A Jarful of Stories

with your host, Rick Brown

For April 15 through April 21, 2012

Original music and stories for children of all ages . . .

(Next update: Apr 22, 2012 - 17/12:663

"Down to the Deep"

This Week's Picture

I discovered this image while bicycling back from the post office Saturday morning. Beautiful, mysterious and thick with damp, unstable air, the morning promised thunderstorms in the afternoon.
(taken Apr. 14, 2011)

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Welcome!

I wanted to honor the memory of the Titanic, the great ship that sank 100 years ago on April 15, 1912. Sure, it’s just a number but the stories abound in this event. Now here’s the problem: the story of the sinking has been told so many times.
I decided to tell stories around the topic, using the idea of the water as a starting place for each of the tales.
One thing lead to another (which it usually does in this radio show) and I ended up with only two stories. Listen to them alone and I think you’d be hard pressed to understand the connection the stories share with the Titanic. That’s ok.
I hope you get a chance to listen to the stories and enjoy them. Drop me a line and let me know what you think.
Until then, women and children first!

rick brown's scribble
Rick Brown,
Host & Producer

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Rick Brown, host of A Jarful of Stories

"People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first."
— David H. Comins

about a jarful of stories
A Jarful of Stories is a weekly radio program of original stories and poetry for children of all ages. Each week the stories follow a theme and each program ends with a story about my pet mouse, Duke. Everyone should have a friend like Duke the Mouse. He is forever getting into trouble and he can barely do any task without making a mess of the whole thing. But that's ok. He's still my friend and sometimes we just do fun things, too. The goal of this radio program is to celebrate the joy of listening to stories (and to keep Duke the Mouse out of my hair for five minutes). You can come along each week and enjoy the fun of these stories, too.

this week's story

Broadcast: December 25, 2011

I wanted to tell a story that played with the surface of the water, that looked at water as an impossible boundary. The story develops in a line: here’s the problem, here are a series of solutions that don’t work, until . . .

ACROSS THE WATER

     James the Elephant lived on an island far out in the ocean. With plenty to eat, lots of fresh water and gentle sea breezes, his life was just about perfect. Each day he ate as much as he wanted, drank from the cool, fresh springs on the island and played on the white sands of the beach.
    This went on for many years. And then, after a while, James ate almost all the delicious leaves on the island. The water still flowed from the springs but the elephant needed lots of leaves and fruit to give him enough energy each day.
    And then one day, while he played tag with the waves on the beach, James the Elephant noticed something wonderful about the island just across the channel: the trees contained plenty of leaves and lots of fruit — exactly what he needed to eat.
    One problem: getting across the water.
    A seagull landed on the elephant’s strong shoulder as James wondered how to cross the water.
    “Fly across,” said the seagull. “That’s what I do.”
    “I’ll try,” James said. “Yes, I guess I’ll try. I mean, I’ve never flown before so . . . is it safe?”
    “Well,” the seagull sniffed, “I do it all the time and nothing bad has ever happened to me.”
    James plodded up to the highest point on the island — a cliff that overlooked the narrow channel between the islands.
    “Here goes nothing,” he said bravely, taking several steps back.
    At a full charge, the elephant ran off the edge of the cliff and for just a second —well, not even that long — and for just a fraction of a second he sailed up and up and then down and down, crashing into the jungle directly below the cliff.
    A few days later, after James tended to all his scrapes and cuts and healed from his very sore leg, he again stood on the beach, eyeing the beautiful island across the channel from him.
    “How can I get there?” the elephant asked.
    “Simple enough,” said a turtle who rested on the beach after laying her eggs. “Do as I do when I dig a hole for my eggs — just move the sand.”
    “You mean the water?” James asked. “Move the water?”
    The turtle nodded.
    So James the Elephant spent a whole day filling a bucket with sea water, trudging to the opposite end of the island and dumping the water back in the ocean. After a day of doing this hard labor, no hole in the ocean appeared.
    “That doesn’t work,” James declared, his trunk sore from all the work. “As soon as I take out a bucket of water, the other sea water rushes back in. I’ll never get to that island.”
    A fish stuck his head out of the water and looked at James.
    “Problem?” the fish asked.
    “Well, yes,” the large pachyderm said. “I’ve eaten almost all the leaves here on this island and I’m getting hungry. See that island over there? Well, if I can just get there then I can eat those leaves.”
  “And, so, what’s your problem?
    “Getting there!” James barked.
    “That’s your problem?” the fish asked. “Well, just swim over there. That’s what I do.”
    “Now, hold on—“ James said.
    “Or stay here and starve,” the fish said. “Up to you, buddy.”
    “But, but, I don’t know how to—“
    “No excuses,” the fish intoned. “Just swim.”
    So James the Elephant found his swimming suit, but it on and decided to practice swimming on the far end of the island where the water was deep.
    He placed one foot in the water, then another, a third and then finally his fourth foot went in and James dropped like a stone to the bottom. To make matters even worse, the other fish laughed at the poor elephant as he struggled to climb up the rocks and out of the water.
    Breathless and exhausted, James plopped down and cried in the warm, white sands. A duck waddled up to James and looked him in the eye.
    “What ever is wrong?” the duck asked.
    “Long story short,” the elephant cried. “I need to get to the other island because I’ve eaten almost all the leaves and fruit on this one.”
    “You mean the island across the channel?” the duck asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Oh, I see. Well, it can’t be done,” the duck said. “I mean, you’re the biggest thing on land but there’s no way you can get there from here. Just can’t do it.”
    James sat up.
    “Don’t tell me that,” he said indignantly. “I’m a huge, powerful elephant and I can do what I want. Do you hear me?”
    “Then fly,” the duck said.
    “Except that,” James said.
    “Ok, clear a path in the ocean.”
    “And that, too.”
    “I suppose you can swim, right?” the duck asked.
    “Oh, that’s the other thing I can’t do,” James said. “I almost drowned trying that.”
    “Well, if you’re so big and powerful then just float across the water,” the duck said.
    “No, no, no!” James shouted. “I’ve tried every loony thing that each animal suggested and nothing works, period. I can’t float. I’m an elephant. What part of elephant can’t you understand?”
    Calmly, the duck took a deep breath and said, “The part that gives up so easily.”
    Now, James felt angry. He stormed across the island, onto the white sandy beach and stood for just a moment before he started walking directly into the water. He walked and walked towards the island and, funny thing, the water only came up to his ankles. The channel between the island was shallow enough to walk across without swimming or flying or clearing a path. James used the one thing he had, his powerful legs, to get him across to the other island.
    Now, the elephant truly felt happy. He spends half a year on one island, eating leaves and fruit, drinking fresh water and playing on the beach. Then he walks across the channel to the other island and does the same there until it is time to return. And to say that James feels content — well, he does. But the most important part of this story happened when the elephant finally used his best talents to get what he needed, across the water.

