Dragonfly Tales

Episode 16 - The Dartmoor Pixies

Hi story lovers! We're off to look for pixies on Dartmoor for this lovely folktale Dartmoor is a real place and it's very magical! It's situated in the county of Devon, in the west of England People have inhabited the moorland for about 10,000 years, but the land is ancient, stretching back into the primordial mist It's an important reserve for rare plants and animals, and of course, PIXIES! Pixies are mischievous sprites, a bit like fairies They can be trixy but can also be kind to those who respect them You can find out more about pixies HERE If you want to know more about mysterious Dartmoor, you can do so HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon – you could get to be a guest teller like Astrid, you get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 15 - The One Little Pig

Hello listeners! This episode, our story is a Hungarian version of a classic fairytale I'm sure you know the story of the three little pigs and the Big Bad Wolf But I bet you haven't heard THIS version There are far too many wolves in this story Let's hope Little Pig can best them! Remember to join us over on Patreon – you could get to be a guest teller like Astrid, you get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 14 - The Witch in the Market

Bonjour listeners! This episode, our story is from the city of Paris, France It's a fairytale created by a writer called Pierre Gripari in the 1960s When he was a boy, he read lots of traditional French fairy tales by Charles Perrault – like sleeping beauty and little red riding hood And he loved them! But when he grew up, he realised that he wanted fairytales that were about where he lived – the streets of Paris So he made up his own And this is our version of one of his most famous – the Witch of the Rue Mouffetarde ‘Rue’ means street in French All the locations in the story can be found in Paris today – hopefully there are no witches there though You can read more stories by Pierre Gripari HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon – you could get to be a guest teller like Astrid, you get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 13 - The Story Bag with Sandra A Agard

Hello lovely listeners! This episode we welcome the fabulous storyteller Sandra A Agard Sandra ia a professional storyteller, author, and playwright She‘s been sharing stories for over forty years in libraries, schools, festivals and museums Emily has been lucky enough to work with Sandra and just loves listening to the way she brings stories to life If you want to read some of Sandra's books you can do so HERE Emily's story is a folktale from old Korea Korea is a peninsula, divided into North and South, and its between China and Japan There are some amazing mythological creatures from Korean legends and you can find out more about them HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon – you could get to be a guest teller like Astrid, you get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 12 - Azizi and the Magic Man

Hello lovely listeners! This episode we travel deep into the forest to the cave of a mysterious man who seems to have a cave full of wonders.. This is a version adapted from a story by children's author Ruth Ainsworth My sister and I heard the story when we were little and really liked the storyline - but because it was written a long time ago, some of the language was a bit old fashioned We hope you like our version! Remember to join us over on Patreon – you could get to be a guest teller like Astrid, you get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 11 - The Demon Riddle with Astrid

We have TWO stories for you this episode Our first is from Super fan Astrid, who tells us Why Ravens are Black What a fantastic storyteller you are, Astrid! Do you like riddles? We love them! Emily's story is a tale full of riddles, about a clever King and even more clever girl It has versions all over the world, but this version is from what is now called Kahzakstan Remember to join us over on Patreon – you could get to be a guest teller like Astrid, you get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 10 - Ceridwen's Cauldron

This episode we have a famous legend from Wales, featuring the formidable witch goddess Ceridwen, who lives near the shore of Llyn Tegid The story of Ceridwen's Cauldron is very old and has many different versions, but they all feature her magic cauldron and a fabulous chase filled with transformation - thanks to the magic of Awen Awen is a Welsh and Breton word for 'inspiration', that magical feeling when your creativity flows beautifully Think of a time when you have created or been part of something wonderful - maybe a drawing or painting, performing a song or some music, having an idea or telling a story! That creative flow is Awen And Ceridwen has a recipe for it! Remember to join us over on Patreon – you get early access, bonus content, videos and shout outs so hop on over and help to support us We really want to keep the podcast going, but we can’t do it without your help!!!

Episode 8 - ***Christmas Special - The Nutcracker Part 1***

Happy Holidays everyone! We are delighted to share part 1 of our Christmas Special with you! Have you ever loved a toy so much you wished it came to life? Have you ever dreamed that you went on wonderful adventures with that toy that seemed so real? Well, over two hundred years ago an author named E.T.A Hoffman wrote a beautiful story that enchanted children and grown ups - The Nutcracker & the Mouse King . In fact, people loved the story so much that the famous Russian composer Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote some wonderful music and the story was turned into a famous ballet - The Nutcracker Suite . You can find out more about Mr Tchaikovsky HERE and listen to the music from the ballet HERE . We’d like to say a big Christmas THANK YOU to all our lovely patrons. Our Christmas special is in two parts with the second part coming out a whole week early on the 3nd January !! But little sprites and power pixies will be able to access part 2 early on New Year’s Day over on

Episode 7 - Mareshka & the Twelve

Hello folks! This episode we're off to Eastern Europe to find Mareshka in the snowy landscape. Winters there can be terribly cold in Slovakia – with lots of snow and ice. And long ago, it was really important to store food for the winter and to live by the seasons, AND get to know the personalities of the twelve months. What do you think February would look like as a person? Or August? Draw a picture and send it to us! REMEMBER - If you would like some extra special Dragonfly Tales content you can

Episode 6 - Clumsy Jack & the 3 Magic Gifts

Hello lovely listeners! This episode we have a Jack story for you from France! Do you remember Lazy Jack from Season 2? Well, this classic fairytale introduces another, more clumsy Jack and lots of magic. There are versions of this story by the Grimm brothers, Henri Pourrat, the Comtesse D'Aulnoy and Joseph Jacobs. I hope you like this one. What are doing for the Holidays? How do you celebrate? And what is your favourite thing about the festive season? Let us know. We are now on PATREON ! We have a special new club for superfans of our podcast. It’s free to join and we post pictures, facts and other little things on

Episode 5 - The King of Fish with Sarah Rundle

Hello storylovers! This episode we have two great stories for you! Our first is from storyteller Sarah Rundle from West London. Sarah has performed at Festivals all around the world, she’s told tales in museums and theatres, pubs and cafes. I love hearing Sarah’s stories because they’re often very funny and a bit crazy. And this is very famous old folktale called The Dauntless Girl. It's a slightly spooky story about a girl who thinks she’s not scared of anything – even ghosts! If you would like to find out more about Sarah, you can do so HERE. Emily's story is a fishy tale made famous by the fabulous Brothers Grimm . The two brothers Wilhelm and Jacob came from Germany and travelled far and wide collecting folktales and fairy tales. They wrote famous verions of Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, The Bremen Town Musicians and hundreds of other well-loved tales. This tale is all about making a wish. If you were granted your greatest wish, what would you wish for? We are now on PATREON ! We have a special new club for superfans of our podcast. It’s free to join and we post pictures, facts and other little things on

Episode 4 **Halloween Special 2024**

It’s Halloween and LEO'S BACK! This episode we introduce our special radio play - Horror at the Hotel de Ville! We had so much fun making this very silly story - we hope you enjoy it! Huge thanks to all our spooky comedians for their hilarious jokes ... Mila, Casimir, Sky, Magda, Bianca, Nara, George, Frankie, Tess, Farley and Elle. We'd also like to say a BIG THANK YOU to our patrons - Little Sprites and Power Pixies: Kuihi from New Zealand, Bea and Graham from Minnesota and Kennedy and Bryson from California! Extra goodies coming your way! If you would like to support us, grown ups, pop over to

Episode 3 - Dr Monkey with Suzanne Thomas

We are now on PATREON! We have a special new club for superfans of our podcast. It’s free to join and we'll be posting pictures, facts and other little things on

Episode 2 - Whuppity Stoorie

This episode features an old tale from Scotland - all about the power of a name. There are many versions of this tale from around the world: Rumplestiltskin, Tom Tit Tot, Ricdin Ricdon. But Whuppity Stoorie is by far our favourite. Remember to send in your spooky jokes for our Halloween Special! The easiest way to do it, is to record yourself on a smart phone and email it to us. If you would like to send in a joke, or be a guest teller on our podcast, you can get in touch with us HERE If you would like a shout out, you can email us at emilydragonflytales@gmail.com or get in touch via social media. You can follow us on: Facebook Instagram Twitter Thanks for listening! Theme Music by Leo Grazebrook on GarageBand Storytelling and singing by Emily Hanna-Grazebrook Produced by Andy Grazebrook Art by Light Creative Sound effects and incidental music by Zapsplat Original Music by Dragonfly Tales

Episode 9 ***Christmas Special - The Nutcracker Part 2***

Happy New Year everyone! Here's Part 2 of our Christmas Special story - The Nutcracker The music on this episode is from The Nutcracker Suite and is by famous Russian composer Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky You can find out more about Mr Tchaikovsky HERE and listen to the music from the ballet HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon – you get early access, bonus content, videos and shout outs so hop on over and help to support us We really want to keep the podcast going, but we can’t do it without your help!!!

Season 6 Episode 1 - The Freedom Bird with Dave Tonge

Welcome to Season 6! This episode we welcome the Yarnsmith Dave Tonge to our podcast. Dave has many a yarn to spin. He is a fabulous storyteller – and also a Historian and an award-winning author! He’s written books on Northfolk folktales for children, Medieval folk tales and Tudor tales too. So if you like a bit of history to your tales, you’ll love Dave’s books. But today, he’s telling us a very old tale from Aesop about cunning. If you'd like to find out more about Dave Tonge, you can do so HERE . And you can buy Dave's books HERE . My story today, The Freedom Bird, is about a mythical bird from Asia. There are versions of this story from Thailand from Vietnam and India, but the message is always the same. It’s one of my favourite stories to tell in live performance, because it’s so simple and easy to join in with. So I hope you join in at home listeners – it will annoy your grown ups ALL DAY! Nah na Nah na NAH NAH! If you would like to be a guest teller on our podcast, you can get in touch with us HERE If you would like a shout out, you can email us at emilydragonflytales@gmail.com or get in touch via social media. You can follow us on: Facebook Instagram Twitter Thanks for listening! Theme Music by Leo Grazebrook on GarageBand Storytelling and singing by Emily Hanna-Grazebrook Produced by Andy Grazebrook Art by Light Creative Sound effects and incidental music by Zapsplat and Alexander Nakarada Oringinal Music by Dragonfly Tales

Episode 19 - Season Finale: Coyote's Singing Lesson

Hi Story fans! In this episode we introduce Coyote, a superstar of Native American folklore We can’t believe it’s taken us this long to give him his own episode A coyote is a real animal, a wild dog that lives in the wide plains, forests and even urban areas of North America They can be found right across the continent, but particularly in places like Texas, Colorado, California, and New Mexico They can make their home anywhere, which means they are cunning and able to adapt to their surroundings They eat virtually anything so can always find a way to live off the land They are intelligent and great survivors You can find out more about the coyote HERE Native Americans , the indigenous tribes who lived on the land before the arrival of Europeans, have great respect for coyote and see him as sacred In some old stories, coyote is a divine being and created the world itself In others, he’s a cunning trickster just trying to survive Sometimes he can be righteous and helpful to animals and humans, othertimes he can be selfish and a bit foolish Just like Anansi from the old Ashanti stories of West Africa But whatever story he is in – it’s always sure to be a good one You find some more coyote stories HERE If you would like to be a guest teller on our podcast, you can get in touch with us HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 18 - The Magic Ear

We go way back to old Japan in this famous story of a poor young man who saves a fish Japan is surrounded by water, so much of their folklore comes from the sea Japanese mermaids are called Ningyo, and they are not like European mermaids at all! Thankfully, our hero catches the Dragon king's daughter and sets her free That's got to be worth a reward, right? You can find out lots more about Japanese folklore in this wonderful book HERE If you would like to be a guest teller on our podcast, you can get in touch with us HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 17 - Bridget and the Leprechaun

Hello story lovers! This episode we travel to Ireland to learn about a famous Irish fairy - the Leprechaun Young Bridget decides it's easier to catch a leprechaun and get his gold than working hard for what you want But fooling a fairy is not that easy! Leprechauns have existed in Irish mythology for hundreds, maybe thousands of years! Many believe they are descended from the old Irish gods, or are types of Fae or fairy They can grant wishes bring you luck and even make you very rich! But catching a Leprechaun is very hard - they are full of trickery and have the power to disappear if you take your eye off them You can learn more about Leprechauns in this wonderful book HERE If you would like to be a guest teller on our podcast, you can get in touch with us HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 16 - Ragnarok Part 3

