Hi, Rebecca Shear here. Before we get to our story, exciting news.
Circle Round is going back on tour. with live recordings across the united states our first stop Sunday, October 5th in Parker, Colorado at the Pace Center.
And Circle Round Club members are invited to a special post-show meet and greet with me and composer Eric Shimalonis.
Get your tickets at wbur.org slash circle around and click on events.
We're announcing more tour stops soon, so stay tuned.
We look forward to circling around with you live.
Produced by the iLab at WBUR Boston. Think about a time you used teamwork.
You did one part of a task. Somebody else did the other.
And by working together, by collaborating, You shared in your success.
We're about to meet a team that works so well together.
It's magic. Woo-hoo! I'm Rebecca Sheer, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Today our story is called The Laughing Canoe.
It's inspired by tales told in Brazil, the largest country in South America and Latin America.
Some really great people came together to bring you our adaptation of this folktale, including George Salazar. from NBC's Superstore and the Broadway production of Be More Chill.
So circle around, everyone. for the Laughing Canoe.
There once was a fisherman. Each and every morning, with a fishing pole and two baskets, The fisherman made his way to the wide, winding river, where his hand-carved wooden canoe waited on the riverbank.
The fishermen pushed off from shore, paddled to the middle of the river, then baited his hook and cast his line.
After that... He waited. The moment he felt a tug, he rolled his line in, then proudly unhooked a wiggling, wriggling bass or catfish and tossed it into one of his baskets, This he would do again and again, until both baskets were brimming with flipping, flopping fish.
Then he would paddle the canoe back to shore and take his catch to market, where he would sell the bass and catfish for $2. coppers apiece.
But one day, the fisherman didn't catch any fish.
Not a one. For hours he drifted in his canoe, waiting for a tug, but no tug came.
So after returning to shore, the empty-handed fisherman went home. where his two sons greeted him with big smiles.
Welcome back, Daddy. How was today's catch?
Did you hook a lot of fish? And sell a lot at market?
The fisherman heaved a sigh. I'm afraid not, my loves.
The catfish and bass must have been sleeping.
They simply refused to bite. But no use getting down, right?
I'll try again tomorrow. Surely the fish will be awake by then.
So the next morning, the fisherman grabbed his fishing pole and baskets and went to work.
He paddled his canoe to the middle of the river, then baited his hook past his line and waded away.
And waited. And waited. waited, but the fish didn't bite.
And for the second day in a row, the fishermen went home empty-handed.
Much to the fishermen's chagrin, The same thing happened the next day.
And the next. and the next. By the seventh day, the fisherman was beside himself.
And as he sat in his canoe, drifting on the water and waiting for that elusive tug, He finally broke down. and cried.
What am I going to do? If I can't catch any fish, I can't sell any fish.
And if I can't sell any fish, I can't feed my children.
And if I can't feed my children, the poor deers will go hungry.
Poor man wept and wept until... Psst. Hey.
What do you call a canoe that's 50% off?
The fisherman froze. What? Who said that?
I did. I said, what do you call a canoe?
That's 50% off. Hmm? A sailboat. Ching!
Get it? Like a sail? A discount? Only it's a sailboat?
Sailboat? The fisherman looked to his left, then to his right, and then he looked down.
And when he did, he saw that the front of his canoe, the bow, had sprouted.
A face, a cheery-looking face with two twinkling eyes and a wide, grinning mouth.
The astonished fisherman jumped so high he nearly tipped the canoe over.
Oh, hey, oh, easy there, buddy. I've heard of rocking the boat, but it's supposed to be a figure of speech.
Although, come to think of it, If your canoe tips over in the water, you can always wear it on your head.
Because it's capsized. Get it? Capsized?
Oh, I'm on fire today! As the canoe exploded into a peal of laughter, the fisherman rubbed his eyes.
What is going on here? I was out on the water so long, did I fall asleep while I was waiting for a bite?
I must be dreaming. I must be... Well, in the words of the greatest song in the history of music...
A-boom, boom, boom, row, row, row your boat Gently down the street Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily Life is but a dream But no, friend, I'm totally for real.
No doubt about it. Get it? I'm canoodian.
The Canadian would canoe. A boat. Woo, I crack myself up.
Or do you find me funny? Although he had been crying just a moment ago, the fisherman couldn't help but smile.
