Rooster Looses His Magic Feather

I found the story this is based on while searching for stories for my Worms Family Storytime which took place last summer. I used it even though the worm is a secondary character. There are other versions such as the one found here.

Rooster Looses His Magic Feather

Adapted from a Chinese Folktale

Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

November 1, 2013

 

Long ago Rooster was the most important animal on the farm. He not only kept the chickens safe but all the other animals as well. He could fly around the farm scaring off foxes and dogs and even sneaky cats so the chickens could roam freely. No animal could get past Rooster for he could easily fly from rooftop to rooftop making sure that all was well around the farm.

One day Dragon and his friend Worm spied Rooster flying around the farm. In those days dragons could not fly. Dragon was curious. He wanted to learn how Rooster could fly all over the farm. Dragon would love to be able to fly like that.

Dragon went up to Rooster and said, "You certainly are very good at flying. I am most impressed. How do you do it?" Rooster was pleased with the compliment so he boasted, "I am very good a flying because of my magic feather. I am the only one who has this magic feather." "I would love to be able to fly like you. Could I borrow your feather for just a little while? I will bring it right back." Rooster wasn't sure he could trust dragon. Just then Worm spoke up, "Don't worry, Dragon will bring it back." Reluctantly, Rooster handed his feather to Dragon. "Thank you!" said Dragon with a big smile as he flew high in the sky. Soon he was so high up that Rooster and Worm could no longer see him.

Rooster waited all day long but Dragon did not come back. "Don't worry," said Worm. "He'll come back tomorrow." But Dragon did not come back the next day even after Rooster called for him all day long. "Don't worry," said Worm. "He'll come back tomorrow." Dragon was still not back the next day. Rooster called for Dragon to come back all that day too. "Don't worry," said Worm. "He'll come back tomorrow." The next day Rooster waited and called but still no Dragon. "When is Dragon coming back with my magic feather?" he asked Worm. Worm laughed and said, "Dragon fooled you. He has your feather and he's not coming back." This made Rooster very angry and he ran after Worm who quickly hid in a hole in the ground.

From that day on Rooster calls for Dragon every morning when he wakes up and then spends the day pecking at the ground looking for Worm.

I used Microsoft Publisher clip art for the figures and the feather is from our craft supplies. I just stuck it on each figure as needed.

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Lisa of Thrive After Three.





The Three Little Rabbits

While searching the Web for folktales about animals that lived underground, I came across the website of storyteller Dr. Mike Lockett. Among his selections of folktale retellings was a story based on a Turkish folktale, "The Three Hares." I liked the fact that it was similar to "The Three Little Pigs" and that it could easily be made into a board story. I made some changes to the story. For example, the hares are not eaten but end up together in a very large burrow. I also called it the "The Three Little Rabbits." I wanted to make it similar to the version of "The Three Little Pigs" that I tell.

"The Three Little Rabbits"

Based on a story by Dr. Mike Lockett

Mother Rabbit decided that her three little rabbits were now old enough to leave their crowded burrow and make a home of their own. Before they left, she said to them, "Make sure you dig deep into the ground so your home will be nice and safe."

The first little rabbit was lazy. He didn't want to dig and dig. He made his house out of sticks and leaves and bushes and grass. It was right at the edge of the forest. He was hungry after he finished so he went to the meadow to find something to eat. He did not get very far when a fox appeared. The fox was hungry too and when he saw the little rabbit he found his dinner. The fox ran after the rabbit. The fox was fast but fortunately the rabbit was faster. He ran to his home. When the fox got there, he knew exactly what to do. He raised his paw and with one swipe he knocked over the rabbit's house. The little rabbit ran as fast as he could deep into the woods. The fox followed but soon lost him. Fox returned to the meadow to find something else for dinner.

The second little rabbit decided that he did not want to live underground. He went into the forest and found a tree with big roots and decided to build his house between the roots. He made it out of straw and twigs. He too was hungry after he finished so he went to the meadow to find something to eat. Who was also in the meadow looking for something to eat? It was the fox and he went after the little rabbit as soon as he saw him. Fortunately this little rabbit could also run very fast. He was in his new home when the fox got there. The fox decided to knock that house down too. He raised his paw but only knocked part of the house down. He raised his other paw and with one more swipe knocked the rest of the house down. The little rabbit ran as fast as he could deep into the woods. Soon the fox lost him too. A now very hungry fox returned to the meadow.

The third little rabbit paid attention to what her mother said. She went deep into the forest and dug herself a nice burrow. She spent the entire day digging. She made a very large burrow for she did not want to live in a crowded home. This one was much larger than her old home. She was very hungry when she was finished so she went to the meadow to find something to eat even though it was very late. Unfortunately the fox saw her as soon as she got there but this little rabbit was very fast too. She ran deep into the woods with the fox close behind. This time the fox did not loose the little rabbit in the forest but the little rabbit did make it to her home. This time the fox had nothing to knock down. There was just a hole in the ground. It was not even big enough for fox to stick his head in so again fox lost his dinner. He went to bed very hungry that night.

The third little rabbit was glad that she had listened to her mother's advice. She had built a nice safe home and it was big enough to share with her two brothers without it being crowded at all.


