'Lubin, from Chelm' - Hilarious & Delightful Klezmer-styled Re-telling of 'Lazy Jack' Is Storytelling Gold

Illustrations for Lubin, from Chelm by Alisa Snyder for ESO

Need a smile? Do yourself a favor and listen to - and watch - this wonderful storytelling performance of 'Lubin, from Chelm' (a.k.a. the Eglish folktale 'Lazy Jack', relocated to the Ukrainian shtetl).

The English Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is in the middle of recording and airing a series called The Art of Storytelling and this is the second story of five planned for it. It's also become one of the best things we discovered this month!

We know it doesn't sound like it would grab you unless you're already regularly listening to orchestral programs - there's no pixie dust here to hook you - but believe us when we say this story is SO well presented and did we mention hilarious? These guys know what they're doing, no pixie dust needed. The series is called The ART of Storytelling for good reason.

(Think of an updated and somewhat edgier storytelling of the classic "symphonic fairy tale for children", Prokofiev's 'Peter and the Wolf', but with far fewer musical instrument detours and many more puns!)

Here's what ESO's The Art of Storytelling series is about:

ESO’s ‘Art of Storytelling’ project presents world premiere recordings and broadcasts of five exceptional works for narrator and orchestra. From the cheeky humour of the Brothers’ Grimm to the touching tale of Hans Christian Andersen’s Ugly Duckling, and from the Jewish humour of Lubin from Chelm to the ancient Egyptian tale of The Warrior Violinist, this is classic family entertainment for the modern age at its finest, a powerful synthesis of great literature and great music.

When we clicked on the link to take a half-interested look at this version described as "a Klezmer-styled re-telling of the classic English folk tale, 'Lazy Jack'," we expected to scan the site, maybe listen for thirty seconds, then get back to our to-do list. It took far less than that for the iconic Yiddish storytelling to hook us and we listened, smiled, and giggled more than a few times, for the full seventeen minutes! (Sorry to-do list - another time!) 

The presentation includes the narrator/storyteller, who in this case is Henry Goodman, the ESO playing a soundtrack throughout the story, and delightful little illustrations that, while simple as stand-alones, are wonderful in context.

Here's a trailer to give you a taste, though we must say we think the real opening of the story hooked us much better and wish we could just show you the first couple of minutes to hook you in the same manner we were:

A hilarious re-telling of the traditional English folk tale, Lazy Jack, relocated to the Ukrainian shtetl and brought to life with abundantly witty Yiddish turns of phrase and evocative Klezmer musical stylings by Jewish-American composer David “Yankele” Yang and orchestrated by Kenneth Woods. (ESO)

As we mentioned, Lubin is actually the second story in the series. The first, currently available to view/listen to as well, is 'The Ugly Duckling', and is also wonderfully done, with actor Hugh Bonneville (Paddington, Muppets Most Wanted) as the perfect narrator.

We managed to catch this when it was streaming (for free) on release day and didn't realize it would require being an ESO (English Symphony Orchestra) Digital supporter to view it at a later date, so we apologize for this, but having seen the program we completely believe it to be a most excellent way to spend a £5 monthly donation (yes you can "donate" from the US and other countries, and yes you can cancel anytime). A donation gives you access to all their other digital offerings too, not just The Art of Storytelling, so if you like beautiful music, beautifully conducted and played, it's a great bonus. We've jumped on board the ESO train, at least for the holiday season, so we don't miss any of this magic as well.

The next story in the series is from an Egyptian tale, titled 'The Warrior Violinist'. We're looking forward to it very much!

You can find ESO Digital's The Art of Storytelling series HERE and learn more about Lubin HERE.

Oh - and if you don't know how the tale ends, well, let's just say it will leave with a grin. ;)

A Kingdom Lost For A Drop Of Honey (A Very Relevant Folktale for Today)

This folktale from Thailand and Burma, sometimes titled "A Drop of Honey" or "Not My Problem" is perfect for where we're at as a society today. We'll leave you in the capable hands of writer and storyteller Margaret Read Macdonald, who includes it in her book Peace Tales: World Folktales to Talk About. It's a very short story and perfect to share with families too. 

We've found a lovely sequence of illustrations that are perfect to scroll slowly through if you'd like some illustrated visuals to accompany the storytelling. Just click play then scroll down. (If your video stops once you've scrolled beyond it, open it in a separate tab in YouTube, press play, then click back to the tab with this page and scroll slowly as the tales unfolds. It works wonderfully.)

Enjoy!