Hey, now that's better. I haven't seen your frown turn upside down all day.
Well, that's because I haven't caught any fish.
And if I can't catch any fish, I can't sell any fish.
And if I can't... And if you can't sell any fish, you can't feed your children.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I heard the whole thing.
But I am pleased to report... that your ship has come in, my friend, or your canoe. if you want to be technical about it.
By the way, I am here to save the day. No longer will you be up the creek without a paddle.
Just sit back and check this out. What do you think the canoe does next?
We'll find out what happens after a quick break.
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I'm Rebecca Shear. Welcome back to Circle Round.
Today, our story is called The Laughing Canoe.
Before the break, a wise cracking canoe told a struggling fisherman that his days of paddling back to shore emptied. handed were over.
As the fishermen watched in wonder, the water around the canoe began to quiver. then ripple, then gurgle, then bubble and churn, and...
Just like that, a massive silver catfish shot up from the river, arched its sleek silvery gray body in mid-air, then landed in one of the fishermen's baskets.
The same thing happened with another catfish. then a bass, then another catfish, and in no time both baskets were teeming with wiggling, wriggling fish. the biggest and plumpest fish the fishermen had ever seen.
Once the baskets were full, The stream of flying fish stopped, and the water went quiet.
This is amazing. Simply amazing. There's no way my children will go hungry now.
The fisherman gave the canoe a friendly pat.
Tell me, my friend, how can I repay you?
I'm so very grateful. But I don't have much to offer.
Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. Quick as a wink, the canoe whipped its head around until it faced the back of the boat, the stern.
And then it opened its wide mouth... and sucked all the fish from one of the baskets like a vacuum cleaner.
There, we are even. One basket for you, One basket for me, you scratch my bow, I scratch yours, and when you come back tomorrow...
We'll do it all over again. What do you say?
I say, this is the beginning of a boatiful friendship.
Oh! Ooh! After that, every single day, the fishermen would paddle the canoe to the middle of the river The water would bubble and churn.
The fish would fly through the air. The baskets would fill to the brim And the canoe would snarf down one of the baskets with a great big gulp.
No longer did the fisherman worry about putting food on his family's table.
The fish he brought to market were so large, so plump, he could sell them for four coppers apiece instead of just two.
And it wasn't long before those coppers added up, and the fishermen was prospering.
Now, it just so happens that the fisherman had a brother, a farmer who lived several villages over.
And the two siblings were as different as June and January.
Whereas the fisherman was humble and caring, the farmer was greedy and jealous.
So when the farmer heard about the fisherman's good fortune, he grew green with envy.
Is my brother suddenly doing so well? I must uncover his secret.
Early one morning, the farmer snuck out to the river and hid behind a bush.
He watched the fisherman glide his canoe into the water, then paddle to the middle of the river.
It was a wide river, so the fisherman was pretty far away and the farmer couldn't see much.
But what he did see made his eyes bulge.
Oh my goodness, look at all those big, beautiful fish jumping out of the water and into my brother's boat.
It's like magic. Again, the canoe was quite distant, so the farmer didn't see what happened next.
He didn't see the canoe spin its prow around, and he didn't see it open its gaping mouth. and he didn't see all the fish in one of the baskets suddenly disappear.
But what he did see set his greedy mind awirl.
And that night, under a dark, moonless sky, the farmer crept back to the river with two gigantic baskets strapped to his back.
They were far bigger than any baskets the humble fisherman ever used.
The farmer brought his brother's canoe to the water's edge and placed his jumbo baskets inside They were so huge, they barely fit. just as the farmer was about to step inside and push off.
Psst! Hey! Which paddle? do you use when you sit in the front of a canoe?
The farmer tensed. What? What did you say?
I said, which paddle do you use? when you sit in the front of a canoe.
Either or! Woo! Get it? Like an oar? Like a paddle?
Only it's a either-or situation. Wow! You getting this?
The farmer's eyes traveled down to the canoe, At first, when he spotted the cheery face with its twinkling eyes and smiling mouth, he was startled.
But then, he smiled. Now I understand. You're a magic canoe.
My brother has a magic canoe. So that's how he's been catching all those big, beautiful fish.
The farmer leaped into the canoe and began to paddle.
When they reached the middle of the river, he looked at the canoe expectantly.
