transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:14] Hello and welcome to Super Great Kids' Stories, wise tales from storytellers around the world, which will make you laugh and sometimes cry. Recommended for ages 5 to 105. I'm Kim and I love stories. Today, we have a Scottish traveler trickster tale, The Cat Fishers, told by Cara Silversmith. How are you, Super Great Kids? I'm very happy because we've had some sunny weather here in the UK, so I've been out exploring on my bicycle. And another reason to be cheerful is that in about a week's time, I'm going sailing around the Shetland Islands in the far north of Scotland. I wonder if I'll see any salkies. So it seems right that today we have a story from Scotland. It's a traveller story. A traveller is someone who spends a lot of time travelling from place to place and stopping here and there to work before moving on again. Now, are you ready for our trickster story from Scotland, told by Cara Silversmith? This story is dedicated to the memory of Thomas Pratt, who passed away aged six and lived in Fairfax, Vermont in the US. Thomas was an avid Super Great Kids' Stories fan and outlet. Some of his favorite stories included Fox at a Party, Baby Crocodile's Birthday, The Weeping Willow and The Wide Mouth Frog. His family say that Thomas would have loved today's story because he enjoyed a trickster tale and was a self-proclaimed cat guy. Thomas's family, including his little sister Maggie, continued to enjoy the stories. Here's Cara Silversmith with this week's tale for Thomas.

Speaker 2:
[02:23] This is a story handed down by Scottish traveler and storyteller Duncan Williamson. I hope you enjoy. The Cat Fishers. There were two cats who lived in a barn. It was quite a big barn and it had bales of hay and straw that went right up to the roof. The old cat, the black cat with shaggy fur that was sometimes matted in places. Well, in the evenings, he would stretch himself out and he would tell stories. Stories from when he was young or stories that he'd heard from other cats over the years. And the young cat, well, she was white and sleek. But she listened with half an ear open and her eyes closed because, well, she was a bit bored of the old stories. It wasn't really her thing, but they had to get along somehow. One night, they hadn't had much to eat at all. They were quite good mousers, but sometimes they weren't hungry. And their stomachs were grumbling. But as usual, the old black cat began telling tales. And the young cat, oh, she sighed, come on, can we have one night without the stories? I am too hungry for this. Well, said the old cat, I was going to tell you about fishing. Because I am an expert fisher, I can catch fish. Can you really? Said the white cat, suddenly interested in sitting up listening. Catching fish? Could you show me? Well, yes, said the old cat, of course I could show you. But, well, in my young day, and of course, that was him off on one of his stories. But he did agree that in the morning, they would go fishing. And so, nice and bright and early in the morning, when the sun was only just peeping over the horizon, the two of them walked out of the barn, through the yard and down the hill to the stream. And there was a beautiful stream with clear running water, and rushes and raids see their side, and underneath the low branches of a willow tree, the black cat decided to stop. Right, he said. What we have to do is find a nice spot where the water is nice and calm, and where you can get comfortable. And he laid down on the grass at the edge of the stream. And then you put your paw into the water like this, stretch out your claws. And he stretched all his claws out so that they were pointing upwards. And now you wait. And when a fish swims past, you just grab it with your paw.

Speaker 1:
[05:26] Whee!

