Keeping your Ears

A Sardinian tale of the dangers of being a storyteller

Video not yet publicly available

This tale has been recorded and will be uploaded to the video gallery (probably in 2027), where it will be available to watch for free - together with many, many other tales.

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I found this tale in Felix Karlinger's Das Feigenkörchen, Volksmärchen aus Sardinien (1972, Kassel). The rather conventional narrative offered an opportunity to be playful!

A version based on Karlinger's text is also in "Märchenforum" Herbst 2017, p. 44.

Not surprisingly, the motif of storytelling features in many tales, both comic and deep. For example, The King who was a Gentleman and One Sesame Seed.

A Storytell friend reminded me of a related motif:
A king so loves stories he wants one which will never end. Promised rich reward.
Clever lad promises he shall. He tells eager royal listener how farmer built an immense barn to store his harvest. Barn is full, all is secure - except for tiny crack in the wall.
An ant creeps through, steals a single grain (wheat/rice) and laboriously carries it away to nest.
Another ant repeats this - and so on, ad infinitum.
At last king begs lad to stop - and has to give promised reward.

More comic tales

The video gallery has become very extensive. So if you would enjoy more tales like this, here are a few suggestions.

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Permission to tell outlines my views on copyright

For those who are teachers: Telling stories in the classroom: basing language teaching on storytelling