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with tales from around the world This episode is an emotional one (sniff), as it is Leo's last episode hosting with Emily He's off on lots of adventures but has promised to stop by from time to time But stories go on.. In our story, it is the final stage of our epic norse tale and Odin, the All Father of the Norse gods And the battle is about to begin for Asgard, for Midgard and all of the nine realms You can lots about Norse mythology HERE If you would like to be a guest teller on our podcast, you can get in touch with us HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 15 - Ragnarok Part 2

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with tales from around the world This episode, we welcome back LEO for part 2 of our epic! He also shares his top 4 favourite episodes of the podcast And because we have so many shout outs and lots of action still to come in our story, he's coming back for PART 3! In our story, we continue with our epic norse tale and Odin, the All Father of the Norse gods, is about to discover what Ragnarok is and what will come to pass in the future It doesn't look good! You can lots about Norse mythology HERE If you would like to be a guest teller on our podcast, you can get in touch with us HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 14 - Ragnarok Part 1

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with tales from around the world This episode, we welcome back LEO! Leo has been really busy lately and has grown up a lot! He is joining us for this special two part epic He's also sharing his favourite stories from the whole podcast - it was a hard decision, as we've done over 100 EPISODES! Leo won't be hosting on the podcast from now on, but he will be popping by now and then But, we still have lots of exciting things coming up this seasons - including NEW GUEST TELLERS and LOTS more stories If you would like to be a guest teller on our podcast, you can get in touch with us HERE Our story is Ragnarok - it is the final big story of the Norse gods so prepare yourselves for a huge epic battle! You might want to listen to our episode The Death of Baldur in Season 4, to remember how it was set into motion You can lots about Norse mythology HERE

Episode 13 - The Parasol

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with tales from around the world This episode, we have a guest teller! Aurora, who is 6, tells us her own story 'The Girl of the Sun' We can't wait to hear it! If you would like to be a guest teller on our podcast, you can get in touch with us HERE Emily tells a folk tale from China, about a little girl who is given a parasol for her birthday Do you know what a parasol is? It's like an umbrella but you use it to shade you from the hot sun! You can find out more about umbrellas and parasols HERE

Episode 12 - The Chess Player

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with tales from around the world This episode, Emily tells a folk tale from Mongolia, about two friends who have very different ideas about studying! It features an ancient boardgame - chess! Can you play chess? If you're interested to give it a try, you can learn more about this famous game HERE

Episode 11 - Two Silly Witches

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with tales from around the world It is the merry month of MAY! This episode is all about witches, who love to flit through the moonlight on the eve of May day or Bealtaine (BeeYALtinna) They have a bad reputation, but we think they're misunderstood This story is about how people can be afraid of those who are different We hope you like our little song, sung by Agatha, Mildred and Nancy Here are the words: NOW the moonbeam's dance and play Cares are only made for day Spiral through the milky way Among the endless starlight Hear the music of night’s call sigh of wood and waterfall pebbles tiny, mountains tall in the endless starlight Bless the moon and bless the breeze Beasts of land and birds of trees we are all a part of these We are endless starlight Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 10 - The Monster of Lough Mask

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with tales from around the world This episode is brought to you from Ireland! Leo and I explored the capital city of Dublin, learned about an unsolved crime, did some sight-seeing and had some super Irish grub! Leo tells a brilliant TRUE story about Dublin Castle We then headed west to the beautiful County Mayo, and the mysterious Lough Mask There are many legends about Loughs in Scotland and Ireland, and Emily's story features a malevolent creature that lurks in the dark waters

Episode 9 - How Elephant Learns Manners with Aaron Oliver

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with tales from around the world This episode, we feature guest teller Aaron Oliver and the story The Floating Heads Aaron is a Prop Maker and Storyteller based in London, passionate about creating stories, whether on the stage or behind the scenes! Aaron performs for a variety of audiences at venues such as libraries, theaters, community centers and cabarets, telling folk tales and myths alongside original stories Aaron also co-runs Elephant Tales , a monthly storytelling for adults (16+) in Elephant and Castle, London If you'd like to find out more about Aaron, you can do so here ! Our story is an old tale from the Shona Tribe of Southern Africa Huge elephant thinks he's the greatest and doesn't need to show respect to anyone Squirrel has other ideas

Episode 8 - The Snow Queen Part 3

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales a story podcast with Emily and Leo We've been away for a while but we're back with the final part of Hans Christian Anderson's Snow Queen! In part 3, Gerda must finally face her fears to save Kai Will she succeed? Or is it too late?

Episode 7 - The Snow Queen Part 2

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales a story podcast with Emily and Leo Spring is coming! Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it mat feel cold and windy, but underneath the ground the seeds are stirring for Imbolc - the coming of Spring We love to celebrate St Brigid's day by feeding the birds, lighting candles to scare away the dark, or perhaps by making a Brigid's Cross! We found a little video to show you how to make one from paper HERE, or you can try the traditional way and make them from rushes HERE Our story - Part 2 of the Snow Queen - continues Gerda's quest to find her best friend Kai She is getting closer, but what dangers lie in her way?

Episode 6 - The Snow Queen Part 1

Welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Happy New Year! It's 2024 and we have so many fabulous new stories and tellers coming your way this year We have a big treat for you - a three part story! The Snow Queen is a wonderful fairytale by the Danish writer Hans Christian Anderson Anderson wrote many of the famous stories we have grown up with - The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New clothes, The Ugly Duckling and many more You can find out more about Hans Christian Anderson and his wonderful tales HERE and buy them HERE

Episode 5 - The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Thank you all so so much for your patience - we've had a bit of family illness but we're all feeling much better now! Our story is a sinister tale from Germany, and some believe it really happened! Hamelin is actually a real town and you can find out about it HERE

Episode 4 - Baba Yaga

Welcome to Season 5 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode we decided to let Leo tell his own folk tale, The Wolf and the Nurse It's a beautiful tale of healing and compassion Well done, Leo! Our story is a very old folktale from Slavic folklore about a very famous witch BABA YAGA! She is a bit scary, but she is also quite a complicated character You can learn more about her HERE

Episode - 3 *** Howling Halloween Special ***

Welcome to Season 5 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages It’s our Halloween Special!!!!!! You know we LOVE this time of year! As with our previous Halloween shows, Leo and Emily will do something that’s not too scary And then Emily will tell one that is a bit more scary We also have the return of LISTENERS SPOOKY JOKES! Check out how freakishly funny these folks are!!!! Leo came up with the idea of something witchy - and you can't get more witchy than the three weird sisters from William Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth' In the 16th and 17th century, people really believed in evil witches who could curse you and control your fate If you'd like to know more about the play and the weird sisters you can do so HERE Emily's story is from Brittany in France Its based on an old tale about the supernatural creature - the Werewolf, but we've changed it somewhat and given it a Feminine twist You can find out more about werewolves HERE

Episode - 2 Big Cats and Little Cats with Magda

Welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode we welcome young guest teller Magda, who is 11, from Forest Gate London Magda shares her brilliant story of a very skillful pussycat and her circus tricks! We absolutely love it! We also share details of Chewing-gum artist Ben Wilson Ben has been bringing magic to the streets and landmarks of London for over 10 years and now is lovely art is in peril of disappearing Please sign his petition HERE and find out more about him HERE Our story is a very old folktale that has several versions across the globe - Ethopia, Korea, Japan and China It is about trust, patience and tenderness - the Tiger's Whisker You can find a version of it HERE

Season 5 - Episode 1 When Good Friends Meet with Daniel Morden

Welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages It's Season 5 - season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!! And stories! We're back and we can't wait to share our next season with you We are joined by an amazing storyteller and author Daniel Morden Leo does his first interview EVER, learns some amazing things about storytelling and story writing, and gets to be one of the first to read Daniel's amazing new book: STRANGE TALES! We've read it and it's fantastic! You can buy Daniel's book (and we hope you do) by clicking HERE Our story takes us back to one of our favourite places - the greenwood! We love tales of past heroes, who cared for the needy and understood that the world was often cruel and unfair You can learn more about him HERE

Episode 21 - SEASON FINALE King Peacock

Hello and welcome to the Season 4 finale of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with Emily and Leo We have been nominated in the Kids Category of The British Podcast Awards 2023 !!!! A big thank you to all our listeners for their continued support and for inspiring us to get this far - we are honoured and very proud! Please check out the other kids Podcasts nominated, including our buddies at Super Great Kids Stories! Our story comes from the Louisiana Bayou It's a Cajun story, and you can learn more about Louisiana and the rich Cajun culture HERE The little song we sing is a French Cajun ditty The lyrics are quite horrid but also funny: Cajun French Les maringouins l'ont mangé ma belle ils'ont resté de ses gros orteils c’est Pour me faire des bouchons de liège, c’est Pour boucher mes demi-bouteilles Et mon papa s'en alle mulet, Et Ma maman s'en allait 'léphant, Et Mon p'tit frer' sur un ouaouaron, Et ma p'tit' soeur, sur un coin d'mon coeur

Episode 20 - The Wondrous Pumpkin

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales a story podcast with Emily and Leo We're off to festivals to hear more stories! A big thank you to all our listeners for their continued support We have entered the British Podcast Awards 2023 ! Our story is about a magical gift - a pumpkin! It's an old Turkish tale and definitely reminds of stories like the Magic Porridge Pot

Episode 19 - The Serpent and the Unicorn

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with Emily and Leo A big thank you to all our listeners for their continued support We have entered the British Podcast Awards 2023 ! Our story is about one of the most mystical of all beasts - the UNICORN! We hope you enjoyed our interesting facts about unicorns, and the nursery rhyme we told: The lion and the unicorn Were fighting for the crown The unicorn beat the lion All around the town Some gave them white bread, And some gave them brown; Some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town When Emily was younger, she read a beautiful book by Marianna Mayer, which drew on the ancient myths of the Unicorn and Serpent story You find a link to this lovely text HERE

Episode 17 - Live from ZestFest!

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales a story podcast with Emily and Leo This episode is brought to you from Zest Fest , an exhilarating new festival at Westenhanger Castle near Hythe in Kent, UK We enjoyed everything from daring circus skills and performing arts to exploring how to nourish the mind, body and soul through yoga, breathwork, meditation, music, dance, mindful walks and much more We love telling stories to live audiences; there's nothing like the sparkling, rippling energy of interaction between people And festivals are a great place for storytelling and magic making With lots of things happening at the same time, you can hear music and singing in the background of our story session We hope it doesn't distract too much - most people in the word tent didn't seem to notice That's the sign of a good story! With special thanks to Kerry Ryan and her creative writing workshop, and the incredible events team at Otterpool Park

Episode 16 - Two Japanese Tales

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales a story podcast with Emily and Leo We hope you're looking forward to SUMMER TIME! We've been out in the garden weeding and tidying, learning new songs and playing instruments, and playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends We've also been walking around London lots, exploring its hidden parts, picking up facts and stories Leo has also been getting into Japanese Anime and Manga He grew up watching beautiful films from Studio Ghibli, and is now watching lots of Anime series You can learn more about Anime HERE Leo's story is an old Japanese tale about soothing babies - something we've all done - and we continue to pass down these techniques through the generations Our main story is a very famous Japanese fairytale - Momotaro, the Peach boy He is a famous hero in Japanese folklore and there is a statue of him and his animal companions in Okoyama (a bit like the Bremen Town Musicians!) Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 15 - Perseus and Medusa Part 2

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales a story podcast with Emily and Leo Welcome, one and all to the Merry Merry month of May! May day is a really lovely time of year – we celebrate the beginning of summer, which in the Celtic wheel is called Bealtaine (which is actually Gaelic for the month of May) The earth is tilting towards the sun here in the northern hemisphere and the warm season is coming If the sun were a few degrees nearer we would burn up And if the sun were a few degrees farther away all life on earth would be frozen But the position of our sun is 'just right', just like baby bear's porridge And it's called - the Goldilocks Zone Stories are indeed everywhere You can find out more about the Goldilocks Zone Here For our story, we return to ancient Greece and Perseus' quest for the head of Medusa, the gorgon Will he succeed, or be turned to stone?? You can find out more about Perseus and Medusa HERE

