Ripple Stories: Recent Episodes
Nicole Mathers
Welcome to Storytime with Teacher Nicole! I'm delighted to share with you the classics reimagined, world fairytales and books with representation.
My dream is to have a library of stories that meet the children of today and yet still have beautiful language and story plots.
As a teacher (public and Waldorf) for the past 25 years, one of my favorite teaching moments has been when I get to tell stories during storytime. I often memorized the tale, making it much easier to change things as I told it, kind of like when Grandma used to sit in her rocking chair and tell stories late into the night, as the fire blazed and then died out. Some of the changes I've played with over the years were making Briar Rose have dark, luscious, springy hair and beautiful warm umber skin, or the heroine being a warrior Princess instead of a Prince! These little changes made me happy in the telling and I want to share that joy of making the stories speak in a new way with you! One of my recent retellings was The Frog Prince, which in the classic telling has the frog turn into a prince when the princess throws him against the wall in disgust. I changed this to a version where the princess is actually kind and makes the frog a bed on the floor next to hers for three nights and the frog's spell is broken by the princesses kindness instead of anger.
What we are teaching our children through stories, is giving them a lens into new worlds and situations. Each story they hear can give them a view of the world that is full of healthy relationships, kindness in many forms, representation of all peoples and magical vistas of wonder and awe.
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When Sea Gull steals the daylight for himself, Raven must trick him into giving it back to all of the Animal Peoples. A story written down by Chief Lelooska who was a great storyteller and artist.
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This is the tale of a young boy who through the help of a loon becomes a great healer and shaman of his people. Written down by Chief Lelooska who was a great artist and storyteller.
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Then she asked if he required any huntsmen, and if he would take all of them into his service. King Ozzymandias looked at her and did not know her, but as they were such handsome fellows, he said: ‘Let us see how well you handle your blades' and he had his best soldiers come and battle with the twelve maidens and the maidens easily won each squirmish. He asked the maidens to then show him how well they knew how to hunt and use their bows. The maidens rode out with the king and each shot they took, a bird or beast was hit, and they had proved that they were fine marksmen. At the end of the day the King said, ‘Yes,’ and that he would willingly take them, and now they were the king’s twelve huntsmen.
In this version of the Frog Prince, the Princess does not throw the frog against a wall, but rather makes him a bed next to hers and after three nights the curse of the fairy is broken and the frog becomes a Prince. He then asks her to come and rule his kingdom with him, to which the Princess agrees. This new version will delight you with the classic language and original plot still intact, but a few important changes made that make it more wholesome.
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Long, long ago there lived, in Japan a brave warrior known to all as Tawara Toda, or “My Lord Bag of Rice.” His true name was Fujiwara Hidesato, and there is a very interesting story of how he came to change his name.
One day he traveled forth in search of adventures, for he had the nature of a warrior and could not bear to be idle. So he buckled on his two swords, took his huge bow, much taller than himself, in his hand, and slinging his quiver on his back started out. He had not gone far when he came to the bridge of Seta-no-Karashi spanning one end of the beautiful Lake Biwa. No sooner had he set foot on the bridge than he saw lying right across his path a huge serpent-dragon. Its body was so big that it looked like the trunk of a large pine tree and it took up the whole width of the bridge. One of its huge claws rested on the parapet of one side of the bridge, while its tail lay right against the other. The monster seemed to be asleep, and as it breathed, fire and smoke came out of its nostrils.
A soldier with help from an old woman discovers the secret of the where the twelve Princesses dance each night.
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Ripple Stories retells classic fairy tales reimagined with more representation. Support us on Patreon to never miss a story! https://www.patreon.com/RippleStories
The old version of this story has a woman as the greedy one asking for bigger and grander houses and positions. I've changed the tale portraying the woman as the fisherwoman and the bread winner in the family. The man in the story is never satisfied with what he has and is always pondering what he can be or the riches he can gain next. In a way this is quite pertinent to our society today and the way that some people want all of the resources and power for themselves. If only we could be happy in our little house, close to nature, working the land. The fisherwoman shows this side of life, content with every new situation, always asking "isn't this enough"? I hope you enjoy this tale!
