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. If you've been listening to Circle Round for a while, back to all the stories you've heard where a character receives a magical gift There's Luca with his coin purse and the hat, the horn, and the purse.
Casper and Clara get their three-legged pot, and Hugo gets his gaita in the dancing goats.
Now in those stories, our characters used their magical gifts for good.
But in today's tale... That isn't quite the case.
I'm Rebecca Sheer, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Recently, we performed three new stories live with a trio from the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, in front of a very excited audience of children and grownups.
Along with our BSO musicians, joining me on stage was a quartet of all-star actors.
Lauren Ambrose, Jane Kazmarek, Thomas Sadowski, and Campbell Scott.
Our third and final story in this special series from Tanglewood is called The Magic Bowl.
Versions of this folktale have been told in the West Indies, a region of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
The main character is Anansi, a trickster figure who originally comes from Ghana in West Africa.
So circle around, everyone, and join us at Tanglewood for The Magic Bowl.
Thank you. . . . . . . Times were hard in the village, and everyone was struggling to make ends meet. including Anansi the Trickster and his wife, Aso.
One day, Aso sent Anansi to fetch dinner while she stayed home and took care of their young daughter.
Well, as usual, there isn't much food in the kitchen.
We do have a couple of onions and peppers lying around.
How about if you catch some fish from the river, Anansi?
And when you get back, I can cook up a nice fish stew.
Before we go on, something you should know about Anansi.
He loved playing tricks. but he also loved to eat.
Thing is, he hated hard work. And the idea of standing by the river, sweating in the sun, casting his line until a fish bit?
Well, that wasn't very appealing. Ugh. If only there was an easier way to get food.
One that didn't involve any work. Like...
You picture what you want to eat. You say the magic words.
And then boom! You've got a nice big bowl of fish stew.
That would be amazing. The river was on the other side of a deep, shady forest.
As Anansi daydreamed his way through the dark woods, all of a sudden...
Yikes! He tripped over something. What was that?
Wait, is that... A bowl? Indeed, it was.
A massive clay bowl, tall enough to reach Anansi's knees.
Well, this is weird. What's a big bowl doing in the middle of the forest?
Fill the bowl. Anansi froze. Huh? Who said that?
I did. I said, fill the bowl. Fill the bowl!
Exactly! Here you go! Anansi's eyes grew wider and wider as the bowl filled higher and higher with... Fish stew!
No way! Yes way! It's just like you said, you pictured what you wanted to eat, you said the magic words, and now boom!
A nice big bowl of fish stew. as the stew's tantalizing aroma filled Anansi's nose, He couldn't help himself.
He plopped down on the ground and began gobbling it up.
Oh, this is delicious. But tell me... Bowl, what if I wanted to eat something else?
Easy, you just say the magic words, picture what you want, Say, fill the bowl, and your wish is granted.
I should tell you though, there is one catch.
Oh? You must never, ever wash me. The least bit of cleaning and scrubbing and my magical powers are kaput.
Anansi shook his head. Oh, don't worry about that, bull.
I'm not a fan of washing dishes. Or washing anything, really.
All that hard work tires me out. Speaking of which...
He let out a yawn. All that fish stew in my belly is making me drowsy.
I think I'll take a little nap. But first, gotta make sure nobody else gets their hands on this magic bowl.
Anansi shoved the bowl beneath some bushes.
Then he curled up on the ground and went to sleep.
Oh, no, no, no, no. An hour or two later... Oh, Anansi, my love, welcome home!
Where's the fish? Yeah, Daddy, where's the fish?
We're hungry. Oh! The fish! You know, I just couldn't catch any today.
But hey, you said we had some onions and peppers lying around, right?
Why don't you make some nice vegetable soup?
None for me, though. Somehow my belly is completely full.
The next day, Aso asked Anansi to go out again. this time to gather mangoes and papayas.
But when Anansi reached the forest, do you think he got right to work? searching for plump, ripe fruit to pluck from the trees?
Of course not. Instead, he waltzed over to the bushes where he had stashed the bowl.
He dragged it out from its hiding place and said those three magic words.
Do you remember what they were, anyone? Once again, Before Anansi's very eyes, the bowl filled up with food.
This time a sweet, juicy fruit salad, just like he did yesterday.
Anansi scarfed down every bite. Then he curled up for a nap.
