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 have a witchy story from finland told by storyteller new to super great kids stories, sarah lisa wilkinson.
How are you?
Super great story fans?
I hope you're enjoying the summer if you're in the northern part of the world and winter if you're in the south.
I'm happy because We've been planning our super great live show in London where we'll be celebrating our fifth birthday and the publication of our super great book.
I do love live shows and if you decide to come, you might like to dress as your favourite character.
Anansi, Baba Yaga, even the Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
Look on our website, supergreatkidsstories.com, under News, if you'd like tickets for the show.
Another reason to be cheerful is that we have a funny story this week, told by Sarah Lisa Wilkinson.
Sarah Lisa lives in the UK and her mum is from Finland, so she grew up speaking Finnish and going to Finland for the holidays.
If you'd like to know more about her work, then go to our website supergreatkidstoriescom and click on the link Storytellers here.
Just before we hear from Sarah Lisa, I have a little question for you.
Well, we have a quick word with the grown-ups.
Which is your favourite Super Great Kids Stories character and why?
Is it Baba Yaga, Rare Rabbit, the Snake King, Snow Wolf or another character?
Have a little think.
Ready?
Off you go.
Hello, super great grown-ups.
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Hello, super great kids.
I'm back.
Which is your favourite character?
Did you decide?
Mine is probably Baba Yaga, because she's terrifically scary and likes munching on children for breakfast, but also sometimes she's rather surprisingly kind and can be helpful, and I like the fact that she's very tall.
I also like the grandmother in the owl girls because she's a good witch and can fly and turn herself into an owl.
Now, it's time for this week's story.
A quick word of warning.
This funny story is a little bit windy and mentions the word fart a few times.
Let's give a very warm welcome to Sarah Lisa Wilkinson.
Hello, super great kids.
My name is Sarah Lisa and I am a storyteller.
I live in London and right now I am at the Stealing Thunder Storytelling Festival in the Lake District for a midsummer party and it is wonderful.
And this is a story from Finland.
In the middle of a Finnish pine forest there was a young man standing with his arms tightly wrapped around the trunk of a tree, his face all smushed up against the bark and a great big smile splitting his cheeks.
His name was Petko and the reason for his silly grin was because, in his imagination, He wasn't hanging on to an old pine.
In his imagination, he was cuddling Piriko Pesemaki, the girl who lived in the big house.
Because, you see, Petko loved Piriko so much that every time he saw her his heart became a bird, broke free from his chest, flying over the tops of the pine trees.
He knew that his one chance for happiness in this life was to have her as his partner, for them to live out their days hand in hand, side by side, which means in Finnish, in a red house by a potato field.
And let me tell you, in finland that is like the best thing ever.
And today was the day he was going to ask her to marry him.
He had got himself dressed up so nicely.
He was wearing his best, if a little bit bent at the corner, straw hat.
He had sewn colourful patches into almost all the holes in his trousers.
And as he stood outside the big door to the big house, he held in his arms the most wonderful bouquet of mushrooms.
Because everybody else did flowers and he wanted to be original.
And also, he knew for a fact that Pilko loved a mushroom.
When they met each other mushroom picking in the forest, he was always amazed at the skill she showed.
And he loved to see her face when she got a really good one.
And she started gobbling it down, making these little grunting noises like a lovely pig.
She was gorgeous. and with that image fresh in his mind, he knocked upon the door.
But when the big door opened, it was not his Pirko standing there.
It was her father.
Petri!
And Petri looked down at Petko, at the hat, at the patches on his trousers, at the mushrooms.
And he wrinkled up his nose like he'd smelt something.
Pooey.
And Petko tried to tell him.
You know how much he loved his daughter.
How when he saw her his heart became a bird.
But Petri wasn't interested.
And he said that his Pitko was a precious gem.
His pirko was as fine and as fragile as a china cup on a china plate, and the hands of her husband would be the hands of a gentleman, not some common old garden ragamuffin.
In fact, this very day he was hosting a little party, a little coffee and cake soiree for two of the finest, most eligible gentlemen in the village, and Petko would not be invited.
The door slammed in Petko's face.
The mushroom tumbled to the ground.
And when Petko turned around...
His head hung low, his shoulders were slumped and if only he had looked back.
He would have seen, pressed up against the window pane, Pirko.
Two tears sliding down her cheeks.
One for him and one for the mushrooms.
But he didn't look back.
He didn't look where he was going at all.
He didn't care anymore.
He was running back into the forest.
His cheeks were burning with shame.
His eyes were hot with angry tears.
He was thrashing and smashing and crashing.
Until Now that was actually in the original Finnish, so I will translate it for you.
And he realised that what he had taken for a hump of old bog grass was actually the head of a witch who was sunk in a bog.
If you ever get stuck in a bog in a pine forest in Finland or anywhere really, don't move around.
Don't wriggle about because the more you wriggle, the quicker and deeper you will sink.
