The Figs (Adam's Secrets Version)

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Figs" (Adam’s Secrets Version) – Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest

Podcast: Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest
Host: Adam Gidwitz
Episode: The Figs (Adam's Secrets Version)
Release Date: November 26, 2025

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Main Theme and Purpose

This special "Adam's Secrets" episode of Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest features Adam Gidwitz retelling the lesser-known fairy tale "The Figs," adapted from Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, to a group of lively and thoughtful children. The episode delves into loss, longing for home, and genuine human connection, with the unique twist of integrating real-time commentary from the kids. Adam also shares behind-the-scenes reflections in a "director’s cut" segment after the story concludes.

Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest is known for retelling classic fairy tales with humor and honesty, including thoughtful discussions on the story’s themes and morality.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Story Prelude and Warnings

• Tone-Setting: Adam clarifies that the tale is the “Grimmest” rating on their scale (Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest), containing elements of death and the underworld. He encourages listeners to pause if scared ([01:00–02:15]).
  • Quote:

  “You know how much weird and gross and scary you’re ready for. You know what you need.”
  — Adam Gidwitz [02:05]

Opening: What is a Fig?

• Exploration with the Kids: Before the story, Adam asks the kids to describe a fig, leading to a poetic, sensory discussion.
  • Quote:

  “It’s dry on the outside, and… a little wet on the inside, and it’s sweet.”
  — Child Listener [03:20]

Tale Overview

• The Setup ([03:40–06:00])

  • A rich man–longing for the figs of his childhood homeland–offers his daughter's hand to anyone who can present him with figs as good as those he remembers.
  • A neighboring poor woman, also from his homeland, has grown her own fig tree from a cutting; she sends her three sons to try their luck.

• Discussion: 'Why Three Sons'? ([05:00–06:10])

  • Adam and the kids discuss the oral tradition in fairy tales and why “three” is such a common motif.
    • Quote:

    “Because I don’t want my head to explode. That’s exactly right.”
    — Adam Gidwitz [06:03]

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The Three Sons' Quest

The Eldest Son ([06:57–11:33])

• The eldest son treats a mysterious, bony old man in the forest rudely, telling him he carries “pig snouts.”
• The figs magically become pig snouts; when the sack is opened, the rich man is disgusted and has the son thrown into a well, causing his death.
  • Quote:

  “He called his servants. ‘Throw him in the well,’ the rich man bellowed.”
  — Adam Gidwitz [11:00]

• The kids react with dark humor and curiosity about the grisly outcome.
  • Quote:

  “Wouldn’t his fall have been cushioned by the older brother’s dead body?”
  — Child Listener [15:34]

The Middle Son ([11:45–15:47])

• Treats the old man with similar disdain, says his sack contains “horse dung.” The result: the sack produces horse dung, and he too is thrown into the well.
  • Quote:

  “No pig feet, this time he actually said horse dung.”
  — Adam Gidwitz [12:46]

The Youngest Son ([15:48–22:39])

• The youngest, melancholic over leaving his homeland, encounters the old man and witnesses him arguing with a “man in a green coat”—revealed to be the Devil; the bony old man is Death.

• The son resolves their argument with the simple advice: “Just chill.” Both supernatural beings are grateful.

  • Humor:

  “Yo, bros, can you chill?”
  — Child Listener (paraphrased by Adam) [18:53]

• He finds the rich man's daughter (his long-lost best friend) in tears, leaves her a fig, then presents his figs inside.

• The figs are delicious; joy returns to both the daughter and the youngest son as they realize their connection.

  • Quote:

  “He felt as if the sunshine of his native land was warming his face. He felt happy again for the first time since he was little.”
  — Adam Gidwitz [21:51]

Twist: The Final Challenge ([22:39–24:40])

• The rich man imposes a new task: bring a fig “as sweet as my daughter.” If not, the son will be thrown in the well.

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Descent to the Underworld ([24:40–29:30])

• Death leads the youngest son to the underworld; the Devil offers a fig “as sweet as anything below the earth,” warning it cannot be tasted by the living except at a price.

• The youngest son reunites with and requests to rescue his two dead brothers. Death and the Devil, impressed by his past help, agree.

  • Quote:

  “Because that seemed wise.”
  — Adam Gidwitz, on thanking the Devil [27:02]

• The youngest son returns with his brothers, gives the fig to the rich man, who cannot resist tasting it…

• The rich man is instantly dragged to the underworld ("Bye bye, ta da, bye bye" chorus from the kids).

  • Quote:

  “And the rich man was dragged down to the underworld and never seen again.”
  — Adam Gidwitz [29:25]

• The family is joyfully reunited, and the youngest son marries his best friend.

