Well 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.
Our current theme is Fairy Tales Around the World.
And today we have a thoughtful story from Pakistan, beautifully told by Tim Ralphs, who told you the cat that ate the palace.
How are you super great kids?
I hope you've had a happy week.
Have you enjoyed seeing your school friends again after the holidays?
That's a reason to be cheerful.
And another reason to be cheerful if you're in a snowy country is the way that Father Frost makes everything sparkle and crunch under your feet as you walk.
One of my reasons to be cheerful this week is that I'm looking forward to meeting Wangari from Kenya and hearing her telling stories live online this Saturday, January 10th, along with Amy Douglas and Jason Buck.
They're telling trickster stories and lots of riddles.
Amy is the queen of riddles.
I look forward to meeting some of you there.
You only need one ticket for the whole family to watch, including all your dogs and cats and guinea pigs, and you don't have to get out of your pyjamas.
More details on our website, supergreatkidsstories.com.
It's in the news section under regular online shows.
Just before we hear from Tim Ralphs, telling a story about generosity.
Can you think of anything kind which someone did for you over the holidays?
Or maybe something kind which you did for someone else?
Maybe you told someone a story.
Have a little think about that while we have a quick word with the grown-ups.
Hello Super Great Kids, I'm back!
Did you think of anyone who was kind or generous to you recently?
Or maybe something kind which you did for someone else?
I was given a bird feeder recently by my family, which was a really lovely present, and as a result, I've been able to give some birds extra food, which they need in these cold winter months to help keep them warm.
And in turn, I get to watch lots more birds in my garden.
Hurrah!
Kindness spreads kindness.
And now, without further ado, it's time to give a warm welcome to the very talented storyteller from Nottingham in England, Tim Ralphs.
Hello, you super great kids.
This is Tim Ralphs with another story for you.
This one from Pakistan.
Once upon a time, there was a grass cutter called Walidad.
Every morning, Walidad would get up.
He would put on his shirt.
He would get out his scythe, which is a tool with a long wooden handle and a sharp blade on the end for cutting grass.
And he would cut grass.
He would cut grass.
He would cut grass.
And in the afternoon, he would gather up all that grass into bundles and he would go into market.
He would go to his friend the weaver and he would say Friend weaver, have I got a bundle of grass for you?
This grass is strong and bendy, the perfect grass for weaving into carpets or baskets or whatever you like.
And his friend the weaver would give him a handful of paces.
Pacers is a little coin like pennies, but a whole handful of them for Wally Dad, for that bundle of grass.
And then Wally Dad would go to his friend the Thatcher, who made special thatched roofs, and he'd say Friend Thatcher, have I got some grass for you?
It is the longest, stalkiest grass that I could find, perfect for making thatched roofs.
And the Thatcher would hand over another handful of pacers.
And Walidad would go to the merchant.
Friend merchant, he would say.
I know your donkeys get so hungry.
What with all their travel?
Have I got some grass for you, the freshest, juiciest grass for you to feed them?
And the merchant would hand over another handful of paces and Walidad would smile.
And Wali Dad would buy a little bit of this, a little bit of that, some food to eat, anything else that he needed, and then he would go back to his little hut.
And always Wali Dad would have maybe a handful of paces left at the end of market day.
Underneath his bed he had a great big clay pot and he would reach under the bed and he would let those spare paces fall into it.
Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.
But one day when he reached under the bed to drop his coins, they didn't go tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.
They went tinkle, clink, clink, clink.
And he thought, what's this?
When Wally Dad looked under the bed, He saw that the reason why those coins had gone clink clink was because the pot was full.
Brim full to overflowing with coins and those new ones had just fallen on the floor.
Well, he reached in and he scraped and dragged that great big clay pot out from under the bed.
He'd had no idea that he had this money, that he was so rich.
What a waste to have all this money just lying around.
What could he spend it on?
He thought, oh, I could buy a new shirt.
Ah, but this shirt is only a year old.
It just needs a bit of patching and mending.
Oh, I could buy a new scythe.
Oh, but my old scythe suits me so well.
It just needs a polish on the handle and a sharpen on the blade.