But this was clearly a really wriggly witch, because she was sunk all the way up to her witchy chin.
All that could be seen of her was her long witchy nose with a classic wart on the end, her wild and wonderful witchy hair and her thin witchy lips which were calling out apua apua help, help.
And peggo was just not in the mood, but also he couldn't just leave her there, could he?
So he got a solid bit of ground and he plunged his hands and then his arms, and then even more of his arms into the slimy, grimy bog.
He found the hot, prickly hollows of the witches armpits and he She came out wriggling and dribbling and She splattered out in front of him.
But she was so happy to be free.
She danced around, waving her witchy arms, shaking her witchy hips.
She kept on trying to hug Petko and kiss him, but he was like oh no don't, please just stop it.
But she insisted on thanking him, so she rummaged around her witchy robes and she pulled out a stone.
Take it, she said.
It has been passed down in my family for generations, from witch to witch to witch, and it has great magical powers.
Cool, said Petko.
What does it do?
It makes you fart.
Anybody who blows upon this stone begins to fart uncontrollably, and only you, the stone's true owner, can make them stop by taking it away.
Whee!
And then she was off, winding her witchy way back through the woods.
Well, Petko looked at the witch's stone in his hand and he thought well, that's just great, isn't it?
Because, you know, she could have given me the stone of eternal youth or life.
Maybe a stone that gave you a lot of money.
Maybe even a stone that would have made Pirko's father see that I Pirko, truly am the right man for his daughter.
Oh, the way he looked at me.
It made my blood boil.
If only there was a way of taking him down a peg or two.
And then he had it.
He ran back through the woods, back to the big house.
He let himself in through an open kitchen window.
He army crawled across the floor and he placed that stone beneath the stove because he knew when Pirko's father came in to put the coffee on for his little coffee and cake soiree, he would have to blow on the stove to get it going.
And when he did, aha!
Then we will see who is a fine gentleman.
He heard footsteps outside the kitchen door.
He quickly jumped out of the window, crawled beneath the house and he waited.
Until he heard footsteps crossing the floor above his head.
He heard the rattling of the coffee pot.
And then was a silence that was shattered by the sound of a muffled explosion that was so powerful it made the teeth in his cheeks chatter and he couldn't help it.
He had to take a look, and so he crawled out from beneath the house.
He peered over the window, But it wasn't Pirko's father standing there in the kitchen.
It was Pirko looking really surprised.
And peko was about to jump in you know, get rid of the stone.
When she let go a second fart that was so loud that cows in fields miles away mooed back at her, that tug-boats upon the ocean sounded their horns in response.
And again, Petko was about to go in rescue his beloved when the kitchen door opened.
And in came Petko's father, with fine and eligible gentleman number one on one side and fine and eligible gentleman number two on the other.
And he said, oh, my darling, there you are.
Gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you my lovely daughter.
And poor Piddicol.
She really did her best.
And she turned her back, which was a terrible idea, but it was out of her control.
And she let go a third fart that was so explosive it splattered the men against the wall.
And then there was a bit of an awkward silence.
And at the window...
Petko couldn't keep his eyes off Petko's face.
Oh, when he saw her little nose begin to shiver, he saw her bottom lip begin to quiver.
And then she laughed.
She laughed so hard it made her fart even more.
And the two fine gentlemen got to their feet, made their excuses and got out of there.
And Piddacle's father looked at his daughter, laughing and farting merrily away.
And he started to cry.
He said, they'll tell everyone in the village who's going to want to marry you now.
And she tried to reassure him, you know, saying, come on, Dad, it's just a bit of wind.
But every time she moved towards him, she farted.
And every time she farted, she laughed.
And every time she farted and laughed, he would cry.
And suddenly Pekka realised.
This was his moment.
He ran to the door.
He hammered upon it.
And when Pilko's father answered, tears still rolling down his cheeks, he said Sir, you sent me away once before, but I'm here to tell you again I love your daughter.
I want to marry her.
Do you promise? said Pirko's father, grabbing on to Petko's hand.
And if I promise to give you half my wealth, half my land, you won't take it back, whatever happens.
Done.
And then he went over to her. and he took her in his arms.
And then he got rid of the stone and she had a little bit of peace.
And so they were married.
They lived out their days hand in hand, side by side, and with the money and the land they got from Petticoat's father they were able to build together a red house by a potato field.
And it was the best thing ever.
Oh, thank you so much, Sarah Lisa, for sharing that marvellous story.
I'm so pleased that Beko got to marry his love in the end.
I really like that story because it made me laugh a lot.
We've been looking at trickster tales recently.
Do you think that was a trickster tale?
I think maybe it wasn't a trickster story, because it's a story with a trick in it, rather than about a character who's always going around playing tricks on his or her friends, like a Nancy or Br'er Rabbit.
Although...
I have to say, if I owned a magic stone like that one, I think I might be tempted to use it quite a lot on people who were annoying me.