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Spontaneous Musical Celebration ([30:02–31:00])

• Adam and the group break into a spirited parody:

  “I got sunshine on a cloudy day…”
  which evolves into
  “Sweet figs, Sweet figs…”

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Fairy Tale Logic:

  “He thinks of her like a pencil. Meaning, like, something just to use.”
  — Child Listener (on sexism/objectification) [09:52]

• On Loss and Immigration:

  “One reason people have to leave their homelands is because there stops being enough food for everyone…or there’s war.”
  — Various Child Listeners & Adam [07:08–07:39]

• Director’s Reflection (Post-story, Adam’s Secrets):

  “The emotion at the heart of the figs is missing a place that you’ve left behind, which is a feeling that some kids can identify with…” — Adam Gidwitz [31:08]

  “One of the first moments…that let me see this was a special episode was when the kids describe what a fig is. I find it kind of hard to describe a fig. And the kids did it so beautifully.”
  — Adam Gidwitz [32:00]

• On Children’s Honesty and Humor:

  “I wish there was a blood explosion.”
  — Child Listener [36:58]
  “What is wrong with you little people?”
  — Adam Gidwitz [37:00]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:00] — Adam introduces the “Grimmest” rating and advises on listening if scared
• [03:00] — Fig discussion with the kids
• [06:00] — Oral tradition and “three sons” motif
• [07:00–10:00] — Exploring reasons for migration with the kids
• [15:30] — Youngest son’s melancholic motivation revealed
• [17:00–18:53] — Death and the Devil appear; humorous “just chill” resolution
• [21:40–22:39] — Reunion of the youngest son and the daughter
• [24:40–29:30] — Underworld journey; the brothers are rescued; rich man’s comeuppance
• [30:02–31:00] — Group singing of the “Sweet Figs” parody
• [31:08–32:00+] — Adam’s director’s cut: reflections on feelings of displacement, the origin of the story, kids’ observations, and spontaneous moments

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Reflections and Takeaways

• Adam values how children’s perspectives add poetry and insight to both classic tales and their modern retelling. The episode is special for its emotional focus on homesickness—a less common fairy-tale theme.
• The interchange between the host and children reveals contemporary and timeless concerns: immigration, gender roles, the literal-minded humor of youth, and the essential value of empathy and openness.
• Spontaneity—a recurring trait of the show—is evident in musical improv and unscripted kid reactions, giving the story warmth and authenticity.

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Summary prepared for those who want the full story—humor, heart, and all—without needing to listen.

Transcript

[Adam Gidwitz]

Hi. To celebrate the new season of Grim.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

Grimmer Grimmest, I am uploading another Adam's Secrets episode. This is an episode that we put out a couple of years ago, but I re listened to and sort of took a walk down memory lane, remembering how it was recorded, the experience of recording it, and some little tidbits about the story and the experience of making this episode. So enjoy this episode. And at the end, stay tuned for a little director's cut. Walk down memory lane with me. And don't forget, if you want to hear all the episodes without ads, you can subscribe at Pinna FM and use.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Code Grim with two M's for a discount. I hope you enjoy the episode. Hi, my name is Adam Gidwitz. I'm an author. I'm also a storyteller. I like telling all kinds of stories, but I especially like telling grim fairy tales. You may think you know Grimm fairy tales, and you may think that they are sweet and boring, but listen, those tales you heard were the cute, happy little kid bedtime versions of the Grimm tales. The original Grimm fairy tales aren't like that at all. They're weird and sometimes gross and often scary. In other words, they're grim. And I'm about to host a virtual storytelling session and tell one of the original grim Grimm tales to a bunch of kids. Do you want to join me? Do you want to hear a Grim fairy tale? I don't know if you said yes or no because I can't hear you. So let me help you decide on a scale of Grim, Grimmer and Grimmest. The story I'm going to tell today is Grimmest. There is death, and it's pretty gruesome. And we just might visit the worst place on earth. Well, not on Earth. If I get to a part of the story and you start to feel scared or uncomfortable, this is what you could do. You could turn down the volume and count to five. Then turn the volume back up. If it still seems like a part you don't want to hear, turn it down and count to five again. You know how much weird and gross and scary you're ready for? You know what you need? Okay, I'm about to join the session. There are kids inside waiting to hear a grim fairy tale. So are you coming in? Grim grimmer grimace? Are you ready? Should we tell the story?

[Children/Listeners]

Yeah. Yes.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Here we go. This story is called the Figs. Who knows what a fig is like?

[Children/Listeners]

Figs like magical tree. The fruit.

[Adam Gidwitz]

It is a fruit. Who can describe that fruit to me?

[Children/Listeners]

It's dry on the outside, and it's kind of. It's a little wet on the inside, and it's sweet.

[Adam Gidwitz]

That's a lovely description of it. Yes. All right. So this story is called the Figs, and it is adapted from a story by. Who do you think?

[Children/Listeners]

Franz.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Franz Kaver von Schoenberg.

[Children/Listeners]

Ahem.

