Hi, Rebecca Sheer here. Before we get to today's story, I invite you to circle around with us
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W-B-U-R Podcasts Boston.
This week's Circle Around episode is a really special one recorded before a live audience at the
Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 26th, 2024. And the younger members of that
audience were a very important part of our story, as you're about to hear. If you'd like to be
first in line for upcoming Circle Around events and get exclusive early access to tickets,
we invite you to join the Circle Around Club. Grownups, learn more about this super fun
opportunity for Circle Around Super fans at www.wbr.org slash Circle Around Club.
There's an old African proverb that goes, even the lion, the king of the forest, protects himself
against flies. In other words, no matter how big and mighty we are, we should never underestimate
the strength and skill of those who are smaller. Because as we'll hear in today's tale, sometimes
the smallest can be the strongest of all. I'm Rebecca Sheer and welcome to Circle Around Live
at the Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today our story is called Home Sweet Home.
Versions of this tale come from the Bantu and Swahili-speaking peoples of East Africa.
Joining me on stage is a trio of talented actors, Joy Dolor, Adeline Phelps and Aron Woldeslassi,
and providing musical accompaniment is the one and only Eric Shimalones. So Circle Around Everyone
for Home Sweet Home. Of all the animals who lived on the wide open grasslands known as the Savannah,
one of the fiercest and most ferocious was leopard. The wild spotted feline was always growling,
snorling, kissing his, and otherwise scaring the pants off the smaller animals who called the
Savannah home. I know we just started this story, but scaring the pants off the smaller animals.
You do know that animals don't wear pants, right? Yes, leopard, I know that animals don't wear pants.
That was a figure of speech. What I meant was you make the smaller animals hair stand on end.
But what if they don't have hair? What if they have feathers or scales? Fair point. You make them
quake in their boots. Are you saying that animals wear boots now?
Okay, leopard. Look, what I'm trying to say is the smaller animals find you really intimidating.
All right, vicious mean. Well, thank you for the compliment.
You're welcome. Anyway, early one day, leopard was skulking across the plains,
doing her usual growling, snorling, and hissing when she happened to come across the wild rabbit known
as hair. Hair's fuzzy head was tucked in his fuzzy paws as he napped beneath the tree, but the moment
his pointy ears picked up the sound of somewhat approaching, he sprang to his feet. Who's there?
Oh, leopard. How are you? How am I? I'm hungry, if you must know. I was beginning to wonder what I'd
eat for breakfast and a little rabbit like you would hit the spot. Leopard was right. Hair was a
little rabbit, but only in size and strength. When it came to cunning and cleverness, hair towered
over everyone. And as he stared into leopard's hungry yellow eyes, his cunning clever mind began to
race. You know, leopard, I was thinking, instead of eating me, how about if you let me help you
with what? With something even better than eating breakfast. How about if I help you with building
a house? Building a house? Why would I want to build a house? It was a fair question. After all,
the animals of the savanna all lived outside in burrows, dens, and nests. They most definitely
did not live in houses. But hair, hair was tired of all that. The crafty critter was ready to settle
down and start a family, but a nice cozy house would be the perfect place to do it, especially if
he could get a bigger, stronger creature like leopard to help him build it. Look, leopard,
a majestic creature like you shouldn't be sleeping without a roof over her head. Think of all the
burning sun during the dry season, all the endless rain during the wet season. Not to mention all
the noise. I know how sensitive your ears can be. It was true. Leopard's ears were sensitive. In fact,
it's been said that leopards can hear five times better than humans can. So think about your hearing,
multiply it by five. You'll have an idea of how keen leopards ears were. So leopard, what do you say?
Can I help you build a house? Leopard was quiet for a moment. Then she twitched her whiskers and
gave her spotted head a nod. All right, hair. You can help me build a house. What do we do first?
Well, first we collect a whole bunch of branches and tie them together with vines. Those will be the
walls. Then we gather grasses and reeds and fetch them together to make the roof. And that's it.
All we have to do is roll up our sleeves and get to work. I'm not wearing any sleeves.
I don't understand what you're trying to tell me. What I mean is we'll put our noses to the grindstone.
But what's the grindstone? And what if it smells bad? You know what, leopard, never mind. All right,
let's just get started. So they did. Leopard used her powerful claws and jaws to carry thick
branches and ink down vines. While hair hopped around, snatching up tops of grass and clusters of
reeds. And by nightfall, the house was finished. We did it, leopard. We built a house.
Now we just need to put up the wall. The wall? Well, we already put up four walls. Why do we need
another one? To separate the house into rooms, of course. One room for you and one room for me.
Lepard blinked her bright yellow eyes. Hey, hey, hey, on their hair. Since when do you get a room?
