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.
Have you ever tasted an onion? Even if you haven't, you probably know it's a pretty interesting vegetable.
It has all these layers of skin, and when you peel them off and start cutting the onion up, Its smell can fill an entire room.
In fact, sometimes the smell is so strong it can make you cry.
Today's tale is all about spicy, flavorful onions But we promise it won't make you cry.
If anything, you'll laugh and laugh. ¶¶
I'm Rebecca Sheer, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Our story this time around is called Onions and Garlic.
It's an old Jewish tale, and we recently had a chance to perform it live on stage. with actors, music, and a really excited audience of children and grownups.
The performance was part of the Boston Jewish Film Festival, and we're bringing that live show to you today.
So, circle round, everyone, for onions and garlic.
In the traditional language of Yiddish, the name haskel means wisdom.
And that was the name of a young merchant who lived in a village far, far away.
Haskell's father, Anshul, was also a merchant.
So was his older brother, Herschel. And so was his older sister, Yentl.
They all made their living buying and selling the smoothest of silk the wooliest of wool, and other fine things.
But... Even though Haskell means wisdom, his older siblings called him Haskell the Fool.
It's not that Haskell wasn't smart. He was.
But he was also very generous. and honest and trusting, especially in the marketplace.
Haskell, my son! How did you do at the marketplace today?
Oh, Father, I sold or traded everything in my cart.
Yeah, but ask him if he made any profit, though.
All right, Herschel, I'll ask. Haskell, tell me, did you make a profit?
Well, everyone I met said such nice things about my stuff.
And... And they told me they'd love to buy or trade the whole kit and caboodle, but somehow none of them could afford it.
They'd either spent their last dime just before they met me, or they'd been robbed.
That's what they said. So I gave them all a discount.
I mean, it was the least I could do. Ugh, there he goes again, Haskell the Fool.
Yentl, please, I'm so tired of that name just because I think about what others might.
Haskell the fool, Haskell the fool. Herschel, stop.
Dad, make them stop. I'm sorry. My boy but your brother and sister, they have a point.
You're just not a natural salesman. You try too hard to please the people you're doing business with. and you fall too easily for their tricks.
So from now on, You're not going out to the marketplace.
Instead, you'll stay here at home and keep track of the family's sales.
Meanwhile... Herschel, Yentl, you two are free to wander the world.
I'd like to see how well you do buying and selling your goods in exotic lands.
Exotic lands. Awesome. Let's go pack our things.
Woohoo! As Herschel and Yentl danced out of the room, Haskell frowned.
It's not fair, Father. Herschel and Yentl are going to have such wonderful adventures. while I'll be stuck here adding up dollars and cents.
My boy, what can I do if I send you out there with something to sell?
You'll only be cheated. Haskell thought for a moment.
He looked his father straight in the eye.
All right then, so send me out with something of little value, something worth pennies.
If I get cheated, then what do you have to lose?
If I come home with a profit, think of how much you could gain.
Anshul couldn't help but smile at his youngest son's wise argument.
Remember, Haskell does mean wisdom, after all.
Very well, my son. You have yourself a deal.
Wait right here. Anshul ran out to the shed behind the house.
When he came back, he was dragging an enormous burlap sack All right, Haskell, we'll get you on a merchant ship First thing tomorrow morning, your job is to sell.
These! And she'll yanked open the top of the sack.
Haskell peered inside. Onions? Yes! Onions!
They're the cheapest thing I could find.
Not even worth a penny a piece. Now it's up to you. to try and bring home something of value.
The next day, with his sack of onions in tow, Haskell boarded a merchant ship.
But even though he tried his best to sell his onions at every port, Onions, get your onions here.
Cutting them will make you cry but eating them will make you smile.
Nobody wanted to buy them. Onions? How common.
We grow them in our backyard to feed our cows.
We grow them in our backyard to feed our rabbits.
One onion isn't even worth a penny. Why in the world would we ever buy from you?
Haskell wasn't making a cent. And before long, he had to start eating his onions just to keep from starving.
Inside the ship's kitchen, he'd scrape together whatever meal he could and throw in some onions to add more flavor.
Soon he'd found hundreds of ways to use onions.
Grilling them? Frying them. Boiling them.
