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. Ever heard the expression, you can't judge a book by its cover?
It can be tempting to form an opinion about something based on how it looks.
But more often than not, it's what's inside that counts.
And in today's story, an entire town of people learn that lesson in a most delicious way.
I'm Rebecca Shear, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Today our story is called The Unwelcome Guest.
Versions of this tale originally come from the Middle East, where it's one of many stories featuring a character named Nasruddin, a wise man who lived long ago.
Some really great people came together to bring you our folktale, including Richard Kind.
Kids, you may recognize Richard's voice from movies like A Bug's Life, Cars, and Inside Out.
And grownups, you may know him from Gotham on Fox, as well as the Amazon original series, Red Oaks.
So circle around, everyone. for the unwelcome guest.
The town beside the sea was abuzz with the news.
The governor was holding a grand banquet, and everyone was invited.
The artists and accountants, the librarians and lawyers, the taxi drivers and teachers, everyone.
But no one was as excited as Nasruddin. The wise man owned a vineyard at the edge of town, and the governor would be serving Nasruddin's wine at the feast.
The day of the big event, Nasruddin woke up extra early.
He dug deep into his closet and began rummaging around.
All right, where are you? Now? No, it's not that one.
No, not that, no. There you are. Nasruddin smiled as he pulled out his long red silk It was his favorite piece of clothing, embroidered with clusters of bright purple grapes.
Nasruddin only wore the coat on very special occasions. and definitely not at the vineyard, where he spent most days kneeling in the dirt wetting in the sun as he trimmed vines and picked grapes before crushing them to make wine.
So that morning, Nasruddin laid the coat on his bed, along with a nice shirt, perfectly pressed pants, and his shiniest shoes.
I can hardly wait for tonight. I'll come right home after work.
I'll get all scrubbed up and then head straight to the party.
Then he set off for the vineyard. Nasruddin worked especially hard all day, and when he finally looked up at the clock, The governor's banquet was starting in 15 minutes.
Oh, no! Nasruddin looked down at his clothes.
Smudges of mud and splotches of grape juice were everywhere.
The front and back of his shirt were clammy with sweat.
But just 15 minutes till the party starts.
There's no time for me to go home, get cleaned up, and change into my fine silk coat.
I'll just have to go as I am. Nasruddin saddled up his donkey and headed to the governor's mansion.
When he arrived, he tied the donkey to a tree and walked toward the doorman.
As he approached, the men scrunched up their faces.
Do you smell what I smell? Yeah, it's almost like...
Squished grapes? And sweat. Not here. what they were saying, Nasruddin gave the men a friendly wave and breezed through the door.
When he stepped inside the banquet hall, he saw the entire village milling about.
Everyone dressed in their very finest clothing and sipping on Nasruddin's wine.
Nasruddin had always been a friendly, talkative sort, so he began making the rounds.
Hi, how are you? Hi, hello. But as he greeted his friends and neighbors...
He noticed no one greeted him back. Instead, they turned away.
It's gotten into everybody. To make things worse, not even the butlers carrying trays of food would come near him.
Nasruddin had been too busy to eat that day, so his mouth watered as he watched the elusive parade of meats. cheeses breads and spreads well this is weird this is just plain weird At the very least, the governor will talk to me.
I mean, he is serving my wine after all.
But as Nasruddin approached, the governor looked the wise man up and down. frowned, then waved at someone across the room and hurried away.
What's going on? What's the matter with these people?
When the bell rang for dinner... A scowling butler ushered Nasruddin to a corner of the room as far away as possible from the governor.
Right this way, please. As Nasruddin took his seat...
The butler held out a bundle of bright white napkins.
Here. Here. I can't say these will hide the smell, but at least they'll cover up those stains.
Rolling his eyes, the butler dropped the napkins in Nasruddin's lap, turned on his heel... and walked away.
Suddenly, Nasruddin understood. So it's my clothing everybody has a problem with.
I can't believe this. Seriously? The governor has invited the entire town, everybody, rich and poor, to his party.
But yet, because of what I'm wearing, I'm an unwelcome guest?
Now remember. Nasruddin was a wise man, and that's when he had...
An idea. Aha. Before dinner was served, Nasruddin slid his chair away from the table and slipped out of the banquet hall.
As he exited the mansion, he took a deep breath of the warm night air.
And smiled. Well, I may be an unwelcome guest.
But I'll bring back a guest that they'll most definitely welcome.
I just have to act fast. Then he jumped on his donkey and headed home.
What do you think Nasruddin is planning?
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. mind. Welcome back to Circle Round.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Today our story is called The Unwelcome Guest.
The Unwelcome Guest Amen. When we left off, Nasruddin had just left the governor's big banquet.
Nasruddin had come to the fancy dinner straight from a long, hot day at his vineyard. so his clothing was stained with mud, grapes, and sweat.
As a result, all the guests treated him with disdain.
No one would venture near him, even though the governor was serving Nasruddin's wine at the dinner.
So Nasruddin hatched a plan. back at his house he pumped extra bubbly soap into a steaming hot bath and climbed in He scrubbed from his head to his toes.
