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.
Our theme is How and Why Tales, and today we hear How Rabbit Tricked Otter, a tale from the Cherokee Nation in the United States told by Gail Ross.
Well, hello, super great kids.
How was your week?
I'm rather excited because a pair of swans who live on a pond near my home have had a family of nine little cygnets.
Nine!
That's quite unusual.
Well done Mr and Mrs Swan.
I've been enjoying watching the fluffy little babies explore their new world.
They sometimes catch a ride on their parents' back.
But nine is rather a lot to carry.
So there's much jostling for position and some end up splashing back in the pond again.
I'll post a photo of them in our Patreon channel and on our Facebook page.
Another reason to be cheerful is that we have news about our regular online super great storytelling club, which will be hosted by Jason Buck and Amy Douglas.
It'll be live on Zoom monthly.
You'll recognise both of these storytellers from our podcasts.
Amy is known for her stories of fairies, witches and mermaids.
And Jason is famous for his brilliant sound effects and laugh out loud stories.
They're both very experienced storytellers and each month we'll be telling some of your favourite stories, including The Old Woman and the Pig, The Luck Child, The Tramp and the Boots and Long Red Fingernails and Ruby Red Lips.
Guest storytellers like Emily and Nick Hennessy, Kate Corkery and two will be joining them from time to time.
And I'll be popping up to say hello and sharing some stories myself.
One of the benefits of this kind of show is that we get to see you in person and you can message us through Zoom.
Amy and Jason will kick off the show in September with the theme of new beginnings.
I'll be telling the story about Nguenya and the crocodile, about a girl who gets help from a snippety, snappety crocodile to stop her stepmother from being mean.
It's got a fun song in it too.
Tickets will be available from this Thursday, May the 29th.
It costs £12.50, that's about $16.50 US dollars and $23 Canadian dollars for one ticket for a household.
There are some reduced tickets and discounts for our subscriber families.
The link to buy tickets on Eventbrite can be found on our website under News and on our Facebook and Patreon page.
If you think you might enjoy it, do book early because tickets are limited.
Hurrah!
It's going to be great fun with plenty of Amy Riddles and Jason's sound effects.
Look forward to seeing you there.
The story this week comes from the Cherokee Nation, which is the largest and one of the oldest of the Native American tribes.
It's told by Gail Ross, who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
And just before the story, I have a little challenge for you.
How many ways can you think of to start a story?
To get you going, how about mouth open, story jump out?
Yes, you get the idea.
Are you ready?
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Hello, super great kids.
I'm back.
How many ways did you think of to start a story?
Well, there's Once Upon a Time.
I hope you got that one.
There's Snip, Snap, Snout, Story, Jump, Out or Fuddo, Fuddo, Fuddo.
That's from Ireland.
Or, this one's hard, Mukashi Mukashi in Japanese.
Or, Habia Una Vez in Spanish.
Or, Hadithi Hadithi in Swahili from East Africa.
Or, A Story, A Story, Let It Come, Let It Go.
And there's even once upon a time when chickens had teeth and pigs could fly.
Well, that's just a few.
I expect you came up with other ones.
And now it's time to hear our story from the Cherokee Nation.
Let's give a very warm welcome to Gail Ross.
Osiyo Ginali.
Greetings, friends.
OCO is how we say hello in Cherokee.
My name is Gail Ross and I am an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a storyteller.
And I want to share with you a story about a character that we Cherokees tell a lot of stories about.
His name is Gistu, rabbit.
Gistu is how you say rabbit in Cherokee.
Now, they say in the beginning days of the world, all creatures spoke the same language.
And the animal people had a society that was organized very much like the people's.
They loved to dance.
They had stickball games.
They even had an animal tribal council.
Now, in those days, Rabbit was always in trouble.
He was in trouble because he talked all the time.
He never stopped talking.
He talked so much.
The others made him the messenger for the council.
They figured he was going to be talking anyway.
They might as well give him something to say.
The other reason he was in trouble, he loved to play tricks.
No matter what he was thinking about, it always ended up coming down to.
He could not resist the opportunity to play tricks on people.
Now, sometimes his tricks ended up only hurting himself.
