THE MOUSE AND THE WINTER GLOVE

The Mouse and The Winter Glove

Written by Kim Preston

Winter Story, Playgroup Story

Once upon a time, there lived a little brown mouse,

But the rain fell down and washed away his house.

He ran into the bush and found a snug wee glove;

Then down flew an owl from the gum-tree above”

“Please, is there room for me in your house?”

“Yes, do come in”, said the little brwn mouse.

They all squeezed together, it was getting rather tight

When along came a fox and gave them all a fright:

“Don’t worry, little animals, I’ll do you no harm,

I only need some shelter to keep me dry and warm.”

So they all squashed up, as close as close can be,

Then – oh – I’m sorry to say ... there came a little flea!

“No room! No room! No room!” the animals all cried,

But the flea took no notice and jumped right inside.

Alas, the little glove-house could bear the strain no more;

It burst and split right open, as its seams ripped and tore.

The animals cried out – but soon they cheered “Hooray!”

For the golden sun came shining – and they all went off to play.

A GIFT OF LIGHT

A Gift of Light

Written by Anne Anderson

Winter Story

Long, long ago when the earth was still quite young, the human beings who roamed the land were very happy. The sun shone bright and hot each day. At night the warm winds encircled their near-naked bodies, while the golden flames of the fire leapt and danced to keep away any fierce beasts.

Among one tribe lived a wise man and woman. Their youngest son was named Minya, so called as he was much smaller than his brothers. Minya knew many bush sounds and his sharp eyes saw everything that moved, near and far, for he was a gatherer. But still his brothers would not let him hunt with them.

One night, as everyone sat around the crackling fire, out of the darkness swooped old crow. He screeched, “We need a new leader. Give your youngest son to us. He can see like an eagle. Do as we say, or darkness shall surround you forever more! But as crow moved towards Minya, the fire spirits leapt up singing:

“The sun shall journey far away,

Bringing crisp and cold to all who stay,

But when the darkest day is done,

The light will return for everyone!”

Crow snatched at the fire sticks and grasping them in his pointed beak, flew away into the night.

Early the next morning the brothers padded silently across the valley floor. Minya kept up at first, for he too wanted to find old crow and the fire spirits. Now Minya was alone, but suddenly he could hear all the bush sounds he knew so well. ‘ZZ-ZZ’, came to his ears. Stealthily he moved towards the soft, humming sound. There, within reach of his slender arms, was a beehive. Now everyone could have a sweet delight after their meal. But although the brothers hunted all day, nothing could they find, but an old emu’s egg and that they left behind.

As the first sunbeams danced into the cool valley, the following day, the brothers set out again, determined to hunt the crow. Minya was soon left behind, seeking darkened places where secrets could sleep. His keen eyes caught a flash of red and then another. However, all he found were succulent berries, juicy to eat. He gathered enough berries for a feast for everyone, but although the brothers hunted all day, nothing could they find, but an old crocodile and he they left behind.

The days became shorter, the chilly air nipped at fingers and toes. Food was not easily found. Many animals were hiding in darkened burrows. Still old crow and the fire spirits had not been found.

Early one morning, when the valley was clothed in mist, Minya crept away. Swiftly and surely his feet moved over boulders, making his way up the ragged mountainside to the mighty eagle’s lair. He heard the cawing of the old crow and became as still as the very rocks he was near.

Reaching the eagles nest Minya cried: “Eagle so great and true, can you tell me where to find the fire spirits to save our kind?” The wise eagle replied, “Crow like the darkness, here there is light. Seek the wombat brave and bold; he goes into the earth’s depths. He may know.”

Minya climbed upon the eagle’s back and together the soared high above the winding valley. Below, Minya could see his brothers, spears in hand, searching far and wide. The eagle descended to a small cave near the valley floor. Crawling along in the darkness, Minya could hear the echoing snores of the wombat. Softly Minya spoke to the wombat. “Wombat, so brave and bold, can you tell me where to find the spirits to save our kind?” Wombat stretched and mumbled, “Deep in the earth below, I hear sounds like no other. Within this darkness live earthly beings, they may know. Come let us go.”

Minya grasped wombat’s soft brown fur and let wombat guide him to the depths of the earth below. In the great cavern worked many earthly beings, cracking rocks and stones and making paths for the roots descending from above. Here, in the dark, light sparkled and shone like the stars in the heavens. Minya stepped forward and asked, “Dear sir, so old and wise, can you tell me where to find the fires spirits to save our kind?” The ancient being replied, “Take out light from the earth within. Guard it well and it will shine into your world, bringing your golden sun back to you.”

