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- [00:14]
A
Hello and welcome to Super Great Kids Stories Wise tales from storytellers around the world which will make you laugh and sometimes cry. Recommended for ages 5 to 105. I'm Kim and I love stories. This week I'm very pleased to tell you that we have a story from the beautiful country of Vietnam. It's called the Tiger, the Farmer and the Water Buffalo and it's told by Mo Fung Lang. How are you this week? Super Great kids. It's August high summer in the northern part of the world and full on winter in the southern part. Wherever you live, north or south, I hope you're enjoying listening to stories on the beach or snuggled under your blankets. Did you enjoy last week's story from Southern Africa about the mantis and the moon? I seem to notice the moon more in the summer, perhaps because I'm outside for longer. Last night I was cycling home from seeing a film and the moon was a crescent shade and it was glowing orange. When I was young, my dad gave me a coin which had a picture of astronauts landing on the moon. He told me it contained a tiny speck of moon dust which had been brought back from the moon by astronauts. I'm not sure if it really did, but it was something which felt very special and I kept it in my treasure box. Do you have anything which you treasure? It might be a pebble or a shell which you found on holiday, or a sparkly stone or it might be a feather or even a gift someone gave you. Why don't you have a think about that while we have a quick word with the grown ups. Ready off you. Hello Super Great kids, I'm back. I wonder if you have any kind of treasure. Maybe a pebble with a hole in it or a semi precious stone like a tiger's eye with brown and gold stripes on it. There's a tiger in this story from Vietnam this week. A tiger and a water buffalo. A water buffalo is like a big grayish cow with sweeping horns. They help the farmers prepare the fields for rice which is an important crop in Vietnam. When I was visiting Vietnam recently, I was lucky enough to see water buffalo plodding up and down, helping to break up the soil in the rice fields. They seem like very noble and gentle creatures. Do you think tigers are gentle creatures? Hmm. Shall we listen to the story and decide? So, are you ready? Then let's give a very warm welcome to Mo Fu Lang who lives in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.
- [03:38]
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Hi there. My name is Mo Phu Nan and I'm so happy to tell You a story from my country, Vietnam. Our family loves sharing stories, especially my daughter Livia, who who is a big fan of super great kids. Sometimes we even visit places in Vietnam where great legends are said to have taken place. I hope that you will enjoy the story and maybe one day you will come and visit these places to see for yourself. For now, let's begin by saying, which means Once upon a time in Vietnamese, The Jade Emperor noticed that the people and animals down on earth were going hungry. He ordered his assistant to plant two handfuls of rice for his people and one handful of grass seeds to feed the animals. But oh dear. The Emperor's assistant was daydreaming and not paying attention. And unfortunately, he got his instructions muddled up. He scattered only one handful of rice onto the earth and two handfuls of grass seed. Can you imagine what happened? That's right. The grass grew thick and lush and tall and blotted out the sun for the poor little rice shoots, which shriveled and shrank and died. So the animals had plenty to eat. But the people got even hungrier. And do you think that the Jade Emperor was happy? Why, of course not. The Jade Emperor stomped across to his assistant, who was sleeping in the shade of a tree, and crash. Flash. Kaboom. With a wave of his wand, the Jade Emperor turned his assistant into a water buffalo and sent him to live on earth to eat grass and to help the rice farmers with their work. The water buffalo felt ashamed and worked hard for his master to help him grow enough rice to feed his family. One day, after long hours plowing the fields, the water buffalo lay snoozing under a tree, so he didn't notice a skinny, hungry tiger come prowling towards him and his master's farm. The tiger eyed the water buffalo hungrily and growled softly. Hmm, he thought to himself. How come this huge, strong animal allows himself to be yoked and put to work all day long by this weedy looking farmer? What is wrong with the beast? I'd rather like to have some of that tasty water buffalo with rice. But before that, I want to know the secret of his master's power so I can have some of that power for myself forever. The tiger growled gently next to the water buffalo's ear. Psst.
- [07:12]
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Cry.
- [07:16]
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The water buffalo swished his tail as if batting away an annoying fly. The tiger growled more loudly next to the water buffalo's ear.
- [07:27]
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Grr.
