Saturday Morning Story

In this folk tale from India, the underdog saves the day.

Clever Manka is a Czech/Slovakian tale that immediately made me picture the streets of Prague. The buildings are painted in faded yellows, reds and greens. The roofs are tiled. The streets are laid with cobblestones. Every facade has small statues, faces and symbols. It feels like a place that stories come from.

This Indonesian tale pits the might of the tigers of Java against the wits of a little mouse.

I always wanted to tell "The Fisherman & his Wife," but I didn't like the henpecked husband or nagging wife characters. In this version my cousin, Kelsha, and I go for a very memorable canoe trip.

Though this starts out a lot like "Rumplestiltskin," this spinning story heads in a very different direction. My adaptation of a classic, but lesser-known Brothers Grimm.

Inspired by a gingerbread house, this original story is meant to feel like an old folktale. It is told in Tomte Kajsa's voice. A tomte is a Swedish house elf--a cousin to the Norwegian nisse. Classic elements of Scandinavian folklore such as the end of the world; the helpful wind; and a land East of the Sun, West of the Moon play a part in the recovery of the first snowflake of winter.

I created this story for a "June Tune Singalong" while enjoying the early summer weather on a blanket in my yard. Once I was finished making notes and had signed my name with a flourish, spiders started coming out of the grass and onto my blanket! Dozens of them suddenly emerged until I gave them credit, so please note that this story is thanks to their inspiration.

In this Vietnamese tale a young boy saves his family from debt by use of a clever riddle and a fly. Listen to the story as told by Rose.

Saturday Morning Story with Rose Arrowsmith DeCoux is a regular feature on WTIP's North Shore Weekend program Saturday mornings from 7-10. Listen to Clever Manka.

Inspired by Lake Woebegone, I was happy to have a reason (a mini-Membership Drive) to create this story. Best enjoyed while wearing mukluks and eating steel cut oats.