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 | A Sense of
Theft read by Lori Ada Jaroslow
Zena is a poor woman
on trial for committing a most extraordinary crime. Zena is accused of inhaling the marvelous scents of her neighbor
Mordecai’s breads, cookies, and cakes, and the greedy baker wants her to pay him. To everyone’s amazement,
the judge agrees that Zena must pay, but the form of payment the judge demands results in true justice.
Some folklore scholars attribute this story to tales about Ooka Tadasuke, a Japanese samurai of the 17th
century, an incorruptible judge who became a legendary figure for his imaginative legal decisions. Others attribute
the form of the tale to stories of renowned Turkish trickster hero, Nasreddin Hodja. Our version is set in an imaginary
Jewish shtetl somewhere in Eastern Europe. |  |
Anansi and Turtle’s Feast read by Rick Hall
Anansi,
the famous spider god, refuses to share his meal with hungry Turtle, despite his land’s custom of generosity
and hospitality, especially during the holidays. Turtle is disappointed by Anansi’s greed, but he literally
turns the tables on the spider and manages to outwit folklore’s most famous trickster.
Anansi stories originated with the Ashanti tribe of Ghana in West Africa, but like the trickster spider god himself,
Anansi tales traveled to the Caribbean and eventually migrated into the southern US. Depending upon where he
lives, Anansi is known as Ananse, Aunt Nancy, Kwaku Anansi, Ti Malice, YiYi, Nansi, Compse Anansi and even Mr. Jones.
But wherever he’s found, Anansi always has tricks up his many sleeves. |
 | The Selkie
Bride read by Lauren Tom
One evening a Scottish fisherman falls in love with a selkie (seal) woman he discovers onshore
in her human form. When the fisherman hides the selkie’s sealskin, she has only one choice. She agrees to
marry the fisherman, and for many years they live a happy life together on land. But like all selkies, she forever
longs for the sea, and ultimately the selkie bride finds her way back to her true home.
The
seal-folk of Scotland and Ireland, variously known as selkies, selchies, silkies and roanes often swim out of the mists
of the seas and into folktales. This retelling was inspired by many versions of this tale, but especially by
John Sayles’s film The Secret of the Roan Inish based on the The Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry, a novel by Rosalie
Fry and the ballad The Great Silkie of Sule Skerrie by Joan Baez and Judy Collins. |
 | Searching
for Fear read by Poppy Champlin
Young Gregory, a fearless raccoon who cannot even imagine what being frightened feels like,
sets out on the journey to find out. Along the way Gregory encounters wily and wicked coyotes, undersea monsters, and
graveyard ghosts, but none of this scares the brave fellow. It’s only when the forest animals decide that Gregory
must be their king that he learns what it feels like to be afraid.
The origins of this story
are Turkish, from Turkish Marchen translated by Andrew Lang in his story The Boy Who Found Fear At Last, originally
published in The Olive Fairy Book in 1907. Our Gregory’s story is set in a mythical forest somewhere in
North America, wherever fearless raccoons roam. |  | The Clever
Girl read by Charlayne Woodard
A farmer’s
daughter, Hannah, responds with dazzling wit to riddles posed by the town’s magistrate and so wins justice
in her father’s court case. Hannah also wins the magistrate’s love and admiration, but when she questions
his judgment, he sends her back to her father’s house. The twists continue when, to everyone’s delight,
Hannah’s intelligence once again changes the magistrate’s mind.
The tale is adapted
from the well-known Czechoslovakian folktale Clever Manka and owes some of its spirit to the equally clever Molly Whuppie
of British folklore as well as to some of the spirited feminist tales offered by such clever writers as Angela
Carter, Maeve Binchy and Alison Lurie. |  | Two Frogs
from Japan read by Jack McGee
One frog from the ancient capital city of Kyoto and another frog from a swamp in coastal Osaka,
in a burst of adventurous spirit, decide to climb the mountain that separates their two cities. They wish to see
what’s on the other side, for they’ve heard tales. Both frogs are amazed and surprised by what they discover.
The version of this tale, in jazz-inspired form, is adapted from an original Japanese folktale
(from Japanese Marchen, folklore), translated and recorded in Andrew Lang’s The Violet Fairy Book originally
published in 1901. |  | Rabbit on
the Moon read by William Thomas,
Jr.
Disguised as a poor Brahmin, Buddha visits earth to test the generosity
of forest animals. When Rabbit offers to sacrifice himself, Buddha removes his disguise and instructs Rabbit that he
must not give too much. To keep Rabbit safe, Buddha takes him to the moon, where careful moon gazers will see
him to this day.
The story is from India, based on an ancient Jataka tale, a canon of sacred
Buddhist literature dating from between 300 B.C. and 400 A.D. Composed of more than 500 tales, the Jataka Tales are
considered by most scholars to contain the moral teachings of the Buddha. |  | The Boatman’s
Howling Daughter read by Kathleen Wilhoite
Sal Fink’s seven pet bear cubs follow her wherever she goes, but one day while the cubs
are sleeping, a band of pirates kidnap Sal. The pirates are seeking ransom from Sal’s famous father, the
keelboat man, Mike Fink. Sal proves she’s as wily as any man or woman around when she manages to escape all
on her own.
An American tall tale hero, Mike Fink originally was an actual keelboat man in
the early 1800s, known for his daring deeds on the rivers and his tendency to brag. Mike’s exploits and those
of his family were mostly recorded in pre-Civil War broadside ballads, and Sal tales appear in the Davy Crockett
Almanack of the 1840s. Sal’s wild howl is as memorable and American as that of the poet Allen Ginsberg. |
contact
Sadie Webb at swebb@amuniversal.com should you wish to purchase prints of any of the artwork
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