Critter Tales

At 88 years old age caught up with the author's mother.  As a tribute to a kind and thoughtful woman, the author created a tale of a grandmother who shares her last day with her furry and feathered friends of the field and forests.

A man is fly fishing for trout in a mountain stream when he meets a young kingfisher.  The man gives the bird some tips on how to catch fish and the kingfisher teaches the man how to fly.

A mother mallard decides one sunny morning that it's time to teach her ducklings about survival on the pond.  The ducklings learn a lot especially when it comes to snapping turtles.

A young girl comes across an old saying that can lead someone to turn into a Firefly.  The girl shares this with her uncle who thinks it's just a silly saying.  Later when something very unusual happens to her uncle, the girl has to come up with a new old saying to get him out of it.

A common theme in many of the old fairytales is that if a critter or someone helps another in need that person or creature will return the favor later when the other is in trouble.

That theme takes a little twist in this story when a man saves the life of a newt.

When a young girl goes into the barn to feed the critters, turns out that the old goat is in a foul mood.  The young girl and her barnyard friends try to figure out what's going on and how to make the old goat feel better.

A man leaves a puppy alone in the house when he goes down to work in the garden.  Upon his return it's apparent that the puppy has been mischievous.  The puppy won't admit to any wrongdoing, so the man relies on the detective skills he's learned from reading murder mysteries.

For more stories and songs you can visit my website www.earthtalesandbirdsong.com 

When the hammering of a pileated woodpecker drives a chipmunk to distraction, he decides it's time to get away and go on a vacation.  His friend the muskrat comes along and convinces the chipmunk that there's no place like home.

For more information & lyrics to the songs visit www.earthtalesandbirdsong.com 

Podcast Eight:  The Serpent (Ages 9-12)

At a swimming hole in the mountains the author and a water snake have a difficult encounter.  With a touch of fairytale magic the experience is transformed to a village far away where a young girl deals with her fear of things.

"A mother robin warns her four chicks that they must be quiet when she flies off to find some worms. One chick puts up a squawk and causes just a bit of trouble when a hungry red squirrel is listening."