Maria’s life is hard but she faces it with courage.  She does all that she can for her family, despite the cruelty of others, there in that little village where she lives.  Then she goes a journey and meets unusual strangers.  What will that meeting bring her?  Click on the link to listen and find out.  A story that has its origins in Greece and which I brought to North America.  20:56 mins. 

What do you think of Maria?  What will you remember about her?  Make a comment and share your thoughts.

Story origin: Originally from Joanna Coles Best Loved Folktales but you can find this version in my book  Out of the Everywhere.  Tales for a New World.

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Find out more about Out of the Everywhere at http://janandrews/books/out_of_the_everywhere.html

Three young women make wishes for when they are married.  Their wishes are granted.  They even get to marry a prince.  But will this bring them happiness?  Click on the link and find out.  A story from Africa.  11:42 mins.

This story has to do with people who act out of jealousy and fear.  Have you ever been in a situation like that?  Make a comment and share your thoughts.

Story origin for me: A teller who came to Ottawa from either Ghana or Nigeria.  It’s so long ago I don’t remember.  I just know the story was always one I could not forget.

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A queen and her daughter go walking.  They come to a glen and a brook.  “Am I not the fairest in all the world?” the queen asks the fish that swims there.  “No,” says the fish, “You are not.”  What happens next?  Who is the fairest?  Click on the link to find out. A story from Britain.  10.59 mins.

This story has an unusual solution to a big problem.  Do you think it’s a good one?  Leave a comment below.

Story origin for me: Alan Garner’s Book of British Fairytales

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Three animals decide to hunt together but then there is a problem.  This is a story that is more serious than you might think when you first hear it.  It’s a story that meant something special to at least one listener.  Click on the link to learn how all that went.  A story from Africa.  4.05 mins.

What would you like to say about this story?  Do you know of any similar situations in your life?  Leave your comments below.

Story Origin for me: Seneghalese-Canadian storyteller, Ndiouga Sarr when we were on a tour of Children’s Festivals.

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On a moonlit night, a young man goes to the river to fish.  He catches a salmon but what happens next is beyond his imagining.  He goes a journey he was not expecting.  Where does he travel?  Click on the link to listen and find out.   A story from Wales.  6.20 mins.

This is a story to make pictures in the head.  Leave a comment below and tell what you saw.

Story origin for me: A Bag Full O’Moonshine by Alan Garner

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Scary creatures live in the marshes but Tiddy Mun is the people’s helper.   He walks at night, they hear him laughing.  He has saved them over and over again but will he come to save them now?  Click on the link to listen and find out.    A story from Britain.  9.30 mins.

The story talks of how times change.  What changes do you think have happened by the story’s end?  Leave a comment below.

Story origin for me: Kevin Crossley-Holland’s The Old Stories: Folk Tales from East Anglia and the Fen Country.

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Paul comes to Canada because he has been driven out of his own country for the colour of his skin.  He starts a business but he is growing older.  How will he choose which one of his daughters should inherit?  Click on the link and listen to find out.  A story from Africa.  9:50 mins.

What do you think of the way Paul made his decision?  Leave a comment below.

Story origin for me: Toronto storyteller, Itah Sadu.  You can also read my version in my book, Out of the Everywhere.  Tales for a New World. 

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Find out more about Out of the Everywhere at http://janandrews/books/out_of_the_everywhere.html

When Jack gets turned out of home for his laziness he meets an old woman in the woods.  First she asks him to take off his jacket, then it’s his boots and then….   What comes next?  You’ll have to click on the link and listen to find out.   I don’t know where this story comes from but I suspect it’s been around a while.  9:51 mins.

There are lots and lots of Jack tales.  Do you know any others?  Why not leave a comment below?

Story origin for me: Toronto storytellers Marylyn Peringer and Norman Perrin.

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Ti-Jean’s brothers set out to seek their fortunes but they are more likely to be thrown in prison than win the promised bride.  Can T-Jean help?  He certainly means to.   Where does the fiddle come in?  Click on the link to find out.  A story from French-Canada.  22:08 mins.

Ti-Jean stories have been around a long time.  Why do you think that is?  Leave your comments below.

Story Origin: From my book, When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew.  Tales of Ti-Jean. 

