What Stories Unfold

Episodes

1. 24

   Little Fir Tree

   Hans Christian Andersen relates a story close to home for all those who still enjoy the scent and feel of a live Christmas tree during the holidays. But this story speaks to the pain of youth and the cost of wanting only what is in front oneself. It is a story, too, of our failing as humans to...

   Aug 8, 2023

   18m
2. 23

   The World's Best Fairy Tales

   This podcast series of The World's Best Fairy Tales are stories read from the same titled Reader's Digest Anthology edited by Belle Becker Sideman with illustrations by Fritz Kredel ©1967. When I was a child, my mother improved her English by reading to me from this book. Soundtracks and SFX come...

   Jul 29, 2023

   0m
3. 22

   The Town Mouse & the Country Mouse

   Originally from Scandinavia, this story's message might align with the old adage "To Each His Own". A recent episode of The Nature of Things showed how city-dwelling is far more stressful than country dwelling, which suits the story's conclusion.

   Jul 16, 2023

   7m
4. 21

   The Goose Girl

   This story carries strange, supernatural elements in it. A talking horse, a handkerchief with a mother's blood on it to protect her child, and a power to will the wind to blow. How to explain its meaning? It is story about the fear of death if one breaks their oath to keep secret their true...

   May 29, 2022

   13m
5. 20

   Five Wise Words

   Andrew Lang and his wife Leonora Blanche Alleyne translated and published 798 stories from 1889-1913. This tale from the Punjab encourages wisdom passed on from a village guru to ensure a long and prosperous life, portraying characters in the story as stereotypes of a bygone era whose traits are...

   Feb 7, 2022

   17m
6. 19

   Thumbelina

   Hans Christian Andersen's personal plight of unrequited love echoes in this story as it does in so many of his. The intangibility of his female characters, their loss of place, overcoming the desires of undeserving others, and their final arrival at a truth not of their own making are the…

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   Jan 17, 2022

   24m
7. 18

   Six Sillies

   Sometimes we are faced with the challenge to remain humble in the face of what we perceive is stupidity. But with humility comes rewards that have a value far beyond the fleeting feeling of being superior.

   Dec 31, 2021

   5m
8. 17

   Two Frogs

   Japanese culture and stories have a deeply ingrained connection to nature. It is by no small measure then that this story is told through the eyes of two frogs. However, in anthropomorphizing them, we learn that if we do not focus on what is ahead of us in life, and instead look back, we may very...

   Dec 18, 2021

   4m
9. 16

   The Ugly Duckling

   What remains is our inner self, our own true nature, which is perfectly imperfect, unique and original not only to the world but to what we see in our own reflection.

   Nov 30, 2021

   19m
10. 15

    The Golden Goose

    Although the story begins with an act of kindness on the part of a youngest son of three named Simpleton (or from a more direct German-to-English translation "Dummling" - little dummy), it is about want turning into greed and persistence, for the right reasons, turning into reward.

    Nov 14, 2021

    10m
11. 14

    Tom Thumb

    The smallest things in life often become the things we treasure most, even when we sometimes lose their worth along the way.

    Oct 1, 2021

    12m
12. 13

    It's Perfectly True

    It is still amazing how easily an event or a half-joking remark can turn into a rumour that has exaggerated the truth into extinction. Perhaps we need to be mindful our own words and what we choose to "pass on".

    Sep 20, 2021

    6m