Minya cradled the glimmering spark in its hard stony bed. Night had descended over the land, as he made his way back to the camp. The spark began to glow, brighter and brighter. As Minya bent down to the pile of dry sticks in the middl of the camp, the fire spirits leapt up and danced once more. The elders stirred in their sleep knowing that the darkest day had passed and the light would now return.

Story notes:

‘Minya’ is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘small’

WATTLE AND BANKSIAS LIGHT UP THE WINTER GARDEN

Wattle and Banksias Light up the Winter Garden

Written by Suzette Saint-Claire

There was once a beautiful garden, full of trees, flowers, sand, and a bush castle and many other special places. In the day time young children came to play games in the yard. They had many adventures climbing, hiding, digging great holes and finding all sorts of treasures.

Many other creatures lived in this beautiful garden too. There were the tiny creatures, the caterpillars, grasshoppers and snails, and some larger creatures too: the possums, birds and of course the fairies and elves who lived and worked and played in the garden.

Often when the children were in the garden all the other creatures would hide away. Some children who knew how to quietly creep through the garden could sometimes catch a glimpse of a grasshopper or a snail or even a possum or bird, and sometimes on very special days if they looked very closely they could see the fairies and elves.

But most of all these creatures loved to come out and play at the end of the day when the children had left to go home.

Now it happened that in the winter days Father Sun did not stay in the sky for very long at all and soon after all the children had left to go home the creatures did not have very long to run and play about before it was night time. So they huddled in their nests and burrows and homes in the trunks of the trees, missing their friends.

The fairies in the garden could see how sad the creatures were. One night when all the creatures were sleeping the fairies came out to dance and play in the soft light of the morning. They knew how sad the little creatures were without the bright light of the sun to light their garden. So the planned a special surprise. With their magic wands they lit all the wattle trees up with golden lights that the sunbeam dancers had given them, and they lit golden banksia lanterns to shine in the winter garden.

The next day when all the children came to play in the garden their faces beamed with joy to see the golden lights shining on the wattle and banksia tree. Some children took a branch of wattle home to show their mummies and daddies the gifts left behind from the fairies.

Later that day when all the children had gone home the garden creatures came out to play and now and then they could stay in the garden longer than before, for as the light of the sun dimmed in the afternoon winter sky, the lights of the wattle and banksia trees shone the way for all the creatures to see and play.

The Longest Night

The Longest Night

(renamed by Jennifer McCormack, originally found as "A Winter Story")

Author Unknown

The days had become shorter and shorter and colder and colder. The nights very long. At last the boy heard someone say “Tonight is the longest night of the year.”

“This must be quite special”, said the little boy, “I will go and find out why.” It was nearly dark. He put on his worn scarf, lit his little lantern and went outside. He sang:

The sunlight fast is dwindling

My little lamp need kindling

It’s beam shines far in darkest night

Dear lantern guard me with your light

(tune:

DDCBABG

DDCBABG

DDGGAABCD

EDEDBGDDB)

Near a wattle tree he heard a scuffle. Something ran past him up into the tree. He saw two bright eyes shining. “Hello little ringtail possum,” he said. “Can you tell me what is so special about tonight?”

“I don’t know,” said the possum, “I’m just glad that the wattle trees are covered in golden flowers full of nectar,” and he scrambled further up the tree.

The little boy went on, singing (repeat song)

Then he heard “Boobook! Bookbook!”

“Who’s that?” said the boy. He looked into the tree. Two round eyes were looking at him.

“Boobook! Bookbook! What are you doing?” asked the owl.

“I have come out to find why this night is so special,” said the boy. “Can you help me?”

“Bookbook,” said the owl, “I cannot tell you, but if you are willing to search and search and keep your eyes wide open you may find out. Bookbook! Bookbook!” He flew away on silent wings.

As the boy walked on he sang (repeat song).

Then the boy stopped. Something was knocking. He listened. Indeed, some knocking was coming from behind some rocks. He listened again and he heard:

Crack, crack, the rocks we hack

Quake, quake, the mountains shake.

Bang, bang, our hammers clang.

In caverns old we seek the gold

“Goodness!” said the boy:

“Who is that kncking?

It must be the gnomes

Hacking and cracking the rocks and the stones

Finding the jewels

Shining them bright

Like the moon and the stars

And the golden sunlight.”

There was a movement in a crack in the rock and a little glimmer of light. He went over. “Hello!” he said, “Is anyone there?”

