Have you ever heard the expression, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”?
What this saying means is, if you never “venture” – if you never try, you never take risks – then there’s not much you can expect to gain or achieve.
This expression comes to life in today’s tale, care of a teeny-tiny bird with sky-high dreams!
Our story is called “Lighting a Spark.” It was inspired by tales from the Western European country of France.
Voices in this episode include Evan Casey, GM Hakim, Erika Rose, Matt Zambrano, and Charlene Amoia, whom you grown-ups may know from such TV shows as “Sons of Thunder” and “How I Met Your Mother.” Watch for Charlene’s new comedy film, “The Breadwinner,” coming to theaters on May 29th.
This episode was adapted for Circle Round by Rebecca Sheir. It was edited by Dean Russell. Original music and sound design is by Eric Shimelonis. Our artist is Sabina Hahn.
(Sabina Hahn for WBUR)
GROWN-UPS! PRINT THIS so everyone can color while listening. We’re also keeping an album so please share your picture on Facebook and Instagram, and tag it with #CircleRoundPodcast. To access all the coloring pages for past episodes click HERE. Our resident artist is Sabina Hahn and you can learn more about her HERE.
Now It’s Your Turn
Jenny Wren had a big goal and worked hard to achieve it. You can do the same by playing “Three Stars and a Wish”! Here’s how:
- Ask a grown-up to help you cut out three paper stars.
- Inside each star, draw a picture of something you feel confident doing. Examples might include: doing a somersault, telling funny jokes, and ordering all by yourself at a restaurant.
- Show your stars to your grownup, and talk about how you got these skills. Did it take a while? How, and how much, did you practice?
- Now that you have your stars, get more paper and draw your wish: something you’d like to be confident doing. It could be swimming underwater, riding a two-wheeled bike, or doing a backflip on the trampoline.
- Show your grown-up your wish and talk about the steps you can take to achieve it.
It won’t happen overnight, but with practice – and persistence – you’re bound to make your wish come true!
Musical Spotlight: Acoustic guitar
The acoustic guitar – like this one being played by composer Eric Shimelonis – makes sound naturally. It needn’t be plugged into an amplifier like an electric guitar does. (image courtesy of Rebecca Sheir)
You play the acoustic guitar by holding the instrument against your torso. One hand presses the strings against the frets (the metal strips on the instrument’s neck) while the other hand strums the strings. The resulting sound resonates through the guitar’s body (a.k.a. sound box) and is projected acoustically through the air.
Experts debate about where and when the first acoustic guitar was made. However, we do know that the oldest surviving guitar-like instrument — the tanbur — dates back to 1500 BCE in Egypt, and consisted of a pear-shaped sound box with a long neck and three strings.
Other guitar-like variants developed through the ages. Interestingly, their names eventually converged around the Persian word “tar,” meaning “string”! Examples include the kithara (Greece), chartar (Persia), sitar (India), guitarra (Spain), chitarra (Italy), and, of course, the guitar (United States, etc.).
You can hear composer Eric Shimelonis play the acoustic guitar in several other Circle Round episodes, including “Maushop and the Shark,” “The Unjust Justice,” and “One Speckled Hen”!
Script:
NARRATOR: Once upon a time, the earth had no fire. Because every flame, every spark, every light was contained in the sun!
Living without fire was tough on the people. They had to go to bed at dusk, so they wouldn’t stumble in the dark past sunset. They had to eat their food raw, and spend the chilliest months huddled under blankets, trying to rub sensation back into their frozen toes.
The animals, on the other hand, fared much better. They had fur and feathers to keep them warm – and many had night vision, helping them find their way in the shadows.
But one animal took notice of the people’s suffering – and took pity. That animal was the reddish-brown bird known as Jenny Wren.
JENNY WREN: It isn’t fair that the people have to shiver, and stumble, and chew on rubbery, stringy food! If only there were a way to fly up to the sun, grab a spark, and bring it down to earth!
NARRATOR: Jenny Wren had a long, fluffy, feathery tail, but her round wings were puny and short, and her body was no larger than your thumb!
JENNY WREN: Clearly, I’m too small to do the deed. So perhaps I can get one of my feathered friends to help! I’ll invite the birds to a meeting and see which one of them can bring a spark from the sun!
NARRATOR: Jenny Wren put out the call. And the next day, as the sun rose above the treetops, she addressed a small group of birds who had gathered in the forest.
JENNY WREN: Thanks for meeting me, friends! I’ve invited you here to ask a favor. (beat) Will one of you please fly up to the sun and bring back fire for the people…?