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Find out more at: http:janandrews/books/When_Apples_Grew.html.  Give a cheer.  This book has  been nominated for the Silver Birch Express Award 2012 in the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading program and the Canadian Library Association Children’s Book of the Year Award.

The advice of a dying old man to his son seems simple but there is a riddle in it that holds a richer gift.    A story from Palestine.  Click on the link and listen.  3.41 mins.

Was the advice wise?  Would you follow it?  Leave a comment for others to see.

Story origin for me: Vancouver teller, Naomi Steinberg

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A mysterious girl appears in the moonlight.  She walks across the water but can she stay?  Magic and mystery.  Also a chance to see me in action.  A story from Wales.   7.54 mins.

There’s a moment of carelessness.  What does it mean to you?  Leave your comment below.

Story origin for me: Bag Full O’Moonshine by Alan Garner

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Ivan goes looking for a way for a way to change himself.  The journey is long but he is determined.  What will he find?  Will he be rewarded?  A new twist on an old story from Brittany.  13.26 mins.

I reshaped this story because I have friends like Ivan, friends with disabilities.  Can you imagine how?  Leave your comment below.

Story origin for me: Ivon Tortik in Alice Kane’s book The Dreamer Awakes. 

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The Young Horseman sets out from his village, seeking for a wife.  He meets an old man on the road.   Will the old man help him?  What will happen when he picks those lemons from that tree?  Click on the link to listen.  An African story.  10.10 mins

What will you remember about this story?  Leave your comments below.

Story origin for me: Seneghalese-Canadian storyteller, Ndiouga Sarr.

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A terrible plague has struck this boy’s village.  Everyone has been blinded.  He must go on a journey to help them but he must remember his grandfather’s instructions every step of the way.   Can he succeed?  What will happen?  Click on the link and find out.  A story from Africa.  10.22 mins.

Would you have done what this boy did?  Leave a comment for others to read.

Story origin for me: Seneghalese-Canadian storyteller and drummer, Ndiouga Sarr.

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As always, Jack gets himself into trouble.  He wants to help his elderly mother.  He causes havoc instead.   Recorded live.  A story from Scotland.  6.55 mins

Did this story make you think?  Leave a comment below.

Story origin for me: Scottish teller Bea Ferguson who had heard it from the great storytelling Scottish Traveller — Duncan Williams.

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Her family is poor and she is the youngest of five sisters.  Winter is upon them and she has so little to wear.  What will she do?  How will she manage?  Click on the link and find out.   A story from Greece.  8.10 mins

What do you think of the heroine?    Leave a comment for others to read.

Story origin for me:  Fearless Girls, Wise Women and Beloved Sisters, by Kathleen Ragan, as  The Child Who Was Both Poor and Good.

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A magician comes to a market and he has a magic wand.  A homeless boy comes to watch him.  Can the magician help?   Click the link, listen and hear.  A story from Africa.  2.20 mins

Why does that boy want what he wants?  Leave a comment for others to read.

Story origin for me: American storyteller, Laura Simms, at the Toronto Festival of Storytelling.

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A daughter is left to wander the world when she makes her father angry.  She comes to a marsh where reeds are growing.  What will happen?   Can she prove her father wrong?  Click on the link to find out.  A story from England.   11.53 mins.

This story makes me think of my grandmother and great-grandmother who worked in rich people’s houses.  Does it make you think of anything?  Leave your comments below for others to read.

Story origin for me:  Joseph Jacobs English Fairy Tales.

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World Maker has left the old woman alone on her island.  She asks for a rock as her companion.  “You can have any rock,” World Maker tells her but then he wants to change his mind.   Click on the link to find out what happens.  A story about how the world began.   10.42 mins.

Do you like stories about the world’s beginning?  Leave your comments below.

Story origin for me: Toronto teller Marylyn Peringer

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She is a seal and her skin is stolen.  Now she must live upon the land.  Can she forget, be happy?  Click on the link and listen.  A story from Scotland.  7:34 mins

What do you think about the ending?  Leave your comment below.

Story origin  for me: A book by James Riordan, the title unfortunately forgotten.

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Find out more about Jan and her books at http://janandrews.ca