 A long, thin creature came out of the crack.

“What are you doing out here all alone on this longest night?”

“I am trying to find out about this special night,” said the boy.

“I will show you how special it is for us,” said the long thin creature and he led the boy inside the rock.

The boy gasped when he saw the cave shining inside the rock. His lantern lit up the jewels in the cave and the shone as bright as day and lit up the longest night.

BRAVE ROSE-PINK

Brave Rose Pink

Author Unknown

Winter Story

Autumn was passing, and Jack Frost was frightening all the flowers away. Even the seeds could not bear to stay above the ground, but crept underneath out of the cold. The gnomes gathered them and carried them away to Mother Earth’s warm seed beds. They tucked them in to wait for spring.

But a sweet-pea seed refused to come down. “No,” she said, “I do not wish to lie in bed all the winter. I wish to stay here and grow. I am already sprouting, and I intend to stay.” She would not be moved.

The gnomes went to Mother Earth. “There is a sweet-pea above the ground, Rose-Pink by name, who refuses to come below,” they said. “What shall we do with her?”

“Tell her that Jack Frost will nip her with his cruel fingers if she stays there,” said Mother Earth.

The gnomes took the message to Rose-Pink.

“I am strong and hardy, and will laugh at Jack Frost,” said Rose-Pink.

“Tell her the Storm King will beat her down with his great winds, and break her back,” said Mother Earth.

They went again to Rose-Pink.

“I will grow tendrils with which to hold tightly to the fence, so that the great winds cannot tear me down.”

“Tell her that the Snow Queen will bury her in her cold white snowflakes,” said Mother Earth.

“I will not die, but will push my head through the cold white snowflakes,” she said to the gnomes.

“Then leave her alone,” said Mother Earth, “She is brave, and perhaps her courage will carry her safely through the winter. If it does her reward will come in the spring.”

So Rose-Pink was left alone, and went on growing quietly by the fence, taking advantage of every little bit of sunshine that came her way.

Jack Frost nipped her with his cruel fingers but she only laughed at him.

The Storm King tried to beat her down with his great winds, but she clung to the fence with her little tendrils.

The Snow Queen came. She buried Rose-Pink in her cold white snow-flakes, but she pushed her head through and lived on.

At last the winter passed, and the soft spring air blew over the garden. The gnomes woke the seeds from their winter sleep.

“Let’s see what has happened to Rose-Pink,” they said.

“I am alive and well, very happy,” sang Rose-Pink from half-way up the fence.

She grew fast now and soon reached the top of the fence. Then came her reward, for while the other sweet-peas were only half-grown, her little buds came and her flowers opened out. Such glorious flowers they were, flushed like the sun-rise sky. Rose-Pink sang for joy, and breathed out scented happiness on every breeze.

“You have come long before your sisters,” said the Bees, “Nothing in the entire garden is as sweet and beautiful as you.”

THE MITTEN

The Mitten

From Repetitive Stories: A collection for young and old, 
Hella Coenen, 1997

Winter Story

Once upon a time in the middle of winter and old man walked through a forest and his dog followed him. When those two were walking along, one of his mittens fell in the snow.

Nibbler the mouse came along, twirling his whiskers and looking at the world. He saw the mitten and thought it was as good as a palace. He stood in front of it and called out, “who lives in this mitten?”

No one answered for there was no one inside. “I will live there myself,” said Nibbler the mouse, and in he went and set up home.

The Croaker the frog came along, a jump, three strides, a jump again. “Who lives in this mitten?”

“I do, Nibbler the Mouse, and who are you?”

“I am Croaker the frog, can I come in?”

“Yes do, and make yourself at home.” So the frog went and the two of them began to live together.

Then a hare came running by. “Who lives in this mitten?”

“I do, Nibbler the Mouse, I do, Croaker the frog, and who are you?”

“I am Bandy Legs the hare, and hill jumper. Can I come in?”

“Yes, do and make yourself at home.” So the hare put his ears down and went in and the three of them began to live together.

Then fox came running by. “Who lives in this mitten?”

“I do, Nibbler the Mouse, I do, Croaker the Frog, I do, Bandy Legs the hare, the hill jumper, and who are you?”

“I am Reynard, the fox the fine talker. Can I come in?”

“Yes do, and make yourself at home.” So the fox went in and the four of them began to live together.

Then a wolf came prowling by. He saw the mitten. “Who lives in this mitten?”