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What would the story of Briar Rose look like if we changed some of the problematic elements in this classic tale? In this version we made all of those changes and some more! The prince does not kiss Briar Rose when she is sleeping, as how could he ask for consent in that situation? They do not get married when she is still 15 years old, but they get to know each other and then when they are adults the princess asks the prince if he would be her husband. Also the Queen mother raises the princess on her own without a king in the picture and is an example of a strong happy independent woman. Briar Rose has flaming red hair and freckles and the prince has dark brown skin and warm brown eyes, so that children who are not blond and blue eyed can see themselves in the story, and if they are blond and blue eyed they can enjoy hearing about people who are different from themselves. Finally the scullery boy is scolded and not boxed in the ear, another problematic element of the original tale. You need to hear this version of Briar Rose to see how easy it is to keep the sense of wonder and magic alive, but bring it into our modern world! It will make you love Fairy Tales again!
Beautifully told story about an evil Fairy and two young people who wander too close to her castle. In this version of the Grimm's Fairy Tale, I have made one of the characters gender neutral. Here is how I introduce this idea in the intro to the story.
Did you know children (and adults) that some people prefer not to be referred to as he or she? But they instead? This story has a character who is they or them, meaning they want to be respected for who they are and not with being a girl or a boy. As some of you know I choose to be called Teacher Nicole instead of Miss Nicole when I am teaching my Kindergarteners. Teacher, Doctor, Judge, Police Officer, and they or them are gender neutral terms instead of Miss, or Ms or Mrs or Mr or even she or he. I like being called teacher as it is a sign of respect for me as a person and is the same term used for both men and women. People who want to go by they or them have their own reasons for wanting to be called by those pronouns and we can use their chosen pronouns as a sign of respect for them.
Here are a few excerpts from the story:
Now there was once a girl whose name was Jorinda. She was smarter and funnier than all the pretty girls that ever were seen before, and a shepherd, whose name was Jorindel, was very fond of her, and they were always to be found in the others company. Jorinda had springy black hair that framed her soft round face and eyes that crinkled at the corners when she laughed. Jorindel had brown hair that hung almost down to their green eyes, a shy, quiet demeanor and long lanky limbs.......
On a sudden Jorindel found themself free. Then they fell on their knees before the fairy, and prayed her to give them back their dear Jorinda: but she laughed at them, and said they should never see her again; then she went her way.....
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Welcome to Stories with Representation! I'm delighted to share with you the classics reimagined, representing all family configurations, all skin colors and more female heroines!
Are you tired of hearing about the Male hero who wins a princess as his prize, often just by finishing a few tasks that he gets help to accomplish or accomplishes by accident? Me too! The stories you and your child will hear on RippleStories are not going to be what you expect, each one will have a twist that will bring these classics into the modern age and represent people with different family constellations and racial backgrounds! We will have female heroines galore, who maybe win a princess at the end of their epic journey, or perhaps gain a best friend instead of the trite romantic ending we all are so used to. Perhaps two Male heroes will find each other, or the king has dark curly hair and kind brown eyes instead blond hair and blue eyes.
Let's change it up and breath some new life into these old stories! As a teacher (public and Waldorf) for the past 25 years, one of my favorite teaching moments has been when I get to tell stories during story time. I often memorized the tale, making it much easier to change things as I told it, kind of like when Grandma used to sit in her rocking chair and tell stories late into the night, as the fire blazed and then died out. Over the years I've made Briar Rose have dark, luscious, springy hair and beautiful warm umber skin, or the heroine rides into the center of the village and sees the most gorgeous women she's ever seen, stays for awhile and they fall in love! These little changes made me happy in the telling and I want to share that joy of making the stories speak in a new way with you!
I am going to relate these tales as if I am your child's Grandma, or teacher, bringing the beauty of the language alive and the images to life. Join me each week for new tales of wonder and delight! You don't want to miss any of these new tellings of World Fairy Tales!
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