Episode 14 - Perseus and Medusa Part 1

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales a story podcast with Emily and Leo We can't wait to hear your stories so keep practising, record it and send it to us to listen to So we want to tell you about a podcast we know you’ll enjoy It's called the Kid Stories Podcast It’s hosted by Phil Bechtel who reads original stories You can hear about The Ninjas of Valleytown , Dropkick Kittycat and Hummus Wrinklesmith the Chicken Wizard It’s zany, it’s mad, it’s brilliant ! If you like the sound of that, then just click Here and listen to the Kid Stories Podcast today Our story is from ancient Greece and its an epic tale of gods, monsters and winged sandals This is only part 1 so make sure you listen out for part 2 You can find out more about Perseus and Medusa HERE

Episode 13 - The Heron Babies

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales a story podcast with Emily and Leo As it is Spring time, we would really like to have some new guest tellers join us And it could be you!! Listen to our top tips and give it a go We would love to hear your telling! Our story is from the island of Cuba Cuban folktales are full of different flavours - just like Cuban food There are lots of different cultures mixing together in Cuba - Spanish, African and Caribbean And this episode is a lovely bed time listen

Episode 12 - The Death of Baldur with Evie

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales a story podcast with Emily and Leo Time is crazzzzzy! Here in England, we just lost an hour And our producer (Daddy Andy) has been away travelling and he's no idea what time it is! This episode we welcome another winner of the Otterpool Park Storywriting competition Evie is 12 and she is from New Romsey in Kent in the UK She brought us a very different Elizabeth - wild and freee! If only for a short time We absolutely love her story and her telling Well done, Evie! You can find out more about Westenhanger Castle and the new town project near Folkestone HERE Our story is from the lands the Ice and Snow! Yes, we are back in the Halls of Asgard to meet the most amazing guy! He's brilliant, he's charming, all the gods love him Surely nothing can go wrong

Episode 11 - The Dwarf King with Jasmine

Hello and welcome to Season 4 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with Emily and Leo We are so grateful to you folks for hanging on in there while we got ourselves better It's been icy cold here in London, but things are looking greener and we could be heading off on holiday soon! This episode we welcome another winner of the Otterpool Park Storywriting competition Jasmine is 12 and she is from Cambridgeshire We absolutely love her story and her telling Well done, Jasmine! You can find out more about Westenhanger Castle and the new town project near Folkestone HERE Our story is a very old Mayan story about a dwarf king The Mayans were an ancient civilisation from what’s now Mexico and Central America They lived in huge cities, had great stone pyramids and believed in lots of different gods They also came up with their own calendars – they were really good at maths and astronomy And there are people in Central America today who live like the ancient Mayans and eat the same sort of food - maize You can discover more about Mayan Civilisation HERE AND, it's always good to embrace our differences with love If you would like to know more about the Little People community, you can do so HE R E Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode - 10 The Grain of Corn with Clementine

Hello and welcome to Dragonfly Tales a story podcast with Emily and Leo And we have a very special treat for our listeners this episode Emily was fortunate enough to be asked to judge a story-writing competition based around the mysterious Westenhanger Castle , believed to be owned by Henry VIII There’s a possibly a new garden town being built nearby called Otterpool Park and they ran the storywriting competition The entrants were between the ages of 7 and 14 years old and the winners were given prizes, including doing a story workshop with Emily! From over 40 entries, the judges chose 3 winners We will be featuring all three stories on the podcast And we have one of the winners for this episode Her name is Clementine and she is 10 years old Our story is a chain tale from the Punjab There are lots and lots of parts to this story Can you remember them all and the order they come in?

Episode 9 - The Coming of Spring

Hello and welcome to Season 4 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with Emily and Leo Spring is coming! Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it mat feel cold and windy, but underneath the ground the seeds are stirring for Imbolc - the coming of Spring We love to celebrate St Brigit's day by feeding the birds, lighting candles to scare away the dark, baking tasty treats and getting the house and garden in order 'spring cleaning' Our story celebrates the battle between winter and spring - who do you think will win?

Episode - 8 The Kindness of Bear with Lucy Lill

Hello and welcome to Season 4 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast with Emily and Leo Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday with family and friends We're bringing in the New Year with stories about winter, cozying down and dreaming of springtime We are so delighted to welcome our first guest teller of the New Year - Lucy Lill Lucy is a performer from London and she works in museums, theatres, schools and festivals - anywhere people will let her tell stories! You can often find her working with Alys Torrance as part of Story Jam , plotting events and shows She practises some of her stories on her four year old, and he tells her exactly what he thinks! You can find out more about Lucy HERE Our story is an old one from Finland The sun sleeps for a long time, waiting to rise When it does, it must be beautiful in Lapland, where this wintry tale comes from Can you imagine a world where the sun doesnt rise - for months!

Episode - 7 ***Christmas Special with Kim Normanton***

Hello and welcome to season 4 of Dragonfly Tales Podcast Each episode we will tell you a story from around the world and share some fun and silly things with you IT’s CHRISTMAS!!!!! We'd like to wish all our listeners a very HAPPY HOLIDAYS! We hope you enjoy our special festive episode Our first story is by Kim Normanton She’s the host of one of our favourite podcasts Super Great Kids’ Stories ! If you haven’t checked out this amazing podcast you really should! Super Great Kids’ Stories is an award-winning podcast of traditional tales from around the world retold by the best storytellers Recommended for ages 5 to 105 Listen in and you’ll meet Brazilian ogres, African trickster spiders, Greek heroes, and Russian witches And for our Xmas special, host Kim has a wintry tale for us from Siberia Our story is a lovely tale about a snowy mountain and also some fairy folk Will Hans and Trudy make it up to the great Snow Bear safely? You'll have to listen and find out You can read the original story by Ruth Ainsworth in her brilliant book The Pirate Ship and other stories The rhyme we say is from a famous poem called The Fairies by William Allingham

Episode 6 - Stoneface with Grethe Mangala Jensen

Hello and welcome to season 4 of Dragonfly Tales Podcast Each episode we will tell you a story from around the world and share some fun and silly things with you A big HELLO! to all our new listeners and subscribers - welcome to the podcast family! Be sure to share your drawings and pictures in our Facebook Group Our first story is from our Guest Teller Grethe Mangala Jenson It's the classic tale Jack and the Beanstalk, with a Grethe twist! Grethe, from Sandal Sticks Theatre, is a very gifted Storyteller and puppeteer of Sri Lankan and Danish heritage She loves sharing stories with people of all ages because ‘they can make you feel good (sometimes sad), teach you lessons , inspire confidence as well as creativity and an appreciation of language in all its forms’ If you want to find out more about Grethe, you can do so HERE Our story is a tale from the Mapuche people of Chile, a country in South America There are many ancient stone masks that come from the Mapuche people, but unfortunately not much is known about them That is why their folk tales are so precious! If you'd like to learn more about the Mapuche you can do this HERE

Episode 5 - Catching the Moon

Hello and welcome to season 4 of Dragonfly Tales Podcast Each episode we will tell you a story from around the world and share some fun and silly things with you We’d like to thank our listeners for their patience – we’re always sorry when we have to postpone an episode but we all get sick sometimes Coming up this season on Dragonfly Tales: - we will be joined by some amazing guest tellers - We’ll have a Christmas competition for our listeners - we also have a new Instagram account @dragonflytalespod where we will be showing your art work, clips and videos and hints to coming stories Our story comes from a collection of stories from the Southern states of America And features a very tricky character who loves getting up to mischief Brer Rabbit These stories were carried over the ocean by African slaves, and although we might now feel a bit uncomfortable with the voice of Uncle Remus (stories told through a white man's lens) these animal stories are fantastic and need to be celebrated in their own right! If you want to talk more about this important idea, then please please share your thoughts with us emilydragonflytales@gmail.com Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 4 - **HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 2022**

Welcome to Season 4 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages It’s our Halloween Special!!!!!! And we have some treats in store for you – or are they tricks? As with our previous Halloween shows, Leo is going to tell a story that’s not too scary And I’ll tell one that is a bit more scary We also thought we would tickle your funny bone with some spooky Halloween jokes from our listeners! Huge thanks to Marcus Zoe, George, Sharon, Mila, Tom, Will and Jakey!! Leo's story is a ghost story from England You can find this story and lots more like it in this excellent book by Margaret Read MacDonald ' When the Lights Go Out! ' Emily's story is from Norway And many people believe the story is true There is a lake in Norway called Whale lake Because in this lake have been discovered the huge bones of what was once a mighty whale that terrorized the fjords and seas around Norway and greenland Hundreds of years ago, sailors would hunt wales for their blubber They would melt the blubber down into oil that was then used for street lights, cosmetics and explosives Whale hunting was incredibly dangerous and there are lots of songs about about it – as sailors would spend very long times at sea, making up stories, singing songs and crafting You can find out more about it HERE

Episode 3 - The Artist's Apprentice with Jon Mason

Welcome to Season 4 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages We are feeling the Autumn breeze and seeing the leaves become lovely colours Smelling the smokey, misty air and enjoying all the fruits of the harvest This week we are delighted to welcome fantastic guest Teller Jon Mason Jon is a Brighton-based storyteller known for his captivating delivery and love of roots: folktales and myths that connect our history and our present, our surroundings and ourselves He performs regularly at festivals, in schools, online, and his shows have appeared in the Brighton Festival and Fringe And he has a deep love for North Wales, where he has strong family links, and he knows the village where this story is set very well...! Visit his website HERE Our story comes from Italy - a city called Siena in the province of Tuscany Hundreds of years ago, some of the greatest artists in the world lived and trained in Italy You may have heard of some of them Leonardo Da Vinci , is probably one you have heard of - great name, huh? This tale is about a young boy learning to be an artist, but also wanting to have fun and be with his friends He did grow up to be very famous and his artwork is present in Siena to this day You can learn more about his great works HERE

Episode 2 - The White Bird Prince

Welcome to Season 4 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages We are delighted to welcome back a young guest teller - Robi Jo! He is sharing the epic Hindu tales of the Ramayana This story of Rama and Sita, and the Flying monkey Hanuman is celebrated each year at Diwali - the Hindu festival of lights We're sure you'll love Robi Jo's telling! Our story is a wonder tale from the Himalayas and Tibet Tibet is called the 'Roof of the World' and it is a very spiritual place

Episode 1 - The Baker's Magic Wand

Welcome to Season 4 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages We're back! We hope you had a fantastic summer and a great start to the new school year This week, we have a brilliant guest teller - Will from Melbourne, Australia Will is only 7 and is a bit of a comedy genius He shares some of his very own jokes with us Our story is from Canada - the French speaking part Centuries ago, French colonies settled in parts of Canada and that is why there are still French speakers in Canada today This story comes from that time long ago If you would like to find more Canadian folktales, you can do so HERE

Bonus Episode - Songbook 2

Welcome to Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Season 5 is coming very very soon and we have lots of wonderful things to share with you So this bonus episode is a musical journey through our favourite stories, revisiting our songs and music Leo and I love singing and making ORIGINAL songs that go with our episodes, often accompanied on guitar by me or by professional guitarist Andy (Daddy producer) We hope that the songs will remind you of your favourite tales so you can listen to them again!