The End

Sometimes a solution arrives in a surprising way. On the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, I wanted to write about solutions in a non-threatening way. And in these stories, the "happily ever after" is part of that solution.

duke logo

duke's story

Duke the Mouse in: ABOUT AS SHARP AS A WET MOUSE

Listen to the story

     I have a pet mouse named Duke who is so adventuresome and so brave and so courageous that he decided to take a water journey across the sink. Really. I guess I must have left the sink filled with water because my pet mouse decided to paddle his way over to the crackers on the other side of the sink instead of taking the long way around the pile of dishes. That's Duke for you. Not only is he lazy, he's about as sharp as a wet mouse.
    Well, Duke took a tuna can and a spoon and eased his makeshift boat into the water. As an extra safety measure, my pet mouse strapped a fluffy marshmallow on his back just in case he tipped over. It was going to be his life preserver.
    Now, the way I got this story, Duke started smelling that marshmallow once he began crossing the water with his tuna can. The harder he paddled with his spoon, the better that marshmallow smelled until Duke tried to whip around and take a bite out of it.
    Remember? It was tied to his back. His back! Well, he couldn't whip around fast enough to do that. It didn't matter because the smell was driving him to distraction. My pet mouse — my genius pet mouse — was spinning around and around in a tuna can in the middle of the sink. I walked in just in time to see him go over board with a tremendous splash — well, as much of a splash as a tiny mouse can make.
    Against my better judgment, I fished Duke out of the sink. He was rather upset with me when I told him he couldn't have any marshmallows till after dinner. I guess that's the thanks I get.
    I was hoping for a better story about the water but Duke wasn't interested. He told me if he was going to wait till dinner for his marshmallow, he'd nap till then. Sounded good to me, too. So we both took a nap.
And that's the way it is with Duke.

the shows

U p c o m i n g T h e m e s . . . Each program has a title and a theme (well, at least most of the time!). This page will let you know what's coming up in the next several weeks. Just look for the date and the theme. If you have a suggestion for a program theme or a story, be sure and e-mail me. I love getting new ideas! Thanks and ENJOY!

April 22, 2012 -
April 29, 2012 -
May 6, 2012 -
May 13, 2012 -
May 20, 2012 -
May 27, 2012 -
June 3, 2012 -
June 10, 2012 -
June 17, 2012 -
June 24, 2012 -
July 1, 2012 -
July 8, 2012 -
July 15, 2012 -
July 22, 2012 -
July 29, 2012 -
August 5, 2012 -
August 12, 2012 -
August 19, 2012 -
August 26, 2012 -

Pinch Me
From the Poet's Pen
Hold Your Breath
Mother Magic
Big Heart Stories
Exactly Like You
Solidly Summer Stories
Takes From the Porch Swing
Dad-sized Stories
Summer Snacks
Slow Fuse Stories
Air-Conditioned Tales
Down the Road
Stories for Sale
Under the Rainbow
A Waterfall of Stories
Home Again
On Vacation
Still On Vacation

Titles are arranged alphabetically to help you search for a story you might be interested in reading. If you know the date the story was aired, CLICK HERE to check out that list. Just click on the title to open the file. If you read a story you like, please let me know. You can e-mail me about ANYTHING! Thanks and ENJOY!

