The stories La tells....

Ha! I finally managed to blog about something before the actual date. Yea me!!


World Storytelling Day is Saturday March 20th.
The theme for 2010 is Light and Shadow.






Grandmother Spider Brings the Sun to Earth





One Day, One Night
By Master Storyteller Joe Hayes From his book "Here Comes the Storyteller"

Here is a story that goes way back to the beginning of time. They say that way back then things were very different. There was not a steady rhythm of days and nights like there is now. Instead it might be dark for 10 years in a row. And then light for one day. And then it could be dark again for eight long years. And then light for one day.

Some of the animals were happy with the way things were. They were the animals that liked the darkness. But many animals were unhappy. They preferred the light.

Rabbit was an unhappy animal because she would feel a lot safer if she could see her enemies creeping up on her.

Squirrel didn't like it, either. She liked to run down one tree branch to the very end and then take a long, flying leap and catch another branch and run up it. But in the dark Squirrel would miss the second branch and fall and hit her head almost every time.

Nor did the birds like it. Well, one bird, Owl, was happy, but not the rest of them, not even Hawk and Eagle. They could hunt better when it was light.

So one day when Sun happened to be shining, Eagle flew clear up to Sun and told him that many animals were unhappy. There wasn't enough daylight.

Sun said he wanted all animals to be happy. He told Eagle to call the animals together and let them talk about it. However, they wanted things to be-however much darkness and daylight they wanted-Sun said he would make things that way.

Eagle called the animals together, and each animal stood up and said how he thought things should be arranged. The biggest and strongest animals were the first ones to talk. So Bear stood up first and growled, "Ten years of darkness, then one day of light."

But other animals had different ideas. Skunk said, "I think there should be four years of darkness, and then-n-n . two days of light."

Badger grumbled, "Ah, why can't it just be dark all the time?"

But Rabbit jumped up and said, "No! It should be light all the time."

Then Bluebird chirped, "My children need daylight! My children need daylight!"

There were many different ideas. The last animal to speak was Frog, with an idea no one else had thought of. Frog stood and croaked, "One day, one night. One day, one night."

Right away most of the animals saw that this was the best idea of all. The day and the night should just follow one another like black and white beads along a string.

But Bear wasn't going to let the weak little frog tell him how things should be. Bear kept growling, "Ten years of darkness, one day of light."

Before long all the animals were in two groups: the few that agreed with Bear and all the rest, who agreed with Frog. And they could not settle their difference.

Eagle had to fly back to Sun and tell him that now all the animals were in two groups, unable to come to an agreement. Sun said there was one way to resolve the argument. Each group would choose one animal to speak for it. And the animal who could speak the longest without stopping, saying how he wanted things to be, would be granted his way.

Eagle told the animals, and right away Bear said he would talk for his group. He laughed and laughed when he heard that Frog would talk for the other group. Bear was sure he could roar so loud that Sun would not even hear Frog.

When the time for the contest came, Bear went and stood on one bank of the river. Frog hopped onto the other. Bear didn't even wait for the signal to begin. Right away he began growling, "Ten years of darkness, one day of light!"

Only after the signal came did Frog begin: "One day, one night. One day, one night."

At first Sun could hardly hear Frog, because Bear was so loud. But Bear was not used to talking all the time, and his throat started getting sore. His voice grew hoarse, but he kept repeating, "Ten years of darkness, one day of light!"

Bear slurped some water from the river. His voice then came back strong. "Ten years of darkness, one day of light!" But it did not hold up long. He started losing it again. And soon Bear's mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out: "__________________!"

On the other side of the river, however, Frog was just getting warmed up: "One day, one night. One day, one night."

Finally Bear had to admit he had been beaten. He walked away grumbling.

But Frog never did stop talking! Even now, if you go outside on a warm evening, you can hear Frog out there by the water. If you could speak his language, you would hear him say: "One day, one night. One day, one night."

And that's how things have been ever since: a day followed by a night, and then another day and another night.

Yet when the weather gets cool in the fall of the year, Frog hides under a rock and goes to sleep. Then Bear starts grumbling again, "Ten years of darkness, one day of light!" And then Sun can hear Bear. A little bit frightened of Bear, Sun starts traveling a little more quickly across the sky each day. So the days get shorter and shorter all through the fall.

But when the really cold weather sets in, Bear finds a cave in the mountains and goes to sleep. When he does, Sun feels braver, and starts traveling more slowly across the sky each day. Then the days get longer and longer.

All of this happened a long time ago. But ever since that time, among all the animals, and especially among the people, it isn't the one who is biggest and strongest who gets things his way. The one who gets things his way is the one who has a good idea and then says what he wants over and over and over. That's how to get things your way in the end!

Copyright © Joe Hayes

A wealthy merchant comes to the town where a Rabbi, famous for his wisdom, lives and he asks to be allowed to meet him.

A meeting is arranged and the merchant is ushered into the Rabbi's house.

When he looks around he is flabergasted.

"Where is your fine furniture? Where is your silver and fine dishes?"