Episode - 25 ***Emily's Favourites - The Wild swans***

We hope you are enjoy the summer break, wherever you are This episode is one of EMILY's favourites and features the lovely Liz Weir MBE , telling one of her own lovely tales, based on Irish lore, The Mermaid's Gift If you want to find out more about Liz Weir then you can visit her website HERE Our story this episode is a classic fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen - but told with our own Dragonfly Tales flavour Andersen wrote some of the most well loved fairy tales ever, including The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling and The Tinder Box This book, An Illustrated Treasury , is a lovely introduction to his stories

Episode - 24 ***Leo's Favourites - Theseus and the Minotaur***

We hope you are enjoy the summer break, wherever you are This episode features one of Leo's favourites from Season 2 - the classic Greek Myth about a brave hero who must defeat a hideous monster and escape a mysterious labyrinth WARNING: it gets a bit scary when Theseus goes into the Labyrinth! For more great myths and legends, check out this fabulous collection by Anthony Horrowitz

Episode - 23 *** Leo's favourites Zico & the Greedy Witch***

We hope you are enjoy the summer break, wherever you are In this favourite episode, we venture into the Amazonian rainforest to hear a story from the Anambe people You can find a version of today's tale, 'Ceuci the Witch who ate a lot' in this book: Amazonia - Indigenous Tales from Brazil If you would like to watch Emily tell this story, you can do so HERE

Episode - 22 *** Leo's Favourites - The Bremen Town Musicians***

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages While Emily is recovering, we have chosen one of our favourite episodes for you - with TWO stories The first one is a fable by Aesop, brilliantly told by Leo! If you like this short fable, you can read more of them in this book - Orchard Aesop's Fables And the second one is The Bremen Town Musicians This is a very popular folk tale in Germany, most famously told by the Brothers Grimm Bremen is a real place and there is actually a statue there of all the animals one on top of the other You can see it here Here is a link to the website for Leo's musical activity There are 52 instruments to choose from! We would love to see (and hear) your instruments when you've finished them

Episode - 21 *** Leo's Favourites - Odysseus and the Cyclops***

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages This is one of our FAVOURITE episodes - Odysseus and the Cyclops from Season 1 It is THOUSANDS of years old It’s a very long epic and we only had time to tell a part of it If you liked the story and want to follow Odysseus on the rest of his journey, we’d recommend this version by Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton – two amazing storytellers - The Adventures of Odysseus Here is a YouTube link to Sinbad and the Cyclops and here is a really nice blog about the genius of Ray Harryhausen If you would like a SHOUT OUT this season, then you can get in touch with us HERE or in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group , telling us your first name, your age and your town And if you like our podcast, please leave us a review (Apple is great)

Episode 20 - Beating the Devil with Sharon Carr

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages We're nearly at the end of Season 3 and we are so grateful that you are still here listening with us! This week, we have the return of guest teller Sharon Carr, from our second season She tells a tale of King who wants far too much If you'd like to learn more about Sharon's storytelling, you can out HERE Our story is from Mexico and we LOVE the folklore from this area It's full of transformation, tricksters, animals and religion And THIS tale features a tale about the DEVIL, and a tailor who beats him at his own game! If you would like to find more Mexican folktales, you can do so HERE

Episode 19 - ***Leo's Favourites - The Faerie Thorn***

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages This is one of our FAVOURITE episodes - The Faerie Thorn It is a tale from Northern Ireland about the mystical and magical Faerie Thorn tree I first heard the wonderful Liz Weir MBE tell a version of this at the Glens of Antrim Story Festival Here is an extract from Jane Talbot’s wonderfully dark collection of fairy tales, The Faerie Thorn: ‘Now, if you don’t know about faerie thorns, you should The Big People call these trees hawthorns, and in May you can see them scattering snow-blossoms in every direction The Big People know that the Little People live in the roots of these trees, so the wisest Big People make sure that the faerie thorns are left well alone You can find photos of Leo's tree and the REAL Faerie Thorn in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 18 - The Starfish

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages This episode, we celebrate Leo's end of his first EVER exams And he has chosen to tell a brilliant Anansi story Our listeners know Anansi well, as a naughty trickster from the ancient tales of West Africa The tales travelled across the ocean to the Caribbean and on then throughout the whole world If you want to know more about Anansi and the Ashanti people, you can do so HERE Emily's story is a tale that was collected by the famous Brothers Grimm, from Germany The brothers travelled about, listening to stories that they heard people telling They collected them and put them in books You can find out more about the Brothers Grimm HERE If you would like to tell a tale on the podcast, have a practise at telling a 5minute folktale Then you can record it for us (an iPhone works great if you place it on a flat surface and keep one hands width away from the microphone) You can send it to us by emailing it to emilydragonflytales@gmail.com and we will have a listen

Episode 17 - Peter and Water Sprite with Maria Gillen

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages This episode, we welcome our guest teller Maria Gillen, from County Cork in Ireland Maria is a great friend and a fabulous teller of tales She loves stories of magic, healing and old wisdom and has told to big crowds and small Maria is also the storyteller in residence at the Kerry Writer's Museum If you want to see more of Maria telling you can do so HERE Our story is a tale from Sweden about a clever lad who outwits a water sprite Swedish folklore is full of fairies, sprites, trolls and other magical beings You can find out more HERE If you would like to tell a tale on the podcast, have a practise at telling a 5minute folktale Then you can record it for us (an iPhone works great if you place it on a flat surface and keep one hands width away from the microphone) You can send it to us by emailing it to emilydragonflytales@gmail.com and we will have a listen

Episode 16 - The King's Secret

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages This episode, we learn about Leo's top five Inventors and Discoverers Here they are! Click on their names to learn more! Marie Curie 4 Patricia Bath 3 Ada Lovelace 2 Nikola Tesla 1 Leonardo Da Vinci If you would like to tell a tale on the podcast, have a practise at telling a 5minute folktale Then you can record it for us (an iPhone works great if you place it on a flat surface and keep one hands width away from the microphone) You can send it to us by emailing it to emilydragonflytales@gmail.com and we will have a listen Our story is a very old Myth from Ireland about a King with a very big secret There are lots of variations on this tale but there is a great version in The O'Brien Book of Irish Fairy Tales

Episode 15 - Spring Special - Persephone

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages This episode, we are celebrating the Spring and Easter There are many wonderful celebrations happening around the world at this time of year You can find out about them HERE Leo shares a lovely story about peace and friendship You can read the original in Margaret Read Macdonald's wonderful book 'Peace Tales' If you would like to tell a tale on the podcast, have a practise at telling a 5minute folktale Then you can record it for us (an iPhone works great if you place it on a flat surface and keep one hands width away from the microphone) You can send it to us by emailing it to emilydragonflytales@gmail.com and we will have a listen Emily's story is a Greek Myth about how the seasons came to be It is the story of Persephone and the Pomegranate seeds and we love it If you would like to read more about Greek Myths, you can do so HERE

Episode 14 - The Raven King

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages This week, we don't have a guest teller and we really need you! If you would like to tell a tale on the podcast, have a practise at telling a 5minute folktale Then you can record it for us (an iPhone works great if you place it on a flat surface and keep one hands width away from the microphone) You can send it to us by emailing it to emilydragonflytales@gmail.com and we will have a listen Our story this episode, is from Ukraine - a wonder tale from the mystical Carpathian mountains Ukraine has a rich history of folk tales and fairy tales, handed down by word of mouth If you would like to read more stories from Ukraine you can do so HERE

Episode 13 - Anansi and the Box of Stories with Camden

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages This week's guest teller is Camden, who is 11, from Denver Colorado in the USA Listen to this brilliant version of Goldilocks and the three Bears If you would like to tell a tale on the podcast, have a practise at telling a 5minute folktale Then you can record it for us (an iPhone works great if you place it on a flat surface and keep one hands width away from the microphone) You can send it to us by emailing it to emilydragonflytales@gmail.com and we will have a listen Our story this episode, is about one of our favourite tricksters - ANANSI! The Anansi stories were first told by the Ashanti people in Ghana, a country in West Africa They were not written but passed down through telling from generation to generation Until they had spread far and wide They spread across oceans to the Caribbean – they crossed continents and are now told all over the world

Episode 12 - Isis and Osiris with Kaila

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages Thank you so much for being patient with us this week - we had some naughty gremlins at work and had to re-do the recording However, we are so happy with this episode, as it features the lovely Kaila from California, who shares her tale of How the Sea became Salty She is just BRILLIANT! If you would like to tell a tale on the podcast, have a practise at telling a 5minute folktale Then you can record it for us (an iPhone works great if you place it on a flat surface and keep one hands width away from the microphone) You can send it to us by emailing it to emilydragonflytales@gmail.com and we will have a listen Our story this episode takes us to ancient Egypt, land of pharaohs, gods, desert, hieroglyphs and the river Nile And a goddess who will not rest until her loved one is restored to her The story is about death, but also about life The ancient Egyptians honoured and preserved their dead, believing that they would be reunited in the Afterlife If you want to find out more about the Ancient Egyptians, you can do so HERE

Episode 11 - Robin Hood and Little John

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages We are really looking forward to welcoming some new YOUNG guest tellers to the podcast If you would like to tell a tale on the podcast, have a practise at telling a 5minute folktale Then you can record it for us (an iPhone works great if you place it on a flat surface and keep one hands width away from the microphone) You can send it to us by emailing it to emilydragonflytales@gmail.com and we will have a listen Our story this episode features a very famous hero from English Legend - Robin Hood ! There have been many stories and films about Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men Most are based in Nottinghamshire, sharing the story of him stealing from the rich to give to the poor If you want to find out more about Robin and his Merry Men, you can do so HERE

Episode 10 - The Boy and the Drum with Carl Merry

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages Next here in the UK is National Storytelling Week! If you want to join in the story fun, you can visit the Society for Storytelling Website – they have lots of fun story activities for you You can also support their brilliant work by donating to their crowd funder and keep the art of oral storytelling going strong Our guest teller this week is the wonderful Carl Merry - who joined us for Season 2 Carl was once a teacher and ran storytelling clubs and story days in schools to engage children with storytelling He’s been a professional storyteller for over 20yrs, and has performed at loads of festivals, theatres, community groups and schools across the country He’s performed in medieval costume too at re-enactment days He loves the history and folklore of Essex and has devised lots of stories about ancient burial grounds, witch trials You can find out more about Carl at his website HERE Our story comes all the way from India! It’s a type of story very popular in India, where the parts of the story are connected to each other, like the links in a chain - a chain story!

Episode 9 - Counting Crocodiles with Rachel Ann Harding

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages Happy New Year to all our wonderful listeners! We hope that 2022 is a great year for you We have two lovely stories for you and in this episode we welcome back guest storyteller Rachel Ann Harding She is a traditional storyteller and musician, passionate about myth, and traditional tales In 2018 she performed at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN and is the creator and producer of the Story Story Podcast , featuring wonderful tellers and tales from around the world (including us!) Rachel's story is an old folktale from Ireland Our story has many many versions all around the world - Africa, Malaysia, Korea - but this is a Japanese version of the story It features the Hare of Inaba, who is in other Japanese tales In this story, the clever little hare gets the better of some snappy crocodiles

Episode 8 - **Christmas Special**

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages It's the Holidays and it's Christmas Eve tomorrow! We hope you enjoy this special episode to celebrate this special time of year Our first story is from Leo, who brings us the long awaited return of CINDERELLA: Assassination Santa - The Revenge of the Elves Leo really really enjoyed coming up with part two of this story We hope you love it too! Our second story is from Norway, where they take their trolls very seriously! It's an old folktale, with lots of different versions But we hope you like our little version You can find out more about this story HERE Finally, we have a lovely seasonal poem for you, 'A Visit from St Nicholas' , more commonly known as ''Twas the Night Before Christmas' penned by Clement Clarke Moore in 1837 We read this poem every Christmas Eve and it makes us feel all warm and happy inside

Episode 7 - Puss in Boots with Belinda McKenna

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages It's December! The Christmas trees are up and it's cold outside We hope you're looking forward to the holidays Our first story comes from guest teller Belinda McKenna Bicknell , also known as the Steampunk Storyteller! Belinda spends her life in story land with people of all ages, sharing all types of stories She particularly likes telling stories in her beautiful Mongolian yurt known as The Curious House of Stories which travels around the country making new friends wherever it goes Belinda shares a lovely story about a very special little bird who brings warmth to the world If you would like to find out more about Belinda, you can check out her website HERE As it's Panto season here, our story is a classic tale about a rather splendid pussy cat - Puss in Boots! There are lots of versions of the brilliant fairy tale, but we really like ours We hope you do too!

