The Apple Seed

The road to growing up can be long and winding, with plenty of bumps along the way, but sometimes it’s the detours and the rocky roads that make for great stories.

Mr. Lepp, I gotta go! by Bil Lepp (5:05)

Bil Lepp’s father is a crazy driver...no matter where he’s going, he refuses to stop. When Bil was a boy scout his friend Petey agrees to chug a gallon of water in exchange for mean Frankie’s canteen, but things don't go as planned which leads to an interesting solution to a rather embarrassing situation. Learn more about Bil Lepp by visiting: www.leppstorytelling.com

Giufa and the Statue by Norah Dooley (20:35)

Giufa’s mom asks him to sell some cloth to a person of few words. He ends up “selling” it to a statue. Learn more about Norah Dooley by visiting: www.norahdooley.com

That's My Baby by Michael McCarty (25:00)

Michael recounts the childhood and teenage years of his daughter Karla, who initially was a sweet, obedient child but as a teenager, she enters a rebellious phase before figuring out her life direction. Learn more about Michael McCarty by visiting: www.havemouthwillrunit.com

Donkey & The Lion Skin by Diane Ferlatte (36:34)

Sometimes it takes a while for people to figure out their values and stick to them, and before that moment comes we will sometimes parade around as something we’re not, like a donkey that wears a lion skin. Learn more about Diane Ferlatte by visiting: www.dianeferlatte.com

Ocean of Answers by Kevin Cordi (45:11)

A sixteen year old boy wants a car so he can just, ya know, go for a drive. However, his dad doesn’t want to give him one so the boy goes to his grandfather, who concocts a plan to “help” his grandson. Learn more about Kevin Cordi by visiting: www.kevincordi.com

In this episode, we chat with members of the cast of the Renaissance Now Theater and Film production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and in so doing, we’ll get inside the heads of a group of disparate actors working to tell a timeless story for a modern audience. And lest you suspect us of taking ourselves too seriously, we’ll follow that up with Bill Harley’s madcap tale of backyard theater, "The Battle of the Mad Scientists." You’re in for all sorts of theatrical adventures on today’s episode of the Apple Seed: Tellers and Stories.

Macbeth (00:30)

Battle of the Mad Scientists (Part 1) (32:23)

Battle of the Mad Scientists (Part 2) (44:50)

Getting a job done isn’t always the easiest. The tasks you perform may be laborious and tedious, may require some thought before finding an innovative solution, or could be downright bizarre. Whatever the effort may be, the stories and songs in this episode highlight the good that can come after working all the livelong day.

The Talking Eggs by Diane Ferlatte (1:22)

A Cinderella-esque story, tormented Blanche spends a night assisting an old woman with some strange chores and is rewarded with some talking eggs. Learn more about Diane Ferlatte by visiting: www.dianeferlatte.com

Sandals by Fran Stallings (19:31)

From her album, Stories and Songs for a Green Earth, this story is about a king who wants to walk amongst his people to learn how to better serve them. However, at this time no one wears shoes and the rich people’s feet are just too sensitive to walk among the poor so the king, with help from his wife, figures out a solution! Learn more about Fran Stallings by visiting: www.franstallings.com

The Hired Girl by Liz Weir (25:10)

A young girl gets hired by a couple who has a nice wife but a frightening husband. During a snowstorm one night the wife gets stuck in town leaving her husband to tear up the house, frightening the young is about to be harmed when a mysterious horseman barges in and whisks her away to safety. Learn more about Liz Weir by visiting: www.lizweir.org

With My Own Two Hands by Jenni Cargill Strong (29:16)

A song about changing the world with your own two hands. Learn more about Jenni Cargill Strong by visiting: www.storytree.com.au

How the Beggar Boy Married the Chief's Daughter by Antonio Rocha (32:57)

The chief will let anyone marry his daughter if they can catch a magnificent iguana he sees on his walk everyday. After so many people fail, the beggar boy tries some tricks of his own. Learn more about Antonio Rocha by visiting: www.storyinmotion.com

The Goat and the Antelope Farm Together by Glenda Bonin (39:55)

Working with other can occasionally present a challenge, but Goat figures out a way to set things straight after Antelope behaves dishonestly. Learn more about Glenda Bonin by visiting: www.storyworksgroup.com

Jack and the Box of Gold by Bobby Norfolk (44:10)

Jack is lazy so his parents kick him out one day to go get a job. He signs up to house sit this spooky place and when a skeleton comes out of the chimney, Jack is surprised by what ensues. So is the rest of his family when he returns to them. Learn more about Bobby Norfolk by visiting: www.bobbynorfolk.com

On today’s episode of the Apple Seed, nothing grim, nothing Greek, nothing formal, nothing normal – just a few mostly light-hearted stories from some favorite tellers. You’ll hear from Donald Davis, Doug Elliott (with a story called "Fifty Thousand Bees on my Head," who could resist?), Maynard Moose (and his erstwhile human companion, Willy Claflin), and Ed Stivender, with a performance of Morgan Ashton’s morality poem "The Chess Game."

