Well 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 we continue our theme of animal tales and we have a trickster story from Japan called Tanuki and Usaki, or The Badger and the Rabbit.
It's told by Alton Takayamachon.
How are you super great kids?
I do hope you had an okay week.
I had a good time partly because the sun was shining and the sky was blue, and that makes everything look good.
My highlights included seeing some old friends and meeting some of you owlets while storytelling and book signing at a local bookshop.
It was lovely to meet you.
You were so good at listening and brilliant at joining in.
I think you're all storytellers.
Thank you for coming and for your kind comments about our super great book.
There are some tips on how to tell stories in our outlet letter this week.
And if you don't live anywhere near London but you'd like to see some live online storytelling, then this Saturday, March the 28th, Amy Douglas, Jason Buck and I will be telling scary stories.
Of course, I'm telling one about my favourite character, Baba Yaga, the witch who eats children, who comes from Russia, Ukraine and places near there.
And Amy will be telling her favourite scary story about the girl with long red fingernails and ruby red lips.
And Jason has a brand new scary story about a monster which is part cockerel or rooster and part dragon.
Be afraid.
Be very afraid.
It's £12.50, that's about US$17, for a ticket for the whole family, including your pet parrot.
More details under news on our website, supergreatkidsstories.com.
Now, as you know, nothing makes me happier than hearing that you're telling your own stories.
So here's a question for you while we have a quick word with the grown-ups.
How many ways can you think of to begin a story?
Here's one to get you started.
Quick?
That's from the Caribbean or from Ireland.
Do you remember?
Fordow, fordow, fordow.
Can you think of any other ways to start a story in English or any other language?
See how many you can remember.
Ready?
Off you go.
Hello, super great kids.
I'm back.
I wonder what ways you thought of to start your story.
How about snip snap snout story jump out.
Or mouth open story jump out.
And of course there's once upon a time.
And are you sitting comfortably?
Then I'll begin.
And if you're in Spain, you might say, Habia una vez.
Did you remember some of those from past stories?
Or did you make up your own?
Now.
This week's storyteller, Alton Takayama Chong, has one parent from Japan and one from Korea, and he grew up in Hawaii, a US state in the Pacific Ocean.
So he has many different cultures to draw on for his storytelling.
His tale today is from Japan.
Japan is a country made up of a string of islands on the eastern edge of Asia.
Its nearest neighbours are Russia in the north and Korea and China to the south.
The story today is about a tanuki and a rabbit who were friends.
A tanuki is a kind of magical creature, a bit like a badger or a raccoon.
Do you remember the story I once told about the kind badgers?
Well, they were tanaki and they were kind.
But tanaki, well, they're not always super kind.
They can also be a bit mean.
And I'm sorry to have to tell you that today's story is about a tanaki who isn't particularly kind.
Well, I'll leave Alton to tell you more.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Am I sitting comfortably?
Then let's give a very warm welcome to storyteller Alton Takayama Chung.
Hello.
My name is Alton Takayama Chung and I live near Portland, Oregon on the west coast of the United States.
Now, this part of the country is also known as the Pacific Northwest.
The weather is usually mild, but it rains a lot here.
Now, the story that I have here today is called Tanuki and Usagi.
It comes from Japan and a tanuki is sort of a badger-like creature that lives in Japan and usagi is the white rabbit.
Now, in Europe or North America, we often begin stories with once upon a time.
But in Japan, they begin stories with mukashi, mukashi, aru tokoro ni.
A long time ago in Japan, in a story that is older than the pine needles in a tree.
There once was an old couple who lived in a farm at the base of a tall mountain near the sea.
There was an old man, Jichan, grandfather, and his wife, Obachan, grandmother.
They were happy on their farm in the shadow of that mountain.
They loved the way the birds would sing them awake each morning, and how the gentle breezes would whisper through the pine trees and fill their house with their sweet scent, and how Amaterasu, the compassionate goddess of the sun, would paint the sky with delicate shades of scarlet tangerine and persimmon before she slipped beneath the waves of the eastern sea.
They were happy and content until one day a mischievous tanuki, a badger, began to cause trouble on their farm.
