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Every kind of weather is bad for somebody; our neighbor's spring was ruined when the maples budded out in the early heat. Now our nights are cold again and it's perfect sugaring weather, the sap's is running great, but the buds make the sap too bitter to boil down for syrup.
We don't sugar, so we've been enjoying the spring. Wild leeks-- "ramps"-- are poking up in the sugarbush, we're going to get a lot of them. Like Rapunzel's mom, we say "Yum." Unlike Rapunzel's stepmother, our neighbor thinks they're gross and doesn't care if we take them.
THE STORY THUS FAR
Tim was a storyteller, Leanne was a poet and fiction writer. Their first date was Oct 1 1985, Tim moved in Oct 1 1986, and they've been together ever since. They started playing music together 1988, and started telling stories together around 1990. Tim and Leanne are married, and live in East Montpelier, with a greyhound dog and a marmalade cat.
In January 2010, Tim made a New Year's resolution to try sending out a monthly email letter to the folks who like the way we tell stories. It turned into more like every other month, then like, whenever. So, he's still having fun.
This isn't an official issue, you'll get one in a little while. If you'd like to sample a couple of recent ones in the meantime, try this and this.
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Tim here. Leanne used to write a lot, very well, but she got burned out, put down the typewriter and picked up the harp. Maybe she'll let me put something of hers in here, someday. I'm having fun with this thing-- I always wanted to have some kind of periodical-- but sometimes feel like I'm in over my head. Let me know if it seems like I'm having maybe too much fun, or if it looks lousy on your computer, or if there are kinds of things you'd like to see more or less of. Or just write, we like to hear from you. In past and future issues you'll find:
In this issue, something we're very proud of-- a transcript of a real live oral wonder tale we found growing in the wild within 7 miles from our house. |
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If you're not seeing pictures, you're missing half of what's going on, and may want to check out the The Story of Simpleton |
I began a 2002 Calais School residency by telling my old stand-by, "Dimwit," a Jack Tale version of the three-brothers story about a battle of wits between a Princess who always gets the last word until the youngest brother's clever foolishness finally bests her. Afterwards, a sixth grader told me, "I know another story about that guy, it's a family story, we tell it in my family." This never happens, but sure enough, he told us a fine old fairy tale, the real deal, He spoke with great simplicity and authority, telling his story over and over in front of many different audiences, and it never failed to magnetize. Here are the boy's words, taken verbatim from a recording of his assembly performance. Try saying it aloud, simply, one thing after the other like the verses and choruses of a song. Let me know how it works for you; I hope you'll see that it is a wonderful tale.-- TJ |
Nick tells Simpleton |
Once upon a time,
there were three men. A big brother, a smaller brother, and the smallest brother, who was named Simpleton. And they went off in the world to seek their fortune.
And soon along the trail they came upon an anthill.
And the big brother said, “Let’s squish’em.” And the medium sized brother said, “Yeah, let’s do.” And Simpleton said, “No, they aren’t bothering us, let's let the ants be.” And they all agreed to go with Simpleton, and they all rode on.
And then, soon after, they came to a pond, with giant trees around it, and grey, clear water.
And the biggest one said, “See that duck swimming out there? Let’s go kill’m and eat’m.” And the medium one said, “Yeah, let’s do.” And Simpleton said, “No, let the duck be, we’ll find other means of food.”
So then they agreed to go with Simpleton. And they walked on until they came to a giant oak tree, with a beehive on one limb.
And the biggest brother said, “Let’s smoke’m out.” And the medium sized brother said, “Yeah, let’s do.” and the smallest brother, Simpleton, said, “No, we can find something somewhere else, let's let the bees be! ”
And so they agreed to go with Simpleton, and they walked on until they came to a great castle. And in front of the castle there was a King, crying. And they all said together, “Why are you crying, Mr. King?” And the King said, “Three of my daughters have been plunged into a deep sleep, and I do not know how to get them out.” And the biggest brother said, “Well, we shall help you. What shall we do?” The King said, “There are three tasks you must do before you can get to my daughters.” And they all asked what it was-- what the first one was.
And the king said, “You must go into the forest and find one thousand pearls. This is before sunrise tomorrow.”
The oldest brother said. “This is easy! I shall do this in half that time!” And so the oldest brother went into the woods and found one hundred and fifty-three pearls, and fell asleep. At sunrise the next day, he was turned into stone.
The medium sized brother said, “I shall do this better than my bigger brother.” and he went into the woods and found ninety-three pearls and he fell asleep. And he was turned to stone.
And then Simpleton went into the woods and said, “I shall try.”
And he went into the woods, and he found ten pearls. And before he fell asleep, the queen of the ants came up onto his finger and said, “You may rest now, friend, and I shall help you.” And so Simpleton went to bed. And all the ants in the queen’s colony picked up as many pearls as they could find and put them in a large pile next to Simpleton. And when Simpleton woke up, he brought all the pearls to the King.
And the King said, “Well, the next task is, you must dive to the bottom of a great lake and retrieve a golden key.”
So Simpleton marched through the woods until he got to the edge of a lake. And on the lake was a duck. And the duck waddled over to Simpleton and said, “I shall get the key for you. You may rest now.” And the duck dived to the bottom of the lake and picked up the key and brought it back to Simpleton and jumped in his lap.
And Simpleton brought the key to the king. And the king said, “Now you must climb to the highest tower and find out which girl has eaten the sweetest thing before they went to bed.”
So Simpleton climbed to the highest tower, unlocked the door, and as soon as he opened the door, in through the window flew the Queen Bee, and the Queen Bee said, “I know there’s one of these girls who eats honey! I shall figure out which one for you.”
And the Queen Bee landed on the lips of the youngest daughter and said, “This one! This one! This girl has been eating honey!” And Simpleton went over and shook the girl. And all three of them woke up with startled expressions on their faces.
And the king came huffing and puffing up the stairs after Simpleton. And the King said, “You may have three wishes, now that you have awakened my daughter.”
And Simpleton said, “I wish that my two brothers were not stone. And for my second wish, I wish that we could all marry your daughters. And for my final wish I wish that we could live happily ever after."
And so it was: the brothers changed back from being stone, and they all three married the princesses. But Simpleton married the youngest because she was the prettiest. And they lived
happily ever after.
Our CDS:
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2010 ALA "notable children's recording" |
Parents' Choice Silver |
ALA "Notable Chldren's Recording" |
"Beautiful, never boring." Celtic Beat |
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We've become very fond of this tale, |
WEATHERBEARD
& other folk stories |
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The King & the Thrush won a 2010 ALA Notable
REVIEWS
"Highest level, incredible, not-to-be-missed"
School Library Journal
there's some
STUFF ON OUR WEBSITES
that might interest you
Reviews of our shows and our recordings
yabbidy yabbidy yabbidy yabbidy-- that's all folks!
love, Tim & Leanne