And this is one of those stories.
You see, a long time ago, the animals decided to have a contest to see which bird could fly the highest.
And of course, that was Eagle.
Now the little bat hid himself in Eagle's neck feathers, and when Eagle had flown as high as he could, the bat stuck his head up over Eagle's and said that he had flown higher.
But the people gave the contest to Eagle and they decided to have an honor dance.
Now, an honor dance is just what it sounds like a dance where someone is being honored for something special.
Now in an honor dance, the person being honored leads the dance in the council house and everyone falls in and dances behind him.
Now eagle, he knew what the dance was about and he was very proud and happy when his honor dance happened and you know they had so much fun they immediately decided to hold another contest and that was who had the prettiest fur coat.
Now, A lot of the animals thought their own coat was something special.
Raccoon was very proud of the stripes on his tail and Skunk.
He thought his beautiful black and white fur was the prettiest.
But you remember what I said about dancing right behind the person who is being honored?
Nobody wanted to dance all night long right behind Skunk.
And finally, someone mentioned Otter.
Now Otter's fur is so thick and rich and everybody started smiling because Otter was the perfect choice.
Now Rabbit, he was jealous.
He knew that his own fur coat was not that special, but he was very proud of his beautiful long bushy, furry tail.
And to make matters worse, since he was the messenger, it was his job to to travel up the river to Otter's house and tell him about the dance.
Now as Rabbit journeyed up the river, an idea came to him for a trick he could play.
It would be funny, he said.
If I could trick Otter into staying away from the dance and disguise myself as Otter, and I'll lead the dance.
But you know, to do that, he would have to steal Otter's fur coat.
But he thought about it and by the time he reached Otter's house He had what he thought was a pretty good idea.
Now, Otter, he is very shy and humble, a true gentle spirit.
And it made him feel good to know that everyone wanted to honor him this way.
So he was very happy to go along the river trail with back toward the council house.
But you know they hadn't gone very far when rabbit said wait, we should camp here tonight.
This is a sacred place.
On the river something happens that doesn't happen anywhere else in the world.
Sometimes at night, fire falls out of a clear sky.
That's what they call this, the fire falling from the sky spot.
Well, Otter had never heard of the fire falling from the sky spot, But he hadn't traveled very much and he thought Rabbit knew more about these kinds of things.
So he was happy to do what Rabbit told him to do.
Take off your fur coat, said Rabbit.
We have to sleep right next to the edge of the water.
And you wouldn't want to burn a hole in it because it kind of looks like it might fall from the sky tonight.
And if it does, you jump in the water to be safe.
So Otter took off his beautiful coat.
He hung it in a tree.
And he laid down right where Rabbit told him to, at the edge of the water.
Now, as soon as Otter was asleep, Rabbit took a curved piece of bark and he scraped all the coals from their campfire into it.
Then he went and he stood over Otter and he threw the coals in the air as high as he could.
And when they began falling down, Rabbit screamed, Otter, jump in the river.
And Otter did.
And as he disappeared beneath the water, Rabbit grabbed his coat and ran.
And the next day, Rabbit was back at the council house, and there was no sign of Otter.
Now, when the sun went down that night, they built up a big roaring fire in the council house and the singers began to call for everyone to come dance.
And Rabbit disguised himself as Otter.
He knew he would have to do something about his long ears.
So he pulled them down and tied them underneath his chin.
And then he slipped into Otter's coat.
And it was a little tight in the middle, but he thought he looked pretty good.
But as he was coming out to take his place at the head of the dance, he remembered something.
Have you ever seen a rabbit's nose with that split down the middle?
That's another story.
But Rabbit knew if they saw his nose, they would know he was an otter.
So he clapped one paw over his nose.
And that's how he danced, with his paw over his nose.
And if anybody looked at him funny, he just said, this is the latest dance.
And of course, everybody wants to do the latest dance.
So pretty soon, all the animals were dancing with one paw over their nose. except for Bear.
Now Bear is a very good friend of Otter's and all evening long the feeling was growing that his old friend just wasn't acting like himself.