This badger would dig up their vegetable garden and then wipe his paws on their drying laundry.
He would steal the eggs the chickens had laid, and sometimes he would even steal the chickens.
One day, Ji-chan, grandfather, had had enough.
Tanuki, Tanuki, I am going to set a trap for you right here by the chicken coop.
I'll put some rice in there and then open the door.
And when you come in the cage to get the rice, I will catch you, Tanuki.
The next morning, Ji-chan went to check on his trap.
I caught you, Tanuki, trying to steal my chickens.
No more mischief for you.
I will take you back to the house where we can keep an eye on you.
Oh, Tanuki, you have to go on a diet, Tanuki.
Grandfather took Tanuki up to the house and left him in grandmother's care while he went out to tend the fields.
But Oba-chan was busy.
It was close to New Year's Day, and she was making mochi.
She was putting hot sticky rice into an usu or mortar, adding a little water and then turning the mochi, then picking up a kine, a heavy wooden mallet, and bringing it down onto the mixture.
She then would put the mallet down and start all over again.
Oh, it was hard work!
Tanuki looked out through the bars of his cage.
Grandmother, that kine looks heavy.
I can help you.
Let me out of this cage and let me help you with the mochi.
Yes, thank you, Tanuki.
I could use some help.
And Obaachan Grandmother let Badger out of this cage and bent down to add water and to turn the mochi.
Tanuki picked up the wooden mallet, but instead of bringing it down onto the mochi, he brought it down on the top of Obaachan's head.
Oh, itai!
Itai!
It hurts!
It hurts!
Oh!
Oh!
Oh! and Tanuki ran away to the mountain and disappeared into the forest.
The next day, down the mountain came Usagi, the white rabbit.
He was Tanuki's best friend, but when he heard what Tanuki had done, he was angry at his friend and was filled with shame.
He brought a big basket of fruit to the house of Obaachan Grandmother and Ji-chan grandfather.
Oba-chan was in the bed with a huge lump on her head and Ji-chan grandfather was doing his best to comfort her.
Oh Oba-chan, I am so sorry, so very sorry, to hear what Tanuki has done, and Obaachan Grandmother and Jichan Grandfather, I will make sure that Tanuki is punished, that he is punished for what he has done and that he will never, never again play another trick on you.
Usagi bowed deeply to Obaachan and Jichan and returned to the mountain.
Now, at this time, people used to gather firewood and carry it home lashed to a wooden frame pack.
Usagi He tied firewood to two wooden packs and carried them to Tanuki's house.
Tanuki lived in a smelly old hole at the base of a tall pine tree.
Usagi set the packs down and began to eat chestnuts outside of Tanuki's house.
Oh, these are so good.
Oh, so good.
After a while, Hanuki poked his head out of his hole.
Oi, Usagi.
Rabbit.
What are you eating?
Oh, chestnuts.
They are so good, so good.
Usagi, may I have some chestnuts?
I am so hungry.
Oh, of course, of course.
You may have some chestnuts.
If you help me carry the wood back to my house.
Of course, of course, I will help you.
I am very hungry.
And Tanuki put on one of the wooden packs and headed off.
The two began going up a slope with Tanuki in the lead.
Usagi then pulled out his flint and steel and began striking sparks into the wood on Tanuki's back.
Kachi-kachi.
Kachi-kachi.
Usagi, what is that sound?
It sounds like kachi-kachi.
Kachi-kachi.
Kachi-kachi.
That is because this mountain is called Kachi-kachi-sama, or Kachi-kachi Mountain.
Oh, I understand.
The friends continued up the slope and down the other side, and by the time they reached the next slope, the fire had caught and was now beginning to burn.
Crackle, crackle.
Crackle, crackle.
Uh, Uzagi, what is that sound?
It sounds like, uh, crackle, crackle.
Uh, that is because this mountain is called um Crackle Crackle Summer or Crackle Crackle Mountain.
Oh, I understand.
What's that smell?
Smoke.
Someone is cooking something.
It's me.
It's me.
Help.
Help.
Usagi.
I am on fire.
What should I do?
