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.
Do you remember the last time you saw a rainstorm? streaks of lightning, rumbles of thunder.
The whole thing can be kind of scary, right?
I know I sometimes want to hide under the covers on my bed.
Well, today we'll hear one explanation of where all that thunder and lightning comes from.
And the answer may surprise you. I'm Rebecca Shear, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.
Today, our story is called Thunder and Lightning.
It was inspired by a folktale that's been told for years and years in Nigeria, a country in Africa.
Some really great people came together to help bring you this tale, including Yetide Badaki and Daiwa Okenei.
If you're a grown-up listening right now, you may recognize their voices.
Yetide is on the Starz series American Gods.
And you can see Dio alongside Jennifer Lopez in NBC's Shades of Blue.
So circle around, everyone, for thunder and lightning.
Once upon a time, near a lush green forest and some tall bumpy hills, there was a village.
In most ways, it was like any other village.
It had houses, a school, a market, some farmland for crops, and many, many men, women, and children.
And among the many, many men, women, and children, there also lived a sheep. and a ram.
The ram was the sheep's son. But this sheep and ram were very different from all other sheep and rams.
For one thing, they talked. Good morning, Mother.
Good morning, Son. Also, the sheep and ram didn't live inside a barn or out in a pasture.
They lived in a house. What would you like for breakfast, my child?
The usual, please. A nice bowl of soft grass.
With seeds sprinkled on top. Coming right up.
Something else that set the sheep and ram apart was their names.
The sheep's name was Thunder. And the ram's name was Lightning.
Thunder and Lightning were very good friends with rain.
Anytime the villagers needed water for their crops, thunder and lightning would climb up the tall, bumpy hills and call out for rain.
Thunder would use her deepest, most booming voice, and lightning would dash back and forth so quickly that all you'd see was his white fleece streaking by.
As soon as Rain heard thunder's rumble and spotted lightning's flash, She would drop down from the clouds and give the village all the water it needed.
Well, one summer, the weather was especially hot and the farmlands were especially dry.
The mayor of the village worried none of the crops would grow, so he summoned thunder and lightning to his house.
Thunder, lightning, the crops are in trouble and only you can help us.
Can you call for rain today? Of course, Mr Mayor.
It would be our honour. The entire village watched as thunder and lightning hurried up to the hills.
Lightning dashed ahead, his white coat glinting bright.
Thunder followed behind. her powerful voice bellowing low.
Before long, dark gray clouds formed in the sky, with rain sitting right in the middle.
When lightning and thunder saw their friend, they said hello. lightning with a flash of his fleece, and thunder with a rumble.
And with that, rain jumped out of the clouds and fell upon the farmlands.
The villagers were so happy, they cheered, dancing and splashing around in the puddles.
Thank you, Thunder, for bringing us water.
Thank you, Lightning, for saving our crops.
Thank you both for sending us rain. Month after month, every time the village needed rain, thunder and lightning would race up the hill to call for it.
And month after month, Thunder the Sheep noticed that lightning the ram was getting stronger and stronger, and faster and faster.
After gobbling up his breakfast of grass and seeds, Lightning would go outside to play.
But he'd get so carried away that he'd smash right into houses and burst through doors.
He'd even knock down walls. Every time this happened, Thunder would scold him.
Lightning! How many times do I have to tell you?
You must be more careful. You don't know your own strength.
I'm sorry, Mother. It won't happen again.
And yet, it did. And the more damage lightning caused, the more upset his neighbors became.
Look at my door. It's torn right through.
Lightning struck it down. Look at my window, the glass. all gone lightning bolted through it the mayor heard heard the villagers' complaints, and immediately sent for Thunder and Lightning.
You called for us, Mr. Mayo? Does the village need rain?
Not this time, my friends. That's not what I called you here for.
It's your neighbors. They are starting to complain.
About us? Haven't we called the rain quickly enough when they needed it?
Oh, of course you have. Everyone is very happy with the way you call for aid.
The problem is the damage. Thunder sighed.
She had a feeling this was coming. Lightning.
