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.
Happy Christmas Super Great Kids.
I hope you're having a good time with your family and maybe even have time to share a story or two with them.
Today we have a gentle story for you from England called The Warm Glow, and it's told by Wendy Shearer, who told you the leopard's drum.
On Christmas Eve, when I was your age, my mum would read us a story, and then we'd go upstairs to our bedrooms carrying candles and singing Silent Night.
And now that I'm grown up, on Christmas Eve I join my neighbours in a little white church on the village green and we read poems and sing songs.
This year, a girl played a harp.
And one of my sons sang an old English Christmas lullaby.
Lovely.
I wonder what you did last night.
So, just before we hear Wendy telling us an old English story, the warm glow I wonder if you have any traditions at your family gatherings.
It might be at Hanukkah, Eid al-Fitr, Diwali or another special day.
Perhaps you bake cookies together.
Have a picnic on the beach or maybe watch the same film every year.
Have a think about what you do on special days while we have a quick word with the grown-ups.
Are you ready?
Off you go.
Hello!
Did you know?
The Super Great Kids Stories book is available in bookshops and online around the world.
Our stories are designed to inspire families to leave their screens, learn about the world together and be entertained and awed.
We're delighted that our first book of 30 of our best stories has been published by Bloomsbury.
It's beautifully illustrated by artists from across the globe.
The characters you'll meet include a Nancy eating hot pepper soup, Baba Yaga, the bony Russian witch, Molly and the leprechaun and, of course, the ghost of the bloody finger.
Our book will make a memorable Christmas or birthday gift for you to read and enjoy as a family.
Available worldwide, online and in bookshops.
Go to our website, supergreatkidsstories.com for details.
Snip, snap, snout.
Our super great book is out.
Hello, super great kids.
I'm back.
Did you think about anything you do in your house on special celebration days?
Do you know, in homes in England about 200 years ago, when a lot of these traditional stories were told, the holidays did not begin until Christmas Day.
So people came home from work on Christmas Eve and began to decorate their house and put up their tree.
Imagine!
And now it's time to welcome this week's storyteller.
So let's give a very warm welcome to Wendy Shearer.
Hello, super great kids.
This is Wendy Shearer.
I am a storyteller and writer and illustrator, very excited to share with you one of my winter stories.
So sit back, relax and curl up for a tale.
In a certain kingdom, in a certain land, there was a lush green valley with sloping hills and a scattering of cottages in between.
At the head of the valley was a huge castle of ancient stone where a king and queen once lived.
Their children had long gone to rule over their own kingdoms, and the king and queen lived all alone in their lofty castle, with only a handful of staff to serve them.
Every night they left their drafty rooms at the top of the castle, made their way down the dark staircases and sat in front of a huge open fire in the kitchen.
This was the king and queen's favourite place to be.
It was the warmest room in the castle.
One night, as the wind howled outside like a pack of hungry wolves, the king and queen sat, as usual, in front of the fire, telling each other stories of times gone by and times to come.
The king lifted his glass and made a toast to the queen.
May you live for as long as you want.
And the queen lifted her glass to make a toast to the king.
And may you never want for as long as you live.
One evening, as they sat in front of the fire, they disagreed.
They fell out, and no one remembers what it was about.
The king retreated along his drafty corridors and through the empty halls to his quarters.
The queen retreated to the farthest corner of the castle along chilly staircases up to her dark dank.
The fire went out in the kitchen and, no matter how hard they tried, the servants couldn't rekindle it.
The cold air spiralled up through the walls of the stone castle.
It spread through the valley like a witch's curse, drifting into cottages and sinking into all but one person's heart.
Soon it was time for the winter festivities.
Decorations were hung, carols were sung and feasts were prepared.
The castle remained cold and cheerless and the fire remained unlit.
The king shivered in his room, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders for warmth.
He looked out and saw a warm glow coming from one of the cottages below.
He turned to his servant and said, Take one of our lanterns and this big bag of gold coins.
Bring back six hot coals to rekindle our fire.
The servant set off in his thick winter boots, pulling his coat tightly around him.
The icy snow crunched beneath his feet as he made his way to the first cottage.
He was greeted by a grumpy man who stood frowning in the doorway.
Who's knocking on my door on this frosty night?
He was not happy at being disturbed.
The servant spoke quickly.
Sorry to bother you, but please may I have six hot coals to light our fire?
The grumpy man spotted the money bag.
He asked for twelve gold coins in return for six hot coals.
The servant agreed and used his metal tongs to place the coals into the lantern.
He had taken merely five short steps in the dusty snow when the coals in his lantern turned from crimson red to black as midnight.
Sighing, the servant retraced his steps and knocked at the door of the second cottage.
This time he was greeted by a grumpy woman.
What brings you to my door on this wintry night?
She fixed her cold eyes on him with a stare as hard as granite.
The servant spoke quickly.
Sorry to bother you, but please may I have six hot coals to light our fire?
The grumpy woman spotted the money bag.
She asked for twelve gold coins in return for six hot coals.
The servant agreed and used his metal tongs to place the burning hot coals into the lantern.
Once again, he took only five short steps, before the coals turned from ruby red to burnt out black.
Oh dear, this was not going well.
He couldn't return to the palace without the hot coals, and so he pulled his coat around him even tighter and trudged along to the third cottage.
This time he was greeted by a smiling, welcoming face.
Warm light spilled out from the room as the door was held wide open.
Come in!
You must be freezing cold, said the kind woman.
She beckoned him to sit down by her glowing fire.
The flames flickered, with shadows dancing around the room.
She offered the servant a bowl of hot turnip soup.
It was the first bit of kindness he'd received that day.
When his fingers were no longer numb and his belly no longer empty, he made his request for six hot coals.
Of course, it would be my pleasure.