There are variants of this story in other countries too, specifically Myanmar, Iran, and Armenia. There are even two lovely illustrated versions from Armenia, which you can see the covers for below the illustration sequence, though they're a little difficult to track down. 

The beautiful illustrations in this post are by Wenda Collins. Go give her a "like" on her page! We think this tale should be much better known and illustrations like hers make tales much easier to share!

"Fairy Tales De-stressed" Shows - and Teaches - the Transforming Power of Learning Mindfulness

“Many characters in fairy tales are under clear stress – or else causing it to others. They badly need to meditate. And so we wondered what would happen if they did.” 

Feeling stressed? Us too! Self-care is very important right now as election results remain in flux and the results uncertain. 

But let's be real. It's still really hard to stop the stress, the frustration, and restless worry spinning in our minds. The good news is that there is one scientifically proven tool available to use to help and that's meditation and mindfulness. If you're like a lot of folks, though, that seems too hard to make happen and might feel a little "woo-woo" to get started. Thankfully, there's an app for that! 

 If you've spent any time watching media coverage of the election, there's a good chance you will have seen this pop up every now and then during a commercial break:

New day. Same request. pic.twitter.com/jE32T3gd0V

— Calm (@calm) November 4, 2020

Easy, right? And that's pretty much how easy it is to begin.

While the above video is a commercial for a product - a subscription app called Calm - it is also incredibly welcome to see a reminder to just "stop", in the middle of the debate and contention. Calm is the #1 app for guided meditation, breathing, focus, and mindfulness and uses a lot of nature-enhanced visuals and audio to help people deal with anxiety and stress. They also. however, have a whole library of "sleep stories", including some retold fairy tales. 

(And, no, we have no affiliation with the company and are not getting any perks - we just think this is awesome.)

To us, though, the most interesting use of the fairy tales they've added is the "Fairy Tales De-stressed" series.

The shared theme of these new tales is the power of meditation, mindfulness, and other mind tools to transform lives. 

...The new tales are also loosely inspired by the Dalai Lama’s assertion that, “If every eight year-old is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.” 

The four tales we are aware of in this series are "Rumpelstiltskin Learns to Meditate", "The Big Bad Wolf Learns Anger Management", The Wicked Witch of the West Learns Mindfulness", and "Pinocchio and the Sleepless Cricket". These aren't really retellings though. They are more akin to an additional chapter in the already existing story of these angry and messed up characters, in which, by learning new tools to manage stress and emotions, become transformed. 

The best part? It's not just a story. The principles are based on scientific evidence of the measurable effects that using meditation can have.

It tells what happens – and what a different turn life takes – when Rumpelstiltskin does what any creature famed for their foul temper should do – and learns to meditate.
It starts by recapping the traditional tale of Rumpelstiltskin ... or, what we might call the bad, sad and chronically ill-tempered chapter in his life before he learnt meditation.
If there's any truth to the notion that many of us possess our own inner Rumpelstiltskin in some form, then not just the Dalai Lama but plenty of scientific research suggests that meditation might be the answer.  

...“There’s a wealth of research showing that meditation can make people kinder, more compassionate and less angry," says Alex Tew. One study by Northeastern University – commissioned by another meditation app – found that as little three weeks of meditation can increase compassion by 23% and reduce aggression by 57%. 

The "Fairy Tales De-stressed" series uses celebrities Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones), Keegan Connor Tracy (ABCs Once Upon A Time) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as narrators, and join the many other celebrity voices in the Sleep Stories library for Calm.

Calm website screenshot - a small selection of the manhy, many titles available

Calm is available through the Google Play Store for android and the AppleStore for iPhone and iPad products. They are currently having a 7-day free Premium access trial with no obligation exit, which unlocks all the Sleep Stories, and there's also a 40% off welcome offer for the yearly subscription. 

While the Sleep Stories are aimed at adults, Calm has just added a whole lot of stories for kids just in time for this stressful season, so there's something for the whole family.

Go HERE to check them out. If you're someone who carries your phone with you most places you go, you'll get a lot out of Calm over the course of the day, every day. Easiest personal trainer for better mental health ever.