- [07:31]
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The water buffalo flicked his ears and his tail and continued to sleep in the shade. The tiger was losing his patience. He let out an enormous roar. The startled water buffalo leapt to his feet and let out a deep bellow. No need for that, said the tiger. Don't be scared. I'm just curious. I want to know the secret of your master's power. How come he can make animals huge brutes like you, with all your muscle and strength, work for him? The water buffalo backed away from the fierce tiger. He did not trust him one little bit. He knew that tigers were always on the lookout for their next supper. I have no idea. Bellowed the buffalo. Why don't you ask him yourself? Meanwhile, the farmer, hearing the tiger's roar from the other side of the field where he was enjoying his lunch break, leapt up and ran over to rescue his companion. Bravely, he raised the bamboo stick in the air and shouted at the tiger. Scram. Run. Get off my land now. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, please. Purred the Tiger. You got me all wrong. I don't mean to harm your delicious. I mean your delightful buffalo companion, said the Tiger. I simply wanted to ask him the secret of your success in getting a huge muscly beast like him to work all day under the hot sun for someone as. As skinny as you. Well, said the farmer, I suppose I'm a good master. I feed him well, and he works hard for me in return. We both feel pleased at the end of a long day's work when we look at all the furrows ready to be planted with new green shoots of rice. Put it down to years of sweet wisdom, which I got from watching older farmers. Wisdom? Wisdom. What is that? What does it taste like? I want some of this sweet wisdom. Bring me some now. Growled the tiger, licking his lips at the thought of this delicious stuff, which would give him power over all the other animals. No longer would he have to hunt them. He could simply dine on Wisdom and order the animals to sit down in front of him while he made a meal of them. Yes, no problem. I can get you some wisdom, said the clever farmer. But I don't have any on me. It's far too precious to take out to the fields when I'm working. I keep it back home. I see, said the tiger, his patience growing thin and his stomach beginning to grumble. Then go back and fetch it quick, before I change my mind. And have a little nibble of your companion while I wait. Mo. Bellowed the water buffalo indignantly. Very well, said the farmer. But let me tie you to this tree first so that my friend the water buffalo will not become your next snack. The tiger allowed the farmer to tie him to the tree with string made from straw. Before long, the farmer returned with a burning torch. In a flash he lit the string which bound the tiger and hot flames licked around the cords which held him tightly to the tree trunk. Yelped the startled tiger, who kicked out with strong legs, kicking the water buffalo on the mouth and snapping the string, while the tiger ran for his life and could be heard howling all the way over the mountains and down the other side. And do you know, the water buffalo and his master never saw that tiger ever again. And that is why to this very day, the water buffalo has no teeth in his upper jaw. And that is how the tiger got dark stripes burnt onto his beautiful orange coat. But he now knows the secret of wisdom. And whenever he sees the water buffalo or farmers, he runs away faster than the wind itself.
- [13:04]
A
Ah, thanks very much to Mofu Lang for that story. Do you think the tiger was gentle? Hmm, I don't think so. So here's my question. Was that a trickster story or do you think it was a how and why story? Or maybe it was both. You decide. When I was visiting Vietnam, we watched a water puppet show, which is a very old kind of entertainment, a bit like we have Punch and Judy here in the uk. The puppets are moved around on water with a long stick and the puppeteers are half crouching in the water themselves. In the show that I saw, it included puppets of a jolly farmer and a water buffalo. So I imagine farmers and water buffalo have been a very important part of Vietnamese life for many years. I'll post a photograph of those puppets on Patreon and on our Facebook page. And now it's time to flip, flap, fly around the world with Story Owl to say hello and thank you to the owlets who've recently hopped into our nest and joined our storytelling club. Let's start in Australia to say hello to Flynn, who's 8 and lives in Byron Bay in New South Wales. His favorite stories are the the Woodcutter and the Goblins and Walidad. His favourite storyteller is Jason Buck and he also loves any type of forest story. I wonder if that means you have a lot of forests near where you live in Byron Bay, Flynn, and staying in Australia, let's fly down to Victoria to say hello to Iver, who's 6, and Eli, who's 4, who live in a small country town called Avanel. Iver loves the Emperor's new Clothes and Eli is a fan of Inch Boy. It's winter now in Australia and they are enjoying sitting in front of the fire and listening together with their parents. And they have two dogs, Agatha and Sarge, and a possum called Chuba Chubs, who lives in