Episode 6 - Antrim Special with Liz Weir

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages This episode is brought to you from County Antrim in Northern Ireland We stayed at the wonderful Ballyeamon Barn and explored all the magical sites of the Glens of Antrim We saw the Fairy Thorn tree from Season1 Episode 5 and The Giant's Causeway from our very first episode Leo even sang the song on the actual Causeway - you can see it in our Facebook Group The Barn is home to master storyteller Liz Weir MBE Liz is the storyteller in residence for Northern Ireland's libraries She has been telling tales for over forty years and there isn't much she doesn't know about stories! Liz is a wonderful host and was kind enough to do a little interview with Leo and tell a story from her fabulous book ' Here There and Everywhere' If you would like to find out more about Liz, you can check out her website HERE You can also find out more about the wonderful place Liz lives in this TV show HERE Our story is an old Celtic folktale about a very brave girl - The Lass who went out at the Cry of Dawn We absolutely love the version by Sorche Nic Leodhas, and you can find it in this brilliant book ' Womenfolk and Fairy Tales'

Episode 5 - The Wisdom of Platypus with Amy Douglas

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages It's November and things have been going with a whizz and a bang! On the 5th November, we celebrate Bonfire Night here in the UK, to commemorate the failed gunpowder plot of 1605 A group of Catholic conspirators attempted to blow up King James I and the Houses of Parliament They failed, but we still celebrate today with bonfires and firework displays! You can learn more about the Gunpowder Plot HERE Today is also the 11th November, also known as Remembrance day or Poppy Day At 11am on the 11th November in 1918, the first world war finally came to an end So on this special day every year, people remember those who have died in all wars, not just WW1, by holding a two minute silence for them You can learn more about it HERE Our first story this episode is from our guest teller Amy Douglas Amy is a word-hoarder, a word-storer, a word-catcher and a word explorer She plays with words, riddles and puzzles She likes hide and seek, jumping in puddles, getting muddy, treasure hunts and has a favourite tree where she likes to sit with a book and an apple She lives in Shropshire, which is wild, magical and has stories hidden everywhere! She's also written a book! You can buy it HERE And if you want to find out more about what she does, visit her website HERE Our second story is a very very old tale from the Australian Aboriginal people They do not have a written down language, so their wisdom is passed down through word of mouth, symbols and beautiful art work Aboriginal people of Australia believe that the Dreamtime was way back, in the very beginning of time Everything was created by ancestor spirits They made the rivers, streams, water holes hills, rocks, plants and animals They believe the earth is sacred, and should be honoured and protected You can learn more about their culture, religion, landscape and animals HERE

Episode 4 - **HALLOWEEN SPECIAL**

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages It's our Halloween Special! WOOOOOOOOO! We have lots of TREATS for you this episode, including the return of LEO'S TOP FIVE - and a few tricks too! Firstly, we have a song that we learned from Kate Corkery and Winston Nzinga, also known as Spud and Yam ! The Boogie Man song! We hope you join in at home Our first story is from Emily and she heard it from the lovely Liz Weir , who appeared in season 2 This is Liz's favourite spooky story for little ones with a nice surprise at the end Make sure you use your spookiest voices! Our second story is from Leo and it's a little bit creepy - The Cursed Doll - but it's actually a joke that's been turned into a story So if you're brave enough to hold on until the end, you'll get a good giggle

Episode 3 - Rola and the Sisters with Pyn Stockman

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages We are so grateful to all our listeners for their patience - Leo and Emily have been a bit sick with colds - but we're SO glad to be back with a new episode! Our first story this episode is from our guest teller Pyn Stockman Pyn is a professional storyteller who lives on a boat! She loves fairy tales, folktales, all sorts of stories! Pyn tells at festivals, community events, schools and libraries She really enjoys using props and masks to bring her stories to life The story she shares was created with young people in Birmingham as part of the Secret City Arts project and is about Friendship Our second story is an old tale from Micronesia , a group of Islands in the Pacific Islands Did you know Mogmog is a real island? Thankfully, there isn't an evil spirit there now! We love how brave the younger sister is in this story

Episode 2 - A Tailor's Tale with Maria Credali

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages This episode, we are thinking about how we can mend and make do - reduce, reuse and recycle things - so that everyone can enjoy the wonders of our beautiful planet It's not too late, if we all work together for change Our first story this episode is from our guest teller Maria Credali Maria takes traditional tales and makes them her own, breathing life into characters and taking the listener on journeys of magic and myth Her favourite stories are those that leave you feeling that all is well in the world…..perhaps those are just the sort of stories we need at the moment… Our second story is an old old Yiddish tale about a tailor who finds that, with a little ingenuity and hard work, he can make something new from something old We got lots of inspiration from Helen East's version of this tale You can find her version in an excellent book called The Singing Story Cloth!

Episode 1 - The Three Wonderful Gifts

Welcome to Season 3 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children (and grown ups) of all ages We're back back back! We hope you've had a lovely summer and are looking forward to some story fun We have so much planned for this season - more Leo's Top Fives, guest storytellers and, of course, our spooky Halloween and festive Holiday episodes! Our story this episode is an old Turkish tale, but there are variations from lots of different countries It is a quest story with lots of 3s in it How many 3s can you spot? Also, which brother gave the greatest gift? Let us know

Episode 23 - Season Finale - Pig & Bear

Welcome to the final episode of Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Its the summer holidays here in England! We will be taking a break for the summer but will be back in September with brand new stories and guests for season 3 We thought it would be fitting to end the season with a story from Leo - he tells the tale that is sometimes called 'Regrets' There are lots of different versions of this tale and it makes you think about choices you make We all have regrets but it's best to learn from a bad to decision and move on, than spend your whole life regretting Emily's story is a funny version of a Pig and Bear tale from Slovakia Pig and Bear get up to all sorts and this story they try selling food - it doesn't go very well though!

Episode 22 - ***Song Book Episode with Nuala***

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages So this episode is a musical journey through our favourite stories, revisiting our songs and music Leo and I love singing and making ORIGINAL songs that go with our episodes, often accompanied on guitar by me or by professional guitarist Andy (Daddy producer) We hope that the songs will remind you of your favourite tales so you can listen to them again! Our guest teller is the absolutely brilliant young talent Nuala, who is 7 years old from Philadelphia USA Nuala tells a Korean folktale; she practised and practised her tale and I'm sure you'll agree that she is fantastic We hope she continues to tell stories and influences more of our young listeners to try it for themselves Well done, Nuala!

Episode 21 - Animal Antics with Sharon Carr

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages So this episode's TOP FIVE is about Leo's favourite gods and goddesses What are your favourites? Draw us a piccy and don't forget to post it in the FaceBook Group This episode, we welcome storyteller Sharon Carr to the podcast Originally from Canada, Sharon Carr, has lived in the Midlands for many years She can trace her love of stories back to her Welsh mother who would share family tales of ghostly visits, ancient feuds and folklore that have been passed down through the generations Sharon loves to share funny and magical stories from all over the world to enchant all age groups She has shared stories at festivals, shared stories in museums, schools and libraries You can watch Sharon telling stories at the World Storytelling Cafe HERE and on YouTube HERE Our story is another trickster folktale - this one is a Bengali tale about a clever old lady who outwits some hungry animals in the deep dark forest You can find a nice version of it HERE

Episode 20 - Lazy Dragon with Carl Merry

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages We hope you enjoyed this episode's Scavenger Hunt! We would LOVE to see some photos of all the things you found Did you manage to find them all? Don't forget to post pics in the FaceBook Group This episode, we welcome storyteller Carl Merry to the podcast Carl was once a teacher and ran storytelling clubs and story days in schools to engage children with storytelling He’s been a professional storyteller for over 20yrs, and has performed at loads of festivals, theatres, community groups and schools across the country He’s performed in medieval costume too at re-enactment days He loves the history and folklore of Essex and has devised lots of stories about ancient burial grounds, witch trials You can find out more about Carl at his website HERE Our story is an old trickster folktale from ancient China - it features a recurring character called Lazy Dragon, who is a thief But he only steals from the rich, and gives what he steals to the poor and needy - a bit like Robin Hood Most of the stories are a bit grown up, but we thought you'd like this one!

Episode 19 - The Sun King with Eamonn Keenan

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages We hope you enjoy the return of LEO's TOP FIVE! Don't forget to post pics of your doggies and ideas for other top fives in the FaceBook Group This episode, we welcome storyteller Eamonn Keenan to the podcast Eamonn loves telling stories from Irish lore, particularly stories of heroes, fairies and ghosts He learned many stories from his father, who was also a storyteller and a singer Now Eamonn tells stories to children and adults and has told in many different countries England Ireland, Finland, USA and Australia Eamonn will be bringing out an audio collection of folk tales later this year and you can watch him perform HERE at the World Storytelling Cafe Our story is an old folktale that has travelled the world - it has been told by travelling communities, such as the Romani, for centuries It has lots of names but is usually called 'The Three Golden Hairs of the Sun King' We love this story and its introduction of the Fate sisters - you can find out more about the Three Fates Here How many other things come in threes in this story?

Episode 18 - The Green Goddess with Valentine Hanson

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages It's the merry month of May, and we can feel summer drawing near We'd love to see some photos of your outdoor activities - don't forget to post them in the FaceBook Group This episode, we welcome storyteller Valentine Hanson to the podcast Valentine is an actor and storyteller from East London He's played lots of characters from history and told of their lives to audiences and families in schools, museums, heritage sites and, most recently, online to families at home Valentine likes to tells stories from African and Caribbean folklore This particular tale is a Swahili story called The Heart of the Monkey Swahili is a language spoken in countries like Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in East of Africa You can learn more about Swahili HERE and more about Swahili folktales HERE Our story is in celebration of the Gaelic/Celtic festival Bealtaine, also known as May Day across Europe It's a fire festival, and like the Samhain, a time when faery folk are about You can find out more about celebrating this time of year HERE The story is part folktale, part original tale We took lots of influence from the Estonian Folktale ' Mikku and the Trees', retold by Margaret Read MacDonald , for the first part But the arrival of the Green goddess is our own imagining of what she looks like, how she speaks and, most importantly, what she wants us to remember We are all guardians of nature and the earth

Episode 17 - The Inn of Donkeys with Hannah Need

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages ***We had some tiny audio issues this week We hope it doesn't affect your fun Naughty Pixies! Thanks for listening*** This episode, we welcome storyteller Hannah Need to the podcast Hannah , The Storyteller of Southfields, is a professional storyteller based in London who loves to tell traditional tales with a twist or two Her storytelling work takes her to schools, festivals, storytelling events, clubs and more recently the world of zoom and podcasts If you'd like to find out more about Hannah and her stories, you can check out her website HERE Our story is from Ancient China and it's a very strange and slightly spooky tale of transformation We like ALL witches, good AND bad, and Third Lady is an interesting character indeed! You can read a version of this tale in Angela Carter's collection HERE (she's called Mrs Number 3) Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 16 - Snakes & Ropes with Sef Townsend

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages We hope you have enjoyed some holiday fun where you are! This episode, we welcome storyteller Sef Townsend to the podcast Sef has spent many years animating children and adults through the medium of story, language, rhythm and song and he is equally at home in a nursery school; in the family atmosphere of a local festival; or at a national museum Recent work has taken him from shantytown schools in South Africa to the British Museum; from the Korean Traditional Performing Arts Centre to remote villages in the West Bank In the last couple of years he has shared stories, given workshops and conducted his own research in Belgium, China, Italy, Argentina, and Chile, as well as writing ‘ London Folktales for Children ’, with colleague Anne Johnson, and their ‘London’s River Folktales for Children’ will be published by The History Press early next year If you want to find out more about Sef, visit his website HERE Our story is from Aotearoa New Zealand and is an old Maori myth The Maoris are the indigenous people of Aotearoa and you can learn lots about their history and culture HERE Maui is a trickster demi-god, and is always up to something But many of his tales are about how he created and formed Aotearoa You can read more about Maui and the myths of this amazing place HERE We also ADORE this play of Maui Tames The Sun so check it out HERE

