Act!vated Stories

Happy New Year! That's a bit late for American listeners, but it's a little early for Chinese listeners. Because Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year) is celebrated this year on Jan. 23 (Year of the Dragon). The exact date varies considerably from year to year (It will be Feb. 10 next year.) because...

This fairy tale from Germany offers a fanciful explanation for why we decorate Christmas trees. It comes from Germany, one of the two countries where the tradition originated (the other was what was then called Livonia) about 450 years ago. But it was based on older customs and traditions going back...

"The Baker's Dozen" is a holiday story from the Dutch settlers of upstate New York, about a stubborn baker who learns an invaluable lesson about generosity. The story commemorates St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 6) a day to honor a legendary figure who also figures prominently in another holiday later in the...

"The Book Of Magic", from Russia, is one of the stories in the manner of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", about someone attempting magic and getting in over his head. And the solution involves a trick very common to folklore about magical spells. This yarn is a bit spooky, because we're getting into the...

“Lin Po Po” is often called the Chinese Red Riding Hood, as it features a wolf masquerading as a grandmother. But it also bears similarities to other popular European tales, notably The Three Little Pigs. We offer it especially for Grandparents' Day (Sept. 11) and Chinese Moon Festival (...

The Two Princesses is a folktale from India that you probably haven't heard before, but listening to it, you may get a sense of deja vu. There are many similarities between this story and about half a dozen other stories that you definitely are familiar with. See how many of them you can name. Put y...

“Rumplestiltskin”, as told by the Brothers Grimm, is one of the classic fairy tales about a supernatural creature who comes to the aid of a damsel in distress and demands a stiff payment (classically a first born child) unless the damsel can guess his name...

This month we bring you the Italian folktale Misfortune, about a young woman who has just that, and is called just that (she's called Misfortune, not Just That) thanks to a mean hag who follows her around, lurking in the shadows, and undoing everything the girl tries to do. Until Misfortune confront...

“The Twin Brothers” is a story from the former Czechoslovakia about two brothers who looked a great deal alike, and therefore were sometimes mistaken for each other. This is a motif that many writers have used, including of course Shakespeare. And as in most of these narratives, the brot...

This Norwegian Folk Tale is being presented especially for this harsh winter and in preparation for the windy March to come. It involves a motif common to many folktales: a young traveler is taken advantage of by an innkeeper twice, but the third time proves the charm...