Notes: This version was written to be told with magnet/flannel board figures. The animal figures below are based on Microsoft Publisher clip art. The "homes" are original. When telling the story, add the other rabbits to the burrow at the end.

The Animals

The Homes

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The Fisherman and His Wife - Board Story

This post is part of a series of posts about "Telling One Story Five Ways." It is also my Flannel Friday contribution for this week.

Many children's librarians use the flannel/magnet board with only very young children to display figures for counting rhymes and other similiar early literacy activities. Flannel/magnet boards are also great for storytelling. The figures on the board provide visual clues to help young listeners focus on the story but still allows them to imagine the action.

A simplified version of "The Fisherman and His Wife" can be found in Stories That Stick: Quick and Easy Storyboard Tales by Valerie Marsh (Upstart, 2001). It is called "Magic Fish" and patterns for the figures are in the book. Since the patterns are used for other stories in the book as well, they do not quite work with this storytelling project so I have created my own story and patterns.

The Fisherman and His Wife

Linda Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

Long ago there was a poor fisherman who lived with his wife in a tiny little shack by the sea. Even though he went fishing every day, the fisherman never caught many fish. Sometimes he caught one or two and sometimes none at all.

One day the fisherman went down to the sea to fish as usual. The waves were high as he went out in his little boat. The fisherman feared he would catch nothing that day but much to his surprise there was a tug on his line as soon as he put it in the water. The fisherman pulled up a huge fish. It was like none he had ever seen before. Just as the fisherman was about to pull it into his boat, the fish spoke. "Please spare my life!" said the fish. "I will grant you a wish if you do." The surprised fisherman let the fish go. "I could not harm a fish that can talk," he said as he watched the fish swim away.

The fisherman returned home and told his wife about his strange experience. "What did you wish for?" she immediately asked. "I forgot all about the wish because I was so surprised," he replied. "Go back right now and ask for a nice house. I'm tired of living is this run-down shack. You spared his life so he has to do what you ask." Reluctantly the fisherman went to the edge of the sea and called, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." The fish quickly appeared. "What does she want?" asked the fish. "She wants to live in a nice house," answered the fisherman. "Her wish is granted," said the fish as it disappeared back into the sea. When the fisherman returned home there was a lovely house where the shack had been.

Is that the end of the story? No. A week later the wife said to the fisherman, "This house is not big enough. Go back to the fish and ask for a fine mansion with servants." The fisherman went back to the edge of the sea and called, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." "What does she want?" asked the fish popping up above the waves. "She wants a bigger house. She wants a mansion with servants," answered the fisherman. "Her wish is granted," said the fish as it went back into the sea. When the fisherman returned home he found a fine mansion where the house had been.

Is that the end of the story? No. A week later the wife decided that the mansion was not enough. She said, "We should be living in a castle and I should be Queen and you the King." "I don't want to be King!" replied the fisherman. "Fine," said the wife, "I will be King instead." She made the fisherman go back to the edge of the sea to call the fish. "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish," called the fisherman. "What does she want now?" asked the fish coming up from the water. The fisherman answered, "She wants to live in a castle and be King of this land." "Her wish is granted," said the fish as it dove back into the sea. When fisherman returned home he found a castle where the mansion had been. Inside his wife sat on a throne wearing a crown.

Is that the end of the story? No. A week later the wife decided that being King of the land was not enough. She wanted to be Emperor of the world and live in a huge palace. Again she made her poor husband go back to the edge of the sea to call the fish. "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish," called the fisherman. Again the fish rose out of the sea. "What does she want?" asked the fish. "She wants to be Emperor of the world and live in a huge palace," said the fisherman. "Her wish is granted," said the fish. The fisherman returned home to find a huge palace where the castle had been. It took him an entire day to find his wife in the huge palace. She was sitting on an even bigger throne wearing an even bigger crown than before.

Is that the end of the story? No. A week later the fisherman found his wife staring up at the sky. She turned to him and said, "Go back to the fish and tell him that I want to be Ruler of the entire universe and have an even bigger palace up on the moon." Sadly the fisherman went to the edge of the sea calling, "Oh wondrous fish, my wife has a wish." "What does she want this time?" asked the fish coming up out of the sea. "She wants to be Ruler of the universe and have an even bigger palace on the moon," replied the fisherman. "I cannot grant that wish. No one can rule the stars and the moon. She must return to the home that she deserves," said the fish as it dove into the sea. The fisherman returned home to find that the huge palace was gone and their miserable shack was back. There the fisherman and his wife lived for the rest of their lives. The wondrous fish was never seen again.

Is that the end of the story? Yes!

Notes: It is fairly easy to find clip art to use for this story. I found similar pieces for a similar story, "The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle," using clip art from Microsoft Publisher. You can tell the story without using the buildings. I would recommend making the crowns to put on the fisherman's wife. Keep the wife at the top of the board and bring the fisherman to the bottom of the board when he goes to see the fish. Be sure to make the fish look unusual and magical (I added some glitter glue).

This week's Flannel Friday is hosted by Lucy of In the Children's Room.

