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.
Today's story is Lolaba and the Eagle.
It's from Sudan in North East Africa, and it's told by Hannah Bhabha, who hosts the Folk Tales from Sudan podcast.
I've got two reasons to celebrate this week.
I'm going to be telling stories with my friends at the Stealing Thunder Festival in the UK's Lake District, and we'll be celebrating midsummer there in Swedish style.
Did you know that this weekend is the longest day of the year in the northern part of the world and the day which marks the middle of summer?
In Sweden, midsummer is a very big deal because the long nights of winter last a very long time.
And so when the long days of summer arrive, people really want to make the most of them.
They have picnics with their friends, dance around maypoles, wear crowns of flowers in their hair and, of course, swim in very cold lakes.
And many people stay up all night to watch the sunset and then rise again within just a few hours.
What fun!
My second reason to be cheerful is that we have a new storyteller to introduce you to.
Her name is Hannah Baba and she grew up between Sudan, a country in North East Africa, and Texas in the US.
Eventually, Hannah's family moved from Sudan to the US and Hannah grew up listening to her uncle sharing very old folk tales from Sudan.
Stories about shape-shifting kings, brave daughters and cunning animals.
And many were song stories.
Hannah learned these stories by heart and eventually she shared them with her own daughters.
And now she's sharing them with people like you in her podcast, which is called Folk Tales from Sudan.
You can listen on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
But in a minute you can hear Hannah telling one of those stories right here on Super Great Kids Stories.
And just before we settle down to hear Hannah, I have a little challenge for you.
If you were going to tell a story from the African continent, would you tell one a trickster tale, like an Anansi story?
Or would you tell, two, a how and why story like how the leopard got its spots?
Or would you tell, three, a fairy tale like Nguyen Nga and the crocodile?
Have a little think. about which kind of African story you'd like to tell.
A trickster, a fairy tale, or a how and why.
Well, we have a quick word with the grown-ups.
Are you ready?
Off you go.
Hello, super great grown-ups.
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Hello, super great kids.
I'm back.
Did you think about which kind of African story you'd like to tell and why?
I rather like trickster tales because they're funny and everyone likes hearing about a trickster like a Nancy, especially when their tricks don't work out.
The great thing about stories from Africa is that they often include magnificent wild animals who make all sorts of great noises, like roaring and squawking, which are very fun to copy.
But right now it's time to give a very warm welcome to Hanna Baba telling a folk tale from Sudan.
Once upon a time, deep in the heart of a forest, there lived a brother and sister.
Life wasn't easy, but they made it work.
Every day the brother would go out to gather firewood and hunt for food.
Sometimes he'd fish by the river.
Other times he'd catch deer, rabbits, or birds to bring home for his sister to cook.
They had a good life.
One day, the brother decided he wanted to catch a big bird for supper.
He set a trap, a net sprinkled with breadcrumbs.
Then he hid behind a tree, holding the string that would snap the net shut.
Sitting in his white jalabia chewing on a twig.
He sat and he hummed a tune to himself as he waited.
Suddenly, a big brown eagle appeared, circling above him.
It was circling and circling in the sky.
It was huge.
If he caught it, it could feed them for days.
The bird saw the breadcrumbs.
The brother held his breath, careful not to make a single sound.
And then Whoosh!
The eagle landed and started eating the breadcrumbs.
And the brother pulled the string, trapping the eagle in his net.
The eagle flapped its wings, flapping and flapping, trying hard to escape, but he was caught.
Then the eagle started yelling, Fikani!
Let me go.
Let me go.
The brother froze.
The eagle was talking?
He couldn't believe his ears.
The brother stammered, Why?
Why should I let you go?
Why should I let you go?
My sister and I need food.
We need to eat.
The eagle flapped around and flapped around, and he pleaded.
He said, Please, please don't eat me.
I can bring you more food than you'll ever need, and I can bring you riches beyond your wildest dreams.
Hmm, the brother was curious about this magic eagle.
But he didn't believe that the eagle could help him.
He said, I don't believe you, and he got ready to take out his knife.