“I do, Nibbler the Mouse, I do, Croaker the Frog, I do, Bandy Legs the hare, the hill jumper, I do, Reynard the fox the fine talker, and who are you?”

“I am Prowler the wolf who lurks behind the bush. Can I come in?”

“Yes do come in then.” And the wolf went in and the five of them began to live together. Then from the middle of the forest came a wild boar walking by, “Who lives in this mitten?”

“I do, Nibbler the Mouse, I do, Croaker the Frog, I do, Bandy Legs the hare, the hill jumper, I do, Reynard the fox the fine talker, I do, Prowler the wolf who lurks behind the bush, and who are you?”

“I am Flat Nose the boar. Can I come in?”

“You are too big. You probably won’t fit in.”

“Well, I will try,” And the Boar went in then, and the six of them began to live together. And then there came along a bear. He was very slow and heavy.

“I do, Nibbler the Mouse, I do, Croaker the Frog, I do, Bandy Legs the hare, the hill jumper, I do, Reynard the fox the fine talker, I do, Prowler the wolf who lurks behind the bush, I do, Flat Nose the boar, and who are you?”

“I am bear Bigfoot. Let me in.”

“We cannot let you in. There is no room.”

“Sit a little closer.”

“All right, if you make yourself a little smaller,” Yes, the bear could just fit inside. Now the seven of them began to live together inside the mitten.

In the meantime the old man had noticed that he had lost his mitten. He turned around and began to search for it. The dog went in front of him and sniffed all the way. Suddenly he saw the mitten, it was lying in the snow and ... moved as if it were alive.

The dog began to bark “Woof, woof, woof!”

The seven animals in the mitten got such a fright that they quickly jumped out and ran into the forest.

Then the old man came and picked up his mitten.

Story notes:
I have also come across this story as a shortened version: there were only the first five characters, and the little house was a pot that had fallen on the side of the road. After all the characters had made the pot their home, the story ends like this:


And then there came along a bear. He was very slow and heavy. 


"Little house, little house, who lives in this little house?"

“I do, Nibbler the Mouse, I do, Croaker the Frog, I do, Bandy Legs the hare, the hill jumper, I do, Reynard the fox the fine talker, I do, Prowler the wolf who lurks behind the bush, and who are you?”


"I am bear Squash-the-Lot." And the bear sat down on the pot and squashed the lot of them!


The way to tell this story is to make one hand the pot, and fingers and the thumb of the other hand the animals that go in one by one. When it came to the end and the bear came along, the bear squashed the whole lot. If a child is acting out the pot and characters with their hands, you can squash the lot with your own and end up in a big bear hug.

Seems a bit of a harsh ending, but my experience is that children love it!

A WINTER RABBIT

Winter Story

(From Repetitive Stories: A collection for young and old, Hella Coenen, 1997)

It snows and it snows and it snows and the fields are white. The rabbit has nothing to eat. Carefully, he looks out of his burrow. “Brrrr, it’s cold.”

The rabbit wants to go and look for something. DO you know what? For two big winter carrots that were sleeping under the snow.

Nibble, nibble, nibble. He finished one of them. Now he was not hungry anymore. The rabbit thinks, “It is so cold and it is snowing so, maybe my neighbour the horse is hungry. I shall take him the second carrot.”

“Hoppity, hoppity, trot. The cold hurts me not.”

Knock, knock, knock, he opens the door. Oh, the horse is not there. Carefully he puts the carrot down, and the rabbit disappears into the snow again.

In the cold wet snow, the horse is looking for something to eat. Hey, there was something! Do you know what? A big fat turnip under a heap in the snow.

Bite, bite, bite, and he eats the whole turnip up. “That tasted good!” Now he is not hungry any more. He goes back to the stable. When he arrives home he sees the carrot.

“Who has brought this here?” he syas in astonishment, “It must have been the rabbit because I can see his foot prints in the deep snow. Oh how kind of him.” The horse thinks, “it is so cold and it is snowing so, maybe my neighbour the sheep is hungry. I shall taker her the carrot.”

“Hoppity, trot trot, so, to the sheep I go. Never tired or slow, trotting through the snow.”

Knock, knock, knock. He pushes the door open. “Oh, the sheep is not here.” Carefully he puts the carrot down, and the rabbit disappears into the snow again.

The sheep with her thick woolly coat has gone to look for something to eat. Hey, there she sees something. Do you know what. A beautiful red cabbage. It was hiding under the snow. She eats the cabbage, leaf after leaf, “bite, bite, bite.”