I've been trying to tell you, you can't keep bolting and streaking around the village.
You don't know your own strength. And it's causing harm.
Lightning hung his head. I know, I know.
I'm sorry. I'm sure you are, my boy. But I'm afraid that's not good enough.
I need a guarantee that the village will stay just as it is.
No knockdown or busted up buildings. And for that, there is something you both must do.
Thunder and lightning braced themselves.
What would the mayor say? Would Lightning have to apologize to the villagers?
That was easy enough to do. Perhaps he and Thunder could even fix their houses.
Whatever it is, we'll do it, Mr. Mayo. You name it, we'll make it happen.
Well then my friends, what you must do is this...
Oh, time for a quick break. But what do you think the mayor will say?
What will he ask Thunder the Sheep and Lightning the Ram to do?
We'll find out soon. Stick around. Support for Circle Round comes from Indeed.
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Hiring Indeed is all you need. need. Welcome back to Circle Round.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Today's story is called Thunder and Lightning.
When we left off, Thunder the Sheep and Lightning the Ram had been summoned to see the mayor.
The villagers were upset about the damage lightning had been causing as he barreled around the village. the mayor needed a guarantee that this kind of thing wouldn't happen anymore.
Thunder. Lightning. You must leave the village.
The sheep and ram were stunned. You want us?
To leave? But, Mr. Mayo, this is our home.
I know. I know. And you've been such honored members of this village, bringing down rain whenever we've needed it, but...
We can't have any more walls, windows or doors falling down.
You must go past the edge of time and live among the lush green trees of the forest.
We still call you when we need you to bring rain, but the forest must be your new home.
So, Thunder and Lightning moved out to the forest.
They built a hut out of branches and leaves and found that living in the woods was nice.
The air was fresh and the tall trees were wonderfully shady when the sun grew hot.
Plus, thunder and lightning were close enough to the hills to scamper up and call for rain when the village needed it.
But after a while, Lightning grew bored.
Mother, it's so dull out here among the trees.
I liked it better back in the village. There was so much to see, so much to do.
This is our home now, my child, and we must make the most of it.
Why not go exploring and make a new friend?
A good number of animals live here. Antelopes, gorillas, even elephants spend their day in the forest.
Go out and play. Have fun! So lightning went off into the woods.
And before long, he met all the animals his mother told him about.
He raced with the antelope. He sprinted below the gorillas, swinging from tree to tree.
Woo! Ha ha! And he ran circles around the elephants as they waved their trunks.
But remember, lightning was growing faster and stronger by the minute.
So as the young ram raced, sprinted, and ran, he started colliding with trees, knocking them clear down.
It was just like in the village, only instead of a door or window or wall, Dozens of big, strong trees ended up flat on the ground.
The young ram was having so much fun, he didn't even notice.
He just ran faster. So fast, in fact, that sparks started to fly from his bright white fleece.
When the sparks landed on the grass, bushes and trees, they began to smolder.
Pretty soon, the forest was on fire. Oh no!
What have I done? Mother, I have to make sure Thunder is all right.
Lightning moved faster than ever as he streaked off to find his mom.
Luckily, sheep have excellent noses. So back in the hut, Thunder smelled the smoke right away.
Is that smoke? It is. Fire! There's a fire!
I must find lightning. Just as she was darting out of the hut, lightning was dashing back in.
Mother! Mother, we must leave the forest!
It's on fire! Let's go back toward the village.
We're sure to find safety there. When Thunder and Lightning reached the village, They stopped to catch their breath.
Oh, Mother, I was so worried. Thank goodness you're safe.
And thank goodness you're safe, my son. What happened?
Do you know what started this fire? Lightning did not answer.
Instead, he hung his head low. Oh, lightning.
Did you do this? But before the ram could say anything, He and his mother found themselves surrounded by their former neighbors from the village.
They were all looking at the forest. With sadness and fear.
Our beautiful forest. Going down in flames.
What a sad, sad day. Lightning was sad too.
I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone.
Well, you still don't know your own strength my son.
But now, let's use that strength for good.
What's the best thing for putting out a fire?
