Humans and animals have been interacting for - well, as long as there have been humans and animals to interact with! Due to this long-term relationship, humans have developed a special place in our hearts for animals. We can use stories as a unique lens to examine how we see other animals. Today’s stories ask questions such as, how were animals made? Are bees friends or foe? How do animals treat each other? How smart are animals?  What can we learn from the behaviors of other animals? Think of these questions and any of your own as you listen to Dovie Thomason, David Holt, Margaret Read MacDonald, Susan Strauss, and Jenni Cargill-Strong.

On today’s episode, enjoy the following:

“The Making of the Animals” - Dovie Thomason (12:33)

Dovie Thomason is a First Nations storyteller from the Lakota/Kiowa Apache people. Today, Dovie shares with us a story from the Algonquian-Iroquois people called “The Making of Animals” all about the Maker who worked together with the animals to create them into how we know them today. This narrative comes from a collection of stories called Voices of the Animal People.

 “Conejito (The Little Rabbit)” - Margaret Read MacDonald (11:06)

Margaret Read MacDonald has told stories everywhere from Brazil, to Tanzania, to Thailand. But today’s story comes from Panma where Conejito wants to visit his auntie for the summer and encounters lots of dangerous animals on the way. This story is from a collection called Fat Cat and Friends.

“A Bee in Suburbia” - Susan Strauss (6:08)

When talking about Susan Strauss, Linda Sussman said, “No teller embodies the animals with the same fierce aliveness as Susan!” We might get an insight into why Susan has such a great talent for showing the aliveness of animals in today’s story, about a bee in her childhood neighborhood. This story comes from a collection of stories called Dreams of Animals, Myths and Personal Stories of Animals.

“The Whirlwind” - David Holt on Why the Dog Chases the Cat: Great Animal Stories (9:33)

David Holt is a two time grammy award and two time emmy award winning artist. Today’s stoy comes from a collection of stories called Why the Dog Chases the Cat: Great Animal Stories which was also nominated for a grammy! The story is about Rabbit who takes it upon himself to scare Mountain Lion away from Crystal Pond. But Rabbit can’t do it himself, and so all the animals collaborate together to make it seem like a big whirlwind is on it’s way.

“Never Give Up” - Jenni Cargill-Strong (6:00)

Jenni Cargill-Strong has been telling stories for twenty eight years. During that time, she’s picked up quite a bit of useful wisdom, and we’ll get to hear some of it today through her version of “Never Give Up” about a young frog who falls into a butter churn. This wise piece of advice comes from a collection of tales called Reaching for the Moon and Other Wisdom Tales. 

Radio Family Journal: "The Lark and her Young Ones" (5:56)

The relationship that people have with animals is sometimes one that depends not so much on interaction, but on observation. This idea is at the center of one of Aesop's Fables, and it's today's entry in Sam's Radio Family Journal.