The Round House with a Star Inside

This tale is particularly fun when:

A. enacted by an oral storyteller with props, or
B. when simple props are used by the storyteller to renact the story with children from the audience.
In the case of B, it is a form of "interactive storytelling" and will definitely get the children involved.

As props for the different characters:

little boy wears a baseball cap
mother wears a wig or a bandanna to tie back her hair
little girl can wear a cute hat or a wig
mail carrier has a cap and a mail carrying bag
wind prop is a stick with ribbons
tree is a child holding one apple
grandmother has a white wig or different hat (also cutting board, apples, and knife)

If the children are young, the storyteller may have to recite their lines and get the children to pantomime the actions with him/her. For example, when you look for it, make a big show of putting a hand over your brow and peering in all directions. When they say, “they did not find it,” spread your hands as if puzzled. When you follow the wind, have the wind lead the children around and around the circle a couple of times. When "the wind blows" the tree, the child who is the wind can wave the stick in the air or scamper around and around the tree. With 3 and 4-year-olds, they usually enjoy this story being acted out more than once with different children. If a storyteller does it alone, s/he does it once.

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 three-year-old class, one of the three-year-old girls spontaneously went into the classroom's housekeeping area and came back with a wib. She announced she was planning to be "the beautiful lady." (When the storyteller first acted out the story with the props for the threes, 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

A friend of mine showed me versions of this story in books dating back to the 1970's and is certain that different versions were circulating around before that. 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.

Originally, this story was intended for grammar school age children to act out. Grammar school age children need less help with their lines than younger children. However, the story can be done and often is done in preschools with children as young as three. (One preschool teacher told me she occasionally used this story with older two-year-olds, but she had to "adjust the story.")

It's a wonderful story to teach young children about apples and the mystery of seeds wtihin. Therefore, it is particularly appropriate in the fall.

This particular version was intended to be used during "Johnny Appleseed Week," which was immediately after "Community Helper Week," in September.

The story is appropriate for anytime in Autumn. Since apples are in season for September through October in Maryland, I have retold the Round House with a Star Inside at both Mabon (Autumn Equinox) and Samhain (Halloween) events.

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."

Be sure to have fun and enjoy!

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.

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