Podcasts for children

The Cairn Brownie

A long time ago way up in the hills of Scotland near Upper Obney, there was a little boy named Robbie MacFarlay.  He was a well behaved young boy of ten years.  Robbie always obeyed his parents and looked after the cattle and took care to keep the sheep out of the garden. 

He was a good lad and did his chores as best he could, but he couldn't help feeling there was more to life than just looking after the stock.  Sometimes, he felt very lonely being up so far away from town and other lads and lassies.  As the time went on, he tried his best to tame his restlessness.

One day his mum asked him to take much of the wool that had been spun into town for trading.  He was instructed to get as much silver coin as he could but a trade for new tools would be a blessing for his father, a wood cutter.  The boy was so pleased and excited to go to town on his own that he could hardly wait.  It was a long walk to Perth, but that was where he could find the best price for wool.

On his way into Perth, he decided to rest and have his bannocks and cheese.  As Robbie rested and took his lunch, he noticed there were a great many stones lying about.  Seeing as how he had some time, he began to stack them into cairns.  Robbie felt it was great fun stacking the large stones into pillars as tall as he could reach.  After he'd built a few cairns, he set out on his way again. 

Another time he rested his bones, as the sack of wool would get quite heavy over the miles.  Again, he found himself building the cairns.  He did this three more times before reaching Perth.  While in Perth, he found merchants willing give silver coin as well as tools for a wood cutter.  Happily, he tied the coins to his waste purse and took the tools in his bag. 

When he returned home, his mother and father were delighted.  His father said, "Robbie!  I thought you were standing in the hills just dillying aboot and jammerin' away to the rabbits and mice.  Och!  Nay, you were doing all things good and right brining what yer dear family needs!"  And so, when Robbie was asked again by his mum to go to Perth to trade the wool for silver and tools, he jumped at the chance. 

While walking on to Perth, he admired his cairns.  Still standing proud and true.  He had never felt so proud.  This time he stopped at different spots, here and there, eating his bannocks and stacking stones.  Again, when he returned, his parents were delighted at the prices they were receiving for their fine highland wool.

On one particular trip as Robbie was coming in to Perth, he overheard a merchant's conversation to another saying, "Och!  Aye, there's definitely a brownie aboot!  All these cairns popping up all over the place...noo one right in the mind would be building cairns all over the hills for noo reason!  It's a brownie alright.  And that brownie's up to mischief!"  Robbie had heard about brownies.  Wee little men who were kin to the fairyfolk.  It was said they lived out in the hills and sometimes in houses.  He knew people were always careful not to upset a brownie for all the mischief they could bring on.  Still, he couldn't help chuckling to himself about the merchants thinking he was a brownie! It was such an interest to him that he decided to keep it a secret. 

As time went on, Robbie built more and more cairns and the people in the town of Perth began to talk more and more about the Cairn Brownie.  "What's he buildin' all them cairns fer?  They be wit oot rhyme or reason." one would say.  "Might be the brownie's got plans for building some stone huts but he can't make up his mind where to put 'em." said another.  All the while, Robbie would chuckle.  Although, one merchant, Allan Gow, asked Robbie on one particular trip if he'd ever seen the brownie building any of those cairns.  Robbie said he had never seen the brownie building a cairn.  And, that was true as Robbie had built every single one of those cairns himself.  However, fearing what some might say, he didn't offer to Allan that he had built them.  Robbie decided he mostly likely ought to stop building cairns.

On his was back from Perth, Robbie decided he just might take some down.  He started to dismantle one not so far from town when one of the merchants who was heading out to his farm saw what Robbie was doing.  "Robbie MacFarlay!  Doon't you lay one finger on that cairn!"  Allan Gow came running.  "What in the blazes are ye doing, Robbie?  Ye want to bring the brownie's mischief upon Perth!"  Robbie was stunned and was unsure what to say next when Allan said, "Robbie, you put that cairn just like you foond it as fast as you can.  I'll help ye."   After they had placed all the stones as they were, Allan said, "Robbie,  take some ye bannocks and cheese and leave them here fer brownie.  Last thing ye'd want is a right cross brownie thinking ye rather noo see his cairns.  Best to leave a token fer his belly.  Best to make a brownie happy wit bannocks, Robbie." 

Robbie did as he was told and bid Allan good day.  He pondered this on his way home.  He decided it was best to let the cairns be.  They belonged to the brownie now.  Robbie still made his trips and over time, the people of Perth became less and less concerned with the cairns.  But, to this day, they still make sure the cairns are still standing outside of Perth.  Anytime one of the cairns falls, someone restacks the stones and makes sure there's a bit of bannocks and cheese because it's best to make a brownie happy wit bannocks.