A few hours later... Oh, welcome back, Anansi.
Where's the fruit? Yeah, Daddy, where's the fruit?
We're starving. Oh, the fruit. You know, I just couldn't pick any today.
But we always have something lying around, right?
Surely you can scrape together some dinner.
I'll pass, though. My belly is totally full.
The next day, Aso asked Anansi to go out and pick coconuts.
Well, you can probably guess what Anansi did instead.
He went to his hiding place in the forest, dragged out the magic bowl, and said what three words?
Thank you. Then he pigged out on slice after slice of fresh coconut bread. and conked out right there on the ground.
Meanwhile, back at home... Mommy! I'm hungry.
I know, honey. Your daddy's gone out to get us some food.
He should be back soon. But is he actually going to bring us anything?
Haven't you noticed that when he goes out, he comes home with nothing?
Thank you. Yes, I have. And then, when he does come home, he says he's full. like he spent the whole day eating.
Have you noticed that? Yes, I... I have.
And now... His belly is getting bigger and bigger while our bellies are getting smaller and smaller.
Have you noticed that too? Yes, I have. When Aso married Anansi, she knew he could be sneaky.
She'd heard plenty of stories about the many, many tricks he'd played on people through the years.
But Anansi wouldn't play a trick on his own family, would he? there was only one way to find out.
What do you think OSO is cooking up? We'll find out what happens after a quick break.
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Hiring indeed is all you need. I'm Rebecca Shear, and welcome back to Circle Round, live with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Our story is called The Magic Bowl. When we left off...
Trickster Anansi was stuffing himself silly with a magic bowl instead of fetching whatever food his wife Aso had asked him to get.
So, at the end of each day... Anansi came home with empty hands, and a very full belly.
Aso started to suspect something fishy was going on.
And now, back to Tanglewood. The next day, He also asked Anansi to go out and pick plantains.
As soon as her husband started down the road, Asa grabbed her daughter by the hand.
All right, kiddo, let's go. Quiet as mice.
They followed Anansi to the deep, shady forest.
They crept behind a stump and watched with puzzlement as Anansi knelt down on the ground and reached beneath a bush.
Mommy! Why is daddy dragging a big bowl out from under that bush?
And wait. Is he talking to it? I think he is, but...
I can't hear what he's saying. Well, we know what he was saying, right?
What were those magic words again? Now...
Aso and her daughter may have been too far away to hear what Anansi was saying, But they sure could see what he was doing, eating fried plantains straight from the bowl. handful after handful until the bowl was empty.
Mommy, how did Daddy get all those fried plantains?
Is he a magician? Well, it's obvious he has some tricks up his sleeve.
When Anansi finished eating, he curled up for his nap.
As soon as he started snoring... Yeah, I know.
Aso tiptoed over and grabbed the bowl. She and her daughter carried it out of the shadowy forest and set it down in the sunlight.
Oh my, what a great big bowl. You could cook an awful lot of food in there.
Daughter, I bet we could get a nice price for this bowl at the market.
Yes! And then we'll have enough money to buy food and fill up our bellies.
That's right, honey. Let's just take this bowl home and... Fill the bowl!
Aso gazed at her daughter. I'm sorry, darling.
Did you say something? It wasn't me. I think it was the bowl.
Oh, that's nonsense, dear. There's no way a bowl could say anything Yes, there is a way a bowl could say something.
I said... Fill the bowl. For a moment, Aso was confused.
But then she thought back to Anansi's fried plantains And the words she and her daughter couldn't hear him say and she began putting two and two together.
Hmm, so tell me, if I say, Fill the bowl!
What happens exactly? Well, you picture something you want to eat.
You say, fill the bowl and boom! Boom! Your wish is granted.
It's just like I told your husband, Anansi.
Asa was about to say something when her daughter began jumping up and down.
Mommy! Mommy! Now we know why Daddy has such a big belly.
He's been using the magic bowl to get food. whatever food he wants.
But wait, she peered inside the bowl and made a face.
If you're really a magic bowl, why are you so dirty inside?
It looks like nobody's washed you in years.
That's because they haven't! Nobody must ever wash me.
It'll ruin my magical powers. Didn't Anansi tell you about me?
Aso took a deep breath. No, Anansi didn't tell us anything.
In fact, I'm going to pretend that you haven't told us anything either.