Roasting them. Yum. Even if his meal was meager, the onions gave it a big, bold taste.
Haskell had been at sea for many months when suddenly...
A vicious storm blew in from the north and capsized his ship.
All his fellow merchants on board were flung into the icy blue waters.
Haskell stayed afloat by clinging on to his sack of onions.
As the storm blew past, he eventually... fell asleep.
The next morning when Haskell woke up, Where am I?
He found himself washed up. On a beach, as Haskell staggered to his feet, he felt something sharp and pointy beneath his soggy shoes.
Ouch. Looking down, he saw exactly what that sharp and pointy object was.
A diamond? But not just one diamond. Millions of diamonds!
In fact, the entire beach was covered with sparkling white diamonds.
Some were tiny as a pea, others were giant as a pumpkin, and they were all shimmering and glinting in the sun.
Well, what do you know? I spent my last penny long ago and I've eaten nothing but onions for weeks and weeks.
I'll take one of these diamonds from the beach and see if I can trade it for some food. a nice hot bowl of soup would definitely hit the spot right about now.
Haskell slipped a diamond into his pocket and hoisted his sack of onions onto his shoulder.
He walked across the beach of sharp, pointy diamonds.
Ouch! until he came to a road. Before long, he reached a city.
He stepped inside the first restaurant he passed.
Hello there. I would like to order a nice hot bowl of soup, please.
The owner of the restaurant eyed Haskell suspiciously.
Remember, Haskell had just survived a shipwreck.
So his hair was full of seaweed and his torn clothing smelled of fish.
Wouldn't you be suspicious too? So, stranger, you'd like to order a nice hot bowl of soup, eh?
Tell me, how are you going to pay for it?
You look like you're having a penny to your name.
Haskell smiled. Oh, I have something much more valuable than a penny.
I have this. So, what do you think will happen when the restaurant owner sees Haskell's diamond?
Will his luck as a merchant finally change?
We'll find out after a quick break. Support for Circle Round comes from Indeed.
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Hiring indeed is all you need. Welcome back to Circle Round.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Today's story is called Onions and Garlic.
We recorded this episode live as part of the Boston Jewish Film Festival.
When we left off, a young man named Haskell was trying to prove that he could be a successful merchant.
His father sent him out in the world with nothing but onions. a vegetable that was worth very little.
It was up to Haskell to prove he could bring back a fortune.
After a shipwreck, Haskell found a beach that was covered with diamonds.
He went to a nearby restaurant for a hot meal and offered some diamonds to the restaurant owner.
But to his surprise, the restaurant owner began to laugh.
A diamond, huh? diamonds aren't worth anything in this kingdom, right?
They're so common, we don't even bother picking them up. off the ground.
Oh. Wow. Okay. I guess I'll go then. Dejected and hungrier than ever, Haskell was about to walk out the door when the restaurant owner stopped him.
Yeah, hey there. Listen, you look like you've come upon some Hard times.
I won't turn away a stranger who's down on his luck.
Please, have a seat. You can eat as much soup as your belly can hold.
Haskell brightened up and sat down, shoving his sack of onions underneath the table.
The restaurant owner brought out a steaming pot of chicken soup and ladled some into a bowl.
Haskell began slurping it down. Mmm. Mmm. chicken soup with carrots and parsley but Something's missing.
Indeed. Haskell couldn't help but notice that a certain flavor just wasn't there.
Suddenly, he realized what it was. Ah, onions.
Haskell called the restaurant owner over to his table.
Listen, my friend, your soup is very fine, very fine indeed, but...
Don't you think it would taste even better if you added onions?
The restaurant owner looked at Haskell as if he was speaking gibberish.
Onions? What, may I ask, are onions Wait, are you kidding?
Don't you grow onions in your kingdom? Don't you feed them to your cows and rabbits and add them to your soups and salads?
I know. Quite the contrary. I've never even heard of onions, let alone fed them to any animals.
Haskell couldn't believe his luck. He reached beneath the table and pulled out his burlap sack.
Well, my friend, it just so happens I have a whole bushel of onions right here with me.
Here, taste one. Haskell pulled an onion from his sack, peeled off the skin, and sliced off a sliver.
The restaurant owner popped it into her mouth.
Wow, I've never tasted anything like this.