You offered to help me build my house. On the contrary, leopard, I offered to help you build
a house. Can we maybe rewind and listen to that part again?
Rewind? Well, this is a live show, but I don't see why not. Let's rewind.
So leopard, what do you say? Can I help you build a house?
All right, hair. You can help me build a house.
Ha! Did you hear that, leopard? You told me I could help you build a house. And I did. And now
we share it. Oh, fine. We'll share the house, but you better be a good roommate.
Don't you worry, leopard. I won't do anything to ruffle your feathers.
Since when do I have feathers? What I mean is I won't do anything to get your go.
I don't have a goat either. Okay, I think what hair is trying to say, leopard, is that he promises
he'll be a good roommate? Exactly, but only if you promise to be a good roommate too.
In other words, don't even think about eating me. If we're going to live together,
I can't wind up on your menu. Do we have a deal? Sure, we have a deal. But you'd best follow
through on your part of the bargain hair. Otherwise, mark my words. I'm going to get your feathers
and ruffle your goat. What do you think will happen once our unlikely roommates move in?
Will it really be home, sweet home? 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-slash-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, your swag today at WBUR.org-slash-circle-round.
I'm Rebecca Sheer and welcome back to Circle Round live at the Parkway Theatre in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Today, our story is called Home Sweet Home. Before the break, clever,
hair and fierce leopard built a house, they put up a wall in the middle, then leopard went to
her side and hair went to his. But before long, hair wasn't the only one on his side of the house.
The quick, clever, critter fell in love with another hair who was even quicker and cleverer than
he was. She moved in, and the happy couple soon had their first baby bunny. Look, honey, he has your
eyes. They then had another baby bunny. She has your nose. And another?
She has your ears. And another? She has your whiskers. Pretty soon, hair and his wife had a whole bunch
of baby bunnies. And as you can probably guess, a whole bunch of baby bunnies can make a whole bunch of
noise. And on the other side of the dividing wall, sharp ear leopard could hear everything all day long.
It was better once the bunnies fell asleep each night, but even then, leopard's keen ears were
still ringing. So as you can imagine, wasn't long before she was ready to blow a fuse.
It's another figure of speech, leopard. What I meant was you're ready to flip your lid.
I don't have a lid. You're about to go through the roof.
But I have a perfectly good door. Why would I want to go through the roof? The point is, you're annoyed,
right? Well, absolutely. I can't get any peace and quiet with those rambunctious rabbits carrying on like that.
I know I promised hair that I wouldn't eat him, but I never promised that I wouldn't eat his bunnies.
Perhaps I'll start picking them off. One by one. They'd make a most delightful snack.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, hair and his wife were sensing leopards growing unease.
Sweetheart, I can't help but worry about leopard. Me too. She's always been a grumpy and grouchy
sort, but these days she's grumpier and grouchier than ever. Right? I feel it's just a matter of time
before that testy cat loses her temper and snatches one of our bunnies. How do we keep them safe?
Well, it just so happens I have an idea, but I'll need your help. So listen up.
Hair's wife leaned in and whispered her plan into her husband's pointy ear.
And the next morning, after their boisterous bunnies bounced out of bed, hair and his wife
told their children to pretend to cry. All the wailing, whimpering and sobbing made more of a
racket than ever. And on the other side of the wall leopard was in more of a tizzy than ever.
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah
Elephant, that scrawny little hair is mighty enough to hunt an elephant so he can feed it to his children. He must be more fierce than I realized.
Leopard spent the next few days stepping extra softly so as not to irk the elephant hunter in the next room. However, her enormous appetite soon made her forgetful.
And just when she began to think that now she would fill her belly with bunnies, what should she hear through the wall? But more! Crying!
Children! Children!
Please quiet down and pay attention. Thank you.
Your father and I know you're hungry again, but I'm sure we still have some lion meat lying around. Lion meat?
Actually no. It's been a few days since I hunted that lion and we're all out.
Oh! How about Cheetah then? Cheetah? Nope. No more Cheetah either.
Cheetah? Cheetah? Oh come on, that scrawny canine barely lasted us a day.
Well, in that case you'll have to hunt something new, sweetie. Like what?
Well, the kids were just telling me how much they've been wanting to try something else.
Really? And what's that? They'd like to try leopard.
Oh that settles it then. I'll get them some leopard back in a flash.
Across the dividing wall, a shiver shook leopard's body from head to tail.
Oh dear me, if hair can easily hunt elephants and lions and Cheetahs and hyenas, he could certainly make short work of a leopard. I'd better get out of here.
Without wasting a beat, she took to her paws burst out of the house and raced across the savanna.
Running as fast and as far as her spotted legs could carry her.
Heron's wife figured there was no way they would ever see that frady cat again.
But then, about a week later, after the couple tucked their bunnies into bed, they heard two voices approaching the house.