[Adam Gidwitz]

You pronounced it perfectly. Once upon a time, there was a rich man who had a beautiful daughter and all the money he could ever hope for. But there was one thing that he longed for that he could not have. A good fig. You see, this rich man came from a land far away where delicious figs grew in every yard. And now he could never find a fig as delicious as those. So he let it be known that whoever could bring him a fig as good as the figs in the land of his childhood would be rewarded. And that reward would be Mary's daughter's daughter.

[Children/Listeners]

Because that's what always happens in fairy tales. When some rich guy has a daughter. It's not even like marrying the daughter. It's like, you can have. This is yours now.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

Which is.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Is that okay?

[Children/Listeners]

No.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

No.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Word of this rich man's offer eventually reached the home of a woman who'd come from the same land as the rich man. And while she was very poor, she had brought a cutting from a fig tree from that land to this new one and planted it. And it had grown and grown and grown. And now she had a fig tree that produced figs just. Just as delicious as the figs from the faraway land she'd grown up in. Now, this poor woman had three sons. Why is it always three? Why is it always three sons, Anyone? Do we ever talk about this?

[Children/Listeners]

I'm pretty sure. Cause there's a lucky number in fairy tales.

[Adam Gidwitz]

That's a good guess. Here's my guess. Remember, fairy tales originally were not written down. They were part of what we call the oral tradition, which means that one fairy tale was told by one person to another person, who told it to another person and another, and so on.

[Children/Listeners]

Like telephone.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Like telephone. Exactly. Until eventually, Franz Xava von Schoenwurth or the Brothers Grimm heard the story and wrote it down. Now, think about this. I've told you tons of stories. Now imagine that I couldn't read the story when I was telling it to you, because I do read these. What if I just had to remember it and repeat it, like in the old days?

[Children/Listeners]

It keeps changing.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Yes. If I had to remember that in one story, it was three sons. In another story, it was four sons. Another story was two sons. I'd never get the stories right. So why is it always three?

[Children/Listeners]

Your head would explode.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Because I don't want my head to explode. That is exactly right. So the poor woman with the fig tree called her three sons to her and told them, one of you will bring a sack of my ripest figs to this rich man. Then you can marry his daughter and we'll all be rich. So she asked, who wants to bring him the figs? The eldest son said, I'll go, I'm the eldest. And the middle son said, no, I'll go. I'm the handsomest. And the youngest son said, well, he didn't say anything. He never did. You see, the youngest son was a sad young man. He'd been sad since the day his family had left their homeland when he was just a small child. He was sad because he'd had a friend there whom he loved very much, and he hadn't had a friend like that since.

[Children/Listeners]

Why'd they leave their homeland?

[Adam Gidwitz]

That's a good question. There are lots of reasons for people having to leave their homeland to come to another place. And I don't know which one it was for here, maybe.

[Children/Listeners]

Maybe all the figs, like, dried out or something. And that's why she took branch, like when they started drying out.

[Adam Gidwitz]

And one reason that people do leave their homelands is because there stops being enough food for everyone. What are other reasons why people have to leave their homeland?

[Children/Listeners]

Because it flooded?

[Adam Gidwitz]

Yes, floods could make people leave because.

[Children/Listeners]

Sometimes it can be dangerous where they live, or there's like war going on and they survive. They have to flee the country.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Yes, that's definitely a reason.

[Children/Listeners]

This is sort of not related, but I had to leave New York because, yes, it could be like an illness.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Yes, that's an excellent reason. I mean, it's not a happy reason, but that's definitely a reason that people leave their homes. You guys, we came up with so many reasons that are totally believable for why this family left. I don't know the right one, but they all could be right, what you just said. Well, the two older sons argued about who would bring the figs to the rich man because they each wanted to marry his daughter. Eventually, the poor woman chose her eldest son being because he was the eldest. So he picked a sack full of the ripest figs from their fig tree and set out for the rich man's house. Now, on the way, there was a forest. And as the eldest son was passing through the forest, he came across a very old man with a long black cloak sitting in a chair in the middle of the path. This very old man was so thin that you could practically see his bones. The eldest son had never seen an old man sitting in a chair in the middle of a path in the woods. And he didn't like things he had never seen before, even if he didn't have a good reason why. He huffed and tried to push past the man. Excuse me, said the very old man. What have you in your sack there? The eldest son already didn't like new things, and he definitely didn't like this nosy old man. So he snapped, are you talking to me? I've got a bunch of pig snouts, that's what I've got. And on he went. When the eldest son arrived at the home of the rich man, he saw the rich man's daughter sitting on a fine marble bench just outside the house's grand front door. The rich man's daughter was very beautiful. The eldest son said, good afternoon. But the young woman on the bench barely raised her head to greet him, as if her thoughts were far away. As the eldest son walked through the grand front door of the rich man's home, he thought angrily to himself, she'll give me the respect I deserve soon enough when she's my wife. What do we think of the eldest son?

[Children/Listeners]

Mean?