Selecting the Story

This one of a series of posts about "Telling One Story Five Ways."

Folktales are a staple of my storytime programs. They appeal to all ages and have themes that are common across cultures. Many are downright silly, humorous, or about animals - all storytime favorites.

For this storytelling project I have chosen "The Fisherman and His Wife" from Household Tales, collected by the Brothers Grimm. It is a well-known but not overly familiar story. It has the element of repetition which will appeal to younger children. This makes it a good choice for family storytime. It would also be suitable for preschool storytime and class visits.

There are several versions of "The Fisherman and His Wife" in my library's 398.2 section. It's fun to compare them to an original version such as the one found here (though even the translations from the German vary). Most picture book versions of folktales are too long for storytime which is why I write my own. For this project I am writing my own version and using my own artwork (primarily to avoid copyright issues).

Two versions that I found interesting are pictured below:

The Fisherman and His Wife by Rosemary Wells. (Dial, 1998) It is not illustrated by Wells which surprised me. The story is set in Norway and all the characters are cats. The illustrator, Eleanor Hubbard, studied art in Norway and shows all the characters in traditional dress. The ending is quite different from the original tale.

The Fisherman and the Turtle by Eric Kimmel. (Marshall Cavendish Children, 2008) Not only did Kimmel change the fish to a turtle but set the story in the land of the Aztecs. This works surprisingly well particularly the ending.

The Fox and the Crab

I am preparing stories for my next family story time. The theme is "tails." I plan to tell "The Fox and the Crab Have a Race" using stick puppets. This story is an adaptation of a Chinese folktale and can be found in A Twist in the Tail: Animal Stories from Around the World by Mary Hoffman. In this story the slow but clever crab fools fox into thinking he is just as fast as fox by riding on fox's tail (unknown to fox) for the race. There are several variations of this type of folktale. This one is short and easy to tell.

The stick puppets were easy to make though it took some planning to make them reversible. I used clipart from Microsoft Publisher for the fox and crab. After I enlarged the images to the sizes I wanted, I then copied each image and reversed it. After printing out the images, I outlined them in black marker to make them easier to cut out. I then glued one of the crabs and one of the foxes on card stock. Before I cut out around each image I added a second piece of card stock so that when I cut around the image, the shape would match for the reverse image. After pasting the reverse image to card stock, I taped a craft stick to the back of one fox piece and then glued the other piece over it. Instead of a craft stick I used a toothpick for the crab. The toothpick is smaller and lighter and even helps support the crab on the fox's tail. I cut a slit into the crab figure so it would fit on the fox's tail.

Crab and Fox - Reversible Stick Puppets

Crab on Fox's Tail

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Lisa of the Libraryland blog.  Flannel Friday has everything you need to know including information about past and future round-ups, Flannel Friday's Pinterest boards and Flannel Friday's Facebook page.

The Fox and the Hedgehog

This summer one of our preschool storytimes featured hedgehogs. Since there are not too many stories available about hedgehogs, I searched the Internet for a folktale that I could adapt for the magnet board. "The Fox and the Hedgehog" is based on what I found. The story is about a fox who gets himself and his friend hedgehog into trouble. The clever hedgehog gets himself out of trouble and shows the fox how to save himself.

The Fox and the Hedgehog

Adapted by Linda A. Meuse

Notes from the Story Room

Summer 2012

Once upon a time there was a fox who came upon a grapevine full of ripe, tasty grapes. He sneaked through a hole in the farmer’s fence and helped himself. Yum! He went back to eat grapes again and again. One day he met hedgehog and told him about the delicious treat. “Come with me,” he said. “The grapes are delicious!” “Won’t the farmer be angry?” asked hedgehog. “He doesn’t even know I’ve been eating them,” replied fox.

But fox was wrong about that. The farmer had set a trap. As fox and hedgehog approached the grapevine, the ground gave way beneath them. Fox and hedgehog ended up at the bottom of a large hole in the ground. It was too high for them to climb out. “I never should have listened to you,” said hedgehog. “Stop complaining,” said fox. “We need to figure out a way to get out of here.” “Oohh,” said hedgehog, “I don’t feel well. My tummy hurts. I think I’m going to be sick!” Hedgehog then curled up into a little ball. “Well, you aren’t going to be sick in here with me!” said fox. He picked up hedgehog and threw him out of the hole. “Thank you, fox!” said hedgehog uncurling himself. “I feel much better now!” “Hey, what about me?” yelled fox. “I need to get out too!” Hedgehog looked around and saw some garbage rotting by the fence which gave him an idea. He took some of the smelly trash and threw it into the hole. “Smear that all over you and pretend to be dead when the farmer comes. He won’t want a stinking fox by his grapevine so he’ll throw you out of the hole and onto the garbage pile.”

Lucky for fox that is exactly what happened. As soon as he landed in the garbage pile, fox ran through the hole in the fence. Fox never went near those grapes again and hedgehog never followed fox into trouble again.

Notes: This story is based on “The Fox and His Bagful of Wits and the One-Witted Hedgehog,” a folktale from Romania which can be found here: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0105.html

The fox and grapes are clip art from Microsoft Publisher. I drew the hedgehog following Jan Brett's instructions.