Oh, Tanuki.
Tanuki.
You must jump into the water to put out the fire.
Oh, Usagi.
Where is the water?
In the river, down in the valley, down in the valley.
And so Tanuki began running down the trail from the mountain down into the valley, leaving behind a huge trail of black smoke as the fire burned on the wood on his back.
Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
It was a while before Tanuki felt better.
Rusagi, the white rabbit, he did not feel that his friend had been punished enough.
So he built two boats and left them on the beach and went to find his friend.
Oh, Tanuki!
Hanuki, it's such a beautiful day.
How would you like to have some fish for dinner?
Oh, Usagi, I would love to have some fish for dinner, but I do not have a boat.
Oh, do not worry, my friend, do not worry.
I have built two boats for us, down on the beach, down on the beach.
Oh, my friend, I am very hungry.
Let us go get some fish.
So the two friends... made their way down to the beach.
Ah Tanuki, Tanuki.
I am light and I should take a boat that's built out of lighter material such as wood.
Ah, but you, my friend, you are heavy, oh, so very heavy.
You need to be in a boat that's built of heavy material, such as mud, such as mud.
Oh, yes, it is true.
I am very heavy, but I will take the boat mid of a dried mud.
Ah, my friend, my friend, let us see.
Let us see who can catch the first fish.
And so the two friends pushed their boats out into the bay.
Now you all know what happens to mud, even dried mud, when it touches the water.
That's right.
It dissolves. falls apart.
And what do you think happened to Tanuki's boat?
That's right.
I'm going to beat you, Usagi.
I'm going to beat you.
What's this?
A little water.
I can just almost taste the fish now.
Oh, lots of water.
Uh-oh.
Help, help, Usagi, I am sinking.
Oh, Tanuki, oh, Tanuki, you've been a very bad Tanuki.
You must promise to apologize, to apologize to Oba-chan for hitting her on the head.
I promise, I promise.
And Tanuki, you must promise.
You must promise never to play another trick on Oba-chan or Ji-chan again.
I promise, I promise.
Tanuki!
Tanuki!
Do you swear, Tanuki?
Do you swear?
I swear!
I swear!
Usagi then reached out with his paddle and saved his friend, pulling him into his wooden boat.
He then rowed them back to shore and walked his dripping friend to Oba-chan and Ji-chan's farm.
Grandmother!
I am sorry for hitting you on the head with the wooden hammer.
I am sorry and I apologize.
And Oba-chan and Enji-chan, I am also sorry for playing so many tricks upon you.
I will not do it again.
Please forgive me.
Grandmother looked at the dripping wet tanuki. and dried him off with a towel.
And from that time on, Tanuki the badger, Usagi the white rabbit, Obachan grandmother, and Jichan grandfather all became very good friends and lived long and happy lives.
And Tanuki the badger never played another trick on Obachan or Jichan.
Oh, thank you very much, Alton, for sharing that story with us.
I'm glad Grandmother was able to forgive Tanaki.
I'm sure that made her feel better as well as making Tanaki better too.
I wonder what you liked about that story.
I enjoyed all those sounds like catchy, catchy, catchy and crackle, crackle, crackle.
I wonder what you might have done if Tanuki was your friend and his tricks were no longer fun.
Here's my question.
How can you tell when a trick is a good fun idea and when it's not a good idea?
In the story Br'er Rabbit and the Big Wind, remember that one?
Br'er Rabbit tricked Tiger into being tied up because Tiger would not share his food with all the other animals when they were hungry.
Good or not good?
And in Anansi and Tiger Fat, Anansi ate all of Tiger's fat just because it was delicious.
Good or not good?
You decide.
And ask your grown-ups how they think you can tell the difference between a good trick and a not good trick.
I wonder if you could draw a picture of the badger and rabbit in a boat together.
Send your pictures via our website to supergreatkidstoriescom and we can share them with other story lovers on our website picture gallery and on our Facebook page facebookcom.
Forward slash supergreatkidstories.
Now it's time to fly around the world with StoryOwl, to say hello and thank you to the owlets who've recently hopped into our nest and joined our storytelling club.