So he took all of his money to his friend the merchant and he said Friend merchant, what could I buy with all of these paces?
And his friend the merchant helped Wali Dad count them all out.
It took them an hour.
And at the end he stroked his beard and he said Wali Dad, you know, I have travelled from Baghdad to Cairo.
I can tell you, the most precious thing I have right now and I've been looking for the right person to sell it to is this golden bracelet that he brought out.
Oh, how it glimmered and shimmered in the sunshine.
A perfect, beautiful golden bracelet, and Walidard put it round his wrist.
It made him smile.
He went home, and every time he looked at it, every time he heard it jingle, he grinned to himself.
And the next morning he got up, he put on his shirt, he took his scythe and he went to cut grass and cut grass and cut grass.
And it was a hot day.
And Wally Dad was beginning to feel quite sweaty where the bracelet was hanging from his wrist.
And he thought, oh, I don't want to spoil the gold.
So he knit back into his house and he hid that golden bracelet for safekeeping in his pillow.
And that evening...
When he went to bed, he'd forgotten about the golden bracelet and he felt it digging into his cheek.
And that was going to be no way to sleep.
So he put that golden bracelet in the clay pot under his bed.
And the next morning he put on his shirt, he got out his scythe.
He was going to go and cut grass when he thought, my goodness, I almost forgot about my golden bracelet.
What a waste, he thought.
What a waste to have a lovely golden bracelet and just leave it in a pot under your bed.
What a silly person I am to buy a golden bracelet for myself.
I don't need a golden bracelet.
So he took that bracelet with him when he went into market that afternoon.
He went to his friend the merchant and he said merchant, who in your opinion is the noblest human being alive?
And the merchant stroked his beard.
He stroked it until it was pointed at the tip.
And he said, you know, Wali Dad, it's a good question.
The noblest person alive is the princess of Kaistan.
Good, said Wali Dad.
Then the next time you go near Kaistan, take this bracelet and give it to her.
Are you sure? said the merchant.
Yes, said Wali Dad.
It's of no use to me.
You give it to her and say it's a present from Wali Dad.
Well, the next time the merchant was away on his travels, he went to Kaistan.
And oh, the palace of the princess.
It was amazing.
She had her own special zoo full of animals.
She had perfumed gardens.
She had performers, acrobats, tumblers, jugglers.
And in the middle of the palace there, on her throne, the merchant gave the gold bracelet to the princess and said It's a present from Walidard.
The princess put the bracelet on.
She liked it very much.
What, she said, does this Wallydard want from me?
Oh, said the merchant, he doesn't want anything from you.
It's just a gift.
Now the princess was amazed because in her life, whenever anyone gave her something, it was because they wanted something back in return.
The idea of someone just being generous, this Wallydard, she said, He sounds like a wonderful man.
I would like to give him a present in return.
Merchant, I want you to load up your donkeys with silks and fabrics and fine cloths.
Are you sure? said the merchant.
Yes, I'm going to give them to you and you will take them to Wali Dad to give him as a present.
And soon...
The merchant's donkeys.
Oh, they were worn down by the heavy weight of all these fantastic silks and fabrics and cloths.
And the merchant took them all the way back to Wallydad's hut.
Oh, said Wallydad, what use do I have for silks and fine fabrics?
And there's so much of them.
Why, if I put them in my hut, there wouldn't be any room for me.
No, I tell you what.
Keep enough for yourself to make two suits of clothes.
And then Merchant, dear friend, tell me who would you say is the most merciful, the most kind, the most just of all human beings.
Well, the merchant, he stroked his beard and he said Walidad.
I have travelled north and south, and east and west and I would say that the most merciful and just human being would be.
The Prince of Nechabad.
Great, said Walidad.
Take the rest of the fabrics to the Prince of Nechabad and tell him that they are a present from Walidad.
So that was what the merchant did.
He took his donkeys and he took all those lovely silks and fabrics, beautiful cloths, to the Prince of Nechabad.
Ah!
What a wonderful palace the Prince of Necabad had.
Gardens with fountains pouring out crystal clear water.