This week's Flannel Friday Roundup is hosted by Lisa of Libraryland. All things Flannel Friday can be found here: http://flannelfridaystorytime.blogspot.com/

Star Cookies

"Star Cookies" is a story by William Wiesner that can be found in his book Moon Stories (c.1973). It is based on an old tale from India.  According to Wiesner's notes, Finland and Czechoslovakia also have versions of this story. In researching other moon stories, I came across another version called "The Sun, Wind and the Moon" in Moon Tales: Myths of the Moon from around the World by Rina Singh and Debbie Lish (1999). This is a longer version and I'm guessing that it is closer to the original tale. Wiesner has simplified the story making it more appealing to younger children. for this reason I will be using Wiesner's version of the story for Family Story Time. I am not aware of a picture book version of this story though I wouldn't be surprised if there were one. It certainly lends itself to that format.

The basic theme, thoughtlessness punished and thoughtfulness rewarded, can be found in many folktales. In Singh's version Sun, Wind and the Moon are the children of  Star Mother. Moon is bullied by her brothers. They attend the wedding of Thunder and Lightning where there is a great feast. Sun and Wind return with nothing for Star Mother. Sun is punished for thinking only of himself by having people avoid him in summer. Wind is punished for being rude by having people slam the door in his face in winter. Moon was rewarded by being loved by everyone all year round. In Wiesner's version Sun and Moon are the children of Mother Sky. They are invited to a picnic by Uncle North Wind who serves them delicious star cookies covered in golden icing. Sun gobbles them up while Moon is not only polite but saves half for Mother Sky. When Sun is scolded for being greedy, he says that he will only do what he wants do and so he is sent away to be on his own. When Moon presents Mother Sky with the cookies, Mother Sky decides that they are too pretty to eat and decorates her blue cloak with them instead. Moon is given the privelige of moving across the night sky to tend to the stars and is loved by all.

Storytelling Notes: I will be telling the Wiesner version in my own words. I made little bows to dress Sun and Moon up when they visit North Wind. I plan to have Sun have a bit of a temper tantrum before he goes off on his own. I will also be using a small bag to put the "cookies" in for Mother Sky. Also, it will be Aunt North Wind rather than Uncle North Wind because my drawing looks more like an aunt than an uncle.

Mother Sky, Sun and Moon

Sun and Moon Visiting Aunt North Wind

Moon with Stars in the Sky

Years ago I told this story for a bedtime program and I am looking forward to telling it again.

Andrea of Rovingfiddleheadkidlit is hosting this week's Flannel Friday Roundup. Information about Flannel Friday can be found here.

When the Moon Fell From the Sky

This is board story for an upcoming family story time.  It is adapted from The Night the Moon Fell: A Mayan Myth Retold by Pat Mora. I selected this story because it takes place in the ocean which is an unusual setting for a story about the moon and stars. As with many folk tales, the book retelling is a bit long for my group. My shorter version can be found as a Google document here.

The "divided" Moon is based on clip art in Microsoft Publisher. I also found a similar one searching Google Images. The other figures are also based on images in Microsoft Publisher. I did draw my own coral and kelp (squiggles are easy). I used silver metallic marker for the fish scales. (I got a bit carried away making fish. You only have to make enough to go around the moon.) I also added some glitter glue to the moon.  I made one whole moon for the beginning of the story and one broken moon for the middle of the story. I made one half of the broken moon with scales glued on to piece with the half moon at the end of the story. Once the moon is back up in the sky scatter the fish around the board to represent the stars.

Moon

Broken Moon

Moon in the Ocean

Shark

Moon Put Back Together

Moon Carrying Fish to the Sky

This week's Flannel Friday Round-Up is hosted by Sarah of Read It Again! Information about Flannel Friday including the schedule of future round-ups and links to the previous ones can be found at the Flannel Friday website.

A Fair Wind

I have decided to do stories about the wind and about kites for my March family story time. (I know, not very original, but I found a really simple kite craft that I want to do.)   The following story is based on a very short and simple tale so of course I had to add to it.

The Story:

A Fair Wind

Once upon a time, long, long ago, before there were cars, trains or airplanes, there was a traveler walking down the road from one town to the next. He could not afford a horse or even a donkey so he walked. It was a very chilly day.

Now it just so happened that the Sun, Frost and Wind were resting by the road after a busy morning of making weather. The traveler walked past them and as he did, called out “Peace to you, brother!” as he went by. Soon the Sun, the Frost and Wind began to argue. Each one had thought that the traveler had addressed him and not the others. “Surely, he was talking to me,” said the Sun. “No, I was the one he was greeting,” replied Frost. Wind said, “Well, there is only one way to find out. We will go ask him.”

They caught up with the traveler further down the road and demanded to know which of them he had greeted. The traveler replied, “Brother Wind was the one I greeted because a fair wind at my back makes my journey easier.” This made the Sun angry. “Ignore me! Ha! I’ll make your journey harder by baking down on you so that you will quickly become miserable from the heat!” “Don’t worry,” said the Wind. “I will blow and blow to keep you cool while the Sun shines.” “Well, I will freeze him! He’ll regret ignoring me!” said Frost angrily. The Wind replied, “Do not worry. Frost cannot freeze without my blowing the cold air. I simply will not blow and you will stay warm.”

