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In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, shares a Scottish story about the changing seasons. It comes as we reach winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere. This is a story of the Cailleach Beira, the Queen of Winter.  She may be frightening but she has much to tell us about our role as elders and how we should best approach the winter season. She’s a very wise crone indeed!

Story: Donald Alexander MacKenzie, "Beira, Queen of Winter," in Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend (London, Blackie & Son, 1917).
Illustration: "Beira" from a drawing by John Duncan (from book).

Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles." 

This podcast is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. 
Copyright 2025 Kathy Shimpock.   

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For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will continue reading from the Arabian Nights collection, “Delila the Crafty/Wily.”   Delila is a trickster figure who brings chaos wherever she goes.  In this episode, we'll discover how this wise old woman's story ends. Is she punished or rewarded for her acts? Her acts of cunning cause the listener to reflect on justice, law, morality and the ability of women to be the author of their own lives. In Delila’s world actions are not black or white but a multitude of shades of gray.  Be ready to enter that world as you hear the story.

Story: "The Wiley Dalilah and Her Daughter Zaynab," in Arabian Nights: Volume I, trans. Jack Zipes (New York: Penguin Books, 1991).
Illustration:  Edmund Dulac, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

This podcast is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2025 Kathy Shimpock.    

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For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will read a story from the Arabian Nights collection.  It is entitled “Delila the Wily.”  This is a long story that will be completed over the next three episodes: two for the actual story and one for our discussion of this tale.  Delila is a trickster figure who brings chaos wherever she goes.  But she is much more than that. Her acts of cunning cause the listener to reflect on justice, law, morality and the ability of women to be the author of their own lives. In Delila’s world actions are not black or white but a multitude of shades of gray.  Be ready to enter that world as you hear the story.

Story: "The Wiley Dalilah and Her Daughter Zaynab," in Arabian Nights: Volume I, trans. Jack Zipes (New York: Penguin Books, 1991).
Illustration:  unknown vintage etching.

This podcast is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2025 Kathy Shimpock.    

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will read to you a Russian folktale: “The Three Sisters and Their Glass Hearts.” It’s a poignant story, nonetheless, and one you’ll long remember.

Story:  "The Three Sisters and Their Glass Hearts," in The Golden Fairy Book, H.R. Millar, illus. (London: Appleton & Co., 1894), 195-206.
Illustration:  "The Three Sisters and Their Glass Hearts," illustration by H.R. Millar (1894).   

Other Resources: Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic 

This podcast is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2025 Kathy Shimpock.    

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For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will continue her discussion of the Danish folktale, “Prince Lindworm.”  We began our analysis in the last episode, but there is much more to share.  This story is filled with metaphors and symbols.  It can be viewed in many ways. That fact alone emphasizes the power of folktales to bring understanding and healing to issues we deal with today.

Story:  East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North, illus. Kay Nielsen (New York: George H. Dorwan Co., 1922). "Strong Fairy Tale Heroines #21: Prince Lindworm" in Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: a blog by Katherine Langrish (July 14, 2020).
Illustration:  "She Saw the Lindworm for the First Time as He Came In and Stood by Her Side," illustration by Kay Nielsen (1922).                                                          Other Resources: "Prince Lindworm," "Tatterhood," and "The Handless Maiden."

This podcast is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2025 Kathy Shimpock.    

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will share the Danish folktale, “Prince Lindworm.”  It’s a story of shadow and light, female agency and transformation. It’s also a story with a sequel.  This mash-up or compilation of folktales is filled with metaphors and symbols. There is so much to discuss that will carry this on to the next podcast.

Story:  East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North, illus. Kay Nielsen (New York: George H. Dorwan Co., 1922). "Strong Fairy Tale Heroines #21: Prince Lindworm" in Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: a blog by Katherine Langrish (July 14, 2020).
Illustration:  "The Maiden Amidst the Lindorm's Shed Skins," illustration by Henry Justice Ford for Andrew Lang's The Pink Fairy Book (1897). 

This podcast is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2025 Kathy Shimpock.    

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, shares the story of "The Vampire Skeleton Corpse." This is a frightening tale from the Iroquois tradition.  Although there is never a single meaning for any story, this one has an important teaching  for the days ahead.

Story:  This story is a conflation of early Iroquois variants and my version of the story as told by Joseph Bruchac. Iroquois Stories: Heroes and Heroines, Monsters and Magic as told by Joseph Bruchac (Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1985).
Illustration: Birch bark longhouse. Fungus Guy, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.  "The Subject and his Skeleton" in Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, 1897 (public domain worldwide).

This podcast is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2025 Kathy Shimpock.       

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

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In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will be reading Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, A Christmas Carol.   The work is a novella, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843.  Because of the story's length, it will be read over four episodes. This is chapter four and five (or what Dickens called Stave Four, The Last of the Spirits and Stave 5, The End of It).   In this story Scrooge will have a visit from "Christmas Future."  He will again visit the home of Bob Cratchit and discover the fate of Tiny Tim and of himself too. You'll find a link in the credits to the tale, so you can read along.  At the end of each reading, there will be questions for you to journal and reflect on.  My comments on A Christmas Carol can be found on my blog entitled, "Why We Remember A Christmas Carol." Although Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol long ago, this story is relevant for today.

Story:  A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens (1843).
A Christmas Carol Study Questions, East Tennessee State University.
Illustration: Arthur Rackham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2024 Kathy Shimpock.      

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

Send us a text

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will be reading Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, A Christmas Carol.   The work is a novella, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843.  Because of the story's length, it will be read over four episodes. This is chapter three (or what Dickens called Stave Three, The Second of the Three Spirits).   In this story Scrooge will have a visit from "Christmas Present."  He will visit the home of Bob Cratchit and his nephew Fred. You'll find a link in the credits to the tale, so you can read along.  At the end of each reading, there will be questions for you to journal and reflect on.  Although Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol long ago, this story is relevant for today.

Story:  A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens (1843).
A Christmas Carol Study Questions, East Tennessee State University.
Illustration: Arthur Rackham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2024 Kathy Shimpock.     

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).

Send us a text

 In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will be reading Charles Dickens’ masterpiece, A Christmas Carol.   The work is a novella, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843.  Because of the story's length, it will be read over four episodes. This is chapter two (or what Dickens called Stave Two, The First of the Three Spirits).   In this story Scrooge will have a visit from "Christmas Past."  He will visit his childhood, time when he was apprenticed, and his failed relationship with Belle. You'll find a link in the credits to the tale, so you can read along.  At the end of each reading, there will be questions for you to journal and reflect on.  Although Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol long ago, this story is relevant for today.

Story:  A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens (1843).
A Christmas Carol Study Questions, East Tennessee State University.
Illustration: Arthur Rackham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Sound effects from my finch "Tweedles."
Copyright 2024 Kathy Shimpock.    

Support the show

For more crone tales, visit the "Wise Crone Cottage in the Woods" (http://www.wisecronecottage.com).