Musicians playing a different tune around every corner and, most wonderful of all, the stables, the royal stables of Nekabad, that were filled with horses of every colour grey and bay, and piebald and chestnut wonderful colours.
And in the middle of the palace, the throne of the prince.
And the merchant went up to the throne and the palace servants had to help him unload all of the fabrics.
The prince was amazed.
What is this?
Ah, said the merchant, it's a present from Nekabad.
Wallydard.
A present, said the prince.
For me?
Yes.
Who is this Wallydard?
I've never heard of him.
No, no, you wouldn't have done, said the merchant.
It's just a, he just wanted to send you a gift.
Then I will give him a gift in exchange, said the prince.
Merchant, go to my stables and choose twelve of my finest horses as a present for Wallydard.
Are you sure? said the merchant.
I insist, said the prince.
Well, what could the merchant do?
He took his donkeys to the stables and with the help of the stable master, he chose 12 fine horses.
And then he led them all the way to Walidad's hut.
And Walidad laughed.
My friend, what use do I have For twelve horses.
If I had twelve horses, they would eat all my grass.
I would be ruined.
But, said the merchant.
Oh, no buts, said Walidard.
You must take these horses and tell you what.
Keep two for yourself for your trouble, and take the other ten and give them to the princess of Kaistan as another present from Walidard.
Well, the merchant, he scratched his head.
And he stroked his beard, but he didn't know what else to say.
So he chose two horses for himself and he took the other ten all the way to Kaistan, back to the palace of the princess with all of its animals and musicians.
And when he went there, he could see the many elephants that she had, the many camels that she kept.
And in the centre, in the palace throne room, He told her that he had ten fine horses for her.
They're a present, he said, from Walidard.
The princess sat up.
Walidard?
The one who gave me that bracelet?
Oh, I didn't expect anything in return.
What a generous, fine man he must be.
These are magnificent horses.
I must give him a gift in exchange.
I will give him Merchant.
For each of these ten horses, I want you to take a donkey, and each of those donkeys you will put on it ten bags, and each of those ten bags you will fill with silver.
The merchant was trying to do the math.
Ten donkeys, ten bags on each, that's a hundred bags of silver, are you sure?
Yes, said the princess.
I insist, a hundred bags of silver, a gift for Wally Dart.
And so the merchant, He led those ten new donkeys as well as his old donkeys, but these ten new donkeys laid down with a hundred bags of silver.
He led them all the way to Walidad's hut.
And Walidad laughed.
The last thing I need, he said, is more money.
It was money that got me into this mess in the first place.
You know what we should do, Merchant?
Oh no, said the Merchant.
Oh yes, said Wally Dad.
Take a bag of silver for yourself, for your troubles, and then give the rest to the Prince of Necabad.
And so the Merchant.
He kept a bag of silver for himself and he took the other 99 bags of silver to Necabad.
And there, the palace of the prince, with its gardens and its fountains and its great stables filled with horses, and in the middle of the palace.
Well gosh, he really needed the palace servants' help now.
Clank, clank, jingle, jingle, tinkle, tinkle, all ninety-nine bags of silver.
And the prince of Necabad stood up from his throne and said, Hoof!
Who has sent me this incredible gift?
It's just a present from Walidard, said the merchant.
Who is this man, Walidard?
Why have I never heard of him?
Who is this man with this incredible generosity that can give away so much and ask for nothing in return?
Is he trying to make a fool out of me?
I will put an end to this.
And he gave an order that his whole court was going to pack up and get ready to move, because the Prince of Nechabad was going to pay a visit to this Walidad and find out who he was, what kind of man he was.
Soon, 200 horses were made ready, their saddles gleaming, their bridles shining.
And there were servants and musicians and all sorts of guards and the prince himself on the lead horse and they went trotting off.
And the merchant with his donkeys.
Oh, he hurried off ahead of them to get to Walidard in time to warn him.
But while all this was going on, way off in Kaistan, There was the princess.
She was out riding one day on one of her new horses that Walidard had given her.
And she was looking at the golden bracelet on her wrist, that first present from Walidard.
And she thought, what kind of a man is Walidard?