“Thank you for protecting me, Brother Wind,” said the traveler as he continued on his way. Indeed he had an easy journey for there was always a fair wind at his back to help him along his way.

Source:  I found the original story on the SurLaLune Fairy Tales web site.  It is called, "The Frost, The Sun and The Wind" and is from Sixty Folk-Tales From Exclusively Slavonic Sources (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, & Company, 1890) by A.H. Wratislaw.

Magnet Board figures awaiting lamination:

I made large colorful figures for the magnet board for visual interest.  Since there are few characters and the story is short, I wanted the figures to stand out.  I made the sun, frost and wind using the shapes and lines in Microsoft Publisher.  This story is a good example of one that can be told using figures from other stories.  There are many stories that feature the sun and wind.  The traveler can be almost any standing figure.  I took the traveler figure from "The Miller, the Boy and the Donkey" in The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra. I was going to use one of my Month Brothers but decided on this one because the simple style of the illustration went well with the other figures.  If I had taken my pieces from other storytelling sets, the only one I would have had to make would have been Frost which is simple to do.  The main reason I like to make duplicates is because I like to keep all the pieces of a story together in a large envelope.  I note on the envelope the date the story was used and with what group. 

Katie of the Storytime Katie blog is hosting the this week's Flannel Friday Round-Up.  Information about Flannel Friday can be found on So Tomorrow's Flannel Friday page.

The Month Brothers

"The Month Brothers" is a folktale that I adapted from several sources for my winter Family Story Time program.  It is available as a Google document here.  As I have done for most of the folktales I have adapted, I made it into a board story using figures from a story I had done earlier, "A Few Foolish Friends," to make the figures for the Month Brothers.  I had the brothers on the top of the magnet board and the other figures on the bottom.  I moved Marushka from the bottom of the board to the top and back as I told the story.  I moved the staff from brother to brother as needed.  Even though it was a bit long for the youngest ones in the audience, the story held the interest of the rest of the group.  It would be a good story to tell for a class visit.  Although "The Month Brothers" is not a well-known folktale, it has many elements found in more familiar tales. 

Notes:  Preparing this story turned out to be quite a project.  At times I felt more like a costume designer than a children's librarian because I tried to make each brother look like the month he represented.  The story was surprisingly easy to tell and as I did so I realized that I really didn't need all those figures to keep the audience's attention.  I could have saved myself some time by simply using pictures of the items Marushka had to find in the snow - violets, strawberries and apples.  I made a set using clip art from Microsoft Publisher to show as an example for this post.  I think that the next time I tell this story I will use those as well as the figures by showing the picture to the audience as Marushka gathers each item or I might keep things simple and just use the pictures.  I tend to adapt my storytelling to the audience, time frame, and the location of the program.  For example, I have a limited amount of time when the second graders come for a visit so I would probably just use the pictures to tell the story.  The figures are colorful so it would be fun to use them again when time is not an issue.  It's always nice to have choices when it comes to storytelling.

The Month Brothers

Marushka, Stepsister, Stepmother

Violets, Strawberries & Apples

This week's Flannel Friday Roundup is hosted by Katie of Storytime Secrets.  For information about Flannel Friday, past and present, go to So Tomorrow's Flannel Friday page.

Amazon Theater #2 - The Bird and the Trees

Winter is the topic this month.  I will be a substitute librarian for Toddler Time next week and telling winter stories at Family Story Time the following week.  I'll be using ideas from Flannel Friday posts for Toddler Time so thank you fellow participants.  For Family Story Time I will be telling some winter folktales.  As I have mentioned before, I like to use various methods of storytelling so I adapted a story to tell using props.  I call it "Amazon Theater" because my stage is an amazon.com box.  I simply put my props on the overturned box as I tell the story.  (See my post for 9/1/11 for another example.)

The following story is adapted from one by Rick Walton, a pourquoi tale called "Why the Evergreen Trees Keep Their Leaves in Winter."  His site is an excellent source for finding stories to tell. 

My version is called the "The Bird and the Trees" and can be told using props as I have or using felt or magnet board pieces.  I based most of the figures on clip art from Microsoft Publisher.  I made the North Wind and the Frost King into stick puppets to hold over the "stage" at the end of the story but they can be board pieces as well. 

The story:

The Bird and the Trees

Once there was a bird who could not fly south for the winter with the other birds. He had injured his wing and could not fly. As the cold winds started to blow, the bird knew he would have to seek shelter. The forest was full of trees with sheltering branches. So he went into the forest to find a place to stay for the winter.

First the bird came to a willow tree at the edge of the forest and asked, “May I please spend the winter in one of your branches? My wing is injured and I cannot fly south this year.” The willow replied, “Goodness no! My branches are much too delicate to have a bird living in them!”

The bird went a little further into the forest until he came to a birch tree and asked, “May I please stay in one of your branches until the spring comes?” “I’m sorry,” the birch tree answered, “but I have to look after myself this winter and it would be too much to look after you as well.”