"Introducing my new Sleep Story ‘Pinocchio and the Sleepless Cricket’ - with a special appearance by the Blue Fairy. I’ve talked a lot about my insomnia and how these sleep stories were a game-changer for me. So slide into the sheets, relax and get comfortable while I lull you to dreamland with a new twist on an old classic"- Keegan Connor Tracy

As a bonus, here is a trailer for another of the fairy tales available in the Sleep Stories library, though this one made the news not too long ago: this is the first AI-written bedtime story. While most of the stories are written by experienced and respected writers, this one is the "test story" to see if AI is able to write a traditionally-styled fairy tale, but with some contemporary updating, and satisfy listeners. (You be the judge.):

Carterhaugh's All-Halloween-Day Online Event "Haunted" will be full of Folkloric Revelry, Ghostly Storytelling, Visiting Witches, Creating Fairy Tales and Spells and More! (last day to register!)

Art by Aaron Jasinkski

 It's Halloween Eve! So... All Hallow's Eve-Eve... yeah. 

The 31st is less than 24 hours away and if you're ready to get all dressed up but have no Halloween ball to go to and feel like you're going to turn into a pumpkin yourself at this point in the crazy, we have just the thing:

Carterhaugh's School of Folklore and the Fantastic's

Haunted: An Online Halloween Extravaganza!

In this all-day online Halloween event, you can get your witchy party on, let your purple locks down in full folklore mode, tell stories till you shiver, weave spells and magic with words and fairy tales, or pour bewitching drinks and sing ballads till you cackle and cry and much more, all in your Halloween best!

It's an extravaganza indeed: this is an all-day-long series of folklore-filled Halloween events with an amazing lineup of folklorists, artists, and authors at the top of their game. Look at these folks!

Dr. Theodora Goss, author of Snow White Learns Witchcraft and The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series

Lindsey Marton O’Brien, founder of Lumina Noctis

Shveta Thakrar, author of Star Daughter

Dr. Kay Turner, former president of the American Folklore Society

Dr. Stephen Winick, folklorist of the Library of Congress and folksinger

Dr. Margaret Yocom, professor emerita at George Mason University

-and, of course-

Dr. Sara Cleto & Dr. Brittany Warman, the folklorists and fairy tale professors who founded The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic

If you're wishing your Halloween had a bit more magic, or stories, or costumes, or mixed drinks and spooky ballads - this is the event for you. You can start in the morning and stay all day, or you can come to just a few (they will all be recorded)  - there are so very many different things to choose from!

Carterhaugh's Founders, Dr. Brittany Warman
& Dr. Sara Cleto a.k.a. Fairy Tale Profs

We are most excited about: 

• the How to Write a (Halloween) Fairy Tale Writing Workshop
• the mixing of drinks (recipes available NOW to prep!) and ballads in The Night It is Gud Hallowe'en
• learning the way of Fairy Godmothers and Crones in the "Exploring the Witch's Way: Transgression and Transformation" workshop
• discovering the secret transformation techniques of wood wives and other face and body painting magic with a shapechanger
• hearing ghost stories told by authors who know how to bring the chill (and whom we're almost certain are real witches writing spells into their books!)
• learning how to spin spells across a crowd and thoroughly enchant listeners with the "Tales from the Spirit World: Telling Our Stories" storytelling workshop
• listening to Victorian Ghost Stories being told as the sun goes down and the veils thins..

Oh heck, we're excited about everything! 

Halloween Cat by tinca2

And there are bonus recipes! Bonus PDFs! A bonus playlist! And a Bonus Costume Contest! (That's right - wear that costume all day or change or for each event - Halloween revelry and celebration of all things magical and folkloric is highly encouraged and you know you want to anyway...!)

Go HERE for more details and to sign up. Today is the LAST DAY to get yourself a seat in this magical circle for Halloween 2020!

We would tell you more but we have to go create our costume for tomorrow! Go HERE for all the secrets, er, details and discover that the spirit of Halloween is alive and well and being celebrated like never before. There has never been anything like this folkloric-fantastic-fairytale-fabulous Halloween all-day event, and you do not want to miss out!

PS Cats and other familiars are welcome.

PPS Also: if you're in the US, and haven't already, GO VOTE! (We'll be ready to party with you when you get back)

Trick: Animated #govote jack-o-lantern to keep away the ghosts of low voter turnout.

Treat: Tell your friends to visit rockthevote.com to find their polling station!

(animated gif by Bruce Willen)

Theater: Last Chance to See "Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat" in 2019! (Glastonbury, UK)

LAST PERFORMANCE IS THIS WEEK: OCTOBER 24th!

Hedgespoken is a traveling storytelling theater-caravan that converts the home of artist pair Rima Staines and Tom Hirons to a performance place. They take their show on the literal road and are about to have their last show of Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat for 2019. This show has quickly sold out in many locations so if you are local to Glastonbury, go grab your tickets HERE RIGHT NOW! (We dearly wish we could do this!) 