So when he saw his chance, he danced over, He knocked Rabbit's paw away and everybody saw that split nose and they screamed with one voice Rabbit.
And Rabbit threw Otter's coat down and ran.
But Bear was so angry that Rabbit would play such a mean trick on a gentle, gentle person like Otter that when Rabbit ran by, Bear reached out with his big, mighty paw and snatched Rabbit's long furry, beautiful tail off.
That's how come you don't see rabbits with long, beautiful tails. just a little puff of fur.
Now the others.
They picked up Otter's coat and they started traveling up the river and they saw Otter coming down toward the council house and he was glad to get his coat back.
But you know, he wasn't all that sorry about missing his dance.
Something new had come into Otter's life.
Until Rabbit tricked him into jumping in the river, he had never been swimming.
And he discovered he liked that better than anything.
So today, if you're looking for Otter's descendants, Look in the rivers and the lakes and the streams and the sea.
Because all of the otters have been living in the water from that day to this.
Wando.
Ah, thank you, Gail.
I love that story.
Did you notice it was both a how and why story and a trickster story?
I love the image of Rabbit dancing with his paw over his nose, pretending that it was the latest dance.
Do you think you would have put your paw over your nose and joined Rabbit in the dance?
I know I would.
I like the idea of an honour dance.
Everyone honouring people for their achievements in one great big dance.
Interesting that Rabbit got caught out in the end by Otter's friend.
My mum always said, the truth will out.
And often tricksters do get caught out.
Rabbit is a trickster but he's also very likeable.
So here's my question.
Would you make friends with Rabbit?
Or do you think he'd be too annoying as a friend and you wouldn't be able to trust him?
See what your grown-ups think.
And now, talking of friends, it's time to say hello to some owlets who've recently joined our storytelling club.
So let's spread our wings. and fly around the world with StoryOwl to meet them.
We'll begin in Tucson, Arizona in the US, to say and welcome to five-year-old Arthur, who listens with his mum and dad on car rides and sometimes at dinner.
Arthur has sent us a lovely drawing of the Mexican story The devil and the boy who knew how to read.
Yes, it is a great story, Arthur.
We love your picture of the devil's long horns and the boy who is disguised as a leaf.
Well done you and thanks for sharing that, Arthur.
And let's head west now to Huntington Beach in California to greet Owlet Illy, who's six and listens to Super Great Kids stories every day on the way to school and back.
Illy loves Super Great Scary Stories, but her favourite story of all time is the Danish tale Hey Ho.
And she sent us a picture of the pot, the farmer, the servant, the rich man and even some of the places in the story.
Just lovely.
And here's a fun fact.
Ely's name comes from the Amazigh people in North Africa and it means my daughter.
Oh, beautiful.
And staying in California.
Let's head to Santa Barbara and say hello to Ray, who is seven and a half, and to her younger sister Avery, who's almost four.
They listen every morning on the way to school and their favourite stories are Mama, Draga Anansi and the Magic Yams and all the Baba Yaga stories.
And Stick Woman.
They're particularly fond of stories told by Toop.
And heading across now to Ypsilanti in Michigan to say hello to Owlet Alder, who is seven.
Alder loves all the stories, but especially the Anansi stories and Medio Pollito, Little Half Chick.
And across to Cincinnati in Ohio next to greet Owlette Beatrix, or Bee for short.
She's eight and her favourite story is How Leopard Got His Spots.
That is a lovely story, isn't it?
I wonder if you tried drawing that one, Beatrix?
And let's head down to Mount Sampson in Queensland Australia, now to say hello to Jude, who is eight.
Jude and his mum have been listening to and enjoying the stories for a year.
Jude's favourite story at the moment is The Secret of the Ring, although he has many favourites.
I like that one too, Jude.
Daniel Morden is a very good storyteller.
And back to the US, now to Briarcliff Manor in New York State, to greet eight-year-old Ellie, who loves the Ghost of the Bloody Finger, and six-year-old Brian, who loves the Baba Yaga stories.
Good choices.
And staying in New York, let's say hello to Owlets, Alexandra and Sophia.
Alexandra is six and she loves listening to the stories with her sister in the car.