So the bird hopped even deeper into the forest looking for a tree to shelter him. He came to a tall oak tree. “Please,” asked the bird, “may I stay in your branches for the winter?” “Harrumph!” said the oak, “If I let you stay in my branches, you will eat my acorns all winter long and I can’t have that!”

The bird hopped even deeper into the forest not knowing what to do for none of the trees wanted to help him. “What are you doing so deep in the forest little bird?” asked a spruce tree who saw him hopping along. “I’m looking for a place to spend the winter,” answered the little bird. “My wing is injured and I cannot fly south with the other birds.” “You are welcome to spend the winter with me,” replied the spruce. “Come, hop onto this branch,” said the spruce as she lowered one of her large, wide branches down to the ground. The pine tree saw what had happened and said to the bird, “Although my branches aren’t as warm, I will help shelter you when the wind blows for I am big and strong.” Then the juniper tree said, “I may not be big but I have delicious berries that you are welcome to eat all winter long.” The bird thanked each of the trees for their kindness and stayed safely with them throughout the winter months.

But that is not the end of the story. The North Wind was playing in the forest and wanted to blow everything off the trees. The Frost King would not let him touch the trees who had helped the bird. The Frost King declared, “These trees showed great kindness by taking care of the injured bird. Their branches will remain green throughout the year. However, you may blow the leaves off the trees who thought only of themselves. Their branches shall stay bare until the springtime comes.” The North Wind had fun blowing the leaves off of the selfish trees.

So it is today. The spruce, pine and juniper trees are green all year long while the leaves of the willow, birch and oak trees fall to the ground when the cold wind blows.

The figures:

 The Selfish Trees

 Bird with the Kind Trees

North Wind and King Frost Stick Puppets

How the props are supported

This week's Flannel Friday is hosted by Melissa of Mel's Desk, the one who started it all.  Please be sure to look at her post about starting Flannel Friday just one year ago.  Many thanks to Melissa and the others who have worked so hard this past year to make Flannel Friday the wonderful resource it is today.

The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle

"The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle" is a good story for beginning storytellers because of the repetition and its "circular" plot.  There are several sources available for this story.  I recommend the one in The Storyteller's Start-Up Book by Margaret Read MacDonald. 

It can be told using a flannel/magnet board or simple picture props.  I made the props by selecting a series of pictures from clip art and pasting them onto card stock.  If desired, text could be added to the back of the pictures as well.  I made the pictures fairly large so they could be easily seen by a large group.

This week's Flannel Friday posts can be found at the Rain Makes Applesauce Blog.

A Few Foolish Friends

Again I find myself changing a story to suit my Family Story Time program.  This time it is the book Six Foolish Fishermen by Robert D. San Souci.  Like many folktale picture books it is a bit too long to read for storytime.  However, this story would be great to tell using the flannel/magnet board so I wrote my own version making several changes.  At the end of his book San Souci mentions in his "Author's Note" that his version is made up using various noodlehead stories from around the world.  He set his story in Cajun country because of his interest in Cajun culture.  I recognized elements in the book from other stories, particularly the counting episode.

I made the sensible person in the story a little girl because children know they are really smarter than the grown-ups. What I like about my version is that I can leave out elements of the story if needed to suit the attention span of the group. (This is the first of a series of evening programs I will be doing so I don't know what age range will be attending.)  My version, "A Few Foolish Friends," can be found as a Google document here.

I drew the six friends and the little girl for the story.  Their basic shape is the same (stick figures with clothes) though I varied their sizes and made an effort to give each face a personality.  It took some time but I now have a variety of figures to use in other stories.  I used clip art for the fishing poles and sandwiches and drew the coffee and bait.

Drawings:

Ready for the magnet  board:

This week's Flannel Friday is hosted by Mary at Miss Mary Liberry.  Previous and future postings can be found at Anne's So Tomorrow blog.   Go to the Flannel Friday Pinterest page for everything in one place.

 

Drakestail

When I read "Drakes-Tail" in Multicultural Folktales: Stories to Tell Young Children by Judy Sierra and Robert Kaminski, I immediately knew how I wanted to tell it.  The challenge would be creating the storytelling prop I wanted to use.  I did a quick sketch and then refined it into the figure I wanted to make.  (I did it on scrap paper so I apologize for the image from the other side showing.)  I'm posting a photo to show that you don't have to be an artist to create props. 

I then drew the body on a large sheet of drawing paper.  I drew feet and a bill on separate paper.  Then I outlined everything with black marker.  I used yellow and orange poster paint to paint him.  He was too big to color with markers.  I then glued the drawing paper to poster board, cut out (don't forget to cut a hole for the bill) and glued together the pieces.  I added a handle and a bag to the back.  The duck ended up being about 26 inches from the top of his head to the tip of his webbed feet.

Front

Back

I used clip art for the other characters.

(I did draw the river freehand.)

As I told the story, I slipped these pieces through the bill and into the bag:

Going into the mouth ...

and into the bag.

 

When help was needed, I removed a figure from the bag and pushed it out his mouth.