Okay, here we are. Now get me those fish.
Boy, oh boy, aren't you a pain in the stern.
But hey, whatever floats your boat. To the farmer's delight, the water began to quiver, ripple, gurgle and churn.
Then fish after fish began hurtling through the air and landing in the farmers' enormous baskets.
The baskets were so big and could hold so much.
Before long, the canoe was weighted down with fish. and its sides were barely above the water.
Uh, fella? We're going to need a bigger boat.
Nonsense. I want these baskets filled to the brim.
Eventually, they were, at which point the fish stopped jumping.
And the water went still. Well, well, well.
Look at all these fish. And they're mine.
All mine. Now let's get back to shore so I can sell them.
Not so fast, fella. Aren't you forgetting something?
Now remember, the farmer didn't know that his brother always shared his fish with the canoe.
The farmer had been too far away to see.
Uh, I'm not forgetting anything, you hopeless heap of whittled wood.
I'm going back to shore and I'm selling these fish and I'm making a mint.
But just as the farmer lifted his paddle... Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that.
The canoe whipped its head around. its twinkling eyes flashing with fury before the farmer knew what was happening.
The canoe opened its gaping mouth wide and swallowed Both baskets of fish.
Then the canoe stretched its jaws even wider. and tried swallowing the farmer.
The terrified fellow sprung from his seat and dove into the water, swimming away as fast as his legs and arms could carry him.
When he reached the shore, he took off running through the forest.
And for all we know, he's running still.
As for his brother, the humble fisherman, he and his canoe continued their daily fishing trips. sharing ample amounts of catfish, bass, and bad boat puns.
You know, I'm kind of tempted to make one right now, but I can't think of any.
Canoe? Get it? Canoe? Like, can you canoe?
Yeah, I think I'll stick to storytelling.
Bye. Bye. Now it's your turn. What's one thing you wish could come alive and talk?
Would it be a toy, a tree, a car? And once it comes alive, what would you two do together?
Find a piece of paper and draw a picture of you with your living, talking friend.
Then if you'd like, share it with us. Have a grown-up email a photo of you and your drawing to circleround at wbur.org.
Woo hoo! This week's story, The Laughing Canoe, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
It was edited by Circle Round's supervising producer, Anne-Marie Sievertson.
Circle Round's original music and sound design is by Eric Shimalonis.
Our artist is Sabina Han. Sabina has created a black and white illustration for all of our Circle Round stories, and you can print them out and color them in.
Ask a grown-up to visit wbur.org slash circle round, then click on Soundtrack and Coloring Pages.
Thank you. 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 Circle Round Tale.
Special thanks to this week's actors, Theodore Chin, Ken Jackson, Igor Shimalonis, Sid Sholley, and George Salazar.
Star of the Broadway hit Be more chill.
Our featured instrument this week was the charango.
You can learn more about this stringed instrument from South America and see a photo of Eric Shimalonis playing it on our website.
Once more, that's WBUR.org slash Circle Round.
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Follow us on Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast app you use.
And please leave us some stars, write us a review, or just tell your friends about the show.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for circling around with us.
One of the best things about creating Circle Round is hearing from listeners like you.
Circle Round fans have been telling us about their favorite Circle Round stories, and we're excited to share some of their voices with you.
My name is Felix and we live in Mexico And my favorite story is the most powerful of all.
My name is Cleo and I live in Madison, Wisconsin.
And my favorite circle round is the Emperor's Challenge.
I like when the Emperor gave me the that didn't grow any flower, but he made her the empress.
My name is Declan and I live in Auburn, Washington and my favorite circle around the story is a dart in a tale of gold. hello my name is kendall and i'm from david colorado and my favorite story is the obligor, and my favorite part is David goes to Miriam and they solve the problems.
My name is Ruben and I'm from Montpelier, Vermont.
My favorite story? is a taste of honey.
I like the part where the bad guys try to climb the tree and then they fall Welcome to the Honey.
Hello, my name is Hannah. In Cleveland Heights, Ohio, I'm four years old.
My favorite circle round story is to have the horn in the purse.
My favorite part is when Luca got his purse back.
Did someone mention an episode you missed?
No problem. You can find every single Circle Round story on our website.
That's WBUR.org slash CircleRound, or wherever you and your grown-ups get your podcasts.