Now she is not hungry any more. So she quickly goes back to the sheep pen. When she gets home she sees the carrot and says in astonishment. “Who has brought this here? It must have been the horse, because I can see his hoof prints here in the deep snow.”

The hseep think, “It is so cold, and it is snowing so hard, maybe my friend the deer is hungry. I shall take him the carrot.”

“Oh, sheep so brave and without fear, you will find your friend the deer, by the forest very near.”

IKnock, knock, knock, she opens the door. Oh, the deer is not here. Carefully she puts the carrot down and the sheep disappears again.

In the cold wet snow the sdder is trying to find something. Do you know what? A little bunch of frozen grass. Bite, chew, bite, it tastes just right. So now she is not hu ngry anymore. When she comes home she sees the carrot lying there and she says in astonishment, “Who has brought this here? That must have been the brown sheep. Look, a tussle of wool is left behind there.” The deer thinks, “It is so cold and it is snowing so, maybe my friend the rabbit is hungry. I shall go and take this carrot to him.

“Jump, little deer, jump so high. Over the hedge, and the field nearby

Right through the forest with trees so bare,

You will find friend rabbit awaiting there.”

At last she sees the burrow where her dear friend lives. She pushes against the door. She sees her friend asleep in his bed.

Carefully she puts the carrot down. Then the rabbit awakes. The deer says “It is so cold and it is snowing so hard, maybe you have not got any food. That is why I bring you this carrot.”

And that is how the carrot went from the rabbit to the horse,

From the horse to the sheep,

From the sheep to the deer,

From the deer back to the rabbit.

Those are really good friends.

STAR MONEY (FESTIVAL STORY)

Tonight we held the Friends of Lavendilly House Winter Festival. Oh it was so lovely! We met early for a play in the park, and an early picnic dinner and just as the sun went down we gathered for some songs, a story and finishing with a lantern walk. We walked our lanterns through a candle-lit spiral laid out on the 

ground, and then we stood in the circle and sang lullabys. 

The mood of the evening was mellow, and it was such a beautiful thing to

 share this experience with my good friends. I've been so excited all day! Simple pleasures are the best ones I think. Tonight was proof of that. Our spiral circle wasn't quite as spectacular as the one pictured ... but that didn't matter. What was really lovely for me tonight was the attention from some children who were watching me lay out the spiral. I don't know who they were, but they were so interested they couldn't help coming close to watch. Eventually they helped me position the candles in the bags, and they lit the candles too. They found sticks for the lanterns and helped me set them all up. They were going to go back home and ask if they could listen to our story. I hope they were able to return, but in the darkness I couldn't see them.

I so enjoyed telling my story tonight. It is my own version of the Grims Fairytale "Star Money". David strummed and droned on the guitar in the background, and that was magic. It set the scene for the story, at a slow walking pace, and carried us through as we followed the journey of the little girl out in the cold winter night. The story is a perfect reflection of winter time. The story follows the journey of a little girl who gives away all she has, and lays down to die in the snow. She is brought to new life by Mother Mary and her Son and rewarded for her generosity with heavenly riches. Yes, it is a bit sad, but to me that is the story of winter. It is death and rebirth. And for the sake of the children, I only alluded to the death of the little girl. Imagine this song sung in a slow, minor mood (make up your own tune):

STAR MONEY

retold by Jennifer McCormack

One cold and frosty winter night

A little girl walked alone

She had no food, nor carried a light

She had no money, nor a home.

...no money, nor a home ...

She came upon an old woman

Who was so frail and ill

She had no hat upon her head

To keep out winter chills.

The little girl took off her hat

And gave it willingly

She said to the old woman

"You need this more than me".

... you need this more than me...

She came upon a little boy

Whose feet were cold and blue

He'd walked along this winter night

Without any shoes.

The little girl took off her shoes

And gave them willingly

She said to the little boy

"You need them more than me".

 ... you need them more than me ...

She came upon a small, small girl

Whose dress was full of holes

It was so thin and did not keep

Out the winter cold.

The little girl took off her dress

And gave it willingly

She said to the small, small girl

"You need this more than me."

... you need this more than me ...

The little girl had nothing left

She lay down on the ground

The winter night was bitter cold

She prayed she would be found.

Mother Mary and her Son

Looked down from above

"She gave away all she had,

Let's send her down our love."

... send her down our love  ...

Mary spun some moon threads

Into a silken dress

And all the stars turned into gold

And rained about her head.

And when the little girl arose

She was no longer cold

And all about her, glittering

Lay pieces of star gold.