Speaker 2:
[05:28] And now onto the bank it comes. And there you go. You have a fish. And they waited. And they waited. The black cat with his paw outstretched and his claws facing up. And the sun was getting higher in the sky. And no little fish seemed to be swimming past. And after a while, it has to be said, the young cat got bored. So she wandered off down the stream and found her own little spot in the sun. And she lay out, stretched out her paw, and she put out her claws, and dipped them into the water. And she sat, and she waited, and she waited. But she didn't have to wait too long before a little fish went swimming by. And wheech! She wheeched it out of the water and onto the bank. Oh, she thought, I've managed to catch myself a little fish. I'm entire wonderful. And she sat there, proud as could be, before she fell asleep for a nap in the sun. Later that day, the old black cat came wandering down to see where the young cat had got to. And there she was, sitting with a fish. Oh, he said, that's wonderful. I didn't manage to catch a fish, but we've got one to share. To share, said the young cat. Oh, I don't think we'll be sharing this. This is mine. Well, the black cat felt that since he'd taught her how to fish that they should definitely share it. But she thought because she'd been the one to catch it, and he'd obviously failed in his techniques, that she should be the one to get it all. And they argued, and they argued, and they argued. Well, with all that noise, it wasn't long before somebody heard them, and the somebody that heard them was Mr. Fox. And Mr. Fox came wandering over to see what was going on. And the cats, knowing that Mr. Fox was quite clever, asked what they should do. The black cat explained that he had taught the young cat how to fish, but the young cat explained that she was the one who'd actually managed to catch a fish, so it should by rights be her. Mr. Fox sat down and thought. He looked between the cats, and then he looked down at the fish. Hmm, he thought. All right, I can see what's going on here. I think you need to have a competition to decide who should get the fish. Well, the cats, they were quite competitive, so they wanted to know how they could win a competition, and what competition it would be. Well, said Mr. Fox, I think I have heard that cats are wonderful singers. I think you should sing. And when I have decided who is the best singer, then that cat should get the fish. Well both cats thought that they would win. The old cat because he knew all the old tunes, all the classic tunes, all the Gaelic songs and all the folk songs. And well the young cat, she thought she would win because she knew all the new songs, all the popular songs, all the ones that you could dance to. And so they agreed. So looking up at the sky, both of them began to sing. Now, I don't know if you've ever heard cats singing. And maybe they do think that it's the most wonderful noise in all the world. And they looked down, and they discovered that Mr. Fox had gone. Not only had Mr. Fox gone, but the fish had also gone. And they realized what had happened. They had been tricked. And both of them went back to the barn to settle down for the night. And that night, the old cat didn't tell any stories at all.

Speaker 1:
[10:23] Oh, thanks very much, Cara, for that fun tale. Maybe if those cats hadn't been quite so busy quarreling over the fish, they might have noticed that Mr Fox was not to be trusted. If you were telling that story, I wonder how you'd have ended it. Maybe with the little cat deciding to tell the older cat a story as a way of cheering them both up. Or maybe they decided to try and go fishing again the next day to see if they could do better. How would you tell it? Could you draw a picture of that story? I wonder what you'd draw. Would it be the two cats singing while the fox slinks off with a fish in his mouth? Send your drawings via our website to supergreatkidsstories.com and we can share them with other story lovers on our website Picture Gallery and on our Facebook page facebook.com/supergreatkidsstories. And now it's time to fly around the world with Story Owl to say whoo whoo whoo and thank you to the owlets who've hopped into our nest and joined our storytelling club. Let's start in the Hungarian capital of Budapest to greet super owlets Leah who's soon to be 13 and Noe who's 9. They recently became owlets again. They like all the stories and are especially happy to hear ones linked to the places they visited like New Zealand. Let's head to the other side of Europe now, up to the north of England, to greet Owlet Torrin who is 6 and lives on the west coast of Cumbria by the sea. Lucky you, Torrin. He listens in the car and at bedtime. His favourite story is The Cat That Ate The Palace, because the cat is little, but it can also be fierce. That's an excellent reason for liking a story, Torrin. Let's take a long flight now all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States to say hello to Ava who is 13, Jayla who is 6 and Keegan who is 5. They say listening to the stories makes car rides more enjoyable. Their