One voice belonged to Baboon.
So is this the place?
The other voice belonged to leopard.
This is the place, alright? The house I helped build with my own four paws.
And that's why you have every right to live here leopard. So go ahead, move back in.
But, but, but, Baboon, what about hair? He's a mighty, ferocious hunter.
So you told me, but think about it, there's no way that pointy-eared runt could possibly hunt an elephant.
Or a lion, or a cheetah, or a hyena.
So how could he lay a finger on you?
Wait, so hairs have fingers now?
Figure of speech leopard. Figure of speech.
Alright, alright.
But I guess you do make a good point, Baboon. Hair is pretty puny.
So, yeah, I'll just march in there, reclaim what's mine, then devour those hairs for dinner.
Is that the spirit?
Inside the house. Herand's wife exchanged a look. They knew they had to think fast.
So, they did.
My dearest wife, leopard will be here any moment. Isn't that right?
He should be here any moment, darling. After all, I convinced Baboon to trick leopard into coming back.
We'll just have to wait and see whether that silly cat falls for the trick.
If she does fall for it, then boy or boy, our children will be so happy.
You bet they will. After all, they'll finally have that leopard meat they've been craving.
They've been pining for it for days.
Leopard froze. Her eyes grew wide. Then she let out a yelp.
And sprinted away. Her spotted body of blur as she high-tailed it across the savannah.
This time, she never came back.
Eventually, Herand's family outgrew the house.
But when it came time to build a bigger one, they didn't rely on some bigger animal to help.
Instead, the happy family rolled up their sleeves, put their noses to the grindstone,
and worked together to create a place they could truly call home sweet home.
Now it's your turn. A fun way that you can work and move together as a team
is by doing a scavenger hunt. One really fun scavenger hunt idea is called My Favorite Things.
Teaming up with family members or friends, create a list that will help each of you find things you enjoy.
Your list may include something that makes me laugh, something I'm thankful for,
something I like to hold, or something given to me by someone I love.
Venture around your home or yard and track down as many items as you can.
Then as a team, take turns showing and sharing what you've found.
This week's story, Home Sweet Home, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
It was edited by Dean Russell. Eric Shemelonis composed our original music
and played it live on the Gem Bay. You can learn more about this goblet shaped drum from Africa
and see a photo of Eric playing one on our website, www.orgslashcirclearound.
Circle around artist is Sabina Han. Want to color while you listen?
Sabina has created a black and white coloring page for every single circle round story,
all 250 plus, and you can print them out and add your own colors.
Grown ups visit our website, www.orgslashcirclearound, and click on coloring pages.
Special thanks to our actors in Minneapolis, Joy Dolow, Adeland Phelps, and Aron Woldeslassy.
And a big circle round of thanks to the staff at the Parkway Theatre and to WBUR's Andrea Omira and Tina Safard.
Looking for more ways to circle around with us? You can support our favorite public radio podcast
and get ad free episodes, bonus bedtime stories, newsletters, activity emails,
exclusive swag, and also much more by joining the Circle round club.
Grown ups visit our website, www.orgslashcirclearound, and click Circle round club.
And one more thing, Grown ups. If you love Circle round and have a moment,
please write us a five star review on your favorite podcast app,
and talk about us on social media.
Our handle on Instagram and Facebook is at Circle round podcast.
Circle round 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 round episode, we want to know
what's your favorite Circle round story? Thousands of fans just like you
have been telling us about the Circle round stories they like best.
Take a listen. Maybe one of their favorites is one of yours, too.
My name is Maryann, and I live in Illinois, Wyoming.
And my favorite story is the young healer, and I like the part when he hears the people.
My name is Henry. I live in Miami, Wyoming.
My favorite story is the Star Fruit Treat.
I like it when the girl says fly higher, and the Raven says,
okay, and drops the bag to gold.
My name is Lena, and I live in Rona, Virginia.
And my favorite Circle round story is the blizzard wizard,
because I like the part when the blizzard wizard takes the mom to the frozen castle.
My name is Sasha. I'm from Boston, Massachusetts.
My favorite Circle round story is the lone dragon.
My favorite part is one of the dragon talks to Lynn.
My name is Lucy, and I'm from Los Angeles.
And my favorite Circle round story is the noblest tale.
And I like the part when Luna gets the golden necklace.
My name is Maria, and I live in a Hebrew message who sits in my favorite Circle round story
is the Basilis, when the little boy turns into stone.
My name is Felicia, and I'm from Nevada City.
And I like all the Circle round stories I love you with that this year.
Did someone mention a story you've missed?
Not to worry.
Grown ups, you can find all of our Circle round stories.
Plus links to the Circle round club, picture books, coloring pages, and oh so much more on our website,
www.wr.org slash Circle round.