Her favourite stories are The Two Silly Witches and The Cheeky Cockerel.
And we're off to Canada now, to Prince Edward County to greet Owlet Iris, who is seven.
Her favourite storyteller is Kate Corkery.
She listens all the time, especially at bedtime and even in the bath.
She sent us a beautiful drawing of the Rainbow Snake.
We particularly loved your rainbow-coloured raindrops.
Very imaginative, Iris.
Thank you for sharing it.
And down to Brooklyn in New York now an exciting place to live.
To greet Owlets Quinn, who is six, and Jack, who is three.
Their favourite story is Jack's Diamond.
Ah, yes.
I'd love to have a dog like Diamond, wouldn't you?
It would be so good to be able to have a dog you could travel with.
And, staying on the East Coast, let's head up to Boston, in Massachusetts.
Now to greet Owlet Ava, who has just turned five.
What a lovely month to have a birthday, Ava.
I hope you enjoy being five.
Ava's favourite stories are The Belly Button Monster and A Nancy and the Chest of Stories.
Heading to Europe, now to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, to say hello to Owlets Jonas, who is five, and Mona, who is nearly three.
They listen to super great kids stories all the time with their mum, who's from Germany, and their dad, who's from Canada.
Jonas has been listening since he was three.
His favourite stories are The Ghost of the Bloody Finger and The Headless Body.
Mona's favourite stories are all the Baba Yaga stories.
Wow, you are both very brave listeners.
Well done.
I hope you like this week's scary story, The Singing Bone, told by Jason Buck.
It's got a two-headed giant in it.
And let's fly to Fountain in sunny Florida, next to greet Gideon, who's joining the Owlet Club for his seventh birthday.
Gideon has been very patient as he's been wanting to join the Owlet Club for a whole year.
Well done, Gideon.
His favourite Super Great Kids story is all of them, even the ones that are too scary for bedtime.
He got a Yoto player on his birthday so he can listen on the go.
I hope you had a happy day, Gideon.
And last but certainly not least, let's head to Wales, in the UK, to the town of Abergavenny, to say hello to Owlets River, who is nine, and Molly, who is five.
They listen to Super Great Kids stories every night and their favourites are The Wizard of Abergavenny, because that's where they live, and also Little Half Chick.
Lovely choices Thank you for joining the club.
And that's it for this week.
Welcome all of you.
We really appreciate your support.
More stories next week.
And remember to look out for the June bonus story set in India, How the Camel Got His Hump.
And of course, our scary story told by Jason called The Singing Bones.
And our Pick of the Week picture goes to Aoife, from Cork in Ireland, who is nearly seven, who drew a splendid picture of the best nest story told by Wangari.
Aoife told us it's my bird that I made up, who is teaching all the other birds how to build a nest as beautiful as its nest, And what a magnificent nest your bird has built, Aoife.
So safe in the crook of the tree.
Thank you for sharing that picture.
And thanks to all of you who are subscribing to our podcast.
Only a small percentage of our listeners subscribe.
So we really appreciate those of you who feel you can help to keep us going.
It's very generous.
If you subscribe on Patreon, you get a choice of two tiers £3 a month, less than US4 to get advert-free and access to all the scary stories.
And if you pay for the next tier up, which is £6 that's about US8 you'll get advert-free plus over 50 bonus stories and all the super great scary stories.
Plus you'll get access to our Super Great Kids Stories Express, which cut to the chase and tell the story.
Great for listening to stories back to back.
If you subscribe on Apple, it's £6 a month and you get all the perks.
Visit our website for more details at supergreatkidsstories.com.
That's it for now.
Remember to check out our super great book cover on our website supergreatkidstoriescom, with a sneak preview of some of the pictures if you click through to Bloomsbury.
We'd be delighted if you could pre-order it.
And if you're in London this weekend, Kate Corkery will be telling stories at the Spring Family Festival this Saturday at the Victoria and Albert Museum between 12 and 3 o'clock.
And it's free.
Do go along if you'd like to see her telling stories live.
Keep telling those stories and singing your songs and have a happy week.
This podcast was produced by Kim Normanton and David Smith at Wardorf Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.