I can think of only one reason why a man would give me so many presents.
He must want to marry me.
Me.
Well, if that is his plan, I should find out what he is like.
I know that he is generous.
I know that he is mysterious.
But more than that, I know nothing.
So she gathered up all of her court and told them to make ready to travel to meet this strange Walidard.
And oh, what a wonderful procession it was.
Twenty elephants.
80 camels and she took all of her entertainers, her jugglers, her tumblers, her performers, and they made the journey to Walidad's house.
Poor Walidad.
He got up one morning, he put on his shirt, he got out his scythe, he stepped out of his door ready to cut grass, to cut grass, to cut grass, and he looked in one direction and what did he see?
200 horses coming towards him.
He looked in the other direction.
What did he see?
20 elephants, 80 camels coming towards him.
He thought what can I do when they find out that I just live in a hut, that I'm nothing but a humble grass cutter?
What will they think?
And then rushing up to him, his friend the merchant.
Oh, merchant, said Wally Dad, what has gone wrong?
I'm in so much trouble.
Don't you worry, said the merchant.
You've been kind to me.
I will be kind to you.
Do you remember you gave me some silver and some cloth and two horses?
Well, I paid a tailor to make that cloth into two fine suits of clothes, one for me and one for you.
And we're going to get on those horses and we are going to ride out and we will ride so that the procession, the court of the princess of Kaistan and the prince of Nechabad, they meet together in the middle.
And that was what they did.
They rode down Walidad and his friend the merchant, and they sat on their horses and up to them rode the princess of Kaistan, the prince of Nechabad, and Walidad said My dear friends, he said, nothing fills me with more joy than to introduce you to one another.
The princess of Kaistan.
She looked at the prince of Nekabad and she saw how handsome and noble and kind his face was.
And the prince of Nekabad looked at the princess of Kaistan and he saw how regal and wise and graceful she looked.
And in that moment, they fell hopelessly in love with one another.
They forgot all about Walidad, and they started making plans to get married.
Phew!
Well, Walidad got up the next day.
He put on his shirt, got up his scythe and he stepped out to cut grass.
But, oh dear, because you see his fields, his meadow, where he would go to cut grass.
Well, all of the previous day and most of the night, there'd been 200 horses and 20 elephants and 80 camels milling around on the grass and with their feet, with their hooves, they had churned up all of the earth and, Worse than that, they had dropped their dung, their manure.
They had, forgive me for being rude, pooed all over his fields.
It smelled horrible.
Oh, said Walidad, what a terrible pong.
And now there is no grass for me to cut.
What am I to do?
And then up to Walidad came a messenger.
He said, I come to you, Walidad, from the court of the princess of Kaistan and the prince of Nekebad to invite you to their wedding.
And so Walidad, he left his hut and he went to the wedding.
Oh, what a wedding it was.
Oh, what a party it was.
It lasted for three months.
Yes, that's right.
Three whole months.
And Walidad was the guest of honour.
His plate always piled high with the finest foods, his glass always overflowing with the sweetest things to drink, and nothing made him smile more than to see Prince of Neckabad, Princess of Kaistan, in love with one another.
At the end of three months.
He said his goodbyes, he made sure that nobody gave him any more presents and he made his way back to his hut.
Oh, he was tired when he got He lay down on his bed that evening.
He slept so well.
And in the morning, he got up.
He put on his shirt.
He got out his side.
And he stepped outside.
You won't believe what had happened.
Because, all that churning of the earth, all that fertile manure that those animals had dropped, The grass had grown back taller and greener and fresher and stronger and thicker than Wallydard had ever seen.
He smiled to himself and he began to cut grass, to cut grass, to cut grass.
Thanks so much Tim for sharing that story.
I love the way that Wally Dard is not at all interested in having money or beautiful things, and how, through his story, he shares what's really important in life.
And I really like that noise which Tim makes of the coins dropping into his clay pot under his bed.
Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, clink, clink, clink.
Can you make that noise?
It's just such a pleasing combination of sounds.
Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, clink, clink, clink.
And here's my question.
What picture do you have in your head after listening to that story?
It could be Wally Dard cutting the grass outside his little hut.
