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.
Hello Super Great Kids.
Today's story is called Fox. and dog.
It's from Scotland and told by Scottish storyteller new to Super Great Kids, Cara Silversmith.
Hello Super Great Kids and how are you?
I'm just tickety-boo.
My reasons to be cheerful this week are that I've been meeting lots of you at our shows and it's always really good to see you in person.
And I went for a walk in our woods after our show last week and there was a beautiful owl sitting on a birch tree stump and looking at me.
I felt very lucky to have seen it.
I thought maybe it was there to say happy birthday.
What do you think?
And my third reason to be cheerful is that by the time you hear this story, I'll be cycling in the south of Spain and swimming in the sea to cool off.
Hurrah!
Today, we're sharing a traveller story told by Cara Silversmith, who lives in Scotland.
I think this is the first Scottish storyteller we've had on Super Great Kids Stories.
So I'm very pleased we met Cara at the Stealing Thunder Storytelling Festival.
It's a tale originally told by the Scottish traveller Duncan Williamson.
A traveller is someone who doesn't always have their home in one place.
They move around and traditionally they often used to sleep outdoors.
This is a moving story about a wild fox who meets a pet dog.
The story is a little bit worrying at first but it all works out OK in the end.
You might want to listen to it with a grown-up.
Now, just before we begin, here's a little question for you, while we have a quick word with the grown-ups.
Here it is would you rather be a dog or a fox, and why?
Hello, super great kids, i'm back.
What did you decide?
Are you more of a fox, a bit of a wild thing, enjoying being free outdoors?
Or are you more of a dog, preferring to be at home and nice and cosy indoors, curling up in a soft, warm bed and having regular meals?
Or maybe you're a bit of both.
I think I'm probably a bit of both, but if I had to choose, I think I'd go for a fox.
But now, let's give a warm welcome to Cara Silversmith.
The fox ran.
She ran and ran and ran and ran.
She had been running all day long and she was exhausted.
She had to stop, but she couldn't stop.
Because there were dogs and horses and people and they'd been chasing her all day long.
They chased her across fields, through woods, up hills and even into the rivers.
She had to run as fast as she possibly could and she was panting and she was struggling to breathe and her muscles were screaming at her to stop.
But she couldn't stop.
She ran across the field and through the hedgerow and she tripped and she fell down the bank and landed in the mud at the side of a small burn.
And she lay there and she closed her eyes and waited.
But the dogs didn't come.
The dogs had been called back by their owners.
She could hear the clip-clop, clip-clop of horses going back to the stables, back to their homes, back to their warm beds and food.
And the fox lay next to the cold water in the burn, panting, trying to catch her breath.
And she began to shiver.
She began to shiver and she looked up at the night sky and the moon was just rising and it was a clear, cold night.
She shivered and worried.
How was she going to get home?
She'd been running so long that she wasn't even sure she could stand up anymore.
She checked the damage.
Her paws were cut and bleeding.
She painfully pushed herself, oh, ow, oh, to her feet.
And she stepped into the cool water of the burn to soothe her paws and take a nice long drink.
She was hungry.
She was tired and hungry and worried about how she was going to survive the night.
It was getting frosty and there was, well, there was nothing to eat round about.
The way she was at the moment.
She couldn't chase a rabbit or a mouse or Anything like that.
They would just laugh at her.
It was too late in the year for berries to still be on the bushes.
What was she going to eat?
How was she going to get home when she could barely walk and she didn't have the energy to go on?
She pushed herself painfully out of the burn on the other side and climbed up the slope up to the field.
And there, on the other side of the field, a light winked on.
A house.
Now a house.
People lived in houses and people were dangerous.
People and their dogs had been chasing her all day long.
But people also meant food.
People had enough food that they would throw it out.
Can you imagine having enough food that you would actually throw it away?
Well, The fox thought that she could go and get a meal at that house if she was careful and if the people didn't see her.
And so she slowly painfully, limped and plodded up the field, across the grass and to the edge of the track where the house stood.