The Red Bean

There was once a little boy who lived on a hillside in a small house with his mother.  The hills were most always green except in the winter and there were few trees.  Far off in the distance, the boy could see trees and in the other direction, he could see the river and the town where they often traveled to market.

Once, before they moved to the house on the hill, they lived in the woods and the boy remembered the wonderful time he spent climbing in and running around the trees.  When he would climb, he would try to go as high as he could.  Up and up to the tip top he would climb until the branches would begin to bend.  Sometimes he would sit in the trees just to feel the wind blow.  Rocking back and forth with the trees made him so comfortable. 

It was the walk to the market that made them move to the house on the hill.  They would have to walk for 2 days to reach the market.  Now, in the house on the hill, they only had to walk half of a day.  The boy remembered those times in the woods fondly and hoped that someday he could return. 

One day the boy's mother told him he was now old enough to go to the market on his own.  His mother helped him load some bundles into their cart and sent him off.  This was his first time walking all the way to the market on his own and he was a bit nervous.  His mother told him to stick to the road and to be wary of anyone who might offer assistance or advice that he didn't know. 

As the boy walked down the road, he noticed the small shrubs and studied the branches.  He imagined being so small that the shrub would look like a giant tree.  He imagined climbing up and up to the tip top.  The wind would blow and he could see the leaves and branches of the shrubs tremble.  The boy dreamed and dreamed of the trees.  He kept dreaming so that he did not realize that he was no longer on the road.  He also found he wasn't sure exactly where the road was but was confident that if he just walked back in the direction he had come from, he would be able to reclaim the road.  He walked back, looking at the wheel tracks his cart had made to be sure of his way. 

He heard a bit of babbling and realized there was a stream nearby.  He stopped to refresh himself and wondered about how much time had passed.  While he was drinking, he looked up and saw and old man nearby sitting quietly.  "That cart looks better suited for the road." the old man said.  Remembering what his mother had said about being wary of those he did not know, he replied, "Hello, Sir. Yes, it is better suited for the road.  I am on my way back to the road now."  The old man said, "Where are you headed?"  "I'm going to the market to deliver some goods for my mother.  I'll be on my way now.  Good day to you, Sir" the boy replied.  "Wait just a minute there.  If you don't mind, may I walk with you?  I'm quite old and tired, but I must also get to the market."  said the old man.  Not sure what to say, the boy decided the man was indeed quite old and looked as if he may need some assistance.  So the boy agreed and they both walked on.

The boy could see the old man had trouble walking and so offered him a ride in the cart.  The old man was very grateful.  While the cart was heavier, the boy was happy to help the old man.  It was only a short time to the market and the old man thanked the boy and wished him well.  The boy delivered his mother's goods to the merchant and was about to leave the market when a man came up to him and said, "Excuse me, but are the boy who helped the old man into town?"  "Yes, Sir." answered the boy.  "Then I must thank you.  The old man was my uncle.  I knew he was coming but I was beginning to worry about him.  I'm so glad he's here and I'm very thankful to you.  Before you go, I must give you something."  The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small sack.  He pulled out a small red bean.  He smiled and said, "This may not look like much, but it is very great.  Many would want it if they knew what it was.  I'd like to give it to you."  He handed it to the boy.  "Thank you, Sir.  What is it exactly?  Why is it so great?" the boy asked.  "Just take it to fertile soil and make a wish.  Be good to your parents and sleep a good night's sleep.  In the morning, you will find this small red bean will have made your wish come true." 

The boy thanked the man and decided to return to his house on the hill.  He quickened his pace so he could get home in time for supper.  He put the bean in his pocket and wondered if what the man had said was true. 

When he returned home, it was near dark.  His mother wanted to know what took him so long.  He was an honest boy and told his mother about losing the road and meeting the old man.  His mother told him helping the old man was a good thing and patted his head.  He then told his mother about the man who had given him the red bean and what he had said about a wish.  His mother laughed and told the boy that the man meant well, but that there was no such thing as this.  The boy felt a bit sad but decided to try it anyway.  His mother saw him leaving the house after he had cleaned the plates and said, "So what will you wish for."  "A fine tree to climb in, mother.", said the boy.  His mother smiled and said, "Well, just make sure you plant it far enough from the house in case it falls over." 

He planted his red bean and wished, "I wish for the greatest tree to climb that there ever was.  I wish it to be the tallest tree there ever was and I wish for it to be so strong that it will never fall over."  He went inside and slept a good night's sleep.  In the morning when he woke up, it still seemed to be dark outside.  However, it felt like the normal time he woke in the morning.  As he sat up, he noticed one part of the house had sun light.  He opened his shutters and there before him stood the tallest tree he had ever seen.  It had branches all over the trunk.  It's branches were long and strong.  It seemed to go all the way up to the sky.  The boy could not believe it and ran through the house calling, "Mother, mother!  Look at the huge tree outside!"  His mother got up and they both ran outside.  Neither could believe what they saw.  The boy ran to the tree and began to climb. 

