The Apple Seed

An episode dedicated to stories of disguises, false identities, pretending to be something or somebody you’re not, fake names and facades.

Amankamek by Joseph Bruchac (1:43)

A handsome young man lures a girl into his cave where he lives with his grandmother, but after some time the girl realizes everything is not as it seems. Learn more about Joseph Bruchac by visiting: josephbruchac.com

The Beginning of the Armadillos by Jim Weiss (10:10)

Hedgehog and Tortoise figure out a way to confuse young Painted Jaguar in order to save themselves from being eaten. Learn more about Jim Weiss by visiting: www.jimweiss.com

The Swineherd by Randel McGee (31:08)

A Hans Christian Andersen tale about a prince who sends the emperor's daughter lovely gifts but she refuses them. Her snobbish behavior inspires the prince to don the guise of a swineherd in order to get some revenge. Learn more about Randel McGee by visiting: folktaleartists.com

The Lute Player by Mary Grace Ketner (47:03)

A queen pretends to be a minstrel to save her husband’s life, but only she's in on the plot. Learn more about Mary Grace Ketner by visiting: talesandlegends.net

If you're familiar with the national storytelling circuit, you may know Connie Regan-Blake from the National Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, where she's participated each year in some capacity since it's first run in 1973. She's a storytelling Oracle Award recipient, a founding member of the National Storytelling Network, and we're so excited to feature her on this episode of The Apple Seed. You'll get to hear an interview and a couple of her stories including: "Two White Horses", "Lantern story", and a tale about her storytelling mentor Ray Hicks.

In this episode we’re diving deep into stories starring, well, fish. But not just any fish: fish with terrific, fantastical abilities that go beyond surviving a week. The fish in these stories embody the magic and wonder that often draws us in, like the tide, to the big blue sea.

Sally & the Sea by Brett Dillingham (1:09)

Erwin loves a girl named Sally who's very different from the other townspeople. She's enraptured by the sea so much so that she decides to live there. Learn more about Brett Dillingham by visiting: www.brettdillingham.com

The Fisherman and His Wife by Leeny Del Seamonds (6:45)

A fisherman catches a magical flounder but lets him go instead of taking him home to eat. When he tells his wife about it she makes him find the fish again so that it can grant them some wishes. Learn more about Leeny Del Seamonds by visiting: leenydelseamonds.com

Davy and the Devil by Megan Hicks (28:36)

Davy has a strong aversion towards fish but for one reason or another he works on a fishing boat, that is, until he gets fired and then decides to strike a deal with the devil. Learn more about Megan Hicks by visiting: www.meganhicks.com

Why I Don't Fish Anymore by Alan Hoal (42:02)

Alan tells the story of one of his most memorable pets, or at least he tells it how he remembers it. Learn more about Alan Hoal by visiting: www.thehoalstory.com

Stories and snippets that we've adored from the week of May 21, 2018 to May 25, 2018.

Some People Tune, Some People Play by Donald Davis (00:52)

Donald shares the life lessons he learned from some of his dear musician friends. You can find more of Donald's work at his website: www.ddavisstoryteller.com

Lauren Heperi's Law Story (27:06)

The law school of Brigham Young University is starting an intiative called "Law Stories" which you can hear more about on our episode "Law Stories". Lauren's story is one of the products of that initiative and it's about how so much of her life has pointed her towards law school.

Madonna Francesca by Tim Lowry (37:58)

From our "Suitors" episode, this story is about a woman with pesky suitors that she finally manages to throw off. You can find more from Tim Lowry at: storytellertimlowry.com

Katie Morelle's Kissing Story (47:08)

A personal story that drives home the importance of location when participating in a first kiss. You can hear other stories from students of BYU's storytelling class here as well as the conversation behind this particular piece.

In this episode we’re exploring the old-fashion idea of “suitors”. The last time you used the word “suitor” was probably around the last time you used the word “courting,” both are holdovers from the days when society dicated that unmarried men and women were to be extremely careful in there interactions with one another. Those unspoken rules lead to some very intricate courting rituals, like in 19th-century rural Austria, where eligible young ladies would keep an apple slice crammed in their armpits during dances. At the end of the evening, the girl would give her used fruit to the guy she most fancied. If the feeling was mutual, he’d wolf down the stinky apple. While the stories we’re going to share with you in this episode don’t involve anything quite that...quirky, we hope you still find them delectable.

