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. Have you ever had a toy that broke?
A book that lost its pages? A shirt or sock that got a big old hole in it?
When our belongings get damaged or dinged up, sometimes we have to let them go.
Sometimes we can try and fix them. But as we'll hear in today's bonus edition of Circle Round...
Sometimes, if we use our imaginations, we can find a way to reuse them all together.
Woo-hoo! ¶¶ I'm Rebecca Sheer, and welcome to Circle Around, where storytime happens all the time.
Today our story is called The Leaky Bucket.
Versions of this folktale originally come from China.
Looking for extra fun while you listen? Ask a grown-up to print out the coloring page that accompanies our tale.
They can find that coloring page along with coloring pages for all of our stories on our website. wbur.org slash circleround.
And now, circle around, everyone. For The Leaky Bucket.
In a tidy, cozy cottage on a tall, grassy hill above a babbling, silvery brook.
There lived a washerwoman. The washerwoman had two wooden buckets which she hung from either end of a sturdy pole.
Each morning, the woman woke up, had a bite to eat, then hoisted the pole with the buckets onto the backs of her shoulders.
All right, my dear buckets, time to fill you up.
Then, with her wooden buckets balanced across her back, she followed a long dirt path. down the tall grassy hill to the babbling silvery brook. where she used the buckets to collect water for her laundry.
But one morning, after filling her buckets and climbing the dirt path back up the hill to her cottage, The woman discovered that one of the buckets What?
Was only half full. "'Hmm. I'm certain I filled you all the way to the top, dear Bucket.'
What happened to you? The washerwoman squinted her eyes and took a closer look.
And that's when she saw it. Running down the bucket's wooden side was a slender... jagged, crack.
Ah, now I understand. Thanks to that crack, deer bucket, you must have been dripping and dribbling water all the way up the hill.
The washerwoman scratched her head. Hmm, what to do?
What to do? I can't afford to buy a new bucket.
But let me see. Oh, I know, I know. I'll seal your crack with glue.
A bit of glue, dear Bucket, and you'll be good as new.
So the woman sealed the bucket's crack with glue.
But the next morning, after the washerwoman filled her buckets in the brook and walked back up the hill, she noticed that...
Once again. The bucket was only half full.
Oh, dear bucket! You're still leaking, are you?
Well, I guess glue won't do. But no use fretting.
I'll just have to make do with what I have.
For years, the washerwoman kept carrying her buckets to the brook and back, to the brook and back, Down the path and up again.
Down the path and up again. And all the while, the leaky bucket was miserable.
When the washerwoman wasn't around, the cracked vessel would turn to its uncracked counterpart and complain.
Ugh! I swear this crack is getting bigger and bigger.
What do you think? I think you look fine.
No, seriously. You don't think this crack?
Makes me look tacky? I said you look fine.
Whatever. I may look fine, but I sure don't feel fine.
Whenever the washerwoman plunges us into the water, I hope against hope That today's the day I'll hold it all in.
But by the time we reach the top of the hill, I've dripped and dribbled. all the way from the brook to the cottage.
And I wind up half empty. Huh. Don't you mean half full?
Whatever. The point is, I can't hold water to save my life.
I guess it's time for this bucket to kick the bucket.
I think the washerwoman should just throw me away. but the washerwoman did not throw the leaky bucket away.
Instead, day after day, she filled the bucket from the brook And day after day, the bucket dripped and dribbled all the way up the path to the cottage.
One morning, just as the washerwoman knelt down beside the brook to collect her water, The leaky bucket finally spoke up.
Um, excuse me. Washerwoman, can I talk to you for a second?
The washerwoman froze. Who said that? Who's there?
It's me. Your bucket. My. Bucket? The washerwoman creased her brow.
Which bucket? The leaky one. The washerwoman leaned down and stared at the leaky bucket. after all these years of talking to her dear Bucket's She could hardly believe that, at long last, one of them was talking back.
All right then. So, my dear Bucket, What can I do for you?
Well, I wasn't going to say anything But I just had to speak up I think you should throw me away.
Throw you away? Why should I throw you away?
Well, think about it. When you first got me, I was shiny and new, and I carried a full load of water all the way up the path on the hill.
But now, thanks to this horrendous crack in my side, I drip.
I dribble. I leak half my water all the way up the path on the hill.
So don't you think it's time you got rid of me?
I'm trash. I'm garbage. I'm worthless. The washerwoman was quiet for a moment.
Then, to the bucket's surprise, the woman smiled.
Oh, my dear bucket. You're not worthless at all.
You're priceless. I am? Yes! Quick as a wink, the washerwoman unhooked the bucket from its end of the sturdy pole.
Then she held the bucket high in the air.
"'Look, dear bucket!' Look at the path on the hill.
Tell me what you see. The bucket had been so busy grumbling and grousing about the crack down its side that it hadn't paid attention to anything else in a very long time, least of all the path on the hill.
But the bucket did as the washerwoman instructed and took a look.
And when it did, it could hardly believe what it saw.
You see, one side of the path looked very different from the other.
Because that side of the path was covered in flowers.
Thousands of flowers, delicate lilies, cheerful peonies, Fluffy chrysanthemums, the flowers formed a bright, brilliant ribbon of color all the way from the brook to the cottage.
Wow! What a spectacular sight! But I don't understand.
Why are the flowers only growing on one side of the dirt path?
What about the other side? Why is it just plain grass?
The washerwoman grinned. Don't you see, dear bucket?
When I realized... "'I couldn't fix your crack.'
I decided I would work with it, make the best of things.
So all these years, as I've walked down the path on the hill, I've been sprinkling seeds on one side And every day when I walk up the path on the hill, You've been dripping and dribbling and leaking half your water on that side. and helping those seeds grow.
And look at them now. The leaky bucket gazed at the rainbow of flowers.
The rainbow of flowers that its flaw, its imperfection, its supposed shortcoming... helped create.
And then all of a sudden, For the first time in a long time, the leaky bucket felt absolutely fine.
Full. Coming up, it's your turn. The leaky bucket needed a good friend to help it realize how truly awesome it was.
After a quick break, you'll do the same for one of your friends. and they'll do the same for you.
That and more when Circle Round continues.
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Hiring? Indeed is all you need. side. Welcome back to Circle Round.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Now that you've listened to The Leaky Bucket...
Pick someone who's important to you. A family member, a neighbor, a friend.
Then, get some paper, and write or draw all the ways this person rocks. all the ways they bring more beauty to the world.
Meanwhile, ask your person to do the same for you.
Once you're both done, exchange your creations, virtually or, if possible, in person.
And as you look at all the great qualities your person sees in you, hopefully you can see them too.
This week's bonus story, The Leaky Bucket, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear.
It was edited by Circle Round's executive producer, Catherine Brewer.
Circle Round's original music and sound design is by Eric Shimilonis.
Our artist is Sabina Hahn. Our actors this week were Amy Brentano, Eric Shimalonis, and Alexia Trainor.
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.
Hello, my name is Ella. I'm from the U.S.A.
And my favorite story is what they tell. because the Gwydion and Kipu learned the lesson.
Hi, my name is Joy Liu and I live in Charleston, South Carolina.
And my favorite Suck-A-Round episode is A Cup of Boy. because it's really cool that volcano ash can make plants grow.
Did someone mention an episode you missed?
No problem. every single Circle Round story on our website.
That's wbur.org slash circleround or wherever you and your grownups get your podcasts.
