In the first story, a rattan vine is insulting the rose tree. The rose tree is forced to defend itself. Then after a storm, the rose tree is the only one left standing. 

And in the second story, a professor thinks that the creator has made a mistake by putting figs in trees and watermelons on the ground. Luckily it was a fig that dropped on his nose to let him know that he was wrong.

Source: CHINESE FABLES AND FOLK STORIES by MARY HAYES DAVIS and CHOW-LEUNG

Narrator: Dustin Steichmann

Music: Birds in the Forest (空山鸟语) Erhu by Xiaofeng Zhang ; Yangqin by Yangqin Zhao

Sound Effects: Coloane_HacsaBeach_splash_stones_2_short.wav by TelenoikaMapping on freesound.org

Podcast Shoutout: Lexitecture- The premise is simple: in each episode, two friends (Ryan, a Canadian,  and Amy, a Scot) get together armed with a new chosen word, and then they regale each other (and you!) with whatever bits of fascinating trivia they’ve been able to uncover about the origins and histories of those words, tracing through the ages to decipher just how each word got from its beginnings to its current use.

Listener Shoutout: Chiang Mai (เชียงใหม่)  (meaning "New City" in Thai) was founded in 1296 as the new capital of Lan Na, succeeding the former capital, Chiang Rai.

In this story a prince and a vizier's son are off on an adventure when they come across a giant snake. They get its jewel and find a beautiful princess. The Prince and princess get married, but then she is tricked out of her jewel, which leaves the husband behind in the underground. Can the minister's son bluff his way into getting the jewel back and keep his best friend alive?

Source: Folk-Tales of Bengal by Lal Behari Day 1912

Narrator: Dustin Steichmann

Sound Effects: crickets by Dustin Steichmann

Music: আকাশ জুড়ে শুনিনু ওই বাজে । শ্রাবনী সেন । Akash Jure Suninu   Srabani Sen Rabindra Sangeet Creative Commons

Podcast Shoutout: Planthropology

Listener Shoutout: Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. Via Wikipedia

In the first story, a princess has to choose between trouble when she is young, or when she is older. She picks trouble when she is young and an eagle takes her away and gives her trouble after trouble. Can the prince save her?

In the second story, a merchant has to leave the city to do some business. He has three young daughters at home. He makes them promise not to let anyone in, but his two oldest daughters forget and take pity on an old beggar. Can the youngest prove that she is the wisest?

Source: The Islands of Magic: Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales from the Azores by Elsie Spicer Eells

Narrator: Dustin Steichmann

Music: Jorge Morgado,  Fado Meia-noite  -  Quando (Guitarra portuguesa: Luís Ribeiro, Viola de fado: João Nunes, Letra: Artur Ribeiro, Música: Filipe Pinto 

Local: Restaurante A Muralha, Alfama, Lisboa) Creative Commons

Sound Effects: Bugs birds Hum and Waves by Dustin Steichmann

Podcast Shoutout: Rewatch Recap Join host Dustin (Dustin Can Read & Watch podcast) and a special guest host every Monday as they recap a single season of a random television series, one episode at at time. The catch: they've already seen these before. Will the show still hold up? Will there inevitably be hilarious insights into what we used to watch? Tune in every Monday to find out!

Listener Shoutout: Moroni, Grand Comoros- Moroni (Arabic: موروني, romanized: Mūrūnī) is the largest city, federal capital, and seat of the government of the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. Moroni means "at the river" (mroni in Shingazidja). Moroni is the capital of the semi-autonomous island of Ngazidja, the largest of the three main islands of the republic. 

Video made by Headliner

Read the words at https://sandmanstoriespresents.wordpress.com

#armenia #folklore

In this tale, Dyjhicon is a whiner. He doesn't want to do any chores, he is afraid of the rats, and all he can do is criticize his wife. So he leaves the house and wanders until he finds some flies. He kills seven with his hand and legend is born.

Source: The Golden Maiden, by A. G. Seklemian 1898

Narrator: Dustin Steichmann

Music: Kamo Seyranyan- Zurna & Klarnet - Harsanekan par  Զուռնա կլարնետ - Հարսանեկան պար Creative Commons

Sound Effects: 10 minutes of Rain by Dustin Steichmann

Podcast Shoutout: Uncited is the internet's least reliable English literature podcast. Join former English majors Amy and Chantelle as they revisit the good, the bad, and the spectacularly ridiculous literary works from their undergrad.