[Adam Gidwitz]

Mean.

[Children/Listeners]

Jerk. Sexist person.

[Adam Gidwitz]

What does it mean to say he's sexist? Mm.

[Children/Listeners]

He doesn't really give a second thought to, like, girls.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Interesting. That's a great definition.

[Children/Listeners]

That's like. Who says that to someone or thinks about that? Like, to someone who's gonna be their wife.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

Yeah.

[Children/Listeners]

It's like she, like, was like, I don't know. A pencil.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Right. Not a person, but a. But an object. I agree. The eldest son entered the house and found the rich man counting gold coins in a high ceilinged room. I have brought you the most delicious figs in the world. The eldest son exclaimed. He thrust the sack at the rich man and put his hands on his hips. The rich man opened the sack and gaped in horror. Because the sack was not full of figs. It was full of.

[Children/Listeners]

It was full of pig snouts.

[Adam Gidwitz]

It was full of pig snouts.

[Children/Listeners]

I know. I know why he has pig snouts in there.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Why?

[Children/Listeners]

So he was mean to the old skinny ma'.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Am.

[Children/Listeners]

Which is totally fine to be skinny, by the way.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Yes. And old. Yeah.

[Children/Listeners]

Emerald. So he's probably the person who was responsible for the pig snouts.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Very interesting.

[Children/Listeners]

I think that the old man is magical. And whatever you say to him comes true.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

Mmm.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Very interesting. The rich man stared at the bag full of pig snouts. He was horrified and offended. He called his servants. Throw him in the well. The rich man bellowed. So the servants picked up the eldest son by his arms and legs, carried him outside, and tossed him into the well, where the eldest son broke his neck and died.

[Children/Listeners]

Wow. Oof. Was there lots of blood?

[Adam Gidwitz]

I don't know if there's a lot of blood, but he does have a broken neck and he's lying at the bottom of a well.

[Children/Listeners]

I wish there was a blood explosion.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Okay, maybe. Maybe there was. I don't know. When the eldest son didn't come home, the poor woman called to the middle son and told him to take another sack of figs to the rich man. And also to find out what had happened to the eldest son. Don't worry, Mama, said the middle son. I won't fail. After all, I am much handsomer than my brother. He picked a sack full of sweet figs from the tree and set off. Soon he came to the same forest and began to journey through. When he stopped again, the man as old as death sat in a chair in the middle of the path. Oh. The middle son was, in his opinion, much too handsome to stop and talk to some strange old man in the woods. So he huffed and roughly pushed past the old man. Excuse me, said the very old man. What's in that sack there? The middle son replied. Are you talking to me? I've got. What do you think he says?

[Children/Listeners]

Pig snaps. Pig snaps. Pig butt.

[Adam Gidwitz]

No pig feet this time he actually said horse dung.

[Children/Listeners]

Oh, that's his worst.

[Adam Gidwitz]

What's horse dung? Horse poop. Horse poop, right. I've got a big sack of horse dung, he said. And on he went. When the middle son arrived at the Looking for something to listen to with the whole family this holiday season, Radiolab's family friendly nature podcast Terrestrials has teamed up with two other kids podcasts, wow. In the World, and circle round to create a holiday crossover cross species feast. About Turducken that's right. Three shows with three stories about a chicken stuffed in a duck stuffed in a turkey. What will happen when these worlds collide? The From WNYC Listen to Terrestrials in the Radiolab for kids feed on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

Did you know that you can listen.

[Adam Gidwitz]

To Grim Grimmer Grimmest without any ads interrupting the story? Just subscribe to Pinna. Not only will you get to hear me tell these fairy tales straight through the way I tell them to kids. You get access to tons of other awesome original shows and audiobooks, all at ad free. Subscribe to Pinna at Pinna FM. That's P I N N A FM and use code GRIM with two M's to get 30% off an annual subscription. And remember, it's not a Smurf. Home of the Rich man he found the rich man's beautiful daughter sitting on the marble bench out front. The middle son said, good afternoon, but the young woman didn't even raise her head, as if her thoughts were very far away. As the middle son walked through the grand front door of the rich man's home, he thought angrily to himself, she'll notice how handsome I am soon enough when she's my wife.

[Children/Listeners]

Uh huh. Mean he's a jerk. He's turkey jerky.

[Adam Gidwitz]

He is turkey jerky. The middle son found the rich man counting gold coins in the same high ceilinged room. I have brought you the most delicious figs in the world. The middle son exclaimed. He thrust the sack at the rich man and put his hands on his hips. The rich man opened the sack and gaped in horror because his sack was not full of figs. It was full of poison. The rich man was horrified and offended. Ew. He called his servants. Throw him in the well. The rich man bellowed. So the servants picked up the middle son by his arms and legs, carried him outside, and tossed him into the well where the middle son broke his neck and died.

[Children/Listeners]

Wouldn't his fall have been cushioned by the older brother's dead body?

