Activated Stories

Hawaii

Aloha! That's a word that can mean “Hello”, “Goodbye”, or ...

Aloha! That's a word that can mean “Hello”, “Goodbye”, or “I love you”. But in this case, it means yes,  we finally took our trip to Hawaii. We had a glorious week packed with activity on the island of Oahu,...

The Donkey and the Cucumbers

"The Donkey and the cucumbers", a simple little folktale from ...

"The Donkey and the cucumbers", a simple little folktale from India, is somewhat similar to Aesop's fable about the fox and the crow, a warning that sometimes crowing too loudly will cause you to have to eat crow later. We enact it with the aid of our...

The Princess and the Pea

So how did you sleep last night? Did a lump ...

So how did you sleep last night? Did a lump in your bed cause you to toss and turn? If this is ever a problem, you should be grateful that you're not as delicate as the princess in "The Princess and the Pea", the story we present this week. This tale...

Why the Bat is an Outcast

The poor bat has an evil image that it doesn't ...

The poor bat has an evil image that it doesn't deserve. Because it's active at night, and hides in dark places like caves, and has a rather sinister appearance, it has inspired fear for ages. And Dracula wasn't exactly a helpful public relations...

The Dreaming Tree

Dreams play an important role in many tribal cultures, providing ...

Dreams play an important role in many tribal cultures, providing a revered source of advice, enlightenment and law. Our rendition "The Dreaming Tree", a considerably "trunk-ated" version of a folk mini-saga from Brazil, illustrates...

Don't Ever Look at a Mermaid

"Don't Ever Look at a Mermaid" is a story from ...

"Don't Ever Look at a Mermaid" is a story from England and vicinity, about a mermaid's infatuation with a mortal man; and like last week's story, it entails humans, or in this case, humanoids, assuming animal form. The mermaid motif, which...

The Castle in the Lake

"The Castle in the Lake" from Tibet is a tale ...

"The Castle in the Lake" from Tibet is a tale about a poor herdsman who undertakes a quest to change his fortunes. Like many other stories from many other cultures, he does so by submerging himself into a body of water. And the story also...

Saving Spring / FOTR edition

with help from some Families on the Road

The Fisherman and his Wife

"The Fisherman and His Wife" is an old story that ...

"The Fisherman and His Wife" is an old story that comes from the British Isles, among many other places, and in many other forms. (Notice how it's always something like "The Fisherman and his Wife" instead of "The Wife and Her...

The Frog Prince

"The Frog Prince" from Germany is one of the many ...

"The Frog Prince" from Germany is one of the many tales collected by The Brothers Grimm; it deals with the importance of keeping your word and also cautions that appearances can be deceiving. We go with the original version, which unlike the...