Then he dusted himself with powder. and buttoned up his fancy shirt and pants. he slipped on his long red silk coat, the one embroidered with clusters of bright purple grapes.
He took one last look at himself in the mirror.
Look at you! You look marvelous. And rushed back to the governor's feast.
This time, when Nasruddin walked toward the doorman, instead of scrunching up their faces, They smiled.
Good evening, sir. It's an honor to have you.
Come in, come in. When Nostradine entered the banquet hall, the very same butler from before... the one who'd rudely dropped the napkins in his lap, came running over.
Good sir, might I escort you to the governor's table?
Right this way. As Nasruddin followed the butler, people waved and called to him from all corners of the room.
Nasruddin! Hi! Hello! How are you? You look wonderful.
What a party, eh? When Nasruddin reached the governor's table...
The dignitary leapt up and enwrapped him in a hug.
Nasruddin, my good man. Such an honor to have you here.
Please, sit next to me. and eat all you want.
My cooks are prepared enough tantalizing food to feed an entire country, let alone a town.
Nasruddin did as he was told and sat next to the governor.
Immediately, a waiter brought a glistening plate of roasted bell peppers.
Now remember, Nasruddin hadn't eaten all day.
He'd been too busy working. But instead of gobbling up the peppers, one by one, he picked them up. and stuffed them into the pockets of his coat.
Mmm, peppers. These look so good. Here you go, coat.
The guests seated around Nasruddin stared in astonishment.
When the next course arrived, a fragrant bowl of lentil soup, Nasruddin blew on the soup to cool it off.
Then, yes, poured it into the pockets of his coat.
I know how much you love soup, Coat. Enjoy!
By now, everyone in the room was gaping at Nasruddin.
With every new course, the waiters brought cucumber salad.
Ooh, coat. Taste these. Zucchini fritters.
Hey, coat! Have a nibble on these. Lamb kebabs?
Bon appetit! Nasruddin didn't eat a bite.
Instead, he dumped everything into the pockets of his long red silk coat.
All this time, the governor had been frozen in his seat, his eyes wider than the bowl of soup Nasruddin had poured into his coat pockets.
Finally... He spoke up. Nasruddin, with all due respect.
What are you doing? Nasruddin looked up innocently.
Who, me? Well, I'm feeding my coat, of course.
I can see that, but why feed a coat? I mean, all this delicious food we have here?
What a waste! Nasruddin smiled. Oh, you see it as a waste, huh?
You see, I don't see it as a waste at all.
I don't understand. Nasruddin stood up. and looked around the crowded room.
He cleared his throat. And the bustling room became silent.
My dear friends and neighbors. When I first arrived at this feast tonight, I was dressed in my work clothes. all smudged and stained and smelly.
And nobody, including you, Governor, nobody.
Gave me the time of day. You all treated me like I was nothing.
The guests in the banquet hall felt their faces burn red with shame.
The governor hung his head. Then he placed his hand on Nasruddin's shoulder.
"'What you say is true, Nasruddin,' And on behalf of everyone, I am sorry, truly sorry. but I'm still confused.
"'Why feed your coat?' The wise man's eyes twinkled.
Well, you see, after the way each and every one of you treated me, I went back home. and I changed into this coat.
And I come back, and I'm greeted with smiles.
And it was the coat that made all the difference.
So I realized it wasn't me that you wanted at your party.
It was my coat. What else could I do but feed all of your delectable foods to the coat?
See, I'm the unwelcome guest at this party.
So my coat. must be the welcome one. And with that, he walked out of the banquet hall, puddles and pieces of food trailing behind him.
From then on, everyone in town thought twice before treating people based on their appearance.
They remembered it's what's inside that matters most.
Just as the wise man had hoped, Nastruddin's lesson proved to be some very precious... and very scrumptious food for thought.
. . . Now it's your turn. Have you ever judged something or someone on appearance alone?
Maybe you thought a food would taste yucky because it wasn't especially pretty, but it turned out to be delicious.
Or you assumed a person was really serious because they weren't very smiley when you met.
But then you learned they were just having a rough day.
Think about that time and share your story with someone you like to have fun with.
Talk about what happened and what you learned about judging a book by its cover.
This week's story, the unwelcome guest, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear, and edited by Circle Round's executive producer, Jessica Alpert.
Original music and sound design was by Eric Shimalanis.
Our artist is Sabina Han. You can find Sabina's black and white illustrations for all of our stories on our website. wbur.org slash circleround.
Click on coloring pages, then print some out and fill them in with colors of your own.
And if you feel like it, share your masterpiece on Instagram.
We're at instagram.com slash circleroundpodcast.
Special thanks to this week's actors. Maurice Parent, Craig Wallace, Tom Whaley, Jacob Yeh, and Richard Kind.
Kids, you can hear Richard's voice on Summer Camp Island on the Cartoon Network.
And if you haven't yet seen the movie Inside Out, Richard portrays the one and only Bing Bong.
The featured instrument in today's story was the oud.
You can learn more about this member of the String family and see a picture on our website.
If you haven't yet subscribed to Circle Round, Find us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for circling around with us.