So, maybe Peckot might turn into a trickster.
What do you think?
Now.
It's time to say hello to some owlets who've recently joined our storytelling club.
So let's spread our wings and fly around the world with StoryOwl to meet them.
Let's begin in Canada and welcome Robin who is nearly five and lives in Winnipeg.
His favourite stories are, well, any with a Nancy, as well as the Baba Yaga ones and the hairy toe.
Robin's family has just subscribed ahead of a trip to France.
Bon voyage, wishing you a very good trip to Indiana in the US now, where owlets Sammy, who is nine, and Katie, who is eight, have been listening for years.
Sammy's favourite is Little Half Chick, and Katie's is How the Elephant Got Its Trunk.
Good choices.
And across the sea to London, here in the UK, to greet five-year-old Matilda, who's also been listening for ages.
She's a fan of Anansi stories, especially Anansi and the Hot Pepper Soup.
Matilda is coming to our fifth anniversary show in London in September.
See you there, Matilda.
I wonder whether she's going to dress up as a Nancy.
And hello to another long-time listener, five-year-old Claire in Naugatuck in Connecticut.
Claire's favourites include The Ghost of the Bloody Finger, The Princess and the Sylph and Cap of Rushes.
Oh yes, I love Cap of Rushes.
Good choice, Claire.
And let's head to Portsmouth in Rhode Island, where nine-year-old Hazel recently became an owlet.
She sent us a great drawing of one of her favourite stories, Masha and the Big Brown Bear.
And the drawing is complete with cherry pies and mushrooms.
Lovely picture.
Thank you very much, Hazel.
Staying in the US, let's head west to Santa Rosa in California, where story fan Peter listens on the drive to school.
Peter's been subscribing for the past year and he loves the Anansi stories and anything with fairies and mystical creatures.
He's waiting for another leprechaun story.
Oh, I'll have to ask Kate Corkery if she knows any more.
Back east now to the US state of Maryland.
And hello to Charlotte, who is six.
Charlotte also listens in the car and her favourites are the trickster stories.
She really liked the recent story Rabbit Tricks Wolf told by Gail Ross.
Up to Pennsylvania now, where Elliot, who is six, and his brother Arlo, love listening on the way to school.
Their favourites are The Belly Button Monster, The Hairy Toe, The Anansi Stories and The Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
Elliot reads books about Anansi at school.
That's lovely to hear, Elliot.
I wonder if you've tried telling any Anansi stories yourself?
Now over to Scottsdale Arizona, where six-year-old James listens every day and has heard every one of our stories.
He loves them all, but his current favourites are bone soup and cap of rushes.
James sent us a lovely picture of his favourite part of Cap of Rushes, where she's walking, and walking, and walking until her clothes all turn to rags.
Great picture.
Thank you very much, James.
Hello now to Beatrice, or BB, in Hatfield in Massachusetts, who loves the belly button monster.
It was Bebe's seventh birthday just a few days ago.
I hope you had a really happy day, Bebe.
And back to California now, where new owlets, Genghis Khan, Lennon and Baby Willow, listen to super great stories every day.
Their family favourites are the Baba Yaga stories, Anansi and the Number Five, Anansi and the Magic Yams and Masha and the Big Brown Bear.
Genghis Khan especially likes the scary stories.
Well done you.
And that's it for Owlet Welcomes this week.
We really appreciate your support.
More welcomes next week.
And our Pick of the Week picture goes to Madeline from Perth in Western Australia.
She drew a picture of the Story Stone Soup.
Thank you very much for sharing it.
It's a really good picture.
The family look all contented, huddling together, watching the soup bubbling on the fire.
I wonder if you can remember the song, Madeline.
Those words are so good, reminding us that we can all help each other to make new friends if we've just moved.
Hurrah!
If you'd like to see Madeline's picture, go to our Facebook page facebookcom forward.
Slash supergreatkidstories or Instagram at supergreatkidstories underscore i.
Sen does a picture of your favourite story or of this week's story, with Petko in his patch trousers and Piriko standing together outside their red house admiring their potato fields.
And you might even get a mention on the podcast as the artist who drew Picture of the Week.
Send them to facebookcom, forward slash super great kids stories or to our website, super great kids storiescom and story al will reply to you and thanks to all of you who are subscribing to our podcast.
We really appreciate those of you who feel you can support us on apple or on patreon.
It helps us to pay our storytellers and it gives you access to all the Super Great Scary Stories.
And depending on your level of subscription, you get over 50 bonus stories too.
Plus, you'll get access to our Super Great Kids Stories Express, which cuts straight to the story.
Great for listening to stories back to back.
Visit our website for more details, supergreatkidstories.com.
That's it for now.
Remember, if you pre-order our super great book before September the 11th, you'll get a discount.
You'll find the link in the news section on our website.
Thank you for your support.
Keep telling your stories and singing your songs.
Have a happy week.
This podcast was produced by Kim Normanton and David Smith at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.
