| Character List and Props List | ||||||||||||||
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| The grandma, because she holds a knife, must be an adult. Have more than one apple, with a cutting board and a knife. |
Story:
Once there was a little boy who was bored. So he went to his mother and said, “Mom, I don’t have anything to do.”
His mother, who was busy, said, “Why don’t you play with your toys?”
He said, “I’ve already played with all of my toys. I’m bored.”
His mother said, “Why don’t you look for a little house that is red and round, with no doors
and windows and a star inside?”
The little boy went outside and he looked for it, but he did not find it.
Eventually, he met a little girl. He asked, “Do you know where there is a house that is
red and round, with no doors
and windows and a star inside?”
The little girl said, “No. I don’t know a house like that. But we can look for it.” So they looked, but they did not find it.
Eventually they ran into a mail carrier and the little boy asked the happy postal worker, “Do you know where there is a house that is
red and round, with no doors
and windows and a star inside?”
The mail carrier answered, “I deliver mail to all the houses in town. No. I don’t know a house like that. But we can look for it.” So they looked, but they did not find it.
[Insert other helpers if needed: Police officer, drug store clerk, whatever. If you prefer,
use animals, like a dog, horse, butterfly, etc. Be creative and flexible. Once, when using this tale for "interactive
storytelling" in a 3 year old class, one of the 3 year old girls spontaneously went into the classroom's
housekeeping area and came back with a wig. She announced she was planning to be "the beautiful lady." (When the
storyteller first acted out the story with the props for the 3's, there had been no "beautiful lady.") The
storyteller responded, "We obviously need a Beautiful Lady in the town."]
At last they came to a wise old grandma cutting potatoes with a black-handled knife. The
boy asked, “Do you know where there is a house that is
red and round, with no doors
and windows and with a star inside?”
The wise old grandma said, “Follow the wind and bring back to me what you find.”
So the wind blew and blew around and led them up a hill. At the top of the hill was an apple
tree. It blew the branches and the tree dropped an apple right into the little boy’s hand.
“What does this mean?” asked the little boy. They all went back down the hill to the wise
old grandma.
The little boy handed her the apple and she said, “An apple is red and round like a little house, and there are no doors and windows.
But when you cut it, there is a star inside.”
[Slice apple in half horizontally. The wise old grandma opens the apple and shows everyone the star made by the seeds as she says the last line.]
Comments:
This bare bones version is intended to fit on a run-off sheet of paper, front and back.
Versions of this annonymous story date back to at least the 1970's. This version is the only variant that I have seen that uses a "happy postal worker" rather than a farmer and I share this version (dating to circa 1995) here with permission.
Naturally, the story must be readjusted and adapted to one's particular audience, taking into account age and background, etc. Rather than a mail carrier, police officer, etc., the two children on their quest might instead run into magical animals such as a dragon (fire), duck (water), and cat (earth). The wind would represent air, or the storyteller could include a butterfly. The wise old grandma could be referred to as a "wise woman." Perhaps, the grandma might be instead called a "wise witch."
June 2012 Myth Woodling
Another version can be found at Star in the Apple, as retold by Paula Willowmoon on Pagan and Wiccan Parenting Page, accessed 9/10/12.
Full text of the Round House with a Star Inside
Folktales and Stories
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