Slowly, She walked around the back of the house until she could see the back door.
And next to the back door, there was not one, but two bins.
Bins.
Food was probably in those bins.
She had another quick look around her to make sure nobody was watching, and she took a step forward.
Oi! said a voice.
The fox froze.
Oi! said the voice again.
And there, the fox noticed on the other side of the back door, there was a dog.
Not the kind of dogs that chased her, but a round, fluffy dog with a waggy tail and a stupid looking expression on its face.
And it was standing, staring at her.
Hey, said the dog again.
What are you then?
What am I? said the fox.
Well, I'm a fox.
Oh, said the dog.
A fox?
I've never met a fox before.
That's exciting.
Tell me, what's it like being a fox?
And the dog wagged its tail and panted its tongue out.
Hmm, said the fox.
Being a fox, well, I'll tell you what it's like being a fox.
It is exciting. terrible.
I live in a den miles away from here, scraped out of the side of a hill, and it's too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer.
I never get enough to eat.
I mean I'll chase rabbits and mice and voles and shrews and all sorts, and they just run away from me.
I hardly ever catch them.
And then, well...
I haven't told you the worst bit.
The worst bit about being a fox is on special days, when people are feeling really annoyed with foxes.
They'll let the dogs out and the horses and they will chase me all over the countryside.
That's what it's like being a fox.
It is terrible.
Oh, said the dog.
Oh, you poor thing.
That does sound terrible.
You should try being a dog.
Pardon, said the fox.
Oh, you should try being a dog.
OK, said the fox, not quite sure where this one was going.
Well said, the dog.
You've got the paws and you've got the tail, and your ears are a little bit pointy, but you get away with it.
You should try being a dog.
OK, said fox, thinking that actually maybe being a fox wasn't such a great idea.
Tell me.
What's it like being a dog then?
Oh, said the dog.
Being a dog is the best thing ever.
Like honestly, I get up in the morning and I wake up in my little house here and it's got a rug and a blanket and it's so cosy and warm and soft.
And my owners, they'll open the back door and they'll give me a big bowl of food.
And it's all crunchy and munchy and delicious.
And oh, it's the best thing ever.
Oh, and then, then we get to go for a walk.
We get to go for a walk.
And sometimes they'll even throw a bottle for me to chase.
And oh, it's the best thing ever.
Oh.
And then I haven't actually told you the best thing.
After my meal in the evening, they'll open the door and they'll let me inside and I get to stretch out in front of the fire.
And oh, it's just the best.
Honestly, being a dog is the best thing ever.
The fox had to admit that this did sound pretty good.
In fact, it sounded very, very Good.
And she looked at the little wooden house that the dog was standing in front of with its soft blankets.
And she could see a couple of toys there.
And, well, there would be enough room for two of them, wouldn't there?
She could be a dog.
And then suddenly she noticed something.
You see, the dog seemed friendly, but it hadn't come over to sniff her, like all really friendly dogs would.
It was just standing there.
And in the light of the moon, she could see something glinting around its neck.
And she took a step back in horror.
Dog, she said, what's that round your neck?
Oh, this, said the dog.
This is my collar.
It attaches to my chain and attaches to the kennel so that I don't run off.
It keeps me safe.
Oh, dog, said Fox.
Oh, dog.
Tell me dog, have you ever run through the meadow in the springtime chasing the butterflies, when all the flowers are showing their colours?
Have you ever wandered through the pine woods and the rain has fallen and the scent is in the air?
Have you ever climbed the hill at midnight and sat under the sky while it sings to you in colours of red, green and purple?
You what? said the dog.
No, I didn't think so, said the fox.
Oh, dog, you poor thing.
And with that, Fox stepped forward.
She knocked the lid off of the first bin and there, there was a lump of cheese and a half-eaten pie.
And she wolfed them down.
And with one last sad look at the dog, she turned and ran off into the distance to test freedom and all the opportunities she had to explore the world once more.
Oh, thank you so much, Cara, for that moving story.
I really liked it.