Keep-a-Goin \[Live] by Donald Davis (1:22)

www.ddavisstoryteller.com

Fifty Thousand Bees on my Head, Sail On Honeybee by Doug Elliott (18:44)

dougelliott.com

Lazy Jack \[Live] by Willy Claflin (38:49)

www.willyclaflin.com

The Chess Game performed by Ed Stivender (48:52)

edstivender.com

In this episode, hear a special October Stories live recording of excerpts from three gothic tales: “Sir Bertrand” (a story fragment written by John Aikin in 1764), “The Haunted Cavern” (written by John Palmer in 1796) and Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights (written in 1847). The stories are shared by our frequent guests from the Acting Company: Suzanne Christensen, and Noah and Leah Kershisnik, and it’s all tied together by an essay on scary stories written by Anna Letitia Aikin in 1773, and by a couple of Tom Waits tunes performed by musical guests Noah Kershisnik and Alex Vincent. ?

Skeletons, ghosts and cats, oh my! In this episode we’re keeping the Halloween spirit alive, with some of our favorite spine-chilling and hair-raising stories that take a spooky spin off of otherwise ordinary situations.

Eeny Weeny Beeny Ghost by Bill Harley (00:56)

www.billharley.com

King of the Cats by Anne Rutherford (7:50)

www.annerutherford.com

Lazy Jack by Octavia Sexton (22:03)

octaviasexton.com

Occupied by Megan Hicks (37:49)

www.meganhicks.com

“Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore’” is the iconic line from Edgar Allen Poe’s spooky and infamous poem, The Raven. But a raven is so much more than what he says and we wanted to spread our wings here on The Apple Seed and showcase some stories that reveal the multidimensional character that tales from all over have made the raven out to be.

The Raven performed by Sam Payne (00:46)

Edgar Allen Poe's classic poem performed by Sam Payne. Learn more about Sam Payne by visiting: www.sampayne.com

Raven Day by Brett Dillingham (8:32)

Brett Dillingham talks about his fascination with sound and how ravens are really good at imitating a multiplicity of noises. One day he mimicks a raven and then switches perspective to the raven’s point of view. Learn more about Brett Dillingham by visiting: www.brettdillingham.com

The Beaming Maiden by Beatrice Bowles (16:05)

In a land and a time when Raven is God, there is a powerful chief on earth named Ice Heart who is evil and oppresses his people. Ice Heart runs into a maiden whose smile lights up the village and wanting her all for himself, he threatens to kill her if she smiles for anyone but him. But she doesn't go along with his plan. Learn more about Beatrice Bowles by visiting: www.beatricebowles.com

Raven by Laura Simms (28:03)

Raven is a god and creates all of the animals and the first humans. He likes them so much that he decides to stay with them on earth. Learn more about Laura Simms by visiting: www.laurasimms.com

Seven Ravens by Sean K Buvala (35:26)

Seven brothers get turned into ravens and then their sister travels to the ends of the earth to turn them back into humans. Learn more about Sean K Buvala by visiting: www.storyteller.net/sbuvala

Raven and Daylight by Glenda Bonin (44:10)

A folktale from Alaska. Long ago, the people in the north lived in utter darkness. Raven visited them often and told them about daylight. They asked him to bring them some, so he flew to the east and through his magical powers, he stole a ball of daylight from a family and brought it back to his friends in the north. Learn more about Glenda Bonin by visiting: www.storyworksgroup.com

Ravins' of a Piute Poet Poe by Beth Horner (53:50)

Written by C.L.Edson Beth Horner recites a humorous take on The Raven. Learn more about Beth Horner by visiting: bethhorner.com

The dictionary describes the word “exception” as “a person or thing that is excluded from a general statement or does not follow a rule.” Adding onto that definition we often associate being the “exception” as being the lucky one, the one that gets to skip ahead in line, win the race or rule the kingdom because they happened to be different enough from everyone else. But it may not be that simple. After all if the balance tips in favor of one direction it has to dip back on the other side to balance out. On this episode of The Apple Seed we're exploring bitter and sweet aspects of being "the exception".