the garden and might just be the biggest possum in Australia. We'll fly all the way across the Pacific Ocean now to Canada to say hello to Charlotte, who's just turned seven this month. She lives in Nanaimo on Vancouver island in British Columbia. And her favorite storyteller is Jason Buck. A short hop south now across the border to the United States States to greet Charlie in Bremerton in Washington State, who became an owlet for his sixth birthday. His favourite stories are the Cat that Ate the palace and the Boy who Lived With Bears. He's been listening to super great kids stories since he was three and his whole family loves it. Well, that's very good to hear, Charlie. Let's head southeast now to Colorado to Greet Isla, who's 7 and is based in Denver. Her favorites are Bonita, the Tricky Sheep and the Ghost of the Bloody Finger. Isla also loves the Luminous Pearl because dragons are one of her favorite creatures and will keep flying southeast. All the way down to Houston, Texas, to say hello to Aralia, who's five and a half. She's also a fan of the Ghost of the Bloody Finger, as well as the Catfishers. And a long flight east to Lexington, South Carolina, to greet Emery, who turns eight later this month. He's been listening for four years, and his favorites include the Old Old Woman and Her Pig, as well as the Anansi stories and the Brer Rabbit ones. Up now to North Carolina to greet Petra, who's 7 and listens whenever she's in the car and before bedtime. She loves Mama Draga and the Ghost of the Bloody Finger. Let's keep flying north to Drexel Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia, to meet Ollie, who's 5 and became an owlet when he completed preschool. Owls are Ollie's favorite animal and he recently met a great horned owl named Odin through a conservation centre. His favorite stories are the Ghost of the Bloody Finger, How Snakes Got Their Poison and all the Anansi ones. Story Owl is very pleased to hear you like owls, Ollie. My granddaughter Dorothy is another owl fan, but she's not yet old enough to be an owlet like you. And up now to Madison, Wisconsin, to say hello to Timber, who became an owlet for her fifth birthday thanks to her grandma Cheryl. Temba's favorite stories are a Nancy and the Hot Pepper Soup and a Nancy and the Talking Watermelon. She likes to listen whenever she's in the car with her family. Let's fly a long way east now, back across the Canadian border to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to say hello to Sarah, who became an owlet on her seventh birthday, which was back in May. She and her big brother William listen on the way to and from school. Sarah's a fan of the Anansi stories and the three bears. And finally, an even longer flight all the way over the Atlantic to Scotland to say hello to Stella, who's nine, Max, who's six, and their dog Lemon. They live in the village of Aberfoyle and they've been owlets for over a year and a half. And thanks to their grandma. Hurrah for grandmas. Not only do they make cakes and take care of the children when grown ups are working, they also help out with owlet subscriptions. Hurrah. Stella loves hey Ho. And Max's favorite is Anansi and the Unknown Challenge. Their mum Rebecca enjoys singing along to Bonita, the Tricky Sheep. And the whole family have a new favourite. They love listening to the scary story the Dauntless Girl told by Sarah Lisa. And our picture of the week is drawn by nine year old Cecilia, also known as Cece, who comes from Wisconsin. She tells us that she listens in the morning and at night and if she's sad, the stories cheer her up. Well, that's very good to hear. Thanks for sending us your beautiful picture inspired by how Maui found the Secret of fire. I love your scary Mahuika with her fiery fingernails and sharp teeth chasing Maui who is disguised as a hawk as he flies above the burning trees. Your picture really captures the story well. Thank you. If you'd like to see the picture, it's on our website Super Great Kids stories. Com or on our Facebook page. Facebook facebook.com supergreatkidstories and thanks to all Owletts for your super great support. It's because of you that we can keep finding new stories and storytellers in different countries. If you'd like to support us on Apple or on Patreon, we'll say hello to you on the show. You can hear our stories advert free and you'll have access to all the stories in our super great archive. Plus +50 super great scary stories and depending on your level of subscription, over 60 bonus stories. Plus you get access to our super Great Kids Stories express with short introductions, no adverts, purely story great for listening back to back. Visit our website for more details@supergreatkidstories.com. and if you like these stories, do think about supporting us maybe just for a month. It costs $4.50. That's about £3.40amonth for a level one owlet on Patreon. And every little helps. Or as they say in India, little drops of water make an ocean or at least a small lake. Keep telling your stories and singing your songs. Holiday time is a good time to try telling stories to family, friends and pets. This podcast was produced by Kim Normanton and David Smith at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.