Versions of this folktale can be found online.  The Wikipedia article about Drakestail states that in the original version he carried his four friends in his bottom end.  I'm sure that would appeal to kids but probably not so much to parents.  Aaron Shepard has a version called Quackling in which his friends are put into a sack.  A bag and a puppet can be used to tell this version of the story.  Drakestail by Jan Wahl is version written for beginning readers. 

A similar story is "The Rooster and the Turkish Sultan."  A version called "The Little Rooster and the Turkish Sultan" can be found in Margaret Read MacDonald's Twenty Tellable Tales: Audience Participation Folktales for the Beginning Storyteller.  Eric Kimmel's The Valiant Red Rooster: A Story from Hungary and The Little Rooster and the Diamond Button by Celia Barker Lottridge are picture book versions of this story.

"Drakes-tail" is an easy story to tell because of the repetitive format and use of rhyme which also appeals to younger children.  It has enough silliness to appeal to older children as well, making it a good choice for Family Story Time.

This week's Flannel Friday round-up can be found at Mel's Desk.

Amazon Theater - "Don't Let the Tiger Get You!"

One of the stories that I told for my "Family Story Time - Folktales from Asia" (see post for 7/27/11) was a story from Korea called "Don't Let the Tiger Get You!" which can be found in Multicultural Folktales: Stories to Tell Young Children by Judy Sierra and Robert Kaminski.  Three of my all-time favorite flannel board stories ("The Elegant Rooster," "The Goat in the Chili Patch," and "The Knee-High Man") are in this book but I never looked beyond the flannel board section until recently when I started telling more stories using props.  This story comes from the second section of the book and I picked it because of the absurdity of the "characters."   The heroes are a talking banana peel, egg, mat, and rope who save an old woman from being eaten by a talking tiger.  The talking tiger was completely accepted but the others elicited several giggles especially the talking banana peel. 

I made the old woman and banana peel out of clip art.  I braided yarn for the rope and wove strips of construction paper for the mat.  Since I didn't have a plastic egg, I used a cat toy.  Although, my philosophy about making props is to use what you have and not to get too elaborate, I did make a three-dimensional tiger.  I found a one piece pattern here.  It was surprisingly easy to put together.  The "stage" where I placed the figures while telling the story was an Amazon.com box which I also use to store props.  This story can also be told with puppets.

Amazon Theater - "Don't Let the Tiger Get You!"

This weeks Flannel Friday round-up can be found at Anne's So Tomorrow blog here.

The Clever One

The Clever One" adapted from "The Girl Who Used Her Wits" in Handmade Tales: Stories to Make and Take by Diane de Las Casa and "The Clever Daughter-in-Law" in Celebrate the World: Twenty Tellable Folktales for Multicultural Festivals by Margaret Read MacDonald

Again, I combined elements from two different versions of a story into my "personal" version which can be found as a Google document here.  There is a variation that can be found in Joining In: an Anthology of Participation Stories & How to Tell Them compiled by Teresa Miller (1988) by Fran Stallings called "Paper Flowers."  I believe the main character in that version is a servant who gains her independence (it's been quite some time since I read this one).  I've always wanted to tell this story every since I saw it done over 20 years ago.  Diane de Las Casa's version is easier to tell.  In fact I added an element from McDonald's version to fill it out a bit more.  I did not attempt to actually make the props while telling the story though it can be done fairly easily.  I had a large group of varying ages so I did not want to interrupt the flow of the story.  I did ask the children to guess what was made from paper to carry wind, fire and water.  These items can also be made part of a follow-up craft though I used something different (see my post for 7/27/11).  My props were made from different colors of copy paper though I would have used brightly colored origami paper if I had some.

Patterns for the props can be found online or in origami books.  This one has the right size square to cut out to make the cup.

Folktales from Europe - A Family Story Time

8/10/11 - 3 to 4 p.m. 

Attendance - 17 children, 10 adults

Book: 
Drat That Fat Cat by Pat Thomsen

Board stories: 

"The Goat in the Turnip Patch" from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book (1997) by Judy Sierra

"The Old Woman and Her Pig" from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book (1987) by Judy Sierra

"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" - fractured version

Stick puppets: 

"The Bremen Town Musicians"

Prop story: 

"Drakes-Tail" from Multicultural Folktales: Stories to Tell Young Children  by Judy Sierra

Craft: 

Goldilocks and the Three Bears Stick Puppets 

The group was smaller this week but I expected it to be.  There has been very little traffic lately driving in to work so I figured there must be a lot of people on vacation.  I live and work in central New Jersey and contrary to what the media portrays, the Jersey shore is a great place for families.  However, my regular families came today which was the last Family Story Time session.  I shall miss them because the kids will soon be in school all day and I won't be seeing them.  I've known several of them since I had them in Toddler Time for two and three-year-olds. 

I have already posted about how I was able to stack the stick puppets for the "Bremen Town Musicians" (6/10/11).  My big project was making Drakestail which I will describe in a later post.  The children enjoyed watching his friends go down his throat and then come back out when he needed help later in the story.  Another favorite with the children was "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" because when I tell it I get it all wrong and I need lots of help from the audience (which they enthusiastically give).  Circle stories are also great for a mixed-age group and this time I did "The Old Woman and Her Pig" which I haven't done for several years.

