It’s great to have you with us here for an Apple Seed Extra – something special that’s available only here in the Apple Seed podcast space. We may have talked about it in an episode of the Apple Seed you heard, but you’ve got to come here to get it. We want to encourage you to subscribe to the podcast for all kinds of podcast-only content, in addition to full-length episode filled with stories – something new just about every day from The Apple Seed.

In recent episode of the Apple Seed, we brought you a story called Wiley and the Hairy Man, or at least it’s usually called Wiley and the Hairy Man – in the version you heard, the hero was Willie, not Wiley. But we don’t want to concentrate on the kid, the hero of the story, or his dog, or his mom. We want to concentrate on the Hairy Man for a second. We mentioned in the episode that the story was first written down in the 1930s in Alabama, as part of the pieces of folklore being gathered by the Federal Writer’s project during the depression. And we mentioned that the story is much older than that – no one knows exactly how old. But we do know that the Hairy Man as a villain shows up in other stories, too. He shows up, for example, in a story called Ashpet, which is a version of Cinderella set in the Appalachian hills. Learn more in today’s Apple Seed Extra. We’ll talk about the story, and you’ll hear Mary Hamilton tell some of it.

We’ love to know what you’re up to, how you’ve passed the time in an era of isolation. Reciting Shakespeare monologues? Singing broadway show tunes? Telling family stories? Let us know, by emailing us at [email protected]. We love to hear from you, especially now.

Our hearts go out to all of our storytelling friends, who even in times like this never cease to reach out in all kinds of creative ways to share stories at a safe distance. Hang in there, all. We love you, and can’t wait until you’re back in front of your beloved audiences in person.