Episode 15 - Trickster Tales with Wendy Shearer

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode we launch on April 1st - also known as APRIL FOOLS DAY! Yes, it's a day for pranks and tricks - but keep them light-hearted and silly If you want to more about the origins of April Fool's Day, you can read more HERE And for a list of silly and harmless pranks to pull on your family, you can go HERE This episode, we welcome storyteller Wendy Shearer to the podcast Wendy Shearer is a Storyteller and Writer, with a love for bringing folktales, myths, and legends to life She tells stories at festivals, in schools, and venues including The British Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe, and the Royal Academy of Arts Wendy’s repertoire is drawn mostly from her Afro-Caribbean heritage She tells tales of trickster, spirits, and shapeshifters, peppered with memories handed down from her Grandmother Her first two books: ‘African and Caribbean Folktales, Myths and Legends’ and ‘Caribbean Folktales with Windrush Migration Stories’, will be published by Scholastic and The History Press in 2021 Our story is all about the wise fool Nasruddin He’s a wonderful character whose tales are told all across the Islamic world – India, Pakistan, the middle east, turkey, Afghanistan, even parts of Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Russia, even China Mullah Nasruddin is sometimes called 'Hodja' – which means master, and his lessons are very interesting He gets up to all sorts of funny antics, but we also learn that he can be unusually wise Lots of people go to him to advice – from peasants to Emperors You can find out more about Nasruddin HERE and there is a lovely book of his tales HERE

Episode 14 - Lazy Jack with Sarah Lloyd-Winder

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Happy St Patrick's Day (for yesterday) As you know, Emily & Leo are of Irish heritage and on the 17th March we celebrate the patron saint of Ireland - Saint Patrick But he wasn't actually Irish! If you'd like to learn more about St Paddy you can do so HERE Our little Irish lullaby at the end is a famous song called 'The Castle of Dromore' Emily's parents used to sing it to her and she sang it to Leo when he was a baby There is an Irish Gaelic phrase in the song ' A pháiste bán a stór' It means 'my fair-haired darling' This episode, we welcome storyteller Sarah Lloyd Winder to the podcast Sarah is a professional storyteller who seeks out tales from around the world to tell at a variety of venues and situations From Folktales that tell the story of how Iceland got its volcanoes and Denmark its fjords to the beautiful myths and folklore of Japan, she seeks stories of beauty, horror, comedy and the way people act If you would like to find out more about Sarah and her stories, you can visit her website HERE Our story is a favourite - a 'Jack' tale There are lots of versions of this story all over the world, where the character follows the advice but gets it muddled or delayed But it all turns out alright in the end!

Episode 13 - WW2 London with Jill Lamede

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages It's March! Happy coming of Spring! And we have two great stories for you in this episode This episode, we welcome storyteller Jill Lamede to the podcast Jill, The Tintagel Storyteller, lives in the magical birthplace of King Arthur, and may often be found telling tales on the cliffs above Tintagel Castle Jill is telling a lovely story called Small Creatures, a tale from Romania shows that even the Creator may make a few mistakes You can find out more about Jill on her website HERE And you can watch Jill telling her stories on her YouTube channel HERE Our story follows Rosie and Tommy, two children living in London in WW2 Lots of children lived through the Blitz in London and were evacuated to the countryside If you would like to find out more about children in London during WW2, you can learn more HERE or check out these excellent books: Bombs and Blackberries by Julia Donaldson Horrible Histories - Woeful Second World War Wave me Goodbye - Jacqueline Wilson Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 12 - Mischief, Magic & Mayhem with Daniel Morden

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages So there is lots going on right now Valentine's Day, Pancake Day (UK) and Chinese New Year! And we have THREE amazing stories for you in this episode Our first is from our young guest teller, Sofia She is 8 years old and is telling a traditional tale from her home in France - Fox and Crow Animal tales appear in every culture on every continent, and this one is a lovely version of an Aesop fable Fox fools crow with its cunning and wit to win some food A beautiful telling, Sofia! If you would like to read more about the French version, you can do so HERE This episode, we also welcome Master storyteller Daniel Morden Daniel has been a storyteller for thirty years and he loves tales of all shapes, sizes and origins You can watch him tell a tale on his YouTube channel HERE Daniel has also written many fantastic books You can find them by clicking HERE And check out his website www.danielmorden.org Our story celebrates Chinese New Year and explores the wonderful link between stories and customs If you want to learn more about this amazing yearly festival and its stories, you can go HERE Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages So it's National Storytelling Week here in the UK! So we are celebrating everything story! If you would like to know more, then please visit The Society for Storytelling Website or Facebook Page and share your story fun We have two lovely stories for you and in this episode we welcome guest storyteller Rachel Ann Harding She is a traditional storyteller and musician, passionate about myth, and traditional tales In 2018 she performed at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN and is the creator and producer of the Story Story Podcast , featuring wonderful tellers and tales from around the world (including us!) Our story is a Native American tale about how things came to be You can find out more about the wonderful connections between humans and nature in many Native American Tales and this is a great place to start: The Girl who helped Thunder and other Tales Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 11 - Life is a Rainbow with Rachel Ann Harding

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages So it's National Storytelling Week here in the UK! So we are celebrating everything story! If you would like to know more, then please visit The Society for Storytelling Website or Facebook Page and share your story fun We have two lovely stories for you and in this episode we welcome guest storyteller Rachel Ann Harding She is a traditional storyteller and musician, passionate about myth, and traditional tales In 2018 she performed at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN and is the creator and producer of the Story Story Podcast , featuring wonderful tellers and tales from around the world (including us!) Our story is a Native American tale about how things came to be You can find out more about the wonderful connections between humans and nature in many Native American Tales and this is a great place to start: The Girl who helped Thunder and other Tales Remember to join us over on Patreon

Episode 10 - The Firebird with guest teller DD Storyteller

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages We have two lovely stories for you and this episode we welcome guest storyteller Dawn Nelson, or DD Storyteller from the South Downs Dawn writes and performs both interactive stories and traditional tales, as well as creating story based events and workshops for all ages She also has her own podcast, Story Lore ! You can find out more about Dawn on her website HERE or her YouTube channel HERE Our story is an old wonder tale from Russia, featuring the Firebird There are lots of stories about this mythical bird and this one also features a Princess and a talking horse! You can find out more about the Firebird stories from Russia HERE We recommend you have a listen to the fabulous Story Story Podcast , featuring wonderful tellers and tales from around the world

Episode 9 - Two Winter Tales with guest Giles Abbott

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Happy New Year! May 2021 bring you light, love and happiness We have two wonderful wintry tales to see you through the cold dark evenings, and this episode we welcome guest storyteller Giles Abbot from London to the podcast Giles is a writer and voice artist, but he became a storyteller about 20 years ago when he suffered sudden (but not total) loss of sight He found he couldn’t see someone across a table or read books and stories So he fell in love with the art of TELLING stories Giles is the UK’s only blind professional storyteller and has told stories at festivals all over the country – and around the world too! You can find out more about Giles at his website HERE Our story is an old folktale with many versions from many lands Some people believe it is an old Cherokee tale The Cherokees are from North America and have a deep connection to their ancestors, nature, spirits and oral storytelling You can read more Native American tales HERE If you want to find out more about trees and their leaves, you can go HERE

Episode 8 - Christmas Special: Spiders, Apples & Assassins

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages It's Christmas Eve! We are so excited and I hope we can get to sleep tonight! This episode we welcome guest storyteller Hannah Brailsford from Essex to the podcast Hannah is a brilliant storyteller who is 'captivating, compelling, magic and fun' She has been telling stories to both children and adults for nearly ten years! Hannah delivers storytelling work shops to Early years and Primary children under guise of Tiny Tales Storytellers She also hosts amazing story nights for adults as Spinning Yarns Theatre You can also check out Hannah's You Tube channel HERE Leo's story is one he wrote all himself It's based on the classic Cinderella story with a MASSIVE twist We hope you enjoy it! Emily's story is an old folktale from Somerset called the Apple Tree Man In the olden days, people would honour the trees and the gods of winter by singing songs, pouring cider or beer on the roots of fruit trees to ensure a good harvest the following year This is called wassailing We hope you like our version of this old tale - there is a great version by John Kirkpatrick HERE And here is an awesome version of our song by The Watersons

Episode 7 - Wanda's Christmas with guest teller Joerg Steinkamper

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This episode we welcome guest storyteller Joerg Steinkamper from Germany to the podcast Joerg has been telling stories to all ages since 2009 He loves funny stories and his story is a modern version of an old Sufi tale featuring Nasruddin If you would like to see Joerg storytelling you can visit his youtube channel HERE Our story this episode is our version of a tale Emily heard a long time ago, on a series called 'Storyteller' by Marshall Cavendish Emily still has her collection of all the magazines and audio tapes that would arrive in the post every fortnight when she was little The author is called Felix Culpa - but we can't find a link to him anywhere!! The original story is called 'What Wanda Wanted'

Episode 6 - The Wild Swans with Guest Teller Liz Weir

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Our sixth episode invites renowned storyteller Liz Weir MBE to the podcast Liz has been telling stories for over 40 years and has told her captivating tales on five continents!! She is also an author and has written three brilliant books: Boom Chica Boom, When Dad was Away and Here, There and Everywhere If you would like to purchase them you can contact Liz HERE Liz tells one of her own lovely tales, based on Irish lore, The Mermaid's Gift We met Liz at the wonderful Glens of Antrim Storytelling Festival and stayed with her in the cosy Ballyeamon Barn , where storytellers come from all over the world to share stories and have a lovely time If you're ever in the Glens, why not go and stay at the Barn? If you want to find out more about Liz Weir then you can visit her website HERE Our story this episode is a classic fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen - but told with our own Dragonfly Tales flavour Andersen wrote some of the most well loved fairy tales ever, including The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling and The Tinder Box This book, An Illustrated Treasury , is a lovely introduction to his stories Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Our fifth episode is a tale from the lands of Ice and snow - a Norse myth Norse myths are ancient stories of gods, goddesses, heroes and battles from Scandinavia They were passed down to the Vikings and have had a lasting impression on us too! Our days of the week are named after Norse gods! In this story, the Thunder god Thor loses his most precious possession - and finds himself in an embarrassing situation (thanks to Loki) For more great Norse myths check out this fabulous D'Aulaire's collection for kids Or for older children and adults, check out Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology If you fancy being a GUEST TELLER this season, then you can get in touch with us and we'll tell you how it works

Episode 5 - Thor's Wedding

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Our fifth episode is a tale from the lands of Ice and snow - a Norse myth Norse myths are ancient stories of gods, goddesses, heroes and battles from Scandinavia They were passed down to the Vikings and have had a lasting impression on us too! Our days of the week are named after Norse gods! In this story, the Thunder god Thor loses his most precious possession - and finds himself in an embarrassing situation (thanks to Loki) For more great Norse myths check out this fabulous D'Aulaire's collection for kids Or for older children and adults, check out Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology If you fancy being a GUEST TELLER this season, then you can get in touch with us and we'll tell you how it works

Episode 4 - HALLOWEEN SPECIAL - The Boy who drew Cats

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages It's our Halloween Special! WOOOOOOOOO! We have two stories for you What a TREAT - not a trick! Our first story is by Leo and is a version of the Hairy Toe We found this version from master storyteller Margaret Read MacDonald , a very famous North American tale spinner who specialises in interactive storytelling Our little poem 'The Troll' was by poet Jack Prelutsky You can find out more about him HERE Our main story is probably Emily's favourite story ever... it's called The Boy Who Drew Cats! Huge thanks to our long-time listener AMY for recommending this one It's magical, mysterious and and scary - maybe not one for our very young listeners There are MANY different versions of this one that you can search - but we're very fond of our take! Huge thanks to Robi-Jo for an excellent story last episode - you are AWESOME! If you fancy being a GUEST TELLER this season, then you can get in touch with usand we'll tell you how it works

Episode 3 - Four Dragons

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Our third episode is a tale from the East - a tale of mystical dragons Eastern dragons are very different to those in stories from the west In countries such as China, Korea and Japan, dragons are thought to be noble and wise, elemental gods that ruled over the skies and the oceans They don’t have wings, and have long serpent-like bodies and magical powers We have a guest teller this week and we're so looking forward to their story! If you fancy being a GUEST TELLER this season, then you can get in touch with usand we'll tell you how it works Next week is our HALLOWEEN Special! We are doing an extra spooky episode for the podcast

Episode 2 - Theseus and the Minotaur

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages Our second episode is a classic Greek Myth about a brave hero who must defeat a hideous monster and escape a mysterious labyrinth WARNING: it gets a bit scary when Theseus goes into the Labyrinth! For more great myths and legends, check out this fabulous collection by Anthony Horrowitz If you fancy being a GUEST TELLER this season, then you can get in touch and we'll tell you how it works