[Adam Gidwitz]

Wow, that is a disgusting thought the older brother.

[Children/Listeners]

And then the blood squirted out of the other brother.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

Yeah, that too, I guess.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Jiminy Cricket, you guys are messed up. Okay, okay. When the middle son didn't come home, the poor woman became worried. She called her youngest son to her, told him to pack a sack of figs and go find his brothers. And while he was at it, he might as well win the hand of the rich man's daughter. The youngest son didn't want to go. He missed the land of his birth and his childhood best friend so much that he didn't want to do anything. Especially not marry some girl who probably didn't want to marry him either. But his mother insisted. So the youngest son collected the figs and off he went. Soon the youngest son was journeying through the same forest on the same path. And he came across the same very old man. But this time, the very old man was not sitting in a chair. He was standing, talking to another man. In a long green coat. The youngest son stopped to listen, and he realized that the man in the long green coat and the very old man were arguing. He also realized that the man in the long green coat was. Any idea who the man in the long green coat was?

[Children/Listeners]

His best friend, a wizard? His dad? A king.

[Adam Gidwitz]

All good guesses not right yet.

[Children/Listeners]

He was a blue smurf.

[Adam Gidwitz]

He was not a smurf. I'll tell you what. In all of the fairy tales, the man in the long green coat is always the devil, and the very old man was Death.

[Children/Listeners]

Oh.

[Adam Gidwitz]

So the youngest son listened a while.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

Longer to their argument.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Because when you hear death and the devil arguing, you probably shouldn't interrupt. But then the youngest son stepped forward, and he resolved the argument between Death and the devil. They thanked the youngest son, and he continued on his way. None of you have any questions about that? Like, Death and the devil were arguing, and this random kid just solved their problem.

[Children/Listeners]

We have questions. Our heads are breaking. Just. We can't talk. Our heads are breaking.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Yeah, okay, that makes sense. What do you think they were fighting over?

[Children/Listeners]

They are fighting over who gets the bones to make jewelry with.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Like, creepy.

[Children/Listeners]

They're like, I call a school to make for my baby helmet.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Oh, that's gross. How does the young. How does the youngest son solve that disgusting argument?

[Children/Listeners]

He's just like, here, I'll go dig up at some waves. Here you go.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Oh, my gosh. Okay. I'm disturbed. All right. Can I just say, this is one of those moments in the Franz K. Sabe von Schoenvert stories where you're like, wait, what?

[Children/Listeners]

How does.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

Right.

[Adam Gidwitz]

You're like, the devil and death are arguing. And this random guy was just like, I can solve it.

[Children/Listeners]

Yo, bros, can you chill?

[Adam Gidwitz]

That's totally what he said. Exactly what he said.

[Children/Listeners]

Just waltzes up and is like, hey, guys, can you chill? I'm trying to bring these things.

[Adam Gidwitz]

When the youngest son arrived at the home of the rich man, the rich man's beautiful daughter was still sitting on that marble bench out front because she really loved that bench or something. This time, though, she wasn't just staring off into the distance. She had buried her face in her arms, and she was weeping. Something about the way she was crying reminded the youngest son of. Of himself. He moved toward her to ask if she was okay, but she seemed to sense him and turned away and cried harder. So he left a single fig on the bench beside her, and he continued on into the house. The youngest son found the rich man in the same high Ceilinged room counting gold coins. He handed the rich man the sack. The rich man eyed it skeptically. He was pretty sick of opening sacks to find disgusting things like pig snouts and horse dung. If these aren't figs, the rich man said, my servants will toss you into the well. Why wouldn't they be figs? Asked the youngest son. I don't know. But the last two young men who came here had the most revolting stuff in their sacks. That's why they're at the bottom of my well with their necks broken. The youngest son nearly fainted hearing this news about his older brothers. Meanwhile, the rich man began to open the sack of figs. Suddenly the youngest son wanted to stop him. What if they weren't figs? Maybe someone had switched them when he was talking to death and the devil. Or maybe his family had been cursed somehow, or. But it was too late. The rich man opened the sack and.

[Children/Listeners]

He found dun, dun, dun figs.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Figs. The rich man tasted a fig. He chewed it slowly, thoughtfully. Finally, he began to grin. He said, this tastes just like home. And then he shouted, daughter, daughter, taste these figs. He rushed outside and the youngest son followed him. The rich man's daughter was still weeping. The fig that the youngest son had left still lying untouched on the bench beside her. The rich man lifted his daughter's head and gave her a fig from the sack. As she chewed it, the tears stopped. Her frown disappeared. She saw the other fig on the bench and she ate that too. And as she chewed it slowly, her face broke into a tear streaked smile. And when the youngest son saw that smile, he felt as if the sunshine of his native land was warming his face. He felt happy again for the first time since he was little.