Across the Water - April 15, 2012
Books of Abe Lincoln, The - February 27, 2011
Circle of Friends - February 20, 2011
Chilly McGee - January 23, 2011
Liberties and All - January 16, 2011
The Little Chrsitmas Tree - December 25, 2011
Pig in High Heels, A - January 30, 2011
Reading Dummy, The - April 4, 2011
Summer Sandwich - February 6, 2011
Very Deep Snow - February 13, 2011

S t o r y L i s t s . . . Here is a list stories by date. Please note that not all the text of the stories is available. I know, I know. I'm just too lazy to put all of them on this website. Besides, there needs to be a reason to listen to the radio show on the air.

January 16, 2011	- Everything We See
	- Marketta the Puppet Maker - Liberties and All - The Old Hunter and the Boy DUKE: Second Class Mouse
January 23, 2011	- Winter Stars
	- Winter Trees - Chilly McGee - Long Winter's Nap DUKE: Frozen Wishes
January 30, 2011	- If the Shoe Fits
	- Living in a Shoe - A Pig in High Heels - 29 Pairs of Shoes Duke: Double-Wide King-Sized Shoe Bed
February 6, 2011	- Something Tastes Funny
	- The Radish Queen - Pancake Poems - Summer Sandwich - The Peanut Butter Detective Agency Duke: Snack of a Life Time
February 13, 2011	- Something Tastes Funny
	- I Love Chocolate - Very Deep Snow Duke: Cardboard Valentine
February 20, 2011	- Circle of Friends
	- A Circle of Friends - The Jump Rope King Duke: Bloomin' Trouble
February 27, 2011	- Where's My Book?
	- The Books of Abe Lincoln - In the Leaves of Grass Duke: Book Juice
February 27, 2011	- Where's My Book?
	- The Moon Basket - Strawberry Moon Duke: Breaded Mouse
March 6, 2011

March 13, 2011

March 20, 2011	- One More Time
	- Living in a Shoe - Fiona's Fiddle - Stone Pie - When Will Summer Get Here? Duke: Nothing Wrong in Being Right
March 27, 2011	- Rules for Fools
	- The Day After April Fool's Day Duke: The Final Chapter
April 17, 2011	- Duke Parking Only
	- The Reading Dummy - Breaded Mouse - Captain Teeter Totter - Moon June Tune - Cucumber Cool
December 25, 2011	- Christmas Candle
	- The Little Christmas Tree - Better to Give Than Receive - The Christmas Candle - Duke: Christmas Tree House
April 15, 2012	- Down to the Deep
	- Down to the Deep - Across the Water - Duke: About as Sharp as a Wet Mouse

From the Listeners

FAQ . . ..
In case you don't know, FAQ's stands for Frequently Asked Questions. If you have a question about this radio program, start here. You just may find the answer you're looking for! If not, please be sure and email me at jarfulofstories@yahoo.com with your question. I love to answer questions. The most recent questions will be at the top of the file. Thanks and ENJOY!

Your radio program is the most amazing thing I've ever heard in my entire life. It reminds me of the sound of a newborn baby as it takes his first breath of air. Is that enough?

Plenty. Your question is so good it seems as if I wrote it myself. Of course these comments are from the listeners of A Jarful of Stories. Uh, is there anybody out there really listening or do I have to keep making up these letters?

I am looking for a letter I wrote to you. Why haven't you posted it on this website yet?

I'm glad you asked. I'm just too lazy to do much of anything and this time of the year (late August) I'm lucky to have enough energy to drag my lazy pet mouse out of bed. That's Duke. He takes care of all that kind of stuff. Me? Well, I'm in charge of the snacks around here. Who wants candy?

What stories do you like to read?

Well, I don't read that much (unless I wrote it!). We are reading the Hobbit before bedtime to Sam who is nine years old. If I'm going to read anything, I usually like to read non-fiction. There's just something about true stories that interest me. There's enough truth happening in this world that I don't need to read made-up stories (unless, of course, I wrote them). We don't have a television in our house so the radio gets used a lot. What do you like to read? I always think that is an interesting question if you're trying to really get to know someone.

Letters . . . Here are some letters from listeners.

September 9, 2003

Greetings, good sir!

    I happened to catch A Jarful of Stories on WSCL one day when I was idly sitting around in my room. I was expecting something more along the lines of a children's radio show at the mere title (perhaps I can be said to subscribe to the idea of judging a book by its cover, unfortunately).
    Much to my surprise, it was more than a mere children's show. I actually enjoyed listening to it and I commend you highly on the obvious effort and time you've put into these amusing stories.
    It is indeed refreshing to know that storytelling is not a lost art, after all.
    Thank you for the entertainment. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely, Brian
Salisbury, Maryland