Episode 1 - The Baker Lady who Fooled the Faeries

Welcome to Season 2 of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages We're back! We hope you've had a lovely summer and are looking forward to some story fun We will be releasing episodes every two weeks from now on - but don't worry We have lots planned this season - Leo's Top Fives, guest storytellers and a spooky Halloween episode for half term! Our first episode is an old Scottish tale about a clever baker lady who manages to fool the faeries into letting her leave fairyland If you like our podcast and would like to donate a little something towards our second season, we would be so grateful You can donate to Dragonfly Tales Podcast by clicking here: DONATE Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your top five ideas and shout-out requests in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 18 - Season Finale: Serpents, Sweets and Sausages

Serpents, Sweets and Sausages Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages. This episode is our last one of the first season. We'll be taking a break for the summer but we'll be back in September for more story fun. For our finale, we bring you something a bit special - a special guest! Our friend Ella has been working on a story for our podcast and it's just brilliant! Ella presents a fantastic tale of her own design, based on a Greek myth - The Minator. Leo also tells his own story this week and we hope you enjoy his original story The Sweet Shop at the End of the World. It's awesome! Finally, we present a rhyming version of a Swedish tale about wasted wishes. If you had three wishes, what would you wish for? If you like our podcast and would like to donate a little something towards our first season, we would be so grateful. You can donate to Dragonfly Tales Podcast by clicking here: DONATE Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group . See you in the Autumn! If you would like a shout out, the best thing to do is join the Dragonfly Tales story chat on Facebook. However, if you don't use Facebook, you can email us at emilydragonflytales@gmail.com and we will try our best to give you a shout out. You can follow us on: Facebook Instagram Twitter Thanks for listening! Theme Music by Leo Grazebrook on GarageBand Storytelling, songs and music by Dragonfly Tales Produced by Andy Grazebrook Art by Light Creative Sound effects by Zapsplat

Episode 17 - The Man whose Mother was a Pirate

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode we head down to the sea in this beautiful story by Margaret Mahy You find her story, and lots of other stories about pirates in this brilliant book The Kingfisher Treasury of Pirate Stories Leo's activity this week is all about Pirates! Head over to the Royal Museums Greenwich website for tons of Pirate facts and activities! Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 16 - Zico & The Greedy Witch

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode we venture into the Amazonian rainforest to hear a story from the Anambe people You can find a version of today's tale, 'Ceuci the Witch who ate a lot' in this book: Amazonia - Indigenous Tales from Brazil We'd also like to thank our lovely friend and fellow storyteller Sef Townsend for helping us with the Brazilian nursery rhyme Sef has been singing songs from lots of different cultures for many years to celebrate diversity and share common experiences He's recorded two lovely CDs - Singing with Mr Sef To order them, just email seflondon@gmail.com We have both Cds and we adore them! Leo's activity this week is all about the layers of the rainforest Here is a cool video that shows you the layers! Exploring Life within the Layers of the Rainforest And here is a useful fact file where you can read more about the layers You can now create your own fact file or draw the different layers and the animals that live on each one What other animals live in the Amazon rainforest? Finally, if you like our podcast, please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 15 - Mayita and the Crocodile

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode we venture to Zimbabwe to hear a story from a clan of the Shona tribe - the Karanga! African storytelling is amazing and our telling would not have been possible without these two awesome books The Lion on the Path and Party Croc! Leo's activity this week is making banana bread - and it's DELICIOUS! Emily is now so into bananas! You can find the recipe at ZimboKitchen , where you can find lots of amazing recipes from Zimbabwe Finally, if you like our podcast, please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 14 - The Mermaid of Bulgham Bay

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode we had two stories! We hope you enjoyed Leo's excellent telling of The Frog and the Locust It's a wonderful tale about working together and and making our voices heard to make the world a better place for everyone We found it in this awesome book Earth Care Our main story is from the magical Isle of Man in the Irish Sea The Isle of Man has a very rich history of folklore and fairy tales, and the people who live still believe in the wee folk to this day They are especially fond of stories about Mermaids You can find more stories in this lovely book - Manx Fairy Tales Leo's activity this week is making a mermaid fairy lantern and there is an excellent video and tutorial on this website - Red Ted Art: DIY Mermaid Lantern Finally, if you like our podcast please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 13 - The Chinese Red Riding Hoods

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode our story is a Chinese version of a classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood But this one is a bit different It was written by Isabelle Chang and can be found in this lovely book Womenfolk and Fairy Tales Our activity this week is about the is all about the wonderful grey wolf! They are not at all the big bad wolves of fairy tales Visit Wolf Watch UK to learn more about these shy animals and create your own fact file about them Awoooooooooo! Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 12 - The Fisherman and the Genie

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode comes from the fabulous collection - The Arabian Nights The stories are told by the character Scheherazade, who tells a story every night for 1001 nights so that her husband, the King, will keep her alive The famous composer Rimsky Korsakov took several of the stories from the collection and turned them into pieces of music The voice of the storyteller Scheherazade was represented by a solo violin You can listen to a clip here Our activity is all about creating a time capsule that you can hide and then open many years from now We found a great website with printables and suggestions for making your time capsule Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 11 - The Bremen Town Musicians

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode, we have TWO animal tales for you The first one is a fable by Aesop, brilliantly told by Leo! If you like this short fable, you can read more of them in this book - Orchard Aesop's Fables And the second one is The Bremen Town Musicians This is a very popular folk tale in Germany, most famously told by the Brothers Grimm Bremen is a real place and there is actually a statue there of all the animals one on top of the other You can see it here Here is a link to the website for Leo's musical activity There are 52 instruments to choose from! We would love to see (and hear) your instruments when you've finished them Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 10 - Mama Draga

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode, we are telling a folktale from Sicily , which is an island south of Italy It has a volcano on the island, called Mount Etna! There are lots of versions of this type of folktale - but this is our version If you would like to read more Sicilian Tales, we can recommend this lovely book Catarina the Wise and other Wondrous Folk and Fairy Tales And here is a youtube link to Leo's Coffee Filter Roses activity! We can't wait to see how they come out! Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 9 - The Tempest

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode, we are telling a tale written by the famous playwright William Shakespeare - The Tempest, which means the storm! It's a story about a mystical island far far away across the sea If you'd like to find out more about William Shakespeare you can check out these Shakespeare Fun Facts! And this is a nice introduction to Shakespeare's works by Michael Rosen & Sarah Nayler We'll put some photos of Leo's Puppet theatre in the Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 8 - Anansi and Turtle

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode, we introduce a classic story archtype - The Trickster! Anansi the spider is a trickster - he's sneaky, funny and a bit lazy too! The Anansi stories were first told by the Ashanti people in Ghana, a country in West Africa They were not written but passed down through telling from generation to generation Until they had spread far and wide They spread across oceans to the Caribbean – they crossed continents and are now told all over the world Here is Leo's YouTube link to the Spider Puppet activity It's nice and easy to make Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 7 - Odysseus and the Cyclops

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode, our tale is THOUSANDS of years old It’s a very long epic and we only had time to tell a part of it If you liked the story and want to follow Odysseus on the rest of his journey, we’d recommend this version by Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton – two amazing storytellers - The Adventures of Odysseus Here is a YouTube link to Sinbad and the Cyclops and here is a really nice blog about the genius of Ray Harryhausen And here is a really cool link about Stop Motion Animation for beginners ! Can’t wait to see your monsters! There are tons of apps out there - we really like Stop Motion Studio Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 6 - The Monkeys and the Bell

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode is a classic tale from India – there are many different versions of this story, but our favourite is in this lovely Usbourne book of Indian tales Here is a great link to Leo’s activity: Mango and Banana Smoothie Ask a grown up for help with chopping and whizzing! Please please leave us a lovely review and keep posting your pics and drawings in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 5 - The Faerie Thorn

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a story podcast for children of all ages This episode is a tale from Northern Ireland about the mystical and magical Faerie Thorn tree I first heard the wonderful Liz Weir MBE tell a version of this at the Glens of Antrim Story Festival Here are the instructions for making Leo’s fairy tree: You will need: · A big sheet of blank paper and a pencil · Some prittstick or gloopy glue · Some twigs and branches · Lots of different sized leaves · Some little gems or shiny buttons · And some glitter First, draw an outline of a tree in winter on your paper Try to make your branches nice and big and do lots of them Next, using your glue, stick your twigs down over your outline so you have a winter tree Next turn your tree into a summer tree by sticking on your leaves The more leaves you add the fuller your tree will look You can also add little flowers to your tree too – to make it more spring like Finally, to make it a fairy tree, stick some gems or buttons onto your tree and then shake over some glitter And now you have a magical fairy tree! You can find photos of Leo's tree and the REAL Faerie Thorn in our Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 4 - The Woman who lost her Dumpling

Welcome to the next episode of Dragonfly Tales, a new story podcast for children of all ages This episode is a tale from old Japan and features the Oni – they are Japanese trolls who live underground! There are lots of different versions of this story, but our favourite version is by Arlene Mosel Here is the link to Leo's Sudoku puzzles We'd love to see some of your own, along with any drawings of the story You can post them in our new Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group

Episode 3 - Why the Frog Croaks

Welcome to the 3rd episode of Dragonfly Tales, a new story podcast for children of all ages This episode is a tale from Australia! It's a beginning story, or a 'pourquoi' story These stories explain why something is the way it is - do you think the story is true? You can find more lovely stories from the Australian Bush in the gorgeous book: Stories from the Billabong Here is the link to Leo's Eardrum Experiment We'd love to see some videos of your model eardrum in action! Post them in our new Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group And here is the link to the incredibly talented LYRE BIRD! We would love to see some of your pictures on our new Dragonfly Tales Podcast Group on Facebook

Episode 2 - Little Ducky and the Turkish Sultan

Welcome to the 2nd episode of Dragonfly Tales, a new story podcast for children of all ages This episode is a tale from Turkey! We first came across this story told by the incredible storyteller Margaret Read MacDonald in Little Rooster's Diamond Button but we've put our own spin on it Here is the link to Leo's bird feeder activity - It's good to get an adult to help with scissors!

Episode 1 - The Giant's Causeway

Welcome to the 1st episode of Dragonfly Tales, a new story podcast for children of all ages. Join professional storyteller Emily, and her son Leo, for stories from all around the world. Then try out a fun activity to do at home which links to the story! This episode is about the famous natural wonder, The Giant's Causeway in County Antrim , Northern Ireland. You can read the story of Fionn Mac Cumhaill in the O'Brien Book of Irish Fairytales and Legends And remember to have a go at baking Leo's delicious Scottish Oat Cakes! is the link to the recipe for Leo's baking activity: Gluten-Free Oat Cakes! Music by Leo on Garageband Art by Light Creative

Lost Stories - Horror at Hotel DeVille Part 2

Hi Story Lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' In the run-up to our spooky episode at Halloween, we return to the village of Smelly Bottom and the hideous Hotel de Ville! But something is very wrong in the village .. and where is the Inspector?

Lost Stories - Horror at Hotel DeVille Part 1

Hi Story Lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' In the run-up to our spooky episode at Halloween, our story is the first ever visit to the HOTEL DeVILLE! We so loved making this episode - it was very silly! Could that mean - we're returning to Smelly Bottom? Who can say?