Just then, the eagle started singing.
He was singing to someone named Lolaba.
The brother said, What are you doing, singing?
What good does that do?
We don't eat songs.
We need food.
And he reached out for his knife.
The eagle said, La, la, la.
No, no, wait, wait, just wait.
Give me a chance.
The brother paused and waited to see what would happen next.
The eagle sang again.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake.
The brother looked up and from over the mountain came a stampede of fat cows and goats, more animals than the brother had ever seen.
These could last them for years and years, and they would never be hungry.
The eagle said, These animals will feed you and your sister forever.
Now will you let me go?
But the brother thought, hmm, I wonder what else this lullaby can give me.
He got greedy and he wanted more.
He said to the eagle, these are nice, but what else can you bring me?
The eagle was sad, but he sang another song.
Lolaba, ya Lolaba, bitta al-sagr al-wali, bitta al-saba'a sa'ali.
Abu qibid, ya Lolaba, fi eed saghir, ya Lolaba.
Dalli al-dahab, ya Lolaba, dalli al-harir, ya Lolaba.
And just like that, gold, silver, silks, and jewels poured down the mountainside.
The brother could not believe his luck.
He loaded the treasures onto his wagon.
But he was still not satisfied.
He thought, Ooh, all these treasures.
This girl Lolaba must have so much more.
He got even greedier.
He said to the eagle, Who is this Lolaba you keep singing to?
I want her to come down.
The eagle was now angry, but he was still in that net, and he had to get out.
So he sang one final song.
The brother looked up at the hill and down walked a beautiful girl wearing a crown and a dress adorned with jewels.
This was Lolaba. a princess of unimaginable beauty.
She was the one sending down all the treasures.
The brother was so shocked and mesmerized by her beauty and her shiny jewels and her big dress that he forgot he was holding the string tied to the eagle's net.
And without realizing it, He let the string go.
In a flash, the eagle escaped the net.
He swooped down and picked Lolaba up on his back.
They flew away, and when they reached the top of the mountain, the eagle transformed into a king.
He was Lolaba's father.
And all of a sudden, all the cows and the goats, all the treasures went back up the mountain and they all disappeared into the sky.
The brother was left standing there, alone, with nothing.
No cows, no goats, no jewels, and no eagle.
He'd lost everything because he was greedy.
He learned his lesson, and from that day forward, he promised to himself never to be greedy again.
The End Oh, thank you so much, Hannah, for sharing that story.
I felt as if I was being taken to a very different country.
I loved hearing little bits of Sudanese Arabic in that story, which is one of the main languages spoken in Sudan.
If you liked that story, you can hear Hannah telling many more traditional tales on her podcast.
Folk Tales from Sudan.
You can hear them on YouTube, Apple and Spotify.
Just go to www.folktalesfromsudan.org I felt sorry for that eagle who wanted to help, didn't you?
And here's my question. think that songs can have magic powers to make things change.
So by singing the eagle was able to get Lollabat to come and rescue him.
I know that when I've been very sad, songs have cheered me up, but I don't know if that's the same as magic.
What do you think?
Could singing songs make things change in real life?
Ask your grown-ups what they think about songs and the power of music.
Do send us a picture of the eagle and Lollaba, his princess daughter.
Send it to facebookcom.
Forward, slash supergreatkidsstories.
Or to our website supergreatkidsstoriescom Now.
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.
They've been listening almost since the very beginning of the podcast five years ago.
That makes you super great, Owlets.
Thank you for such loyal listening.
And let's hop across to Amsterdam now to say hello to Jonas, who is five, and Mona, who is almost three.
They listen with their mum, who's from Germany, and their dad, who's from Canada.
Jonas's favourites are the scary stories, the ghost of the bloody finger and the headless body.
Mona's favourites are The Baba Yaga stories.
Wow.
Very brave of you to listen to them.
And let's head across the Atlantic, next to Arnold in Maryland in the US, to greet Owlet Sydney Elisa, who is five.
Her favourite story is The Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
Sydney's big sister Juliana, who is nine, likes the Chinese fairy tale The Slippers That Make No Noise.