Saving Father's Life by Glenda Bonin (1:33)

A man leaves a posse chasing an outlaw to witness his daughter’s birth. But the man who takes his place isn't so fortunate. Learn more about Glenda Bonin by visiting: www.storyworksgroup.com

Burning of Tara by Cathryn Fairlee (3:59)

A banshee turns Fionn MacCool's aunt into a dog and leaves her in the care of a notorious dog hater, but the dog-hating lord sees that there's something special about this dog. Learn more about Cathryn Fairlee by visiting: www.sonic.net

The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Heather Forest (20:24)

The classic tale of a shepherd boy who abuses the cry for danger so that no one heeds him when a wolf actually appears. Learn more about Heather Forest by visiting: www.heatherforest.com

The Lovelorn Princess by Barry Stewart Mann (28:28)

A princess who is not very pretty goes around kissing frogs in hopes of finding a prince and after kissing a certain frog "the spell is broken" only it's not what you expect. Learn more about Barry Stewart Mann by visiting: www.barrystewartmann.com

Bala Lake by Laura J. Bobrow (33:51)

A friendly harper is led away from a mean king's party and when he wakes the next morning he is very surprised by what he finds. Learn more about Laura J. Bobrow by visiting: www.laurajbobrow.com

The Clog of Gold by Milbre Burch (39:50)

An Iraqi Cinderella story wherein the protagonist is aided by a magical fish. Learn more about Milbre Burch by visiting: www.kindcrone.com

On this episode of the Apple Seed: Tellers and Stories, we’ll visit the 45th annual National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. We’ll hear from some of our favorite tellers there (including Willy Claflin, Bil Lepp, and Josh Goforth) and also rub shoulders with festival attenders and report on the Fringe Festival, one of the oldest underground traditions associated with the Festival. It’s a trip to the premier storytelling event in the country, on one of the most picturesque main streets in America, on this episode of the Apple Seed.

Lona Bartlett on the Straw (1:27)

www.lonabartlett.com

The Bully Goat Grimm by Willy Claflin (4:02)

www.willyclaflin.com

Fringe Festival (15:06)

Josh Goforth Highlight (27:34)

www.blueridgeheritage.com/josh-goforth

Ornithaphobia - Or Fear of Birds by Bil Lepp (41:00)

www.leppstorytelling.com

“Forgive and forget” is a mantra that’s easier said than done. Asking or offering forgiveness can be a vulnerable moment that we try to avoid by justifying our actions or writing off the situation as accidental, or different from all the other times and therefore not necessary for apology. Whatever the excuse may be, the stories in this episode illustrate people who overcome their rationalizations and save their relationships with others by practicing forgiveness.

The Legend of the First Strawberry by Jenni Cargill-Strong (1:33)

A Cherokee Indian legend about a couple that grows apart and starts to forget about their initial love, but upon remembering they decide to forgive each other of their previous contentions. Learn more about Jenni Cargill-Strong by visiting: www.storytree.com.au

The Song Unsung and the Story Untold by Simon Brooks (9:54)

A husband and wife, who have never fought before, have a misunderstanding, and the husband leaves angrily. After some self-reflection, the husband returns and asks his wife for forgiveness. Learn more about Simon Brooks by visiting: www.diamondscree.com

Mary Yvonne and her Shroud by Dan Keding (21:05)

When Marie Yvonne, a skilled linen weaver, dies her only friends; Anrie, and Anne, take all of her linen, without leaving any for Marie’s shroud. Though Marie may be dead she wants a shroud and decides to set the situation straight and pay a visit to her friends one night. Learn more about Dan Keding by visiting: www.dankeding.com

Lawn Darts by Rick Huddle (29:23)

For Rick’s 13th birthday, he invites his two best friends over to play games, eat and spend the night in their trailer. It’s all fun and games until Rick accidentally hits the trailer with a lawn dart. His Dad reacts in an unexpected way. Learn more about Rick Huddle by visiting: www.rickhuddle.com

Robbery/Forgive Us by John McCutcheon (35:46)

At a folk club in Canada, John’s computer and phone are stolen. As a result he learns the importance of practicing what he preaches. Learn more about John McCutcheon by visiting: www.folkmusic.com