 ... pieces of star gold ...

** You are welcome to use my story, please ask my permission first, thank you**

THE STAR CHILD (STAR MONEY)

Star Child

Brothers Grimm

(From Repetitive Stories: A collection for young and old, Hella Coenen, 1997)

Once upon a time there was a little girl whose father and mother were dead. She was so poor that she no longer had a room to live in or bed to sleep in. And at last she had nothing else but the clothes she was wearing and a little bit of bread in her hand which some charitable soul had given her.

However she was good and pious. And as she was thus forsaken by all the world she went forth into the open country, trusting in the good God.

Then a poor man met her and said: “Ah, give me something to eat, I am so hungry.”

She handed him the whole of her piece of bread, and said, “May God bless you,” and went onwards.

Then came a child who moaned and said, “My head is so cold, give me something to cover it with.”

So she took off her hood and gave it to him, when she had walked a little farther, she met another child who had no jacket and was frozen with cold. Then she gave it her own, and a little farther on one begged for a frock, and she gave that away also.

At length she got into a forest and it had already become dark. There came yet another child and asked for a shirt. The good little girl though to herself, “It is a dark night and no one sees you, you can very well give your shirt away,” and took it off and gave that away too.

As she so stood and had not one single thing left, suddenly some stars from heaven fell down and they were nothing else but smooth hard pieces of gold. Although she had just given away her shirt, she had a new one which was of the very finest linen. Then she put the money into it, and was rich all the days of her life.

WATTLE SUNSPARKS ON THE BANKS OF COOLBUNBIM CREEK

The Wattle Sunsparks on the Banks of Coolbunbim Creek

Suzette Saint-Claire, June 2001

Winter Story

There once was a beautiful bushland garden. Many creatures lived here by the banks of Coolbunbim Creek. All through the long hot summer days, the bushland creatures would play and play.

(song)

In the summer garden wild flowers grow

Sunbeam dancers come to pay with

Bushland creatures to and fro.

In the summer garden sunbeam dancers play

From tree to tree they dance and sing with

Bushland creatures everyday.

One game that all the bushland creatures loved to play with the sunbeam dancers was hide and seek. Possum would hide inside his favourite log where he was sure the sunfairies would not find him. And then ...

(song)

Possum creep out, Sun fairies shout!

We see you, we see you, come out! Some out!

We see you, we see you, come out!

Platypus also liked to lay this game. He would dive down deep beneath the sparkling waters of Coolbunbim creek where sunfairies could not find him.

(song)

Platypus swims in the creek

Down he dives into the deep

Oh so gentle and so meek

Swimming in Coolbunbim Creek.

Early one winter morning, Wallaby woke up and wanted to play the hide and seek game with the sunbeam dancers. He found a good hiding spot behind a log

(song)

Wallaby hides behind the log, early morning misty fog

Sunfairies where have you gone today,

Come out and find me, let us play!

But on that winter morning the sunfairies didn’t come looking for their bushland friend. In fact they came much later than usual, and only stayed to play for a little while.

All the creatures gathered together by the banks of Coolbunbim Creek. Wallaby, Possum, Platypus.

Kookaburra sat in the highest branch of the wattle tree and heard what they did say

“Where are those bright little sundancers hiding? Has Father Sun sent them away. The days grow cool and shorter. Not so many come to our bushland to play.”

That night, all the bushland creatures snuggled back into their cosy homes. As they slept they dreamt of golden summer days.

Kookaburra wondered what he could do to help. As the last rays of twilight crept away from the evening sky Kookaburra called out to Father Sun to ask for help.

As Kookaburra slept that night he had a dream. In his dream he saw a beautiful Palace where King Winter lived. In the palace, he saw that many of the sunfairies had gone there to rest for aw hile.

The sunfairies spoke to him in his dream:

“One day we will return, to bring back Summer warmth and shine.

For now, we will rest a little while in King Winter’s Palace so fine.

When you wake in the morning, a gift you will see

from Father Sun – on the wattle tree.

A gift of golden light, to brighten winter days.

Reminding you that summer time will soon be on its way.:

When Kookaburra woke up the next morning, a wonderful surprise greeted him. Thousands of golden wattle sun sparks were sprinkled all over the bushland trees. His heart was filled with joy at this beautiful sight. So much so that he laughed out loud – waking up all the other bushland creatures.

The bushland creatures gathered, wallaby, possum, and platypus too. As they watched the little wattle suns brightly glowing on the trees, all was still and quiet.