"I might ask you the same thing," the Rabbi says. "Where are your fine things? Where is your silver and dishes and furniture?"

"But, but but..I am am travelling. I cannot be weighed down with those things. I am on a journey! "

"There, I knew you would understand! ...For I too am on a journey."

ONCE upon a time, ever so many years ago, Truth suddenly vanished from out of the world.

When people perceived this, they were greatly alarmed and at once sent five wise men in search of Truth.
They set out, one in this direction and one in that, all plentifully equipped with traveling expenses and good intentions.
They sought for ten long years.
Then they returned, each separately.
While still at a distance, they waved their hats and shouted that they had found Truth.

The first stepped forward and declared that Truth was Science.
He was not able to finish his report, however; for before he had done, another thrust him aside and shouted that that was a lie, that Truth was Theology and that he had found it.
Now while these two were at loggerheads--for the Science man replied to the attack vigorously--there came a third and said, in beautiful words, that Love was Truth, without a doubt.
Then came the fourth and stated, quite curtly, that he had Truth in his pocket, that it was Gold, and that all the rest was childish nonsense.
At last came the fifth.
He could not stand on his legs, gave a gurgling laugh, and said that Truth was Wine. He had found Truth in Wine, after looking everywhere.

Then the five wise men began to fight, and they pummeled one another so lustily that it was horrible to see.

Science had its head broken, and Love was so greatly ill-treated that it had to change its clothes before it could show itself again in respectable society.

Gold was so thoroughly stripped of every covering that people felt awkward about knowing it; and the bottle broke and Wine flowed away into the mud.

But Theology came off worst of all: everybody had a blow at it and it received such a blasting that it became the laughingstock of all beholders.

And people took sides, some with this one and some with that, and they shouted so loud that they could neither see nor hear for the din.

But far away, at the extreme end of the earth, sat a few and mourned because they thought that Truth had gone to pieces and would never be made whole again.

Now as they sat there, a little girl came running up and said that she had found Truth. If they would just come with her--it was not very far--Truth was sitting in the midst of the world, in a green meadow.

Then there came a pause in the fighting, for the little girl looked so very sweet.
First one went with her; then another; and ever more... At last, they were all in the meadow and there discovered a figure the like of which they had never seen before.

There was no distinguishing whether it was a man or a woman, an adult or a child.

Its forehead was pure as that of one who knows no sin; its eyes deep and serious as those of one who has read into the heart of the whole world.

Its mouth opened with the brightest smile and then quivered with a sadness greater than any could describe.

Its hand was soft as a mother's and strong as the hand of a king; its foot trod the earth firmly, yet crushed not a flower.

And then the figure had large, soft wings, like the birds that fly at night.

Now at they stood there and stared, the figure drew itself erect and cried, in a voice that sounded like bells ringing:

"I am Truth!"

"It's a Fairy Tale!" said Science.

"It's a Fairy Tale!" cried Theology and Love and Gold and Wine.

Then the five wise men and their followers went away, and they continued to fight until the world was shaken to its center.

But a few old and weary men and a few young men with ardent and eager souls and many women and thousands of children with great wide eyes: these remained in the meadow where the Fairy Tale was.


Ewald, Carl. "The Story of a Fairy Tale." Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, translator. 1905.

Nasreddin Hodja was lying in the shade of an ancient walnut tree.
His body was at rest, but, befitting his calling as an imam, his mind did not relax. Looking up into the mighty tree he considered the greatness and wisdom of Allah.

"Allah is great and Allah is good," said the Hodja, "but was it indeed wise that such a great tree as this be created to bear only tiny walnuts as fruit? Behold the stout stem and strong limbs. They could easily carry the pumpkins that grow from spindly vines in yonder field, vines that cannot begin to bear the weight of their own fruit. Should not walnuts grow on weakly vines and pumpkins on sturdy trees?"

So thinking, the Hodja dosed off, only to be awakened by a walnut that fell from the tree, striking him on his forehead.

"Allah be praised!" he exclaimed, seeing what had happened. "If the world had been created according to my meager wisdom, it would have been a pumpkin that fell from the tree and hit me on the head. It would have killed me for sure! Allah is great! Allah is good! Allah is wise!"

Never again did Nasreddin Hodja question the wisdom of Allah.

(another fabulous TEDTalk :P )
David Holt: The stories and song of Appalachia

Folk musician and storyteller David Holt plays the banjo and shares photographs and old wisdom from the Appalachian Mountains. He also demonstrates some unusual instruments like the mouth bow -- and a surprising electric drum kit he calls "thunderwear."
David Holt is also a four-time Grammy Award-winning folk musician.

TedTalks strike again!!
Winding up National Poetry Month, I have a sample of Storyteller and poet Rives, the star of the special "Ironic Iconic America" and a regular on HBO's Def Poetry Jam.
Here he is at the 2008 TEDTalks giving a 3-minute story of mixed emoticons and at the 2006 TEDTalks reciting If I Controlled the Internet...fabulous!!!