Showing results by author "Bill Gordh" in All Categories

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.

The rabbits lived near a beautiful pond up in the hills. The elephants bathed and drank from a pond to the south. The elephants' pond dried up. They began looking for a new pond. Finally they came to the rabbits' pond. When they saw it, the elephants stampeded toward the water. The rabbits went flying in every direction as the elephants stomped around in the water, spraying and playing. The rabbits did not know what to do. The old grandmother rabbit got an idea.

Three friends borrowed a rowboat to row upstream. They wanted to row up to a village. There were three other villages that they would pass on the way. So the first friend rowed as far as the first village. The second friend rowed as far as the second village. The third friend rowed as far as the third village. Then they began arguing about who would row the final stretch. While they argued, they were carried back downstream to where they had started.

Munanchar and Menanchar are two friends who are out picking raspberries. As Munanchar fills his bucket, Menanchar eats them. Munanchar discovers what is happening and tells Menanchar that he is going to go get a stick and hit Menancnhar on the head! So Munanchar sets out and finds a tree that has a branch that will be just the right stick. But the tree tells him he needs an ax. He goes to the ax, and the ax tells him he needs a stone to sharpen the ax. The stone says he needs water to wet the stone.

There was a farmer who worked hard on his land for many years. He and his wife had a little farmhouse and ate their simple meals each night together. One evening the farmer ran down from the fields all excited. His next door neighbor saw the old farmer and wondered what was going on. He sneaked over to the old farmer's house and listened through the window. The farmer told his wife how he had spotted down in a hole full of rocks a kettle that was full of gold coins.

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.

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 sad man walks up the road. He stops when he sees an old man sitting on his porch. The old man asks what the trouble is. The sad man describes how he has lost everything. The old man sees a green lizard on a leaf and catches it.

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.

A boy was always wishing for things he didn't have. An old magician told the boy if he put salt on a magpie's tail, he could have any wish he made. The boy went out with salt into the woods. All the magpies flew away. One finally spoke with him and told him if he brought her a nice clasp knife, she would let him put salt on her tail.

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.

Spider is walking through the jungle one day when he hears about a party that is to happen in the east. He decides he will go, as there will be lots to eat and drink. He walks on and hears about a party in the west, then on and hears about a party in the north and then one in the south. He wants to go to all the parties, but he neglected to find out the times they started. He just knows they are all on the same night. He gets an idea. He asks four of his cousins to come over.

Award-winning storyteller Bill Gordh (Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence winner, National Association of Parenting Periodicals Gold Award winner) presents this folk tale live with no script, accompanied only by his own dynamic banjo playing.

Long ago there was only sun in the rainforest. It was beautiful but too bright. People had a hard time sleeping. A farmer was married to the River Snake King's daughter, and she told her husband about something called "Night" that was deep in the river. It would let people rest. They had too much farm work to do, so they sent three friends in a canoe down the river to ask the River Snake King for Night.

The village is next to the lagoon. The people fish with spears standing in the shallow waters. Time goes by and they are not getting any fish. They don't know what to do. They go to their chief. He seems to be in a dream and does not offer them any suggestions. Time goes by. Still no luck.