And her little brother, Fox, who is two, likes the Greek fable, The Fox and the Raven.
And, heading northeast, Let's fly to Narragansett in Rhode Island, where six-year-old Lucas and his sister Olivia, who is eight, like the Ghost of the Bloody Finger and the Baba Yaga stories.
And heading west.
Now let's visit Missoula in the state of Montana, where Kea, who is eight, has been listening for years.
She's a big fan of the story from Zimbabwe, Nguenya and the Crocodile.
And heading down to Southern California.
Now let's stop off at sunny Los Angeles to say hello to Owlet's Hank, who is eight, whose favourite story is The Cheeky Cockerel, and to five-year-old May, who especially likes the Irish tale Eggshell Soup.
And travelling even further south.
Now let's visit the magical mountains of Tepoztlan in Mexico, where Kai, who's seven, and five-year-old Naya listen on road trips or on rainy days.
Their favourite stories are Mama Draga, Baba Yaga, Puss in Boots and all the Anansi stories.
And across to San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas in Mexico, where Matias, who is eight, says that The Tramp and the Boots is one of his favourite stories.
He listens in the mornings while eating breakfast and also when building with Lego.
And he'd like to hear more stories featuring the Japanese Oni from the story Inch Boy.
And back up the Pacific coast now to Spokane in the state of Washington, where Cedar, who is seven, listens on the drive to school each morning.
Her favourite is The Ghost of the Bloody Binger.
And heading back east, let's fly to Alamosa in California where Broly, who's 11 Boone, who's 7, and Bodie and Bax, who are 5, say the hairy toe is a popular favourite with all of them.
And flying east to Highland Park in Illinois.
Let's greet Owlets Leo, who is six, and Lucy, who is four.
Leo loves the Loki stories and her family favourite is The Devil and the Boy Who Knew How to Read.
Ah yes, I really love that one too.
A clever story about the power of reading.
And staying in Illinois, let's head to Northfield, where eight-year-old Connor listens every night.
He likes the scary stories, and the Men in Marble told by Super Great David is his latest favourite.
And let's fly across to Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, to say hello to Camilla, who became an owlet for her seventh birthday.
What a nice present, Camilla.
Camilla's been listening for the past six months with her younger brother, Mateo.
Camilla loves the How and Why stories and the Danish story Hey Ho, which is one of the stories in our super great book coming out this fall.
And let's go a long way south now to Melbourne in Australia to greet Owlet Arlo, who is nine.
The hairy toe is also his favourite.
And heading to neighbouring New Zealand, let's fly to Hawke's Bay to visit Owlet Mabel, who became an owlet for her sixth birthday.
She and her little brother Eddie often listen at breakfast time and, well, they're in the bath.
Mabel loves all the stories, but her favourite recently has been The Best Nest.
Mabel sent us a lovely picture of that story.
Thank you for sharing that, Mabel.
And that's it for Owlet Welcomes this week.
We really appreciate your support.
More stories next week.
And our Pick of the Week picture goes to four-year-old Misha from Benton Harbour, Michigan in the US, who sent us a beautiful collage of the best nest stories.
Misha is really beautiful.
How proud and happy the little robin looks, sitting on the edge of her nest, filled with precious eggs and decorated with all sorts of interesting buttons and shiny paper.
Thank you for sharing it and keep on drawing.
And thanks to all of you who are subscribing to our podcast.
We really appreciate those of you who feel you can support us.
If you subscribe on Patreon, you get a choice of two tiers three pounds a month, less than four US dollars or six pounds a month.
That's about eight US dollars.
And for that you'll get a shout out plus 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 cuts straight to the story.
Great for listening to lots of stories back to back and in the car.
If you subscribe on Apple, it's £6 a month and you'll get all the perks.
Visit our website for more details at supergreatkidsstories.com.
Well, that's it for now.
David and I are off to the Stealing Thunder Festival in the Lake District.
Keep telling your stories and singing your songs.
Have a happy week.
This podcast was produced by Kim Normanton and David Smith at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.
Thank you.