[Children/Listeners]

Because she's the long lost friend.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Because the daughter of the rich man was his long lost best friend from childhood, whom he had loved so much and had not seen for so many years. At just that moment, the rich man's daughter realized the very same thing. She leapt up and threw her arms around the youngest son's neck. And they held one another, crying tears as sweet as those figs.

[Children/Listeners]

Now he's like I got sunshine on a cloud.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Boom, boom, boom. And that should be the end of this story. The rich man got his figs and the youngest son and his childhood best friend decided to get married so they would never be parted again. And they were happy at last. But that isn't the end.

[Children/Listeners]

Plot Twist no, it's not. It's not the end. He doesn't want him to marry his daughter.

[Adam Gidwitz]

You see, the rich man wasn't the nicest guy ever. Have you noticed that?

[Children/Listeners]

Yeah, yeah, pretty much.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Because he kept murdering people who brought him stuff. And he wasn't about to let his daughter marry her childhood best friend. Just because he'd shown up with a sack of figs, no matter what he'd promised. So he asked the youngest son, how rich is your family? Oh, we are very rich, said the youngest son. In figs? No, not in figs. In money. How rich are you in money? Said the rich man. And the youngest son answered, um, not very. You're as poor as dirt, aren't you? The youngest son hung his head. Yes, sir. The rich man was not pleased. His daughter said, you're right, Father. I shouldn't marry someone just because they brought you a sack of tasty figs. But shouldn't I get to marry my best friend? No, no, no, no, Repeated the rich man. These figs are sweet, certainly. But my daughter is the sweetest thing on this earth. Unless you can find a fig as sweet as she is, you cannot marry her. And if you come back with a fig any less sweet than she, I will throw you down my well. And you'll break your neighbor that can die well. The youngest son looked at his best friend and knew instantly that the task was impossible. There was no fig on earth as sweet as she was. But the rich man called his servants and had them throw the youngest son out of the house. And they locked the door so the youngest son couldn't get back in. And his best friend couldn't get out. What do you think is going to happen now?

[Children/Listeners]

He's gonna go to the old, bony man.

[Adam Gidwitz]

The youngest son wandered away. Eventually he came to the forest. And he walked down the path until he was face to face with Death. What's the matter? Said Death. How did you know something was the matter? Well, first of all, I'm Death. And secondly, you're crying. Oh, that makes sense. So the youngest son told Death what had happened. Death tapped his chin with a long, bony finger. A fig as sweet as his daughter. And how sweet is she? As sweet as anything on this earth, replied the youngest son. And Death said, mmm. Come with me. He took the youngest son to the bottom of a grand cliff. The youngest son looked up at the black rock towering above them. Then he saw Death grab a piece of rock that looked kind of like a doorknob. He pulled it, and the huge cliff face swung open. And they walked down a steep, rocky set of stairs into the underworld. Everything was gray and cold. They passed through an orchard, and the tree trunks and branches were gray and cold, too. But the fruit on the trees looked ripe and sweet. There they found the devil pruning the branches of a fig tree. The devil was pleased to see the youngest son again. Hey, you're the guy who resolved that argument for us, aren't you? Just by telling us to chill. That was brilliant. I never would have thought of that. Thank you. Yeah, sure, no worries. Death told the devil that they were looking for something as sweet as the youngest son's best friend.

[Children/Listeners]

Hmm.

[Adam Gidwitz]

How sweet is she? The devil asked. As sweet as anything on this earth. Oh, yeah? What about below it? And he plucked a fig from the tree he was pruning and held it up. Try this. Except you probably shouldn't. Because if you do, you must remain in the underworld forever. The youngest son said, oh, can I just take one? Be my guest.

[Children/Listeners]

Fine. He's going to give the fruit to the rich guy.

[Adam Gidwitz]

And the devil gave the youngest son a fig. The youngest son said, thank you, because that seemed wise. But as death led the youngest son back toward the stone staircase out of the underworld, the youngest son saw two people. Who do you think he saw?

[Children/Listeners]

His brother and his other brother.

[Adam Gidwitz]

The youngest son saw his brothers. He hurried back to the devil and asked if he could bring his brothers out of the underworld too, in addition to the fig. Well, this was highly irregular. Death and the devil discussed it. They really couldn't let people come down here and just take their family members home again. But on the other hand, the youngest son had told them to chill. And that had been pretty brilliant. So in the end, they agreed that the youngest son could take his brothers out of the underworld. Death led the eldest son, the middle son, and the youngest son back up to the land of the living. But before he let them go on their way, Death poked a thin, bony finger in the faces of the two older sons. I hope you've learned your lesson. The two eldest sons had been thrown down a well, broken their necks, and died, and then gone to the underworld. So, yeah, they'd learned their lesson. Yes, we have. We're sorry. Cried the two older sons. And they hid behind their little brother. The youngest son thanked Death and went to the rich man's house. The rich man was very surprised to see him back already. Back so soon? Yes, sir, said the youngest son. And he handed the rich man the devil's fig. You know that if this fig is not as sweet as my daughter, I will have you tossed in that well right and you'll likely break your neck and die. I know, said the youngest son. It is as sweet as your daughter, but I should warn you that. But the rich man didn't listen. He took a bite.

