Storycasts: Recent Episodes

Storycasts

Presented by the Sarasota County Library System. Funded by the Siesta Key Kiwanis Club.

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This Aesop fable illustrates how evil brings evil in return.

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This Aesop fable illustrates how nobody believes a liar.

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This Aesop fable illustrates how beauty may have fair leaves and bitter fruit.

Music credit:

I’m Not What I Thought by Darren Curtis

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

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Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

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This Aesop fable illustrates how it is better to have two strings to one's bow.

Music Credit:

Illusory Realm by Darren Curtis | https://www.darrencurtismusic.com/

Music promoted on https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)

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This is an Aesop fable illustrating how double proof is surest.

Music credit:

Sanctuary by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au

Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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A young schoolgirl explores the dark past of the forbidden house in her neighborhood.

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A retired train porter attempts to elude the hand of fate when a phantom express comes calling for his soul.

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Two laborers discover the stomach-turning secret behind a popular restaurant.

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After eleven-year-old Ollie's school bus mysteriously breaks down on a field trip, she has to take a trip through scary woods, and must use all of her wits to survive.

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"Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale.

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Three pigs each set out to build their homes of various materials. Their choices, upon being met with adversity, affect their fates.

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This is a story about value.

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Tom Thumb has quite an adventure when he tries to help his parents through questionable methods.

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A group of blind men encounter an elephant and try to figure out what it is. 

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A boy helps a rattlesnake with unexpected results.

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Henry learns survival tips from woodland friends.

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A proud pine tree learns an important lesson from the humble cattails.

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Three hungry goats attempt to cross a bridge to eat green grass on the hill located on the other side of the bridge.  They encounter a troll on their journey.  The “Three Billy Goats Gruff is a Norwegian fairy tale.

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This short story is based on a medieval Scots ballad about a battle of wills between a husband and wife.  A husband and wife attempting to sleep have their front door blown open by the wind. They make a pact that the next person who speaks must bar the door, but the door remains open and a robber enters.  Find out if the door is ever shut and what becomes of the robber.

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Three short stories provide examples of cultural phrases and proverbs that make no sense when carried over literally into another culture.  Find out what “let bygones be bygones,” “the show must go on,” and “last straw” mean.

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A lion goes for a walk in the jungle.  On his walk something he meets a number of jungle animals.  Find out who he meets.

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Three short stories provide examples of cultural phrases and proverbs that make no sense when carried over literally into another culture.  Find out what “do onto others as you would have them do onto you,” “a dog is man’s best friend,” and “look before you leap” mean.

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This is a cautionary tale advising you to not necessarily trust someone that appears kind and friendly. In this Aesop Fable, find out what happens to a wolf that disguises himself with the coat of a sheep.

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Find out what happens when an Ibis finds a ruby.

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Three short stories provide examples of cultural phrases and proverbs that make no sense when carried over literally into another culture.

Find out what "his bark is worse than his bite," "beat around the bush," and "beggars can't be choosers" really mean. 

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A lazy dog that is sleeping in the barn refuses to let a tired ox eat. The story and metaphor of The Dog in the Manger derives from an old Greek fable. The story has been told over the centuries to mean many things. The metaphor is now used to speak of one who spitefully prevents others from having something for which one has no use. The story was ascribed to Aesop's Fables in the 15th century.

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The Big Cabbage is a short story about a farmer that gets caught in a ridiculous lie.

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A large tree has a bad attitude towards a small plant.  When a hurricane happens you will never guess what happens. 

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A Stone Cutter makes many wishes to be anything except a Stone Cutter.

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A proud town mouse visits his cousin in the country. The country mouse offers the city mouse a meal of simple country cuisine, at which the visitor scoffs and invites the country mouse back to the city for a taste of the "fine life." This is where the adventure begins as the mice head to the city.

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A boy tries to go to sleep in a grave yard because he is tired. However, he awaken by a "coffin" that chases him. Find out what happens to the boy and how he stops the "coffin". Story from Favorite Scary Stories of American Children retold by Richard and Judy Dockrey Young.

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In this rhythmic tale a brave and cute traffic light goes exploring. Things get pretty wild when the traffic light leaves his post. You will discover all of Kathy's familiar characters in High Wire Act. For further information about Kathy Brodsky visit www.kathybrodsky.com.

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Brer Rabbit outwits Brer Fox. Brer Fox gets a big surprise.

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The Adventures of Brer Rabbit continue as Brer Wolf decides to make a meal out of Brer Rabbit. Will Brer Rabbit be Brer Wolf's dinner? The Adventures of Brer Rabbit are inspired by the Uncle Remus stories.

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In Flanders Fields" is a war poem in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lietenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres. It is one of the most popular and most quoted poems from the war.