Lost Stories - Isis and Osiris

Hi Story Lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story this episode takes us to ancient Egypt, land of pharaohs, gods, desert, hieroglyphs and the river Nile And a goddess who will not rest until her loved one is restored to her The story is about death, but also about life The ancient Egyptians honoured and preserved their dead, believing that they would be reunited in the Afterlife If you want to find out more about the Ancient Egyptians, you can do so HERE Halloween Jokes We need your fabulous, spooky Halloween jokes! The spookier and sillier the better If you would like to tell a Halloween joke on the podcast, go and find a good one – and try and choose one that we haven’t heard Then ask your grown up to record it, and send to my email address emilydragonflytales@gmail.com Remember to join us over on Patreon

Lost Stories - The Lass who went out at the Cry of Dawn

Hi Story Lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is an old Celtic folktale about a very brave girl - The Lass who went out at the Cry of Dawn We absolutely love the version by Sorche Nic Leodhas, and you can find it in this brilliant book ' Womenfolk and Fairy Tales'

Lost Stories - Beating the Devil

Hi Story Lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is from Mexico and we LOVE the folklore from this area It's full of transformation, tricksters, animals and religion And THIS tale features a tale about the DEVIL, and a tailor who beats him at his own game! If you would like to find more Mexican folktales, you can do so HERE

Lost Stories - Counting Crocodiles

Hello listeners! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story has many many versions all around the world - Africa, Malaysia, Korea - but this is a Japanese version of the story It features the Hare of Inaba, who is in other Japanese tales In this story, the clever little hare gets the better of some snappy crocodiles

Lost Stories - The Tiger's Whisker

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is a very old folktale that has several versions across the globe - Ethopia, Korea, Japan and China It is about trust, patience and tenderness - the Tiger's Whisker You can find a version of it HERE

Lost Stories - Whuppity Storie

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' This episode features an old tale from Scotland - all about the power of a name There are many versions of this tale from around the world: Rumplestiltskin, Tom Tit Tot, Ricdin Ricdon But Whuppity Stoorie is by far our favourite

Lost Stories - Momotaro Peach Boy

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' This story is a very famous Japanese fairytale - Momotaro, the Peach boy He is a famous hero in Japanese folklore and there is a statue of him and his animal companions in Okoyama (a bit like the Bremen Town Musicians!) Remember to join us over on Patreon

Lost Stories - King Peacock

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story comes from the Louisiana Bayou It's a Cajun story, and you can learn more about Louisiana and the rich Cajun culture HERE The little song we sing is a French Cajun ditty The lyrics are quite horrid but also funny: Cajun French Les maringouins l'ont mangé ma belle ils'ont resté de ses gros orteils c’est Pour me faire des bouchons de liège, c’est Pour boucher mes demi-bouteilles Et mon papa s'en alle mulet, Et Ma maman s'en allait 'léphant, Et Mon p'tit frer' sur un ouaouaron, Et ma p'tit' soeur, sur un coin d'mon coeur

Lost Stories - Nasruddin feeds his Coat

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is all about the wise fool Nasruddin He’s a wonderful character whose tales are told all across the Islamic world – India, Pakistan, the middle east, turkey, Afghanistan, even parts of Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Russia, even China Mullah Nasruddin is sometimes called 'Hodja' – which means master, and his lessons are very interesting He gets up to all sorts of funny antics, but we also learn that he can be unusually wise Lots of people go to him to advice – from peasants to Emperors You can find out more about Nasruddin HERE and there is a lovely book of his tales HERE

Lost Stories - Catching the Moon & The Froggy Song

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story comes from a collection of stories from the Southern states of America And features a very tricky character who loves getting up to mischief Brer Rabbit These stories were carried over the ocean by African slaves, and although we might now feel a bit uncomfortable with the voice of Uncle Remus (stories told through a white man's lens) these animal stories are fantastic and need to be celebrated in their own right!

Lost Stories - The Boy & The Drum

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story comes all the way from India! It’s a type of story very popular in India, where the parts of the story are connected to each other, like the links in a chain - a chain story!

Lost Stories - The Wisdom of Platypus

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is a very very old tale from the Australian Aboriginal people They do not have a written down language, so their wisdom is passed down through word of mouth, symbols and beautiful art work Aboriginal people of Australia believe that the Dreamtime was way back, in the very beginning of time Everything was created by ancestor spirits They made the rivers, streams, water holes hills, rocks, plants and animals They believe the earth is sacred, and should be honoured and protected You can learn more about their culture, religion, landscape and animals HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon You also get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Lost Stories - Robin Hood & Little John

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story this episode features a very famous hero from English Legend - Robin Hood ! There have been many stories and films about Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men Most are based in Nottinghamshire, sharing the story of him stealing from the rich to give to the poor If you want to find out more about Robin and his Merry Men, you can do so HERE

Lost Stories - The Heron Babies

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is from the island of Cuba Cuban folktales are full of different flavours - just like Cuban food There are lots of different cultures mixing together in Cuba - Spanish, African and Caribbean And this episode is a lovely bed time listen

Lost Stories - The Raven King

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story this episode, is from Ukraine - a wonder tale from the mystical Carpathian mountains Ukraine has a rich history of folk tales and fairy tales, handed down by word of mouth If you would like to read more stories from Ukraine you can do so HERE

Lost Stories - The Starfish

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is a tale that was collected by the famous Brothers Grimm, from Germany The brothers travelled about, listening to stories that they heard people telling They collected them and put them in books You can find out more about the Brothers Grimm HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon You also get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Lost stories - The Tailor's Tale

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is an old Yiddish tale about a tailor who finds that, with a little ingenuity and hard work, he can make something new from something old We got lots of inspiration from Helen East's version of this tale You can find her version in an excellent book called The Singing Story Cloth!

Lost Stories - The Rainbow Crow

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is a Native American tale about how things came to be You can find out more about the wonderful connections between humans and nature in many Native American Tales and this is a great place to start: The Girl who helped Thunder and other Tales Remember to join us over on Patreon You also get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Lost Stories - Maui & the Sun

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is from Aotearoa New Zealand and is an old Maori myth The Maoris are the indigenous people of Aotearoa and you can learn lots about their history and culture HERE Maui is a trickster demi-god, and is always up to something But many of his tales are about how he created and formed Aotearoa You can read more about Maori history and mythology HERE

Lost Stories - The Woman who lost her Dumpling

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' This lost story is a tale from old Japan and features the Oni – they are Japanese trolls who live underground!

Lost Stories - Thor's Wedding

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' This lost story is a tale from the lands of Ice and snow - a Norse myth Norse myths are ancient stories of gods, goddesses, heroes and battles from Scandinavia They were passed down to the Vikings and have had a lasting impression on us too! Our days of the week are named after Norse gods In this story, the Thunder god Thor loses his most precious possession - and finds himself in an embarrassing situation (thanks to Loki)

Lost Stories - Rola & the Sisters

Hey story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our lost story is an old tale from Micronesia, a group of Islands in the Pacific Islands Did you know Mogmog is a real island? Thankfully, there isn't an evil spirit there now! We love how brave the younger sister is in this story

Lost Stories - Perseus & Medusa Part 2

Hi Listeners! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' In this episode, we conclude our epic Greek adventure with the hero Perseus, the gorgon Medusa and a host of meddling Greek gods

Lost Stories - Perseus & Medusa Part 1

Hi Listeners! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is the first part of an epic Greek myth and fan favourite - the myth of Perseus and Medusa! You can find out more about Perseus and Medusa HERE

Lost Stories - Halloween Special 2021

Hello listeners! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' And this one is our Spooky Halloween Special from Season 3 - lots of treats (no tricks) in this episode Firstly, we have a song that we learned from Kate Corkery and Winston Nzinga, also known as Spud and Yam ! The Boogie Man song! We hope you join in at home Our first story is from Emily and she heard it from the lovely Liz Weir , who appeared in season 2 This is Liz's favourite spooky story for little ones with a nice surprise at the end Make sure you use your spookiest voices! Our second story is from Leo and it's a little bit creepy - The Cursed Doll - but it's actually a joke that's been turned into a story So if you're brave enough to hold on until the end, you'll get a good giggle

Lost Stories - The Changeling Child

Hello story lovers! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' Our story is an old fairytale from Ireland about a 'changeling' Changelings feature in lots of folklore and you can find out more about them HERE We made a little lullaby for this episode with words from WB Yeats' 'The Stolen Child' too!

Lost Stories - Stone Face

Hello lovely listeners! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' This episode, Our story is a tale from the Mapuche people of Chile, a country in South America There are many ancient stone masks that come from the Mapuche people, but unfortunately not much is known about them.That is why their folk tales are so precious! This story is a bit scary, but it's sooo good! If you'd like to learn more about the Mapuche you can do this HERE Remember to join us over on Patreon You also get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Lost Stories - Odysseus & the Cyclops

Hello lovely listeners! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' This episode, our tale is THOUSANDS of years old It’s a very long epic and we only had time to tell a part of it If you liked the story and want to follow Odysseus on the rest of his journey, we’d recommend this version by Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton – two amazing storytellers - The Adventures of Odysseus

Lost Stories - Mayita & the Crocodile

Hello lovely listeners! While you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' This episode we venture to Zimbabwe to hear a story from a clan of the Shona tribe - the Karanga! African storytelling is amazing and our telling would not have been possible without these two awesome books The Lion on the Path and Party Croc!

Lost Stories - The Baker's Magic Wand

Hello lovely listeners! We have Season 7 starting next week and we’ll be back with new stories, guest tellers, shout outs and more But while you’re waiting for the next new story, we’ve decided to look back into the archives at some stories that got a bit lost for a while Every other week, we will be giving these episodes a spot light and calling them 'the lost stories' And this week, we are travelling to French-speaking Canada for a tale of magic, mayhem and magnificent CAKES!

Episode 25 - Why Pigs are Muddy

Hello story lovers! This episode, we venture into the forests of Eastern India for this fun tale about why pigs are so very dirty! This is a 'pourquoi' story - a fun way our ancestors explained why things are the way they are But if you want to know the real reason pigs roll around in mud, check out this link https://www.worldanimalprotection.us/latest/blogs/clone-5-reasons-why-pigs-need-mud/ Remember to join us over on Patreon You also get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 24 - ***Summer Special*** The White Cat

Happy Summer Holidays, listeners! To celebrate the summer time, we have an extra long episode for you And it's a fairy tale from France - where we are .on holiday!! You may have heard of the famous french writer Charles Perrault - he made many fairy tales famous (Sleeping Beauty, Beauty & the Beast, Blue Beard, Cinderella) but he wasn't the only one A lady called Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy also wrote dow some fabulous French fairy tales - and this is one of Emily's favourites! Remember to join us over on Patreon – Power Pixies could get to be a guest teller on the podcast! You also get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 23 - The Billy Goats Gruff

Hello listerners! It's the summer holidays and we're excited to be telling a classic on this episode It's got a bridge, a troll and three goats! We know you love this story so make sure you join in with the telling Remember to join us over on Patreon – Power Pixies could get to be a guest teller on the podcast! You also get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 22 - The Chimera Part 2

Hey story lovers! Join us for the next exciting part of our Greek myth! Will Bellerophon manage to get help from Pegasus? Will they be able to defeat the deadly Chimera? Remember to join us over on Patreon – Power Pixies could get to be a guest teller on the podcast! You also get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 20 - Kate Crackernuts

Hello story lovers! This episode's story is from Scotland – it’s a very old tale that can be traced back to the Orkney islands - about a bold lass who goes on a magical adventure We've also got a riddle for you from Jonathan Swift We are little airy creatures All of diff'rent voice and features, One of us in glass is set, One of us you'll find in jet, T'other you may see in tin And the fourth a box within, If you should the fifth pursue It can never fly from you Let us know the answer and you might get a shout out on the show! And send us some riddles of your own! Remember to join us over on Patreon – you could get to be a guest teller like Astrid, you get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 19 - The Pincoya Child

Hello listeners! We hope you're enjoying the merry month of May! It's half term holidays here in the UK and I’m off to tell stories of shipwrecks and pirates at the famous Chatham Historic Dockyard If you're in the area, come and say hello! This episode's story is also a tale from the sea - and comes all the way from Chile in South America Off the coast of Chile there is a beautiful island called Chiloe – it is home to lots of rare and endangered animals – including penguins! But old stories tell of another creature that lives beneath the waves – the pincoya The pincoya are mythicial sea fairies - a bit like mermaids who live in an underwater world They are generally very wary of humans and some say that when a poor sailor is lost or drowned at sea, the pincoya guide them to a great phantom ship called the Caleuche which sails the sea for all eternity - JEEPERS! Remember to join us over on Patreon – you could get to be a guest teller like Astrid, you get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!

Episode 18 - Falling Star Part 2 with Kim Normanton

Hi Story Lovers! In this episode, we are joined by Kim from Super Great Kids Stories She shares a briliiant Japanese tale about some magical badgers! If you want to hear more from Kim, be sure to check out her podcast at https://www.supergreatkidsstories.com We also rejoin Falling Star for Part 2 of our epic adventure from the Cheyenne tribe of the Great Plains Remember to join us over on Patreon – you could get to be a guest teller like Astrid, you get early access, bonus content, videos and birthday shout outs!!