Showing results by narrator "Bill Gordh" in All Categories

A poor miller told the king that his daughter could spin straw to gold. The king was delighted and ordered the daughter to come to the palace. He showed her a room full of straw and told her she must spin it into gold by the morning or die. She did not know what to do. She cried. A little man appeared who, after receiving a necklace, spun the straw into gold. The king put her in a larger room full of straw and told her the same thing. This time the girl gave the little man a ring.

The chief sends his three sons out to find something special. He declares that the one that returns with the most valuable thing will become the new chief. They set out together. At a crossroads, they split up. They agree to meet back at the crossroads in a month. The first finds a mirror that you can look into and see anyone you wish to.

Jack and his mother were having no luck on the farm. Jack was taking the cow into the village to sell it when he met a man who offered Jack some magical beans for the cow. Jack said, "Okay." When he came home, his mother got mad at him for making such a trade and threw the beans out the window. In the morning Jack woke to discover a huge beanstalk rising to the sky. He climbed it up into a cloud land. He walked on a path across the clouds to a great palace. Inside he discovered a huge woman. She was the ogre's wife.

Pig was tired of his living conditions and went to the farmer. Farmer said the pig should go to the judge, and whatever the judge ruled, the farmer would do. Pig went to court. The judge ruled that Pig could have what he wanted - to sleep on a mat and eat alfalfa.

When their father died, he left the family a leather bag full of gold. Each daughter drew an image on the bag - a sun, a moon, and three stars. Their mother told them to put the bag away until they needed it. Time went by, and they needed to get some money. They discovered that the bag was gone. Someone had stolen it.

Brer Rabbit lives in the Briar Patch, and so cannot have a garden. He remedies this by taking from everyone else's garden. He loves peanuts and goes into Sister Fox's patch and eats a bunch, until he hears her coming. She then builds a fence, but he digs under. Then she makes a rope trap and while she's home, Brer Rabbit steps into the rope trap and is now hanging upside down. He can't get out but when he hears Brer Bear coming; he thinks up a trick.

An old woman who mended nets for the fishermen was out of work for the winter and had run out of food. She begged for flour to make some bread. Finally, a wealthy neighbor let her sweep the flour from the floor of his store room. It was enough to bake three loaves! Just as she removed the three loaves from her oven, there was a knock on the door.

A fisherman who fished from the land out into the sea was fishing one day when he heard singing and laughter coming from a grotto. He went around the rocks to discover seven women dancing in the shallow water. They were not dressed, but on the rock where the fisherman was standing, he saw seven fish-tail skins! He watched the dancers. He fell in love with the youngest. He found the smallest tail, rolled it up, and tucked it into his belt. He threw a rock into the middle of the dancers and hid behind the rock where he was standing.

There was a king who was a fair and wise ruler who had three daughters. He was fair in most things, but he could not stand ever to admit that he might be wrong. He felt he should make all the big decisions for his daughters. He called them together and asked if each of them agreed that he would make all the important decisions for them since he was so wise and their father. The two oldest daughters agreed, and the king embraced them and told them he would always take care of them.

Masha lived with the grandparents in a village alongside of a great forest. One day, she went out looking for mushrooms. She carried a big basket and as her grandmother had reminded her, she often stopped, listened for the village dog, and looked for the smoke from village chimneys to be sure she knew where she was, so she wouldn't get lost. But after a while, she forgot to keep checking and she went too far.

A princess was born to the king and queen. They sent out invitations to the christening and included a group of fairies. However, one fairy was not invited. The other fairies all came and bestowed wonderful wishes on the young princess. Just before the lilac fairy gave her blessing and gift, the uninvited fairy arrived, and she was angry.

The girl made such beautiful lace that they called her Sister Lace. Her lace would take the forms of flowers and birds and beasts. Girls from all over came to learn from her the art of lace making. She was a devoted friend and teacher. The emperor heard of her lace making and ordered his guards to go and bring her to him. She did not want to go. They forced her into the carriage. When she arrived at the palace, she refused to leave the carriage. They forced her out.

A king with a son and a king with a daughter decided it would be great if their children married. The prince loved the idea, but the princess made a demand. She wanted three rings - one from the stars, one from the moon, and one from the sun. Otherwise she was not interested. No one knew what to do. The prince's father offered half his kingdom for a solution. The wise ones offered nothing of use. The prince was in despair.

A young man married, and at the wedding dinner at the bride's house, the bride excused herself to go in the cellar and draw some wine. While she was there, she noticed that an ax was stuck in one of the rafters. She thought that if one day she had a son and named him Bastianelo, and they were visiting her parents, and they asked him to get some wine, and he came down, and the ax fell and struck him in the head, then her son might be killed, and she began to cry while the wine poured out of the keg.

Twin brothers were the best of friends. When they grew up they became partners and grew corn. They shared the work and what they sold. One evening in the threshing ground, after they had worked all afternoon, they decided to spend the night there to make sure no thieves stole the results of their hard work. In the middle of the night, one of the brothers woke up. He looked at his sleeping brother and began thinking about him with his wife and children.

Sister Fox tries to get Br'er Rabbit by inviting him to go fishing with her on her rowboat. She knows that he can't swim, and she is tired of being tricked. She also knows that he loves fish and will not pass up an opportunity like getting to fish from a rowboat. They get out in the middle of the lake and sit there singing. Sister Fox is singing about her favorite lunch - rabbit! Br'er Rabbit cannot swim and is getting nervous.

Seven children (traditionally told with boys) are playing a rock game in the space where the dances are held in the village. The mothers call for the children to gather some corn so they can make corn soup. The kids just keep playing. The mothers keep asking. They keep playing. The mothers get mad and put rocks in the soup.

Gecko eats a mosquito. Yum. Then he settles into sleep. Gecko can't sleep. Firefly keeps flashing its lights. Gecko goes to the chief. Chief goes to the firefly. Firefly says it's Woodpecker who is knocking on a tree, trying to tell everyone there is an earthquake, and that is why firefly is flashing. Chief goes to Woodpecker. Woodpecker says it got the message from Frog. Frog says it is not saying that. It is saying that Ox is dropping plop on the road. Ox says it is just trying fill potholes caused by Rain.

Little Ant was a hard worker and saved her money. With her savings she bought a new dress, shoes, and a beautiful hat, and she took a walk. A dog saw her and asked her if she would marry him. She asked him how he would talk after they were married. He got excited and started howling. She told him, "No - too scary." She walked on. A cat saw her and asked to marry her.

A father and son went to camp out in the forest and do some hunting. They found a place to set up camp. Before going to sleep, the father told the boy some stories including one about the monster that lived in the forest. The boy fell asleep and his father went to do some night hunting. The boy woke up, was scared and went looking for his father. His father had heard an animal up in the trees and climbed a tree to hunt. The boy heard his father in the tree and called to him. The father was startled and thought it was the forest monster.