His mother called, "Be careful!"  She still did not know if she was dreaming.  She had to pinch herself.  As the boy climbed up and up to the tip top, he called, "The red bean made my wish come true!  Oh, mother, we have the best climbing tree there ever was!"  He climbed as high as he could and the when the wind blew, the tree swayed back and forth and the boy was happy.

A little boy named Nero

A long time ago, there was a little boy named Nero who lived just on the outside of a big city.  His father and mother worked very hard to just to feed the family.  Everyday, the boy's father went into the big city to work and only came back when it was dark and time for bed.  They boy's mother often carried wood for fires to the homes of others. Nero was too young to carry firewood and, so, he stayed at home.

Nero was alone quite often in the family's little house.  Often he would look out the windows and peer off into the distance for something interesting to look at.  One day, when his father was away working in the city and his mother had just left carrying firewood for one of the neighbors a few miles away, Nero was sitting in the window looking down the road.  He noticed an old man pulling a heavy cart.  Every time he hit a bump, something would fall off his cart.  The man was so old he had trouble bending down to pickup what had fallen.  Nero watched the man, and caring for his age, quickly went outside to help him.

The old man had just hit another bump and was just about to bend down to pick up a bag of apples that had fallen from the cart when Nero reached him. "Please Sir, let me help you."  Nero picked up the bag of apples and placed them on the cart.  The old man smiled with an old and wrinkled face.  Nero looked up at him and wondered how old he was.  He looked to be the oldest person Nero had ever seen.

The man patted Nero's shoulder and picked up his cart and began pulling it along the road, towards the city.  "Are you going into the city, Sir?" Nero asked.  "My father works in the city."  The old man nodded his head and plodded along.  The old man was doing all he could to keep the rickety cart from loosing more of his wares when the road became very rocky.  As he moved the cart to miss one rock, he hit another and this time all the bags on the top fell off.  Nero quickly ran over to help the man put his bags back on his cart.

"You are a very helpful boy."  The old man said, finally. "I'm tired and I don't expect I'll get my cart much farther down this rock-ridden road by myself."  "I can help you!" Nero interrupted.  "I mean, excuse me Sir.  I can help you if you like.  I can walk with you to the city walls and pick up whatever falls off."  The old man smiled and sat down by the side of the road.

The old man said, "I just might take you up on it, child.  But first, sit down with me for moment so that I may rest my weary bones."  Nero ran to his well and filled a bucket of water and brought it over.  The old man smiled again and drank the water.  He said, "How old do you think I am?  I haven't always been so old.  I was once young like you."  Nero asked, "Are you 100?"  "No, I'm much older.  Much, much older than 100 years old.  I've been around for a very long time, but I've never forgotten that I was once very young." The old man said.  "My name is Giovanni and I used to be a performer."

Nero was very curious and so asked, "What kind of a performer?" The old man replied, "I used to swing on a trapeze and fly through the air.  Why, I could flip from one trapeze to another.  It kept me quite strong, you know.  I could easily carry this cart into town to sell my apples without a second thought."  "Nero, have you ever seen the circus?"  "No." Nero said.  "I've never really ever been away from my house.  My father works in the city every day from sun up to sun down.  My mother is always gathering firewood and carrying it on her back for the others that live down the road."

The old man thought about this and felt the boy ought to have a life that was more interesting.  He needed to know the joys of life.  So the old man got up and began to rummage through his cart.  He dug down deep to the bottom and pulled out a book.  It was an illustrated book about the circus.  He sat down and handed the book to Nero.  It was very old.  Some of the pages were quite tattered.  Still, it had pictures of people doing all kinds of tricks.  Every page was filled with strange and wonderful things that Nero had never ever dreamed of. 

The old man began, "Time is a funny thing, Nero.  Right now, you've got a lot of it.  I'm not sure what you do to keep yourself busy there in your home.  I imagine that soon, you'll be carrying firewood just like your mother.  Not long after, I suspect you may work in the city from sun up to sun down.  Before all of that, take this book.  Look at these pictures.  They old, but they're drawn very well.  Try to do what they do in these pages.  It tells you how to do handstands and flips.  It tells you how to become strong, much stronger than you'll ever get carrying fire wood.  Take this book.  I'll come by here every now and again to see how you're doing.  Now, if you'll help me push this cart to the city..."

