do.
Then Reyna gave her friend a big hug and went back down the hill to her mother. Sure enough, the next morning, Reyna could hear the whacking and hacking of axes as the Lord's woodcutters began chopping down the tall, tall tree.
Reyna was sad to lose her friend, but she knew what she must do. The day of the big launch, the Lord invited everyone in the land to come to the shore and view his magnificent creation.
Ladies and gentlemen, have you ever seen such a wonder? See how it glimmers and gleams as its glorious wooden hole reflects the rays of the sun.
I am convinced that this is the greatest ship ever created. And now I will prove it as we launch this ship on the count of three. One, two, three.
But just as the tree had predicted, the ship would not launch. Well, this is odd. Perhaps my crew has an untied of the ropes.
Deck hands, make sure the ship is no longer more to the dock. The Lord's deck hands double-checked and triple-checked, but sure enough, the ship was completely unmoored. All the ropes were untied.
Well, let's try again then. One, two, three. But again, the ship refused to launch. The Lord was growing flustered.
Okay, so that didn't work. Perhaps the ship's too heavy. We need to unload some cargo. So they did. But still.
One, two, three. The ship refused to launch. The Lord tried everything, raising more sales. One, two, three.
Rowing with ores. One, two, three. He even had his deck hands get into the water and push. One, two, three.
But the ship wouldn't move an inch. Finally, the Lord couldn't take it anymore.
Gaaaahhh, give up. If anyone here can get this ship to launch, I'll give you anything you want, anything at all.
At first, no one in the crowd spoke up. But then...
I'll do it. Reina, stepped forward. I'll launch your ship, sir. I'll send it clear across the water.
The Lord pointed a finger at Reina. You aren't you, the laundress who stole food from my grand mansion?
You're nothing but a common thief. Yet you think you can launch this boat?
Oh, I don't think I can, sir. Reina looked to the Lord right in the eye. I know I can.
And with that, Reina marched right up to the boat. In her hand, she held a long, gnarled stick, which she suddenly lifted into the air as if casting a spell.
Then she spun in a circle and waved her arms this way and that. The people on the shore watched in wonder.
Was this laundress actually an enchantress? Was she casting a spell? And would it work?
Reina was stumping her feet on the shore now, kicking great clouds of sand every which way.
Then she stopped and crouched down low, before exploding into the air in a graceful leap and tapping the side of the ship with her stick.
And the moment she did, do you know what happened?
The ship eased away from the dock and began sliding into the sea.
The Lord was gobsmacked.
My ship! You've lost my ship! How ever did you do it?
Reina smiled.
Hmm, let's just say I had help from an old friend.
Well, after that, Reina had no trouble making ends meet.
As a reward for launching the ship, the Lord gave her exactly what she wanted.
A bit of money, plus enough clothing and food to keep her and her mother warm and fed for years to come.
Reina wasn't exactly rich as a Lord, but she was comfortable.
Because thanks to her old friend, the tree, her ship had finally come in.
Now it's your turn. What are some ways you can be a good friend?
Find a piece of paper or posterboard and draw a big square.
Then divide that big square into nine little squares or three rows of three
and get ready to play friendship bingo.
In each of the nine squares, have a grown-up help you write one thing you can do to be a good friend.
It can be as simple as giving a friend a compliment, telling a joke to cheer them up,
or making a get-well card if they're feeling under the weather.
Once you've written all nine squares,
hang your friendship bingo board wherever you can see it.
Then, every time you do something on your board, fill in that square with a sticker or stamp.
When you've completed your friendship bingo board, share it with us.
Ask a grown-up to snap a photo and email it to CircleRound at wbur.org.
This week's story, The Friend Ship, was adapted by me Rebecca Scheer.
It was edited by CircleRounds, a supervising producer, Amory Seifrickson.
CircleRounds original music and sound design is by Eric Shimelonis.
Our artist is Sabina Hahn.
Sabina has drawn a black and white picture for every CircleRound story,
and you can print them out and color them in.
Ask a grown-up to visit wbur.org slash CircleRound,
then click on Soundtrack and Coloring pages.
And while you're at wbur.org slash CircleRound,
you can find links to the CircleRound soundtrack, T-shirt and coloring book,
as well as a transcript for each and every CircleRound tale.
Special thanks to this week's actors, Robert Fung, Fates Saley,
Don Ursula and Kara Patterson.
Watch for Kara, Internor and Hooch, now available on Disney Plus.
The featured instrument in today's story was The Harp.
You can learn more about this member of the String family on our website.
Again, that's wbur.org slash CircleRound.
Never want to miss an episode of CircleRound?
Follow us on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts,
and please leave us some stars, write us a review,
or just tell your friends about the show.
CircleRound is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR News Station.
I'm Rebecca Sheer.
Thanks for circling around with us.
Now that you've made it to the end of this CircleRound episode,
we want to know what's your favorite CircleRound story.
Thousands of fans just like you have been telling us about the CircleRound
stories they like best.
Take a listen.
Maybe one of their favorites is one of yours too.
Hello, my name is Linda, I live in London,
and my favorite circleRound is the London CircleRound.
My name is Noah.
I live in Bulkville, California.
My favorite CircleRound is a pocket-outed pigeon.
My favorite part is when he says,
can I get out of this cage? My name is Lila.
I live in Dublin, California.
My favorite CircleRound story is the horse of a different color,
and I like the part when Valentina throws the apple in the air,
and it lands on the governor's lap and she gets the gold.
My name is Fanny.
I live in Minnesota, and my favorite CircleRound story is the nine sticks.
My name is Hila, and I live in Golden Valley, Minnesota,
and my favorite CircleRound is Princess and the Ikezl like
when the Inkeeper says she has to pay double,
and she signs away to that.
My name's Harry from California,
and my favorite part is the cleverest person,
and he thinks he's the cleverest person, but he's actually not.
My name is Hana.
My favorite CircleRound story is the young healer.
I like the part where the little boy heals his ungrateful grandfather,
and gets a bunch of gifts.
Did someone mention a story you've missed?
Not to worry.
Grownups, you can find all of our CircleRound stories,
plus links to the CircleRound Club,
PictureBooks, Coloring Pages, and Oso much more on our website,
www.wbuer.org slash CircleRound.