Lightning lifted his head. A smile spread across his face.
Water, of course. Mother, let's go up the hill and call for rain.
Excellent thinking, my son. Let's go. So Thunder the Sheep and Lightning the Ram sprinted up to the hills.
Thunder let out her deep bellow and lightning flashed his bright white coat.
When Rain heard and saw her two friends, she immediately dropped down from the clouds.
As drop after drop of rain cascaded from the sky, they doused the flames until the fire was out.
But the villagers did not cheer or dance and splash around in the puddles. because after the smoke cleared, much of the forest was gone.
The lush green trees had been replaced by stumps, their bark scorched and charred.
Oh, those trees. They stood so tall. They looked so majestic.
And now they are bent to a crisp. As soon as thunder and lightning came back down from the hills, The mayor called them over.
Thunder. Lightning. We thank you for bringing us rain to stop this raging fire.
But it was your callousness that brought this fire in the first place.
After you've damaged the houses in the village, I thought it was enough to move you to the forest.
But... Now I'm afraid you must move somewhere else.
Thunder sighed. We understand, Mr. Mayor.
We will go wherever you'd like. I will.
Thunder was surprised at her son's words.
She noticed the young ram was struggling to hold back tears.
Mr. Mill... You should know it wasn't Thunder who caused this fire.
It was me, Lightning. I was running around and not being careful.
It was all my fault. If anyone has to move it should be me, not my mother.
The mayor paused for a moment and furrowed his brow.
Shrugging his shoulders, he looked at the sheep.
Well, Thunder, what do you say? Would you like to stay?
Mr. Mayor, I thank you for your offer. Lightning doesn't know his own strength, and he probably never will.
Thunder nuzzled her son's fleecy nose. Gently, she wiped a tear from his eye.
But Lightning and I were in this together.
And not just when we call for rain. You see, thunder and lightning.
We're a team. And a team we shall stay. Very well.
You're a loyal and dedicated mother, Thunder.
Enlightening. Your mother's right. You'll probably never realize how strong you are. you definitely have a wild streak.
But you're a loyal and dedicated son. And the two of you make a wonderful pair.
So now... The mayor lifted his arm and motioned upward.
I present you with your new home. the sky we'll be living in the sky something tells me you'll like it after all you'll be uniting with an old friend.
As thunder and lightning glanced up, they saw a dark gray cloud float by.
Peeking out from behind it was their longtime pal, Rain.
Smiling, she reached out and tossed down a puffy ladder made of clouds.
Thunder and lightning ran over to the ladder and climbed right up.
After that, thunder and lightning still helped the villagers when their crops needed water.
The sheep and ram no longer needed to dash up into the hills to call for rain, But Rain had gotten so used to listening for thunder's deep roar and watching for lightning's white streak, that she wouldn't drop out of her cloud without them.
As for lightning, He grew to be so fast and strong that even though he lived in the sky, his sparks sometimes shot down to the earth. leading to a burnt tree here, a knocked down wall there.
And as always, right afterward, Thunder would scold him with her low rumble.
And that's why, when there's a rainstorm, first you'll see a bolt of lightning.
Then you'll hear a crash of thunder. Some people say it's just a playful young ram causing mischief. and his loving mother reminding him of his own mighty strength.
¶¶ Now that we've done our telling, it's your turn to do some showing.
Find a piece of paper and something to draw or paint with, and create your own picture of Thunder the Sheep and Lightning the Ram What do they look like?
What are they doing? Where are they? Let your imagination run wild as you bring them to life.
We have a new folktale every week on Circle Round, and we don't want you to miss any.
You can listen to all our stories on our website, wbur.org slash circle round.
And you can subscribe to Circle Round on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
And if you like what you hear please write a review.
It'll help other people find the show. Special thanks to our actors this week, Yetide Badaki, Dayo Okeneye, Josiah Akinyale, Angel Blaze, and Chiazo Tom at KKZA.
Grownups, you can catch Yetide Badaki on the Starz show American Gods.
And Dayo Okanyi is on NBC's Shades of Blue.
Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.
I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for circling around with us.