What? I don't understand. I just told you the secret to unlimited food.
All you can eat. I know you did. But I'm going to pretend that this conversation never happened.
Especially the part about you not being washed.
Aso motioned to her daughter. They lifted the bowl off the ground, then began moving toward the The river.
Wait a minute. You're not really going to wash me in the river.
Are you? Yes. Yes, we are. But I don't...
Gerrit Anansi was thrilled to find me. With me around, he would never have to work another day in his life.
I know. They paused at the water's edge.
And now Anansi will have to work, just like all the rest of us.
Aso smiled at her daughter. Her daughter smiled back.
Then the two of them lifted the bowl high and... plunged it into the cool, clear, cleansing river.
No! That night, as usual, Anansi came home with empty hands and a full belly.
But as he stepped through the door, he stopped right in his tracks.
Whoa, what is that smell? Anansi followed the scent to the kitchen, where his wife and daughter were laying a huge meal out on the table.
Fish stew, fruit salad, coconut bread, and fried plantains.
Also... Where did all this wonderful food come from?
Osso flashed an innocent grin. Well, Anansi, after so many days of you coming home empty handed, The girl and I went to the forest where the mango and the papaya and the coconut and plantain trees grow.
And there, well, tell Daddy what we found there, honey.
We found a bowl. That's right. A great big bowl.
Right there in the middle of the forest.
Yes! Have you ever seen such a thing, Anansi?
Anansi began to sweat. A great big bowl, you say?
In the middle of the forest? Wow! And what did you do with this great big bowl?
Well, when we looked inside it was pretty gross.
Right, Mommy? Oh, sure was. Filthy. So, we gave it a bath.
In the river, Anansi began to tremble. You mean...
You washed it? Yep. Then tell him what we did next, Mommy.
Well, once the bowl was all cleaned, We sold it!
Anansi nearly dropped to the floor. You what?
We sold it! And look at all the stuff we bought with the money we made.
All this delicious food plus bags of corn and rice.
We even got some cheese. chickens for the backyard, a big fat rooster too.
I'm gonna name the big fat rooster after you, Daddy, because of your big belly.
Anansi felt his heart sink into his stomach.
His very full stomach Thanks to his deception and trickery, he had lost his magic bowl.
And now he realized he had lost his family's trust too. because his love for playing tricks and avoiding hard work, and yes, eating himself silly, Well, they'd all finally come back to bite him.
So, what did Anansi do? Well, he swallowed his pride. and apologized.
And it was the humblest pie he'd ever eaten.
Thank you. Thank you. Now it's your turn.
If you were a Nazi, what would you do differently from now on?
Find a grown-up and talk with them about how Anansi might change his ways, now that he's learned his lesson.
. . . This week's story, The Magic Bowl, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear, and edited by Katherine Brewer.
Eric Shimalonis composed our original music and conducted our trio from the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
You heard second horn Rachel Childers, flutist Cindy Myers, and second bassoonist Suzanne Nelson.
Matt Reed was our sound recording engineer.
Special thanks to our live actors at Tanglewood.
Lauren Ambrose, Jane Kazmarek, Thomas Sadowski, and Campbell Scott.
Six Feet Under star Lauren Ambrose got a Tony nomination for My Fair Lady on Broadway.
Grownups, watch for her in Servant, M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming series for Apple TV+.
You grownups might know Jane Kaczmarek from Malcolm in the Middle.
This summer, she's starring in the world premiere of Tell Me I'm Not Crazy at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
Thomas Sadowski is a Tony-nominated star of stage and screen. whom you grown-ups might recognize from The Newsroom and Life in Pieces.
If you're in New York, he's directing a new play at MCC Theatre next year.
And grown-ups might know Campbell Scott from Big Night, Roger Dodger, Singles, and House of Cards.
And some of you kids might know him from the amazing Spider-Man 2.
Enormous thanks to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for inviting us to perform at Tanglewood's new Lindy Center for Music and Learning.
Special shout-outs to Leslie Wu Foley, Beth Mullins, Cassandra Ling, Sarah Sines, Jenna Good Earl, and Alexandra Fuchs.
Circle Round's artist is Sabina Han. You can find Sabina's coloring pages for all of our stories on our website.
Visit wbur.org slash circle around and click on coloring pages.
Strickle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.
¶. I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for circling around with us.