Then softly, softly through the trees, there came along a gentle breeze.

With sunbeam dancers on the wind they offered up a song to sing.

“As Winter Days grow short and dark

We’ll leave you with a little spark –

To brighten up your winter days

You’ll see that summer is not too far away!”

Notes about this Story

Coolbunbim Creek is the name of the creek that crosses Silkwood School, Mt Nathan, Gold Coast

For props have a row of sunfairies hanging from  a dowel – bright yellow ones for the start of the story, and pale yellow ones for when the light is dwindling.

LITTLE WOMBAT PUPPET STORY

Little Wombat Puppet Story

By Sandra Busch

Presented at the Vital Years Conference in Perth, 2005.
Published in Star Weavings Magazine, edition unknown.

Down in the earth where it’s dark and safe, a mother wombat tidied her burrow. She moved the bracken and soft bark which she had gathered to make a cosy bed. In her pouch a baby wombat drank her warm milk. He could feel his mother’s heart beating and he heard her gentle breathing.

The little wombat continued to grow and soon his body was covered with fur just like his mother. Now that he was bigger, he would sometimes come out of his mother’s pouch and play with the bracken and soft bark. He loved to wander along the tunnels underground and sometimes he would practice his digging: he enjoyed the sounds he made when digging.

One evening as the sun was going down behind the trees, mother wombat came out of her burrow as she usually did to look for food. While she was eating, little wombat came out of her pouch and looked around.

“What a big world I live in”, he said. He saw trees, rocks and logs.

“And this is grass,” his mother said. “You may have a mouthful too”.

The little wombat tried his first mouthful of fresh green grass. It was juicy and moist after the recent rain. Yum it was nice; he took another mouthful then climbed back into his mother’s pouch and chewed and chewed on his first taste of grass.

One day little wombat had grown so big that he couldn’t fit in his mother’s pouch any more. “You can walk with me now”, she said, and as she came out of the burrow to find food, little wombat followed.

When he was up on the surface of the earth a little wind blew towards him. “What was that?” he asked.

“That’s the wind,” his mother said. “It wants to play with you.”

Then the little wombat felt happy. The wind reminded him of his mother’s breath when she breathed in his face sometimes, and he started to run and jump and roll over. He had a lovely time.

Then he noticed his mother sniffing the rocks and logs, so he thought he should do that too. He discovered from the different smells that other animals had passed that way also. Then his mother told him about dingos and dogs and how he must always be alert to them.

A while later, when little wombat and his mother were out walking, they heard a barking noise. Mother wombat stopped, listened and sniffed the air. “Listen little wombat, that is a dog. We must hurry back to the burrow.”

The dog came running through the trees after the wombats. Run little wombat, back to the burrow. As the wombats ran they kicked up bits of dust and the little wind saw what was happening and made a whirly wind in front of the dog which slowed him down.

The wombats reached their burrow, little one in first, and then mother wombat went in and waited inside the burrow. When the barking dog came and put his head in the burrow, she ran backwards at him with her strong legs and back. “Be off with you dog. Leave my baby and me alone!” she said.

The dog yelped and pulled his nose out of the burrow. Then he ran off back to the farm where he came from.

Snuggled up next to his mother, little wombat felt proud of his mother and he thought, “When I am bigger and a dog chases me, I’ll do that too.” Outside the little wind blew and told of the little wombats’ adventure to the leaves in the tree tops.

Presentation Notes

I chose to use Nature’s toys for the puppets as these are open ended and allow room for the developing imagination.

Banksia seed pods work well for the wombats; a large one for the mother and smaller seed pods for the baby and little wombat.

The dog was a piece of wood, the gesture of a running dog. This I found in the bush. We attached string to the puppets, like we do with small string puppets.

A table was set up for the story, brown cloth and green silk for the earth’s surface and grass. Backdrop was green, representing the trees and a yellow sun going down. For the burrow, small chairs were placed in front of the table, large bedspreads were used to mould the burrow and tunnels with brown velvet over the top, representing underground. Add small rocks and pieces of logs to complete the setting.

Using Nature’s Toys as Puppets

My story rhythm goes over a three week period. First week i tell the story, second week I use the children’s toys as puppets to tell the story; after the first day an older child will help me. The third week we dramatise the story. By this time the children have a deep connection to the story and will often speak the words themselves at the appropriate time.

Over the years I have used nature’s toys as puppets. The curly shells of different sizes make good Billy Goats and a gnarly piece of wood, the troll under the bridge. Flowers make beautiful butterflies.