Let's begin in Spain and greet owlets Lily, Natalia and Erin who live in Mora.
They love Super Great Kids stories and listen every night at bedtime.
Heading north now to beautiful Devon in the UK, to greet Zef, who is 10 and has been listening with his parents since he was six.
Wow, that makes you a super fan, Zef.
He's listened to all the stories a number of times.
And his all-time favourite is Tianjie and the Yellow Dress.
A marvellous story, I agree.
Told by Toop.
A short flight now to Hackney in London to say hello to Rafe, who is nine, and to six-year-old Luca.
They are half English and half Lebanese and have listened to super great kids' stories while in Lebanon.
Wow, that's exciting.
Their favourite story at the moment is The Witch and the Donkey.
Yeah, that is a very funny story, I agree.
Now all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to Nova Scotia in Canada now to say hello to Ellie.
Ellie listens in the car on the way to hockey and her favourite story is Hansel and Gretel, told by Paul Aldeburgh.
Yes, that's the one where the family are so poor that they have to make do with a potato as a pet.
South now to the United States where Myra, who's eight, lives in Virginia.
Her favourite story is Stick Woman from India.
Well, that is a very good choice, Myra.
It's a very good story to tell.
A ticky tacky tick, a ticky tacky tick.
Here I go with my walking stick.
I wonder if you've tried telling it to a friend.
Northwest, now all the way to Idaho, to say hello to Booker, who lives in Boise and who became an owlet for his seventh birthday, having listened for quite a few years.
He loves all the stories and has been rereading the super great kids stories book that he got for Christmas.
Oh, that's very nice to hear, Booker.
I'm working hard on the second super great book at the moment, which comes out next year.
Let's keep heading west to Puget Sound in Washington to say hello to Elmsley, who is nine Fiona, who's seven, and six-year-old Winnema.
Elmsley likes Monster in the Jar.
Fiona likes Tianjie in the yellow dress and Winnema is a fan of Anansi and the Magic Yams.
We'll fly down the West Coast now to Humboldt County in California to greet Mira, who is seven, and her brother Rowan, who is three and a half, who listens nearly every day.
Mira has cerebral palsy.
So she talks and writes using an eye gaze activated computer.
Here's what she had to say.
I am Mira and I'm seven years old.
I'm excited to be an owlet.
My parents got it for me for my birthday.
I like to listen when I'm going to school and when my parents work on our farm.
My favourite stories are Goanna and the Fairies and The Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
Thanks for that, Mira.
Good choices.
Southeast now to sunny Arizona to greet Carson, who is seven and lives in Tucson.
Carson loves listening in the car on the way to karate.
And his favourites are Bonita the Tricky Sheep, the Hairy Toe and Puss in Boots.
And finally...
Let's head across the whole of the US and back over the Atlantic to the UK to visit Henry, who is six and lives in Leeds, where I come from.
Henry,
He enjoys listening with his younger sister, Meryn, who is three.
His favourite is the Hodgers party clothes.
Henry's enjoyed our book and recently read How Maui Slowed the Sun every single night for several weeks.
Wow, I wonder if you've tried telling it yourself to someone, Henry?
That's it for the Owlet Shoutouts this week and we so enjoy seeing all your drawings.
Our Pick of the Week picture goes to seven-year-old Delaney from Pennsylvania for a beautiful picture of the Owl Girl's story from Argentina.
Delaney has been listening to Super Great Kids stories since she was three and now also enjoys reading the stories from our book too.
I love your bright, colourful drawing of the two friends who've turned themselves into owls and are flying off to pick oranges in the orange groves.
You've drawn them so carefully, swooping across the night sky with the moon glowing above them.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
If you want to see that picture and others, go to our website supergreatkidsstoriescom and click on the tab artwork and photos, or go to our Facebook page facebookcom.
Forward slash supergreatkidsstories.
And if you follow us on Instagram, you can see our picture gallery at supergreatkids underscore art.
Thanks to all outlets for your super great support.
It's because of you that we can keep finding new storytellers in different countries.
If you'd like to support us on Patreon or on Apple Podcasts, we'll say hello to you on the show.