Hedgespoken performances and events have grown to be the stuff of legend, with Rima and Tom (and their sons) living a mythic traveling life, using traditional storytelling with fairy tales, folklore, performance, puppetry and live music.. combining many artforms, all while living sustainably.

Here's the publicity statement for their show Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat:

When the sea-foam is red at the end of the Earth, only then will you see me again – until then you will wander the earth and all that you touch will turn to iron… 

Once upon a time, there was a forest...

In the forest, strange changes can take place. There may be kings and queens and princesses and witches, and common folk going about their business, not to mention all the animals. A lot is going on. Love can be found, and lost, and found again. There’s talk of the farthest sea, of a desert of fire beyond the forest, but these are probably just rumours... 

Once upon a time, there was a forest...

A curious hedgehog with high hopes and his iron-browed bride journey to the ends of the Earth. Will they find true love and happiness, or witches and dragon-flames? Beyond a limitless ocean, a woman covered in moss begs for forgiveness, while under a crone’s stone doorstep, two toads endure winter for love’s sake. 

**  **  **  ** 

IRON-BROW AND THORN-COAT is our retelling of a classic Lithuanian folk-tale. Steeped in old magic and half-familiar memories, this is a beguiling tale of magical transformation, love, betrayal and endurance, featuring puppets and masks designed by Rima, plus foolery and traditional storytelling, accompanied by exquisite multi-instrumental music and song. 

Suitable for ages 5+ (it's very much not just for kids, though!)
Duration - approx 1hr 15mins

If you're wondering about the fairy tale Hedgespoken are basing their show on, here's a little more information. The title Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat is wonderfully evocative, and typical of how Hedgespoken can draw the magic out of the simplest phrase. The original title of this Lithuanian fairy tale is The Hedgehog and His Bride. At first it seems to be a funny and straight-forward little fairy tale about a transformed-to-hedgehog curse, but then, right about where you would expect the fairy tale to end (happily), the interesting part begins. Throw in an iron-curse, some East of the Sun West of the Moon, some Tam Lin, some brooms and some toads and you have quite an atypical fairy tale (compared to those popular in Western tradition, at least). 

Here are some teasers from the text, but you can be sure that Hedgespoken, making the character of Iron-Brow the center of the story will take you on an intriguing journey before and well beyond this.

(From Fairy-Tales.parnas in the Lithuanian fairy tales in English, section):

"And before I go I will put a magic spell on you: whatever you touch will turn to iron."
Off he went beyond the far seas, leaving his young wife behind him, and whatever she touched was at once covered with a thick coat of iron. She touched her legs and they turned to iron. She passed her hand forgetfully over her forehead and her forehead turned to iron, too. This was a harsh punishment indeed and (she) suffered cruelly and wept because of it.
Cursing her lot and moving her feet with difficulty, she came to the house of the old broom-maker...

You can read the whole tale HERE but we recommend you not doing so if you're planning on seeing the show, either now or in the future. (If you do, you will have to prove you are not a robot to enter the site.) There are obviously spoilers, and while Hedgespoken will still make anything expected magical, the twists in the story, if you're not familiar with them, are pretty wonderful and we can only imagine how much fun Tom and Rima have had putting together this enchanting show. (Look at those puppets in progress!)

Fairy tale theater ad storytelling is always wonderful to see. It's extra wonderful when it's done extremely well and captures a mythic quality in the process. It's even more special when a lesser-known fairy tale takes center stage and enchants a modern audience. It makes you wonder how this tale got forgotten in the first place. Perhaps by re-naming The Hedgehog and His Bride, the fairy tale of Iron-Brow and Thorn-Coat will have finally completed its journey and transformed from forgotten and obscure, to fresh and magical, along with strains of "I've heard of that one!"

We know that there is much power in a name...

Thank you Hedgespoken for using all your many quality skills to bring back the arts and tales, to help us find roots and grow into a better future.

About Hedgespoken (from their website):

Storyteller, mask-maker and writer Tom Hirons and internationally-respected artist, puppeteer and musician Rima Staines tell tales and spark imaginations from the Hedgespoken truck wherever they can, from busy festivals and family camps to quiet laybys and secluded forests.

Hedgespoken specialise in retelling East European and British folktales and also stories from the wide world of the Traveller and Gypsy communities.

Note: All images in this post are from Hedgespoken's promotional materials.