It's so... pungent, so spicy. Tell me, what can you do with these Onions.
Why, just about anything. Like, grilling them. frying them, boiling them, roasting them.
Yum. They're a very versatile vegetable and they add such flavor.
They do, don't they? Listen, stranger, wait, what's your name again?
Haskell. Haskell, okay, Haskell. You know who would love these onions of yours? the queen.
She adores food that's full of flavor. In fact, She's always complaining that her food isn't flavorful enough.
You must go to the royal palace and show her this amazing vegetable.
Thank you. So, the restaurant owner led Haskell to the royal palace.
Haskell stood before the queen and told her all about onions and the many ways you could prepare them in your food.
I hear what you're saying, young man, but there is no possible way all of this can be true.
I must try these mysterious onions for myself.
Go now to the royal kitchen and show my chefs how to cook with onions.
Tonight, we'll have a magnificent onion feast.
So Haskell went to the kitchen and spent hours showing the royal chefs the many ways they could prepare onion. like grilling them.
Frying them. Boiling them. Roasting them.
Yum! That evening they served dish after dish to the queen.
After each one, she'd exclaim, Superb! Or... Scrumptious!
Or... Yummy nummy nummy! At the end of the meal, the queen took Haskell by the hand.
Tell me, young man, how many onions do you have there in your sack?
Well, we used quite a few to cook tonight's meal, but I still have a good number left. and onions are very easy to grow.
I can show you how to plant them. then you can have as many onions as you'd like.
All right, I will take all the onions in your sack, every last one.
What would you like in exchange? Haskell thought for a moment.
Hmm. Well, I don't need much, just enough to help me get back home to my family.
Maybe a couple of diamonds from your beach?
Just a couple? We can do better than that.
I will give you 100 sacks of diamonds and a ship to carry you to your native land.
Do we have a deal? Your Majesty, we have a deal.
Haskell had never felt such happiness. Finally, I've made a good trade.
A great trade. Now my brother and sister will never call me Haskell the Fool again.
Haskell returned home with his 100 sacks of diamonds just as his brother Herschel and his sister Yentl were coming back from their adventure around the world.
When they saw his treasures, they couldn't believe their eyes.
When Haskell told them how he'd gotten the diamonds, they couldn't believe their ears.
And when he cooked them a delicious dinner that night, using, yes, onions, they couldn't believe their taste buds.
This little brother. First of all, this meal is delicious.
But tell us, Is it true you really found a kingdom where onions are worth more than Diamonds?
Just because they add flavor to a dish? Yes, brother, it's true.
But you're Haskell the Fool. It's not fair that you're the one with all the diamonds.
I wonder if the queen would trade arms all those diamonds for a few measly onions, Just imagine what she'd pay for something else that adds flavor to a meal.
Haskell, you're a fancy cook now. Tell us, what's another vegetable that spices up a dish?
Haskell thought for a moment. Well, there's always garlic.
Garlic. Of course. Yeah, we're gonna bring as much garlic as we can to your kingdom, Haskell the Fool.
And we'll bring back even more diamonds from your queen.
So the next day, Herschel and Yentl went to the marketplace and bought up all the garlic they could find.
They loaded it into a massive sack and set sail for the kingdom Haskell had just visited.
After they arrived in the port, they dragged their sack of garlic to the palace.
When they got there, they saw it was surrounded by farmland. with thousands of rows of a very particular crop.
Onions? Herschel and Yentl entered the palace and stood before the queen.
Your Majesty, my sister and I are merchants from a faraway land.
We have heard that you are quite fond of food that has lots of flavor.
The queen laughed. Quite fond, quite fond.
I'm quite fond of a good party. I'm quite fond of a new dress.
But flavor, I adore flavor. I'm crazy about flavor.
The more flavor, the better. No. the more flavor, the best.
Well then, your majesty, You will be pleased to hear we've brought something that will make your food positively burst with flavor, the most flavor you've ever tasted in your entire life.
Really? Tell me more! There's no need to tell you, your highness.
We'll just show you. We've brought with us a delicious bounty of... Herschel and Yentl yanked open the top of their sack.
Garlic! The queen was intrigued. Garlic?
Whatever in the world is garlic? I've never heard of it.