NARRATOR: The birds were quiet for a moment. Then their unofficial ringleader – Robin – puffed out his breast… which, in those early days, was as brown as a hazelnut.
ROBIN: You can’t expect ME to volunteer, Jenny Wren! I’m one of the forest’s most beautiful singers! If I fly too close to the sun, I might ruin my fabulous voice!
GOLDFINCH: And I might ruin my colorful feathers!
NARRATOR: Goldfinch spoke next, bobbing his bright red head and fluttering his yellow-striped wings.
GOLDFINCH: See my pristine, polychromatic plumage? It would get scorched if I flew to the sun!
PHEASANT: Well at least you could make it to the sun!
NARRATOR: Now Pheasant piped up, twitching her slender, black-brown tail.
PHEASANT: I may look elegant and majestic with my speckled feathers and long, flowing tail. But I wasn’t built for flying long distances. And from here to the sun is a very long distance!
NARRATOR: Jenny Wren released a sigh.
JENNY WREN: (sigh) I understand your hesitation, friends. But if one of us doesn’t get fire from the sun, the people will be in big trouble! (beat) Won’t ANY of you volunteer…? Please…?
NARRATOR: She fixed the birds with a hopeful gaze, but was met with silence.
JENNY WREN: Okay. Fine! If none of you will volunteer to bring fire from the sun… then I’ll do it!
NARRATOR: The birds exchanged a look. Then Robin let out a cackle.
ROBIN: (cackle-like laughing) Have you looked at yourself lately, Jenny Wren? You’re tiny! No bigger than a thumb! You’ll never make it to the sun and back! …Isn’t that right, gang?
GOLDFINCH: (laughing) It’s totally right!
PHEASANT: (laughing) You’re on a fool’s errand, Jenny Wren!
ROBIN: Come along, friends. Let’s get out of here and leave Jenny Wren with her pie-in-the-sky ideas. Or FIRE-in-the-sky!
ROBIN: / GOLDFINCH: / PHEASANT: (ad-lib amused laughter)
[SOT: wing beats as birds leave]
NARRATOR: Jenny Wren’s small body shook with indignation as Robin, Goldfinch, and Pheasant flew away.
JENNY WREN: (calling out, sarcastic, indignant) Thanks for the vote of confidence, friends! And you know what?? Maybe I am too tiny! Maybe I’ll FAIL on this mission! Maybe I’ll crash and burn — or, given how hot the sun is, just burn! (beat) But I’ll never know if I don’t try!
SKYLARK: Darn tootin’ you won’t!
NARRATOR: Jenny Wren spun around and there was the brown-crested bird known as Skylark.
JENNY WREN: Skyark! I didn’t see you! Why weren’t you at the meeting?
NARRATOR: Skylark shrugged his pointy wings.
SKYLARK: I would have been there, Jenny Wren. But Lady Lark has been sitting on eggs for over a week – our first clutch ever! Since those youngsters will be hatching any minute now, I’ve been keeping close to the nest.
JENNY WREN: Wow! You’re going to be a dad?
SKYLARK: I sure am. (beat) But listen, Jenny. I got here just in time to hear those turkeys laughing at you.
JENNY WREN: (misunderstanding) Oh there weren’t any turkeys there! It was just Robin and Goldfinch and Ph – (SKYLARK interrupts)
SKYLARK: (cutting in) Those CLOWNS, I mean! I heard them teasing… and razzing… AND I heard what you said in response. That whole thing about how you’ll never know if you don’t try?
JENNY WREN: That’s what I’ve always believed. …But now I believe those clowns might be right. I’d be crazy to fly all the way to the sun!
SKYLARK: Maybe…. Maybe not. But nothing ventured, nothing gained! (beat) And look. Let’s not sugarcoat things. VENTURING can be scary. Having a go at something new and unfamiliar can spook the heck out of you! I mean, look at me! I’m becoming a dad for the first time and I have no idea what to expect. I might be great at it… or I might be a big hot mess.
JENNY WREN: Something tells me it’ll be the first one.
SKYLARK: Thanks. (beat) I believe in you, Jenny Wren. You just have to decide if YOU believe in you too. (beat) Now if you’ll excuse me, I promised Lady Lark a dozen wriggling worms for dinner and I mustn’t leave her hanging.
[SOT: wing beats as SKYLARK starts to fly away]
JENNY WREN: Thank you, Skylark! That was just the pep talk I needed! (beat) Congrats on your babies!