Craft - 8/10/11

Pot Luck

My second family storytime for this summer was "Folktales from Asia."  I told a story primarily based on Lily Toy Hong's Two of Everything.  This title was recommended as being a good one to adapt for the flannel board in Travel the Globe: Multicultural Story Times (p. 51).  I searched the web to find other versions of the story.  I came across a nice animated version called "The Magic Pot."  I wrote my own version called "Pot Luck."  It can be found as a Google document here.

To tell the story I used our magnet board and a black plastic pot.  The duplicates and coins were placed in the pot beforehand.  I definitely recommend using a bowl or pot along with the board figures.  The highlight of the story was when the farmer's wife fell into the pot and two wives came out.  I don't think it would be as effective with a two dimensional pot (not to mention the difficulty of manipulating the figures).   The coins are just circles cut from construction paper.  I punched a hole in the center to make them look like old Chinese coins.  I made enough to double to 16 but when I told the story I only went up to 8.  The older children were able to correctly guess how many coins would come out of the pot, though one did gleefully yell out 6.  The parents enjoyed this story as much as the children did.

Folktales from Asia - A Family Story Time

7/27/11 - 3 to 4 p.m. 

Attendance - 28 children, 14 adults                                              

Board Stories

"The Rat's Daughter" from The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra

"Pot Luck" adapted from Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong and others (with prop)

Scroll Story

"The Boy Who Drew Cats" from Handmade Tales: Stories to Make and Take by Diane de Las Casas

Prop Stories

"Don't Let the Tiger Get You!" from Multicultural Folktales: Stories to Tell Young Children by Judy Sierra

"The Clever One" adapted from "The Girl Who Used Her Wits" in Handmade Tales: Stories to Make and Take by Diane de Las Casa and "The Clever Daughter-in-Law" in Celebrate the World: Twenty Tellable Folktales for Multicultural Festivals by Margaret Read MacDonald

Kamishibai

"The Little Crab"

Craft

Origami cat and dog

I wanted to read The Empty Pot by Demi but ran out of time.  However, the audience seemed to enjoy the various forms of storytelling and reading a book was not necessary.  (I might use the book for class visits in the fall along with some of today's stories.)  "Pot Luck" was the favorite story today.  The children particularly enjoyed seeing the second wife being pulled from the pot.  They also enjoyed "Don't Let the Tiger Get You!" mainly because of the silly "characters" in the story.  Though the origami was simple, even the older children enjoyed it and a parade of colorful dogs and cats left the library this afternoon.  I found it interesting that I had the exact same number of children and adults as I did for the previous program.  I don't remember that happening before with Family Story Time.

Dog and Cat with Cat

Hare & Tortoise (Not Aesop)

This spring I did a great deal of skimming through collections of folktales looking for stories to use for this summer's Family Story Time series.  One of the stories that I found was "Hare and Tortoise: A Tale from the Thonga People of Mozambique" which can be found in Trickster Tales: Forty Folk Stories from Around the World by Josepha Sherman.  The gist of the story is that Rabbit tricks Lizard, then Rabbit tricks Antelope and then Rabbit tries to trick Tortoise but Tortoise tricks Rabbit instead.

This story could easily be adapted as a board story.  Since I already had chosen three board stories, I needed to present this story in a different way.  I could have made the figures into stick puppets but I decided to try something different.  I made stand-up figures to tell the story.  I used Microsoft Publisher to enlarge and print out the images of the lizard and the tortoise.  For the rabbit and antelope I used the old-fashioned method of folding the letter-sized printout into quarters and drawing the image on larger paper. I used an 18 inches by 24 inches sheet of paper for the antelope and half of a sheet for the rabbit.  I used a pencil and drew light lines to divide the paper into quarters and then sketched each quarter to make the larger picture.  Much erasing ensued but the rabbit looked like a rabbit and the antelope looked pretty much like an antelope.  I outlined everything with black marker. The figures were colored with markers and then glued to poster board.  (Make sure the marker has dried if using white glue.)  I then cut out the figures leaving the bottoms uncut (to hold the stands).  I made stands for the figures out of poster board.  I ended up reinforcing the back of the rabbit with cardboard because he was so tall.  I did the same for the antelope.  Since the antelope was a bit top-heavy I ended up using a tab stand made out of cardboard for it. 

All of this sounds like a lot of work but it really didn't take as long as I thought it would.  I set the animals on a table before the program started.  (I used a box behind the antelope to keep it from slipping on the smooth table.)  The display peaked the interest of the children as they came into the room for the program.  (The antelope is out of proportion to the other animals but the children didn't seem to care.)

Telling the story went quite well.  I moved and removed figures as I told the story.  The only thing I will do differently when I tell it again is to not bother tying the hoe to the lizard or antelope.  Miming the actions as I was telling the story was just as effective and I had to turn my back to the group when tying the hoe onto the figures.  So the hoe goes.

Below is a picture of the figures set up on my living room floor.