Or the princess and prince meeting each other, with a long procession of horses and elephants and camels streaming out behind them.
Send us your pictures via our website at supergreatkidsstoriescom and we can share them with other story lovers on our picture gallery on our website and on our Facebook page facebookcom.
Forward slash supergreatkidsstories.
And now.
It's time to fly around the world with StoryOwl to say hello and thank you to all the owlets who recently joined our storytelling club.
We start in Canada, where Hannah, who's just turned eight today, lives in Victoria in British Columbia.
She loves listening to the stories in the car, travelling to and from school.
She can't pick a favourite because she says she loves all the stories.
Hope you have a very happy day, Hannah.
A short flight south now to breathtakingly beautiful Blewett Pass in Washington State in the US to say hello to Owlet Millie, who's seven, and Doodie, who's five.
Their favourites are The Hairy Toe, The Magic Orange Tree, Molly and the Skeleton, and all the Anansi stories.
We keep heading south now to California, where Waylon, who's six, lives in Felton.
His favourite story is Coyote and the Giant.
Staying in California.
Let's take a short hop down to Los Angeles to greet twin sisters Logan and Ripley, who are six.
They are big fans of all the Baba Yaga stories and the Anansi stories.
Two all-time great storytelling characters.
All the way across the US, next to the Adirondacks in New York State, to greet six-year-old Owlet Aris, who really enjoys Jason Buck stories, particularly Thor and the Stone Giant.
And Aris and any other Jason Buck fans listening.
You might like to hear Jason and Amy and Wangari telling stories live online this Saturday, January 10th.
Jason is telling another story with a giant in it, the brave little tailor.
I love a good giant.
Go to our website, supergreatkidsstories.com, or our Facebook page for details.
And back up to snowy Canada now, where Remy, who's four and a half, lives in Toronto.
She's a fan of the scary stories, especially Baba Yaga.
And she loves to chant Baba Yaga, Baba Yaga.
And she also likes the different versions of Cinderella stories and singing along to the songs.
And back across the border now to Hillsborough Oregon, to greet Owlet Maxine, who is six, and two-year-old Marcy, who listen every night before falling asleep.
Their current favourite is the scary story, Bring Me a Light.
You are very brave listeners.
And finally all the way east to Annapolis in Maryland, where Ayla has just turned eight and become an owlet for her birthday.
Her favourite story is Molly and the Skeleton.
Ayla is also very good at drawing.
We've selected her drawing of the Mouse Princess a story from Finland as our Pick of the Week picture.
We really like the imaginative way you've divided the page into before and after, showing the little mouse being swept away down the river with the young man Veiko telling her how much he loves her.
And then the after picture of Veiko and the princess in human form looking so happy together, wearing their finest clothes at their wedding.
If you want to see that picture and many others, go to our website supergreatkidsstoriescom, or to our Facebook page facebookcom.
Forward slash supergreatkidsstories.
And if you follow us on Instagram on our picture gallery at supergreatkids underscore art.
That's it for this week.
Thanks to all Owlets for your super great support.
It's because of people like you that we're able to find and commission new storytellers.
If you'd like to support us on Patreon or on Apple Podcasts, we'll say hello to you on the show.
You can hear our stories advert free.
And, depending on your level of subscription, you'll have at least 45 Super Great Scary Stories and access to over 60 Owlet Bonus Stories.
Plus, you'll get access to our Super Great Kids Stories Express with short introductions, no adverts, purely story.
Great for listening to stories back to back.
Visit our website for more details, supergreatkidsstories.com.
And finally, we wanted to say a very big thank you to those of you who got our book for Christmas.
It's put such a wag in our tails hearing from you about it.
And if you're one of those who got our book and like it, it would be great if you could write a short review online.
Thank you very much.
Winter is the time to snuggle down and listen to and tell stories.
So keep telling those stories and singing those songs.
Thanks again to our storyteller this week, Tim Ralphs, for his fairy tale from Pakistan.
I'll see some of you at our online show this Saturday with Wangari from Kenya and Jason Butt and Amy Douglas.
This podcast was produced at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.