Nero thanked the old man and helped him push the cart all the way to the city's edge.  He thanked the old man and quite excited, ran all the way home to get a look at the book. 

As soon as he was home, he opened the book.  There were pictures of people doing handstands on top of chairs stacked 10 chairs high.  There were pictures of people swinging on the trapeze and flipping from one to the other.  Nero looked and looked and looked.  It was nighttime before he knew it.  The days seemed to pass more quickly.  Every day after his mother and father left, he practiced what he saw in the book.  Weeks passed.  His mother noticed her son was beginning to look quite different, much stronger. 

One day, as she was coming home a bit early and was beginning to think of him helping her carry firewood, she spied something that startled her.   In the tree behind their house, there was her son swinging from a trapeze and flipping onto the ground.  She gasped!  As she was frozen stiff at the sight of her son flying through the air, she gasped yet again when she saw him begin to do handsprings and a high back flip.  Frozen, she could not take her eyes of what he did next.  As he went into a handstand and began to talk all round the house, perfectly straight. 

"Nero!" she yelled.  More startled that his mother, Nero tumbled right over.  As his mother was in the middle of questioning him as why he would choose to risk himself in such a way, the boy saw the old man, Giovanni, coming down the road with his cart.  Nero's mother was again quite startled when Nero left her in mid sentence and went running down the road yelling, "Giovanni, Giovanni!  I've been practicing!"

Well, as soon as Giovanni and Nero's mother were introduced, Giovanni was invited in and given some water and bread, which was proper treatment for an old traveler at the time.  He explained he had given Nero the book and as they went outside to watch him perform his flips and tricks, Giovanni smiled and clapped.  "You've really been practicing!  You know, there's a circus inside the city.  You have become quite good just from looking at the book, you could become even better with the instruction of a proper instructor.  You never know, they just might let you in.  And a life of performance can lead you to a life full of joy and comfort.  You'll be stronger, livelier, and healthier than you would be otherwise.  Come to the center of the city where the Circus Theater is tomorrow.  I will meet you there."

Nero's father came home later that evening and heard the whole story.  He was also quite surprised.  Later the next day, the whole family would take Nero to the circus school with Giovanni meeting them there.  Nero could hardly sleep he was so excited.

As morning came, Nero was so excited.  He was the first one awake and rushed to make breakfast.  Not used to such energy in the house and having breakfast prepared for them, Nero's parents sat in bewilderment.  After breakfast, they made their way to the city.  Nero had never been and was quite excited to see all the people.  He'd never seen so many at once.  There were people of all different colors, sizes and age.  Animals were everywhere they passed.  There were so many things of wonder, buildings taller than the tallest trees with fine details.  Soon, they came to the center and there was a large stone building with a large door.  Above it was the sign,

Circus

School

.  Nero's father knocked on the door. 

The door opened and the smallest man that anyone had ever seen (about 2 feet tall) opened the door.  Nero's father, having never been to the circus, had never had the chance to see a dwarf.  He was speechless for a moment.  Finally, he said, "My son Nero has been learning the tricks of the circus.  He's become quite good.  We would like to see if he may get better by studying here."  The dwarf looked over at Nero, who couldn't take his eyes off of the dwarf.  "We're not taking any new students." said the dwarf.  "But we've traveled from far outside the city." Nero's father explained.  "Sorry." said the dwarf.

Sadly, Nero's mother and father began to turn away.  "Come on, Nero. It's time to go home."  Just then, Nero jumped on to his father's shoulders and balanced himself.  Nero's father was quite startled as no one had ever jumped on to his shoulders.  Nero left from the shoulders and grabbed on to a beam just above the door to the circus school.  He swung up on to another beam that was rounded and swung around and around in circles and flipped off on the roof of a nearby shop.  Then, he steadied himself and flipped to the ground.  He rolled into a handstand and began to walk all around. As, Nero did a handspring to get back to his feet, Giovanni arrived. 

The dwarf said, "Giovanni!  You have perfect timing.  I know you said we weren't taking anymore students, but have you just seen this boy fly about as good as a monkey?  He is truly very good.  Surely, we should consider taking him as a student."  Giovanni, smiled.  He said, "Yes, perhaps on a trial basis."  And with that, he winked to Nero and his parents.  Nero was overjoyed.  His parents were a bit confused.  They got no time to discuss as Nero was invited in.  It was a wonderful place.  There were so many interesting things.  There were ropes hanging from everywhere.  There were people doing all manner of balancing and there were even some bending over backwards with their feet to their heads!

And so it was decided that Nero would train to become a great performer. Nero was very excited.  Nero's parents were very happy for his opportunity.  And all three were very thankful to the old man whom Nero had met upon the road.