Go now to the royal kitchen and show my chefs how to cook with garlic.
Tonight, we will have a magnificent feast of garlic.
Herschel and Yentl spent hours showing the royal chefs the many ways they could add garlic to soups, stews, sauces, even bread.
They demonstrated how you can roast garlic and simply eat it all by itself.
That evening they served dish after dish to the queen.
After each one, she'd exclaim... Brilliant.
Or. Delicious. Or. Nom nom nom nom. At the end of the meal, the queen took Herschel and Yentl by the hand.
You two are right. Garlic is even better than onions.
How much garlic do you have left? I will take it all.
Well, a little garlic goes a long way, your majesty.
So we still have nearly a sackful left. Oh, goody!
And what would you like in exchange? This was the question Herschel and Yentl had been waiting for.
We'll take 100 sacks of diamonds from your beach, your majesty.
Yes, 100 sacks of diamonds should be just enough.
The queen rolled her eyes. Diamonds?! ! Why, diamonds are barely worth a thing.
They're so very common. Your garlic is such a special delicacy.
You deserve something worthy of this wonderful treat.
Listen, in exchange for your garlic, I will give you the most precious treasure in my entire kingdom.
My guards will load it onto your ship tonight and stash it safely down below in the hold.
Meanwhile, come, spend the night in my palace.
You two are my honored guests. As the queen walked away, Herschel pulled Yentl aside.
Can you believe it? The queen is loading our ship with something even more precious than diamonds?
Let's wait till we get home to open it up.
We don't want to spoil the surprise. The next day, Herschel and Yentl boarded their ship and sailed back home.
Their brother Haskell and their father Anshul were both there to meet them at the port.
Welcome back, my children. Welcome back.
So. Did you find the kingdom where they're crazy about onions?
We did, Father. And was the queen pleased to learn about your garlic?
She was, father. In fact, she loved it. Even more than onions, so take that.
Haskell the Fool. All right, all right.
I'm happy to hear it, but... Did the queen trade your garlic for diamonds?
Actually, she didn't. She traded it for something even better.
But dear brother and sister, what could possibly be better than diamonds? only the most precious treasure in all the kingdom.
And we've waited this entire voyage to find out what it is.
Herschel, Yentl, Anchel, and Haskell all climbed down into the hold of the ship.
There, they found a giant wooden box, sealed tightly with big iron nails.
As Herschel and Yentl struggled to pry open the lid, they fantasized about what might be inside.
I bet it's rubies. I bet it's emeralds. What if it's silver?
What if it's gold? Just then, the lid came flying off the box. and a familiar smell filled the room. because the queen had indeed given Herschel and Yentl the most precious treasure in all the kingdom.
And it wasn't rubies. And it wasn't emeralds.
It wasn't silver, and it wasn't gold. No, it was something you can grill and fry and boil. and roast.
Something very versatile and it adds such flavor.
Can you guess what it was? Onions. Now it's your turn.
What do you treasure? And I don't mean those rubies, emeralds, silver and gold that Herschel and Yentl dreamt about.
I'm talking about something or someone that's especially valuable to you.
It could be your favorite teddy bear or your best friend.
Find a piece of paper and draw a picture of your treasure.
Then, share it with someone you love. And if you're up for it, share it with us.
We love seeing your drawings on Instagram and Facebook.
Tell your grownups to use the hashtag CircleRound on Instagram.
And our Facebook page is facebook.com slash circle round podcast.
We have a new folktale every week on Circle Round, and we don't want you to miss any.
You can listen to all our stories on our website.
And you can subscribe to Circle Round on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts if you like what you hear please write us a review it helps other people find the show Thank you.
Today's story, Onions and Garlic, was adapted by our executive producer, Jessica Alpert, and me, Rebecca Shear.
Our talented cast at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts, included Rob Neal, Rachel Bellman, Angel Blaze, Jeremy Brothers, Lizzie Milanovic, Ben Atherton-Zeman, and Lucinda Zeman.
Eric Shimalonis composed our original music and provided live musical accompaniment.
Matt Reed was our sound recording engineer.
Thanks to Amy McDonald, Candice Springer, and Kristen Holgerson at WBUR.
And a big shout out to the Boston Jewish Film Festival for inviting us to perform.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for circling around with us.