SKYLARK: (calling down as he flies away) And congrats on your boldness! It’s brave ideas like yours that set the world on fire, Jenny! (beat) (dramatic) In more ways than one!
NARRATOR: What will happen next? Will Jenny Wren succeed in her fiery feat?
We’ll find out, after a quick break.
[BREAK]
NARRATOR: Welcome back to Circle Round. I’m Rebecca Sheir. Today our story is called “Lighting a Spark.”
Before the break, Jenny Wren was determined to bring fire to the earth… from the sun.
Robin, Goldfinch, and Pheasant ridiculed the idea. But Skylark gave Jenny Wren an encouraging pep talk. And the next morning…
JENNY WREN: Okay! Here I go!
NARRATOR: … the small-bodied, long-tailed bird set out on her mission, her short, round wings a blur as she whizzed toward the sky.
[SOT: whirring wing beats]
JENNY WREN: (tiring) Boy! It sure is a long way to the sun! But I won’t give up! I won’t!
NARRATOR: And she didn’t! When she finally reached the sun, she plucked out a spark of fire…
JENNY WREN: (as she plucks) Gotcha!
NARRATOR: …then set the flame on her long, fluffy tail, to keep it safe til she landed.
But as she headed to earth, she noticed a sizzling sound… and a smoldering smell.
[SOT: tail feathers on fire]
JENNY WREN: Oh no! My tail feathers are on fire! They’re going to burn to a crisp! (beat) Why didn’t I think of this before? Somebody help me! Please!
NARRATOR: The tiny, reddish-brown bird was too high up for anyone to hear. But she wasn’t too high up for anyone to see! When Robin looked up and saw the bright, blazing ball hurtling his way, he immediately put two and two together.
ROBIN: (impressed, despite himself) It’s Jenny Wren! She did it! She brought fire from the sun… but now SHE’S on fire! (beat) I wasn’t very helpful before. But I’m determined to be helpful NOW!
NARRATOR: Robin launched himself skyward. Jenny Wren frowned as he approached.
JENNY WREN: (as her tail smolders) Oh Robin! You were right! I was a fool to think I could pull this off!
ROBIN: No, Jenny Wren! I was a fool for thinking you couldn’t! Hang on!
NARRATOR: Robin flapped his wings to snuff out Jenny’s flames. Soon, her tail was no longer on fire… but Robin’s breast was! The brown feathers crackled and sparked as they turned a blazing crimson.
ROBIN: (as his feathers burn) Oh no! Oh dear! Oh drat!
NARRATOR: Jenny Wren jumped into action, beating her puny wings to stifle the fire.
JENNY WREN: (batting the flames) The flames refuse to go out! They keep blazing bright! But I’ll keep trying!
SKYLARK: That’s my girl! Nothing ventured, nothing gained! …Am I right???
NARRATOR: Jenny Wren and Robin glanced down. And there – rocketing upward with a cluster of twigs in his claws – was Skylark!
SKYLARK: Hey Robin! Is it just me, or is there something you want to get off your chest?
NARRATOR: He dove toward the burning bird. As he zipped past, the flames leapt off Robin’s breast feathers and onto the twigs!
SKYLARK: There! That’s better! I’ll see you two fireballs back on earth!
NARRATOR: Skylark spread his wings and glided to the ground like a parachute. He dropped the burning twigs onto a pile of rocks, sprinkled in some dried grass, and began fanning the flames, helping the air flow and the fire glow.
Jenny Wren and Robin joined him. Eventually, Goldfinch and Pheasant fluttered over.
GOLDFINCH: Great work on that daring feat, Jenny Wren!
PHEASANT: Nice going on that daring rescue, Robin and Skylark!
NARRATOR: As the scent of burning wood filled the air… the forest filled with people! Beaming, awestruck people who drifted over to admire the dancing, crackling flames, and rejoice.
[SOT: human cheers]
NARRATOR: After that, the world was never the same – and neither were Skylark, Robin, or Jenny Wren.
Skylark had so much fun rocketing up to the sky that he’s done it ever since! To this day, you’ll see male skylarks launch from the ground in a near-vertical line… hover for a moment… then glide back down like a parachute.
As for Robin… the feathers on his breast are no longer as brown as a hazelnut. After the fire, they turned bright crimson… giving him a nickname you may have heard before: “Robin Redbreast.”
Then there’s Jenny Wren. The petite little bird is still no larger than your thumb. But after her tangle with the flames, her long, fluffy tail became short and stumpy. Still, she holds it high – nearly straight up from her body – as a mark of pride for taking a leap of faith and setting the world on fire.