She beamed and asked for something in return.
The servant was about to offer her twelve pieces of gold, but the kind woman refused.
Oh no, there's just one thing I would like from you.
Please give the king and queen a message from me.
The servant agreed and made his way with the lantern back to the castle.
After five short steps, the coals grew even hotter.
With a spring in his step, he raced up the hill, barely able to hold the burning hot lantern.
Quickly throwing the coals into the fireplace, the servant was able to relight the fire.
The warm glow spread throughout the castle.
It drifted along the corridors and into the lofty rooms, melting the king and queen's heart.
They returned to the kitchen and sat in front of the roaring fire.
Their differences melted away.
The servant passed on the friendly woman's message.
She said for me to wish you both a very merry Christmas and a peaceful new year.
Warmth spread from the castle down the valley into the cottages and thawed the hearts of the people, even the grumpy man and the grumpy woman, because kindness always spreads more kindness.
So, wherever you are in the world, I'd like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a peaceful new year.
Aw, thanks so much, Wendy, for that moving story.
Have you noticed, Super Great Kids, that quite often these little traditional tales have someone who is cold and trying to find fire to get warm?
In Ashpet last week, the girl was sent to fetch fire from the witch woman.
And also in the Russian Baba Yaga story, Vasilisa was sent to get glowing embers after the fire went out.
Do you think that might be?
Well, maybe because in the days when those stories were told, no one had central heating, so the fire was where everybody gathered to keep warm, and since they didn't have televisions or screens either, that's also the place where they would huddle together and tell stories to entertain each other while they were warming up.
I like the idea in Wendy's story kindness always spreads more kindness.
Do you think that's true?
I know I had a friend once who lost her purse while waiting in line in a supermarket and when she came to pay she didn't have any money.
But the man behind her in the queue said oh, don't worry, I'll pay, and he would not let her pay him back later.
So my friend went out the next day feeling all good about kind people in the world and, do you know, she gave the money that she'd saved on her shopping to some people who did not have very much.
Maybe you could draw us a picture of a king and a queen sitting in front of the fire in the kitchen, warming their hands and telling a story.
Send it to storyowl at supergreatkidsstoriescom or to our Facebook page at facebookcom.
Forward slash supergreatkidsstories and we'll post it for everyone to enjoy.
And now it's time to fly around the world with StoryOwl to say hello and thank you to all the owlets who've recently joined our storytelling club.
We start in Ireland with six-year-old Sirka, who lives in Adair.
Her favourite story is The Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
Over the Irish Sea.
Now to England to greet Talia, who lives in East Sussex and has become an owlet again after reading all of the Super Great Kids Stories books.
Her favourite stories are The Village of Fools and Eve of the Salty Folk.
All the way around the world.
Now to Hawaii to say hello to Allegra, who is seven Ivy, who is four, and their baby sister Cece.
Allegra's favourite story is they're two silly witches and Ivy's is Bonita the tricky sheep.
They say baby Cece's favourite is the ghost of the bloody finger.
But their mum is not too sure about that.
Across the Pacific now to the US state of Oregon, where five-year-old Emmy and her one-year-old sister Fiona live in Terrebonne.
Emmy's been listening since she was two and she especially likes all the Baba Yaga stories and how Turtle got his shell.
And staying in Oregon, this time in Portland, let's greet twins Aria and Mira, who became owlets for their seventh birthday.
Mira says her favourites are well, all of them, but especially the hairy toe Bonita, the tricky sheep, Mama Draga and the two silly witches.
Aria's favourites are the scary stories.
And Aria drew our Pick of the Week picture this week for a marvellously disgusting drawing of a green hairy toe from the story told by Maya Ganatra.
Thanks for sharing it, Aria.
You can see that picture on our Facebook page, facebookcom.
Forward slash Super Great Kids Stories or on our new picture gallery on our website, supergreatkidstoriescom.
A short hop to Seattle in Washington next to say hello to Cora, who is six.
Her current favourites are all the Anansi stories.
Look out for another Anansi story coming soon Cora.
Down to Texas now to say hello to Rhythm who is 8 years old and lives in Wylie.
His favourite story is The Boy Who Drew Cats.
And heading east along to New Orleans, next to say hello to Nora, who is 7 and a half, and she asks to listen to a story every time she gets in the car, especially on the way to swim practice.
She's been a fan for two years and says she can't possibly pick a favourite, but she especially loves a Nancy.
And next, let's say hello to Solomon, who is about to celebrate his sixth birthday on the 26th of December.
He ends his day with a story before bed, and his favourites are all the trickster stories Anansi, Coyote or Chistu.
And finally, across to Virginia, where Leighton turns seven on Christmas Day.
He's been listening to Super Great Kids stories since he was three and listens mostly on the way to school.
And he's just become an owlet.
His favourite stories are Rumpelstiltskin and Water Mama.
And next, let's say hello to Solomon, who is about to celebrate his sixth birthday.
He ends his day with a story before bedtime.
More welcomes to Owlets next week and thanks to everyone who's hopped into our nest and is supporting us on Apple or Patreon.
We depend on your generosity and support to keep making this podcast.
It helps us to pay our storytellers and it gives you access to lots of extras, like all the super great scary stories.
And, depending on your level of subscription, to loads of bonus stories and to all the stories in our archive.
Plus, you'll get access to our Super Great Kids Stories Express, which cuts straight to the story.
Great for listening back to back.
Visit our website for more details at supergreatkidsstories.com.
That's it for now.
Enjoy the rest of the Christmas holiday and keep telling your stories and singing your songs.
Have a happy week.
And don't miss our Christmas present to you the little fir tree, which is a bonus story for Christmas Eve.
This podcast was produced by Kim Normanton and David Smith at Wardour Studios in festive Fitzrovia in London.