[Children/Listeners]

No.

[Adam Gidwitz]

His eyes grew very wide, and a smile spread across his face. And he said, this fig is even sweeter than. Sorry, I hope I didn't scare you.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

And he was dragged.

[Children/Listeners]

I was trying to fix something on my computer, and you just screamed, and I was like, oh.

[Adam Gidwitz]

And the rich man was dragged down to the underworld and never seen again.

[Children/Listeners]

Bye bye. Ta da. Bye bye.

[Adam Gidwitz]

The youngest son brought his two brothers home, just as his mother had asked him to. And the rich man's daughter came to live with them. She didn't want her father's money. She just wanted to marry her best friend and live in a warm little home with a fig tree that grew figs, exactly as sweet as those in the faraway land of her childhood. The end. All right, so are we gonna do a rendition of I've Got Sunshine? Ready?

[Children/Listeners]

No.

[Adam Gidwitz]

No, but come on, let's do it. Yeah, we'll do backup. You ready? 1, 2, 3, 4.

[Children/Listeners]

I got sunshine on a cloudy day.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Bom bom bom bom bom bom bom.

[Children/Listeners]

Bom bom and when it's cold outside Dang it. I've got. The man's a man.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Bum, bum bum, bum bum I guess.

[Children/Listeners]

You say what can make me feel this way?

[Adam Gidwitz]

Sweet figs, Sweet figs. Sweet figs. Goodbye.

[Children/Listeners]

Sweet figs. Sweet figs, Sweet figs. Sweet figs, Sweet figs.

[Adam Gidwitz]

All right, well done, everybody.

[Children/Listeners]

Absolutely gorgeous.

[Adam Gidwitz]

All right, guys, this was super fun.

[Children/Listeners]

Thank you, Adam, for existing.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Aw. Thank you all for existing.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

The figs is one of my favorite episodes, and I think it's one that I don't usually hear from kids as their favorite, though every once in a while, a kid says the figs is their favorite, and it's kind of makes me smile a little bit inside. I think it doesn't feel exactly like a typical fairy tale, in part because it's not about one of the more common emotions that kids have, like feeling jealous of a sibling or feeling mistreated by a parent or by grownups or needing to do something brave and difficult, though that exists in the story too. The emotion at the heart of the figs is missing a place that you've left behind, which is a feeling that some kids can identify with. And as you get older, you know, if you go off to college or if you move, you might be more likely to have experienced this emotion. But because it's not the most common fairy tale emotion, this story, to me, feels kind of rare and special and beautiful. One of the first moments in this episode that sort of let me see that it was gonna be a special one was when the kids describe what a is. I find it kind of hard to describe a fig. And the kids did it so beautifully. And maybe my favorite thing about it, actually, is that you can hear if you listen closely in my voice, how surprised and delighted I am by the way the kids describe what a fig is. I'm often delighted by what kids say on the podcast, obviously, because I put it on the podcast. But you can't always hear it in my voice because I've got so many things going on. I'm trying to focus on the next thing that happens in the story. I'm trying to make sure that everybody in the classroom that I'm recording in is focused and paying attention and ready for the next moment. I'm also making sure that we get good sound for the recording so that when you listen to it, it sounds good, too. So I got a lot of things that I'm thinking about as I'm telling a story. And that means sometimes when a kid says something amazing, I kind of just say interesting or. Yeah, and then I keep moving. But this one, for some reason, the way this kid described the. Like, the dryness or whatever they said on the outside of the fig and the wetness on the inside just kind of stopped me for a minute. And you can hear in my voice how moved I was by this simple, poetic little description of a fig. Another thing I love about this story is a small change that I made to it that really changed what it was about. And I kind of referenced this at the beginning. So the original Franz Ksava von Schonvoort story says there was once a king who loved figs more than any other food, which is also just a great and surprising beginning of a fairy tale that's unlike any fairy tale I've ever read before. But it doesn't give an explanation of why he did. And so I added in this element of having the rich man instead of a king, being from a different country and missing this taste, and also the poor woman being from that same country. And the reason I did that is because what inspired me to do that was my wife's grandfather came to this country from Sicily, which is the big island at the bottom of Italy, and he brought with him a cutting of figs and planted a fig cutting in his yard and a fig tree grew up in front of their house. And if you drive through Brooklyn, which is where I. I live and where he moved, you can see a lot of houses with fig trees in front of their yards where immigrants from Italy came and moved and planted their fig trees. Speaking of these immigrants from Italy who came to Brooklyn, I really love that conversation about the reasons people have to leave their homeland. As you may or may not be aware, that's a big question today in the United States. Should we have immigrants? Should we have more immigrants, fewer immigrants? And I think a part of the question that we often forget about, we often think of it from our perspective. Do we want more immigrants in the United States or not? But I think we often forget to talk about why they might be coming to the United States and why they might be leaving. And I thought these kids were so thoughtful about that question. I wish grownups were as thoughtful as these kids. And speaking of being thoughtful, this conversation about how the first son treats the girl, and one of the kids on the podcast says it's like he's treating her like. Like she's a pencil, which I just thought was so great, because grownups spend a lot of time talking about objectifying other people. Frequently it's in terms of, like, men objectifying women, which means thinking about women as something to look at or as somebody to just do something useful for them and not thinking of them as people. They think of them as objects. So thinking of people objectifying people is a big fancy word. But this kid stumbled on that same concept all themselves by saying he thinks of her like a pencil, meaning, like, something just to use. One of the things that I love about talking to kids is, you know, adults, we have these big fancy concepts like objectifying, and we may not really think about what they mean. We may not really understand them. Kids may not have the concept, but they understand and observe the world so freshly and accurately. Also, because you say things like, I.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Wish there was a blood explosion.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