The Luminous Pearl by Alton Chung (1:47)

Twin brothers compete for the affection of a magical princess. Learn more about Alton Chung by visiting: www.altonchung.com

The Sing by Lyn Ford (17:00)

Br’er Rabbit and Br’er Bear are vying for the attention of the same lady and the deciding factor as to who will win her hand in marriage is whoever can sing the best. Learn more about Lyn Ford by visiting: www.storytellerlynford.com

Madonna Francesca by Tim Lowry (27:27)

She has two suitors that won’t leave her alone so she tricks them into digging up a dead body to throw them off her tail. Learn more about Tim Lowry by visiting: storytellertimlowry.com

The Lady Mole by Barbara G. Schutzgruber (36:44)

A proud beautiful girlturns away suitors because she loves a knight but it turns out that the knight is pretty arrogant himself and doesn’t love her. Learn more about Barbara G. Schutzgruber by visiting: weavestory.com

The Mermoose of Muskadunk Lake by Willy Claflin (46:01)

Maynard Moose explains how in order to get a mate, boy moose recite poetry; Maynard then recites the “45” verses of an epic moose poem he created in hopes of finding a mate himself. Learn more about Willy Claflin by visiting: www.willyclaflin.com

On this episode of The Apple Seed, we chat with Marie Kulbeth and Rebbeca Clarke, the directors of a new storytelling initiative called “Law Stories” at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. Students participating in the initiative prepare and perform true stories based on experiences with the law. In addition to our conversation with Clarke and Kulbeth, we’ll feature one of the LawStories submissions – a piece by Lauren Heperi about how she became a law student in the first place. All this, plus an Abraham Lincoln story from Brian Fox Ellis.

In this episode of the Apple Seed we invited into the studio students from the storytelling class that's held about every semester in order to talk about their experience and share some of the fruits of their labor.

Brigham Young University Storytelling Class Round Table (1:10)

Katie Morelle's Kissing Story (13:12)

Bradley Mckay's Children's Story (19:59)

Some People Tune, Some People Play by Donald Davis (32:06)

A guide and inspiration for the BYU Storytelling class, you can learn more about Donald Davis and his work by visiting: www.ddavisstoryteller.com

Stories and snippets that we've adored from the week of May 14th, 2018 to May 18, 2018.

From our episode "Fast Ones" we're featuring a small personal story from Sam Payne (1:30) along with stories from Rosie Cutrer (3:48) and Alan Hoal (20:13) about memorable pranks they pulled or that were pulled on them in their childhood. You can find more of Rosie and Alan's work at their respective websites: www.rosiecutrer.com and www.thehoalstory.com

One of Laura Packer’s hallmarks is to give voice to the voiceless, to highlight those that don’t often make it in traditional stories. In order to hear more of her thoughts on that and a story that illustrates her point be sure to check out the full episode, "Storyteller Spotlight: Laura Packer" or her website www.laurapacker.com, but for now enjoy this small teaser of our conversation here (32:39).

We also wanted to highlight the stories The Luckless One by Jenni Cargill Strong (37:35) and Heaven and Hell by Motoko (48:51), which were aired in our episode "Perspective". How you look at something can make all the difference. You can find more of Jenni's work at www.storytree.com.au and more of Motoko's work at motoko.folktales.net

An episode dedicated to exploring the many ways you can look at life.

The Runaway Horse by Odds Bodkin (1:25)

Perceived blessings are curses and vice versa and it all begins with a young man's runaway horse. Learn more about Odds Bodkin by visiting: https://www.oddsbodkin.net/

Bartholomew the Liar by Tim Lowry (9:29)

Known to be quite the liar Bartholomew overhears some interesting conversation and believes it to be God and the devil dividing up souls and brings it to the attention of his wife. Learn more about Tim Lowry by visiting: storytellertimlowry.com

Luckless One by Jenni Cargill-Strong (16:28)

A man thinks he’s without any luck and so he’s constantly complaining. He goes on a journey to discover why he is without luck but he doesn’t recognize the good fortune he has when he finds it. Learn more about Jenni Cargill-Strong by visiting: www.storytree.com.au

Heaven and Hell by Motoko (27:34)

A woman asks a wise man if it matters what she does on earth. Learn more about Motoko by visiting: motoko.folktales.net

The Town and Country Mouse by Heather Forest (34:45)

A classic tale about seeing the world differently and accepting how others choose to live. Learn more about Heather Forest by visiting: www.heatherforest.com

Three Heavenly Gifts by Len Cabral (38:45)

God offers one man the choice of three heavenly gifts, the choices: a child, money, or patience. The catch is that he may only choose one of the gifts and as he asks advice from friends and family everyone says to pick something different. Learn more about Len Cabral by visiting: www.lencabral.com

Tia Astucia by Milbre Burch and Gay Ducey (44:45)

Tia is shrewd and industrious while her daughter is beautiful and lazy, and though the latter's outlook on life leads her to some trouble, Tia Astucia swoops in to save the day. Learn more about Milbre Burch by visiting: www.kindcrone.com

One of storyteller Laura Packer's hallmarks is to give voice to the voiceless -- to honor those that don’t often play the hero roles in traditional tales. In this episode, we catch up with Laura after a terrific performance at The Celtic Knot pub and performance space in Evanston, Illinois. Laura played to an enthusiastic audience that appreciated her spin on folk and fairy tales, as well as her built-from-the-ground up fictional stories filled with poetry and empathy. On today's episode, you'll hear a couple of Laura's stories, recorded that night in Illinois, as well as a great conversation with the storyteller herself.