Even though I used to be scared of foxes, I rather like them now.
Mainly because a family of them have lived for two years underneath my story shed.
So we've become neighbours.
Hunting foxes with dogs in England was banned a few years ago.
But in spite of that, it still takes place sometimes.
And now.
It's time to fly around the world with StoryOwl and say hello and thank you to all you owlets who've recently joined our storytelling club.
So let's spread our wings and fly around the world with StoryOwl to meet them.
Let's begin in Winnipeg in Canada.
Where Jackson, who is six, and Abby, who is four, love all the stories.
But they especially love The White Cow, told by Tim Ralphs.
And of course, The Ghost of the Bloody Finger, told by Tien and Duyeb.
And now over to Candelo in Australia, where Harrison celebrated his fifth birthday earlier this month.
Which means he's the same age as Super Great Kids' stories.
Harrison loves trickster tales and the scary ones.
His favourites are Masha and the Bear, The Ghost of the Bloody Finger and Ruby Red Lips and Long Red Fingernails.
Let's fly to Michigan in the United States now, where Grace, who's seven, and May, who's ten, listen on car journeys when they're doing their crafts.
Grace's favourite story is The Cat Who Ate the Palace.
And May's is Addy and the Zimwe.
Across the Atlantic now to here in the UK, where Padmini, who's seven, and her three-year-old sister Amvi live in Litchfield in the Midlands.
Their favourite story is The Owl Girls and the Witch.
I really like that one too.
And let's fly back across the sea to Harlem in New York, where five-year-old Felix lives.
Felix's favourite story is The Hairy Toe.
Heading further up the east coast of the US to Boston, where Dagny and Astrid live.
Their favourites are the scary stories, especially The Ghost of the Bloody Finger and The Boy Who Drew Cats.
And any Baba Yaga or Mama Draga stories.
Back down the east coast of the US to Pennsylvania, where Allora became an owlet as a gift from her grandparents, Mimi and Pato, for her eighth birthday earlier this month.
Thank you, Mimi and Pato.
I'm a grandmother too.
Grandparents are a wonderful thing.
And now all the way across to Fairbanks in Alaska.
Is it snowy yet in Alaska?
To greet Owlets, James who's eight, Cece who's six and three-year-old Percy.
Their favourites are the scary stories and they listen on the way to school.
Their grandma Cindy gave them the Owlet subscription.
That's very kind of you Cindy.
This is their third year of being owlets.
That makes you super fans.
That's it for this week.
More owlet welcomes next week.
Thank you.
We really appreciate your support.
And our picture of the week goes to seven-year-old Aya from San Francisco in the US, who sent us her beautiful illustration of the bird with big feet.
Thanks, Aya.
What bright colours you've chosen for those birds' feathers.
And I love its enormous red feet.
I'm very pleased that the bird learned to love its big feet rather than be embarrassed by them.
Thanks for sharing this.
A great picture of a great story.
Do send any pictures inspired by the fox and the dog or any of our stories to the podcast.
You can send them to our website, supergreatkidsstories.com or to our Facebook page, facebook.com forward slash supergreatkidsstories and Story Hour will reply to you.
And thanks to all of you who are subscribing to our podcast.
We really appreciate those of you who feel you can support us on Apple or on Patreon.
It helps us to pay our storytellers and it gives you access to all the Super Great Scary Stories.
And depending on your level of subscription to nearly 60 bonus stories.
Plus, you'll get access to our Super Great Kids Stories Express, which cuts straight to the story.
Great for listening to stories back to back.
Visit our website for more details.
SuperGreatKidsStories.com That's it for now.
Remember you'll get a discount if you order our super great book before it's published in the US on November 4th or in Australia on December 4th.
And you'll be helping us to get the book noticed and share all those traditional tales with even more super great kids.
You'll find the discount link in the news section on our website.
Keep telling your stories and singing those songs.
Have a happy week.
See you next week.
Hasta luego.
Bye for now.
This podcast was produced by Kim Normanton and David Smith at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.