favourite story is Bornita the Tricky Sheep. And let's head to Providence, Rhode Island now to say hello to Ozzy who is 6 and 7-year-old Luna. They listen to loads of stories on a family trip which turned into a very snowy adventure and they both love Why the Sea is Salty. Ozzy's other current favourite is The Wide Mouth Frog and Luna's is A Nancy and the Hot Pepper Soup. And heading further up the East Coast to Vermont, let's greet Ania who is 4 and a half and has been listening since she was 3. She is very brave and loves all the spooky stories. Her absolute favourite is Molly and the Skeleton. And she really enjoys the Baba Yaga stories too. She is going to ask their local library if it has the Super Great Kids Stories book. Well, that's a very good idea, Ania. Libraries are filled with treasures. And let's fly west to Michigan now to say hello to Margot and Izzy, who live in Detroit. Margot recently became an outlet for her seventh birthday. Her favourites are Kia and the Purple Fish and all the trickster stories, especially the Anansi and Brer Rabbit ones. Izzy is four and her favourite is the Ghost of the Bloody Binger. Let's keep heading west all the way to North Bend, Washington, a mountain town not far from Seattle, to say hello to Gabby, who's seven and five-year-old Zach. Gabby loves the wide-mouthed frog and rabbit tricks wolf. Zach's favourite is the recent how-and-why story from Japan, the Spider Weaver. They enjoy listening on their way to their swimming and piano practice. Southeast now to Texas to visit Layla, who's six, Amal, who's four, and their sister Aya, who is not quite one. They live in Dallas and they're fans of the Anansi stories, Weeping Willow and the wide-mouthed frog. They also enjoy The Ghost of the Bloody Finger, Molly and the Leprechaun, The Boy Who Drew Cats and Anansi and Tiger Fat. They have links with Nigeria and Leeds in the UK. That's where I grew up. Small world. And let's head north now to St. Louis in Missouri to greet Reuben, who became an outlet for his fifth birthday, and Leon, who's seven and started listening during car journeys all the way back in 2020. That's when we were just getting started. Reuben's favorites are the Anansi stories, especially the Tree with the Face and Anansi and the Hot Pepper Soup. The Super Great Kids' Stories book is a favorite at bedtime. Azar. That's lovely to hear. Thank you, Reuben. And finally, let's fly all the way back across the Atlantic to the UK to greet Felix, who is nine, six-year-old Theo and three-year-old Elsie, who live in London. They love listening on car rides to Suffolk, where they regularly go for weekends away. Theo and Felix love the scary stories, and all of them are great fans of Jason Buck's amazing sound effects. Favorite stories are Bonita the Tricky Sheep, the Anansi Stories and the Ghost of the Bloody Finger and the Hairy Toe. They've been listening since 2021 and have been inspired to tell their own stories. That makes you super fans! And our Pick of the Week picture this week was drawn by Lola, who's four and a half. Lola is half Australian and half Finnish and lives in Las Vegas in the US. She's drawn a picture of the story told by Kate Corkery, Mrs Rabbit and the Fox. I really like your animals from that story, the little mouse, the dog and Mrs Rabbit. And as for your picture of Mr Fox, with his spiky orange fur and pointy snout, looking hungrily at Mrs Rabbit, yikes! It's just brilliant! Was Mrs Rabbit eaten up when Mr Fox came knocking at her door? Well, if you don't know that story, have a listen to find out. I really like that story, especially Mrs Rabbit's song, Dust and Shine, Dust and Shine, Clean the room, Oh Dust and Shine. You know, I really wouldn't mind Mrs Rabbit coming to stay at my house since she's such a dab hand with a duster. Thank you for sharing your picture, Lola. If you want to see that picture and others, go to our website, supergreatkidsstories.com and click on the tab, Artwork and Photos. Or go to our Facebook page, facebook.com/supergreatkidsstories. And if you follow us on Instagram, you can see our picture gallery at Supergreatkids underscore art. Thanks to all outlets for your super great support. It's because of you that we can keep finding new storytellers in different countries. If you'd like to support us on Patreon or on Apple podcasts, we'll say hello to you on the show. You can hear our stories advert free and you'll have access to all the stories in our Supergreat archive. Plus, depending on your level of subscription, you'll have access to at least 45 Supergreat Scary Stories and over 60 bonus stories. Plus, you'll get access to our Supergreat Kids Stories Express with short introductions, no adverts, purely story. Great for listening to stories back to back. Visit our website for more details. supergreatkidsstories.com Well, that's it for today. Keep telling your stories and singing your songs. And thanks very much to those of you who got a copy of our book and posted a review about it. That puts a wag in my tail and a song in my heart. This podcast was produced at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.