This Autumn our Kindergarten garden had many different varieties of Autumn leaves and they were beautiful. I felt as if they were asking me to find a way of bringing them to the children. So on the second week of Briar Rose story, I decided to try using the leaves as puppets. Two big beautiful leaves for the King and Queen, a smaller one for the princess. The cook and kitchen boy were plainer leaves and the 13^th wise woman was a dark green leaf. It worked very well and brought a wonder to the story. I realise it was my gesture that was important and the leaves became ensouled with the character. I felt it was also along the lines of the knot doll, where Rudolf Steiner recommends that simplicity leaves the child free to add what they need to add, thus encouraging the developing imagination.

After that the children played with the leaves in many varied ways. A few days later a little boy ran up to me with three lovely leaves and said “Here’s some fairies for you”.

So I wanted to share the idea of using Nature’s toys as puppets at the Vital Years Conference. The little wombat story is a nature story which I wrote a few years ago. It has been printed in Star Weavings before and I did tell it at an earlier Conference, but somehow it didn’t feel quite complete. I’ve refined the story in places and by using the Banksia pods, which work very well as puppets, it now feels more complete. I also felt it was a good winter stoy, the going down into the earth. In winter the life forces are drawn down into the earth.

So I hope these thoughts might be helpful for you. Enjoy your story telling.

Sandra Busch

THE THREE LITTLE KITTENS

The Three Little Kittens

Adapted by Kim Preston

Categories: Traditional, Repetitive, Winter, Playgroup

Once upon a time, there were four cats living in a little house. One ... two ...three ... four. The biggest was Mother Cat, and the rest were her three little kittens. Now, one cold day, Mother Cat was busy at work in her kitchen, but her three little kittens were running about in between her paws, and playing in the flour bowl, and tipping up the pots and pans, making it very hard for Mothe Cat to get any work done.

At last, she got quite cross and said:

“Go out and play, you mischievous kittens.

But the wind is cold, so put on your mittens.”

They scampered off across the grass, in and out of the bushes they rushed. They chased each other’s tails, they chased the falling leaves, Until at last they heard Mother Cat call:

“Little kittens, little kittens, wherever you roam,

Your dinner is ready, it’s time to come home.”

The three little kittens were hungry, so they happily raced each other to the kitchen door, but when they got there, they looked at their paws ... oh ... dear ....

The three little kittens, they lost their mittens, and they began to cry:

“Oh Mother dear, we sadly fear, our mittens we have lost.”

“What, lost your mitten? You naughty kittens, then you shall have no pie!”

“miaow, miaow, miaow!”

The three little kittens sadly went back out into the garden with their tails drooping low. They searched high ... and low ... everywhere a kitten could go. When at last:

The three little kittens, they found their mittens, and they began to cry:

“Oh, Mother dear, see here, see here, our mittens we have found!”

“What, found your mittens? You good little kittens,

Now you may have your pie!”

“Miaow, miaow, miaow!”

Notes on the Story: I wrote this story to tell using the simple knitted cats. I used mohair wool, and made the kittens in white, tan, and darker tan, and the mother using all three strands and added a few extra stitched to the body and head of the pattern. The mother need not be TOO much bigger than the kittens. I resisted the temptation to make mittens! – Kim Preston

Sweet Porridge

- Author unknown - 

A little girl walked in the wood

Tra-la-la-la-la

She had no longer any food

Tra-la-la-la-la

A lttle girl, a kind little girl 

went walking in the wood one day

She met an old wise woman there

Tra-la-la-la-la

Who gave her cooking pot to her

Tra-la-la-la-la

The little girl, the kind little girl 

listened to what the old woman did say

When you are hungry then you say

Cook! Little Pot, cook!

When you've had enough you say

Stop! Little Pot, stop!

The little girl, the kind little girl

took the cooking pot home to her mother

Then they had enough to eat

Tra-la-la-la-la

And were not hungry any more

Tra-la-la-la-la

The little girl, the kind little girl

left her mother alone one day

The mother was hungry and did say

Cook! Little Pot, cook!

And then she knew not what to say

Tra-la-la-la-la

The porridge bubbled over the side of the pot!

The porridge ran all over town

Tra-la-la-la-la

Until the little girl came home

Tra-la-la-la-la

The little girl, the kind little girl

Knew just what to say, she said

Stop! Little Pot, stop!

And the porridge stopped.

But from that day on

Whenever you visited that town

You had to eat your way in.