Tell Me a Story (21 traditional stories from the British Isles dramatised by J.D.Graham)

T E L L

M E

A

STORY

21 traditional stories from the British Isles dramatised by J.D. Graham.

These texts of “Tell Me a Story” are intended to provide support for the radio programmes and at the same time a good read.   They are not full transcripts, but they will satisfy those who are interested in the idiomatic use of language and the idiosyncrasies of English spelling!

C O N T E N T S

1.   The Story of the Frog Prince

2.   The Story of the Two Sisters

3.   The Story of the Elves and the Shoemaker

4.   The Story of the Little Weaver (in 2 parts)

5.   The Story of the Farmer’s Clever Son

6.   The Story of the Buyer and the Seller

7.   The Story of the Golden Jewel Box (in 2 parts)

8.   The Story of the Golden Goose

9.   The Story of the Three Wishes

10.   The Story of the Three Sillies

11.   The Story of Silly William

12.   The Story of the Five Skeins (in 3 parts)

13.  The Story of the Good Housewife

14.   The Story of Tom and the Magic Flute

15.   The Story of Henry and Henrietta

16.   The Story of the Donkey, the Table and the Stick

17.   The Story of the Little Man in Red

18.   The Story of Joe and the Wicked Witch

19.   The Story of the Hat that Paid

20.   The Story of Jack and the Beanstalk (in 2 parts)

21.  The Story of the Bewitched Pudding (not broadcast)

1.  THE STORY OF THE FROG PRINCE

This story is about a girl called Janet.   Janet lived on a farm and one day she went to the well to get some water - as she did every day.   She let the bucket down into the well and pulled it up again.   “I must get some water,” she said.   But when the bucket came up, there was no water in it.   Janet realised why.   “There’s a hole in the bucket.”   And she wondered what she was going to do.   Just then a little green frog jumped out of the well.   She was very surprised when the frog spoke to her.   “I don’t believe it,” she cried.   “You’re a frog, a little green frog.   That’s ridiculous.   Frogs don’t talk.”   The little green frog was very indignant.   “Well, this one does”, he said.

So Janet explained her problem and to her surprise, the little green frog offered to help.   “I’ll tell you how to mend the bucket but you must promise me something first.   I’ll help you if you promise to do whatever I ask for one whole night.”   “Well, it’s only a frog.   A frog can’t ask very much,” thought Janet, so she promised to do whatever the little frog wanted for one whole night.   Then the frog told Janet how to mend the hole in the bucket.   “Mend it with grass and mend it with clay and then the water won’t run away.”   So Janet mended the bucket, got some water from the well and went home.  

That evening she and her mother were eating their dinner when there was a knock at the door and they could hear a voice saying:  “Remember your promise.”   “Who’s that?” asked Janet’s mother.   And when Janet told her it was a frog, her mother was very surprised.   “But that’s ridiculous.  I don’t believe it.   Frogs don’t talk.”   But this one did.   And when her mother had heard the whole story of the hole in the bucket and how the frog had helped her, she said to Janet, “If you made a promise you must keep it.   You should always keep your promises.”

So Janet opened the door and the little frog hopped in.   Janet introduced her mother to the frog.   “How do you do?” he said politely and then asked for a chair.   Janet wasn’t very keen.   “Why should I do that?   The floor’s good enough for you - it’s good enough for a frog to sit on.”   But her mother said that she must keep her promise.   “If he asked for a chair, you must get him one,” she said.   And so Janet reluctantly got him a chair and he hopped up on to it.   Then the frog asked Janet to take him up to her room.   She was not very keen.   “Why should I do that?” she asked.   “Remember your promise”, the frog said and her mother told her that she must keep her promise.

So Janet took the little green frog up to her bedroom.   But when he asked to sleep on the bed, Janet was not at all keen.   “Sleep on the floor”, she said, “the floor’s good enough for you.”   But the frog reminded her yet again about her promise and she reluctantly agreed.   She didn’t see how she was going to sleep with a frog on the end of the bed but she got in any way and fell fast asleep.

In the morning Janet woke up.   She had forgotten all about the frog until she saw it on the end of the bed.   With a shriek she pushed him off the bed and he fell on to the floor.   Well, what a surprise!   Suddenly, instead of a frog, there stood a handsome prince.   Janet was amazed.   “Little green frogs don’t turn into handsome princes,” she exclaimed.   But the prince said, “Well, this one does.”   And then he explained how a wicked witch had put a spell on him and turned him into a frog and the only way he could break the spell was to find a girl who would do what he asked for one whole night.   “You kept your promise”, he said.    Now at last the prince was free of the spell.   But that wasn’t the end of the story.   The prince asked Janet to marry him and she said yes.   So they were married and everyone lived happily ever after.