The poem and poppy are prominent Remembrance Day (November 11) symbols throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, particularly in Canada, where "In Flanders Fields" is one of the nation's best-known literary works. The poem also has wide exposure in the United States, where it is associated with Memorial Day.

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Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Bear (also spelled Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear) are fictional characters from the Uncle Remus folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris. In Brer Rabbit Gets a Taste of Man, Brer Rabbit introduces Brer Bear to a real man and boy does he get a surprise.

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Three Bears discover someone has been in their house.  Who is it? 

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The Ugly Duckling is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). The story tells of a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from the others around him until, much to his delight (and to the surprise of others), he matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all. The story is beloved around the world as a tale about personal transformation for the better. “The Ugly Duckling” was first published 11 November 1843, with three other tales by Andersen in Copenhagen, Denmark to great critical acclaim. The tale has been adapted to various media including opera, musical, and animated film. The tale is completely Andersen's invention and owes no debt to fairy tales or folklore. Story told by Jim and Judy Handley. Song lyrics written by Judy Handley and Ansley Gammage. Music written and performed by Ansley Gammage.

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The Princess and the Pea is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a young woman whose royal identity is established by a test of her physical sensitivity. The tale was first published by Andersen on 8 May 1835 in Copenhagen by C.A. Reitzel. Story told by Jim Handley.

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Featured nursery rhymes are: Lady Bug, Lady Bug; The Itsy Bitsy Spider; and Little Miss Muffet.

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Henny Penny, more commonly known in the United States as Chicken Little and sometimes as Chicken Licken, is a folk tale with a moral in the form of a cumulative tale about a chicken who believes the world is coming to an end. The phrase "The sky is falling!" features prominently in the story, and has passed into the English language as a common idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent. Versions of the story go back more than 25 centuries. The moral of the story is a warning not to believe everything one is told.

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The Gingerbread Boy (also known as The Gingerbread Man or The Gingerbread Runner) is a fairy tale about a Gingerbread man's escape from various pursuers and his eventual demise between the jaws of a fox.

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A CatFish Tale is an original story by author Kathy Brodsky. This story is about a cat that looks after his best friend's fish. For more information about Kathy check out her website http://www.kathybrodsky.com. Her books are available at the Sarasota County Library System.

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Poems read are Let's be Happy, Joyous Hanukkah and Happy Hanukkah. Authors are unknown. Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights or Feast of Dedication. It is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire of the 2nd century BC. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar.

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On Christmas eve night, while his wife and children sleep, a man awakens to noises outside his house. Looking out the window, he sees St. Nicholas in an air-borne sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. This poem was first published anonymously in 1823, and later attribted to Clement Clarke Moore in 1837. However it is also attributed to Major Henry Livingston, Jr.

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A collection of favorite Mother Goose rhymes read by Cris Walton are: Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat; A Ten O'Clock Scholar; I Saw a Ship Sailing; and Sing a Song of Six Pence.

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"London Bridge Is Falling Down" (also known as "My Fair Lady" or simply "London Bridge") is a traditional nursery rhyme and singing game, which is found in different versions all over the world. It deals with the depredations of London Bridge and attempts, realistic or fanciful, to repair it. It may date back to bridge rhymes and games of the late Middle Ages, but the earliest records of the rhyme in English are from the seventeenth century. The lyrics were first printed in close to its modern form in the mid-eighteenth century and became popular, particularly in Britain and the United States in the nineteenth century. The modern melody was first recorded in the late nineteenth century and the game resembles arch games of the Middle Ages, but seems to have taken its modern form in the late nineteenth century. Several theories have been advanced to explain the meaning of the rhyme and the identity of the "fair lady" of the refrain. The rhyme is one of the most well known in the world and has been referenced in a variety of works of literature and popular culture. Read by Cris Walton.

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Includes the following Nursery Rhymes read by Cris Walton: The Moon Shines Bright; Come Out and Play; I See the Moon; Star Light, Star Bright; Hey Diddle, Diddle; Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; The Man in the Moon; and Hush-A-Bye Baby. Produced by Marilyn Nykiforuk and closing music "I Remember You" written by Angie Tysseland.

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The first known publication of a collection of Nursery Rhymes was in 1744 and the first confirmed collection of Nursery Rhymes using the term "Mother Goose" was published in 1780, although a collection of stories called "Mother Goose's Tales" was published in 1729! The Mother Goose title had caught the imagination of printers, publishers and the population! Old Mother Goose is told by Cris Walton. Production by Marilyn Nykiforuk.

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A crow with an inflated ego learns a lesson from a wise fox. Story told by Cris Walton. Produced by Marilyn Nykiforuk.