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).

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).

 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).

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 the next four episodes. This is chapter one (or what Dickens called Stave One, Marley’s Ghost).   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).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will be reading “Stribor’s Forest.” It’s a Croation literary tale written by Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic. It is a tale longer than most, so grab some tea and your journal before we begin.  After listening to this story, you might have some thoughts to jot down and ideas to explore.

Story:  "Stribor's Forest" by Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic in Croation Tales of Long Ago, trans. by F.S. Copeland (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co. Pub., 1924). (In Project Gutenberg.)
Illustration: Vladimir Kirin.
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).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will explore elder abuse, as seen in stories, folklore and actual life.  We'll start our exploration with a practice found in Japanese stories called ubasute or "abandoning the old woman."  Then we'll shift to modern day America and the recent death of my friend who was killed by a family member in an unspeakable act of "elder abuse."

Story:  Uchida, Yoshiko, The Wise Old Woman.  New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1994. 
Illustration: By Yoshitoshi  ( Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12303980muian04/04yoshitoshi05037.jpg )
For more information: National Center for Elder Abuse (https://ncea.acl.gov)
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).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, will explore the Chinese folktale, “The Old Woman and the Tiger.”  The story is retold by Mary Hemingway who grew up in northern China.  In this story, we’ll see a different side of the wise crone archetype. No longer a side character, she is now the protagonist.  And rather than serving as the “helper,” this old woman puts herself first. She shows us that one person can make a difference and achieve justice to boot. It’s an old message but especially relevant today.

Story: Mary Hemingway, “The Old Woman and the Tiger,” vol. XI, no. 9 Story Parade (Sept. 1946): 11-14.
Richard Marshall, "Jack Zipes and the Many Subversions of the Fairy Tale."
Illustration: Photo from Pixabay.
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).

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock explores the Grimm tale “Frau Trude.”   It’s a short didactic story that allows for many surprising interpretations. Whether she be a witch or a crone, there’s a lot of cackling and crackling going on.  Hopefully, we can stay out of the fire without getting burnt!  Either way, she's a friend you'll want to have. Fingers crossed!

My latest blog post discusses the color implications in this story.  Check it out to learn even more!

Story:  Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Frau Trude, Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales -- Grimms' Fairy Tales), no. 43, 1837.  Translation by D. L. Ashliman. © 2001. 
Sancinetti, Raquel, "The Wisdom of Living in the Present According to My 107-Year-Old Best Friend," New York Times, Nov. 14, 2023.
Illustration: Photo from Pixabay.
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).

In this episode the Storyteller Kathy Shimpock explores the relationship of the crone within the maiden, mother, and crone trilogy.  She tells the Greek myth of "Demeter and Persephone" and shares a lesser known variation in which Hecate plays a pivotal role.

Story: "Demeter & Persephone" (a traditional Greek myth) as told by Kathy Shimpock. 
Cover illustration: "The Night of Enitharmon's Joy," by William Blake, 1795.
Music:  The Snow Queen Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com).  Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/  
Copyright 2020 Kathy Shimpock.    All rights reserved.

Support the show

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

In this episode, the storyteller, Kathy Shimpock, meets again with Master Hypnotherapist, Linda Bennett.  Together they discuss the Norwegian folktale, "Tatterhood," and explore its many meanings and interpretations by looking at its symbols, metaphors, and archetypes.  It's a fascinating model for dream interpretation too.  Part 2 of their conversation continues on  the "Crone & Queen's Fireside Podcast" where they discuss ways traditional stories can be used as a tool for personal growth and holistic healing. They explore the work of psychologist, Milton Erickson and share ways they've used stories within their own practice.  As you’ll soon see, stories can be used to facilitate change in many settings from life coaching to hypnosis, depth coaching to spiritual companioning. 

Story:   Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, Lurvehette [Tatterhood], Norske Folkeeventyr (Christiania [Oslo], 1842-1852), translated by George Webb Dasent (1859).   Translation revised by D. L. Ashliman. © 2001. 
Illustration: From Tatterhood and the Hobgoblins: A Norwegian Folktale, retold and illustrated by Lauren A. Mills. New York: Little, Brown, 1996.  [This beautifully illustrated book is now out of print, but available at used book stores.]
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).