Listener Shoutout: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s sprawling capital in the highlands bordering the Great Rift Valley, is the country’s commercial and cultural hub. Its National Museum exhibits Ethiopian art, traditional crafts and prehistoric fossils, including replicas of the famous early hominid, "Lucy." The burial place of the 20th-century emperor Haile Selassie, copper-domed Holy Trinity Cathedral, is a neo-baroque architectural landmark. - Via google

"File:Akhtamar Island on Lake Van with the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross.jpg" by gozturk is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

In this story, three children of the old woman are eaten up by a Dew (evil spirit). To get them out, her youngest son has to stop playing in the ashes and defeat the Dew. Once he does, what is his reward? His wife is snatched by his brothers and he is stuck in the underworld. See the Youngest of the Three in the Armenian stories for a parallel story.

Source: Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales, by Ignácz Kúnos, illustrations by Willy Pogany; 1913

Narrator: Dustin Steichmann

Music: BABAM (Saçların Ağarmış Bembeyaz Olmuş) - ŞENTÜRK DÜNDAR

Sound Effects: Sea and Seagull, wave It is the sound from seaside of Gümüsdere in Turkey. In winter seagulls and strong waves. by suukadi

Podcast Shoutout: Ratchet Book Club Derik's amazing podcast

Listener Shoutout: Muscat Oman

In this story, Aponibolinayen is courted by Gawigawen. She agrees to marry him, but someone tells her on her wedding day that her husband has three noses. In light of this rumor, Aponibolinayen runs away and becomes the wife of Kadayadawan. What will happen when Gawigawen is invited to the new wedding? Listen and find out. 

Source: Philippine Folk Tales Compiled and Annotated by Mabel Cook Cole (1916)

Narrator: Dustin Steichmann

Music: VOC_150310-0959_PH_EthnicMusic.wav by kevp888 on freesound.org

Sound Effects: VOC_150211-0944_PH_NightCountryside.wav by kevp888 on freesound.org

"CARABAO POST CARD" by Bulaclac Paruparu is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Podcast Shoutout: One Mic-Black History 

Listener Shoutout: Philly PA

In the first story, Hyena marries Jackal, but it turns out not to be that good of a marriage. Lion dies, a cow is stolen, and the ants come for what is theirs.

In the second story, the animals leave their fat inside a corral with one animal guarding it. Time after time the Inkalimeva comes by, eats the fat, and gets the guard killed. Will Hare do any better?

Source: South-African Folk-Tales by James A. Honey 1910

Narrator: Dustin Steichmann

Music: Traditional Swaziland Singing by Free Press Media Press Inc. creative commons

Sound Effects: 190809 nightjars.mp3 by restive

Podcast Shoutout: Weird Rap  An exhaustive search for experimental, progressive & otherwise unusual rap music, new & old.

Listener Shoutout: Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia is known for the historic island of Khortytsia, multiple power stations (including Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Zaporizhzhia thermal power station, and Dnieper Hydroelectric Station) and for being an important industrial centre. Steel, aluminium, aircraft engines, automobiles, transformers for substations, and other heavy industrial goods are produced in the region. via Wikipedia

In the first story, a General is lost in the desert with his army. A bird and an ant have an argument next to the dying general about which is more important to the man. I’m sure he was glad to hear them arguing while he was dying of thirst.

And in the second story, three girls are admitted to a school, but have to dress up as boys. Their beauty makes the other boys want to copy their names, but their courage and sense of morals set them apart from the rest. 

Source: Chinese Fables and Folk Stories by MARY HAYES DAVIS and CHOW-LEUNG 1908

Narrator: Dustin Steichmann

SFX: Thunderstorm on Mount Mogan by RTB45 on Freesound.org

Music: China Singing 1.mp3 by gynation on freesound.org

Shoutout: Beyond the Rainbow Podcast 

Listener: Port of Spain T&T The Port of Spain was founded near the site of the Amerindian fishing village of Cumucurapo ("place of the silk cotton trees"), located in the area today known as Mucurapo, west of the city centre. From Wikipedia

In the first story, the king has twins which is not good news. Instead of killing them like the custom dictates, he lets them flee and grow up elsewhere. When they come back to rule, jealousy turns one of them into a murderer.

In the second story, the hunter Akiti (last seen in Episode 87), is hunting the Leopard. But Leopard eats some magic plants and isn't harmed.

In the third story, Leopard is about to eat some a bathing woman, when she launches her loofah at him and gives him his spots.

Source: Yoruba Legands by Ogumefu, M. I.

Narrator: Dustin Steichmann

Music: Watch this Abidemi Kehinde proudly of Ondo Kingdom on SPATV

Sound Effects: 20170602_05h45_BANGUI_oiseaux coqs chouette cote fleuve_Marantz MKII.WAV by DelphineWil

Podcast Shoutout: The SJW Comic Book Club

Listener Shoutout: The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of 129,449 square kilometres (49,981 sq mi), and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020.

Catch me here: Galas, @StoriesSandman on twitter, and @SandmanStories on Mastadon

Photo Credit: "Leopard yawning, Masai Mara, Kenya" by Mark Hodson Photos is licensed under CC BY 2.0.