What is wrong with you little people? The idea about, like, the older brother is a cushion that the middle brother's body will fall on, and then blood squirts out of the older boy's dead body. I mean, it's not just that you.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Guys are gross, it's that you're so specific about it. That's what's so horrifying and delightful, but mostly horrifying.

[Podcast Producer/Host]

Speaking of which, the suggestion about, like, the baby skull surprised and disturbed me yet again on re listening. I'd forgotten about it. And it again made me laugh so hard my chest hurt, which I shouldn't admit that something so gross made me laugh that hard. And then there's another moment that really made me laugh, which is when the suggestion for how the argument between death and the devil, which is something I added to this story, is not in the original story. And I didn't have a good way for the main character to solve that problem. And when I don't have a good way for the main character to solve a problem, sometimes I'll just ask the kids if they have an idea. And there were some ideas, but my favorite was just when the kid was like, just chill. And I liked it so much and it made me laugh so hard and was so surprising that I brought it back. And then later when we record the actors, I rewrote the actor's dialogue to reflect what that kid said. I don't always get to do that, but that's, you know, when a kid has said something really special, when I rewrite the actor's dialogue to work it in there. And of course, the completely spontaneous and truly unplanned singing of I Got Sweet Figs on a Cloudy Day at the end is absolutely one of my favorite spontaneous moments in a Grim Grimmer Grimmest episode of all time. Thanks for listening to this Secrets episode. We're going to keep making them because you all seem to like listening to them.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Talk to you soon. Grim Grimmer Grimmest is a Pinna original production created by, written and narrated by me, Adam Gidwitz, author of A Tale Dark and Grim co written by Ali Horne Produced and edited by Ilana Milner Casting by Paula Gammon Wilson Voice direction by Ilana Milner and Paula Gammon Wilson Sound design and mixing by Beat street nyc Executive produced by Ann Richards Production support by Ashley Beecher and Thaddeus Dankwa Characters voiced by Arlando Smith, Billy Bob Thompson, Carolina Doe, Colin Ryan, Erica Schroeder, Jason Udoff, Kailyn Clinton, Marion Toro, Michael Crouch, Rob Marrera, Samantha Cooper and Walker Vreeland. Special thanks to all the kids who joined us for our storytelling sessions. You guys are awesome. You know when you're just going about your busy day and a voice asks.

[Children/Listeners]

You something like, why do people have crushes? Or do dogs know their dogs?

[Adam Gidwitz]

The Brainzon Podcast is here to every episode answers tough questions with funny skits, cool facts and more. It's a science show for kids of all ages. Whether you grew up with jfk, mtv, TLC or tmz. Brainson is for you. Listening may induce uncontrollable laughter and turn backseat squabbles into harmonious car trips. Find Brainson wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's me, Bobby Wonder, and my.

[Children/Listeners]

Sidekick, slash best good buddy, Grabstack.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Hey there, Bobby. We're on a mission to save the town of Pflugerville from Mighty Mila, and it's our job to stop her. Good thing you can fly and you have that nifty stretchy arm for when I need a waffle. Her goal is to make life miserable for everyone in Pflugerville. I love the Go Kid Go universe of shows. There's Lucy Wow. The Incredible Builder extraordinaire. The whale of a tail over there in the ocean next to town and Fly. That hilarious show full of fizzy creatures. So much to explore.

[Children/Listeners]

I know, right?

[Adam Gidwitz]

If you love to laugh, save the.

[Children/Listeners]

World and go on big adventures. Search for Bobby Wonder.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Part of the Go Kid Go universe of shows.

[Children/Listeners]

Fun for the whole family.

[Adam Gidwitz]

Just search for Go Kid Go wherever you get your podcasts and you'll find a ton of adventure. A mega turn.