Hello. My name is Robin and I'm a storyteller And today I'm gonna be telling you two stories. Now if you want, you can watch the video all the way through, both stories, or you can watch the stories separately, stop after the first one, go make yourself a cup of tea, have a biscuit, Whatever you fancy. If you really like the stories, you can watch the video more than once. I'm not gonna stop you. Anyway, without further ado, let's listen to the first story. My first story is called Why the Sea is Salty and to help tell my story I've drawn some illustrations and have animated them as well. So I hope you enjoy it. Here we go. Have you ever accidentally drunk seawater? You have? Salty isn't it? Do you know why it's salty? You don't? Well, let me tell you a story about it. Once upon a very long time ago there lived a girl and she lived with her old grandmother in a house by the sea. One day she approached her grandmother as she was sitting on her rocking chair. Grandmother? Yes, dear I'd like to leave home and seek my fortune Oh, that's nice, dear, said her grandmother and she opened an old chest that she kept under her bed. Then I should give you this she said, and she brought out a coffee mill. Have you ever seen one of these? Its for grinding up coffee beans. You put the coffee beans in the top like that, and then you turn the handle like that and you get ground coffee coming out the bottom. But I don't like coffee, said the girl. Oh, this isn't any old coffee mill, said her grandmother as she put the coffee mill down on the table. And then she spoke some magic words. Magic Mill Magic Mill make me some bread. The mill started grinding...all by itself, and suddenly there out of nowhere, appeared a lovely loaf of bread. It smelled delicious. Then grandmother said, Magic Mill Magic Mill, make me no more. And the mill stopped grinding. Wow, said the girl. I know said Grandmother. With this magic mill, you'll never go hungry. You can ask it to make whatever you like. Just remember, you have to ask it to stop or it'll keep on grinding. So the next morning the girl left home with the magic mill in her backpack. She soon found herself down at the harbour where, luckily, there was a ship just about to set sail for distant lands. She approached the captain. Excuse me? Said the girl. Is there any work on board your ship? Hmmm said the captain, hmmm well, just so happens I was looking for a new cabin boy, I suppose a cabin girl will do just as well. Why don't you come on board then? So off they sailed. And the girl worked hard all day, scrubbing the deck, carrying messages, climbing the rigging and standing watch. In the evening, she'd sit eating dinner with the other sailors. One night she pulled out the magic mill. Watch this, she said. Magic Mill Magic Mill, make me some soup. And the magic mill started to grind. There, was a lovely bowl of soup. Well the sailors were all amazed, they all asked if they could have some soup too So the girl didn't ask the mill to stop. She let it carry on, making bowl after bowl after bowl. When every sailor had a bowl of soup, the girl said Magic mill magic mill, make me no more. And the mill stopped grinding. One sailor asked, Can it make anything? Oh, yes, said the girl. Make some suggestions. Well, the sailors started shouting out things like beef stew, chocolate cake, curry, Yorkshire pudding and whatever they asked for, the magic mill made it. Now it just so happened that the captain had heard all the commotion and was listening behind the door. The captain was a greedy man. I want that magic mill all for myself, he thought. Now how do I get my hands on it? And he left while all the sailors were still shouting out their suggestions. The next morning the captain approached the girl while she was on the deck Can I see your magic mill, he asked and the girl said, Yes, of course. She was very trusting, and she pulled the magic mill out of her backpack, and just then the captain grabbed the mill off her and pushed the girl over the rail into the sea. Smiling, the captain took the magic mill back to his cabin, where his morning porridge was waiting and he liked to eat really salty porridge. Now, the night before he'd heard the magic words to get the mill to start grinding, magic mill magic mill make me some salt. And the magic mill started to grind. The captain was amazed to see the mill creating salt out of nothing. Unfortunately, the captain had left before hearing the words to make the magic mill Stop. The mill made more and more salt. Stop! You useless thing! Shouted the captain. But they weren't the magic words. Cut it out, will you? Shouted the captain. But they weren't the magic words. Enough already, shouted the captain. But they weren't the magic words. Help me, he shouted. But were they the magic words? No, they were not. The mill made more and more salt. Soon the whole cabin was full of salt. It burst the cabin door. Soon salt filled up the whole deck and sailors all screamed and jumped over the side into the sea. And soon the ship was so full of salt that it sank beneath the waves, taking the magic mill with it Its there still, grinding away at the bottom of the sea, filling all the oceans of the world with salt. And that's why the sea is salty. Oh, and if you're wondering about the poor girl who was pushed overboard, she was fine. She made it home to her grandmother, but she vowed never to go to sea ever, ever again. The end. So that was my first story. I hope you enjoyed it. It's nice coffee. My second story uses shadow puppets. Have you ever seen a shadow puppetry play? They're brilliant, I love them. So before I tell you my second story, I'm just going to show you how to make simple shadow puppets at home using simple, everyday items you've got lying around the house. Lets go do it. Firstly, for the puppets themselves, you'll need some card. This is black card, but card from cereal boxes or anything like that will do just fine. A pair of scissors, some pencils. That's a normal pencil and a white pencil and a razor. This is a stick that actually got from a garden centre, but any old stick will do. Some split pins and some tape, this is masking tape, but sellotape is fine So now let's draw our character and it could be a person, or it could be an animal, whatever you want. It could be from your own imagination, or you can copy it from a book. But the important thing to remember is you don't need to fill in the detail, the scales or the fur of the clothes because all you'll see is the outline. You'll just see the edge of the character. So let's draw our character. Now you can see I'm drawing a person and it hasn't got any legs. There's a reason for this, and I'll explain why in a little while. Now we cut out our shapes or we ask an adult to do it for us. Now we draw our legs just two usually but if your characters an octopus then you'll need eight won't you. Now the best thing to do is have a little bit of overlap here so there's room to put the split pins through. So here you can see we've got holes at the top of the legs and the bottom of the body. Now we put the split pins through. Open them up and voila! We've got wobbly legs. And now we attach our stick and I'll show you how to do it in close up so you can follow what I'm doing. Get our tape. Just attach it to the top of the stick like that. So there's quite a lot hanging over. We turn it round, bend it over. There we go. You can see there's quite a lot left at the top. We'll flatten that out. And there we go. Now we stick another piece of tape across that one like that. We could now attach it to our character. There we go, just bend the excess around the front like that. There we go. And it's a simple as that. To make the Shadow Theatre we'll need a sheet and a lamp, ideally one that you can point at the sheet. Now hang the sheet over something. I'm attaching it to these stands, but you could drape it over a table or between two chairs or across a washing line, whatever works. And it might be a good idea to weigh the bottom down with something heavy like these books. There you go. Now comes the exciting part. We need to turn out the lights and we'll turn on the lamp. There you have it, a shadow puppet theatre. Wiggling the stick to and from makes the legs move, as you can see. Now let's see what it looks like round the front, and if you're feeling a bit more adventurous, why not try making some scenery? These flowers are made from wire and sweetie wrappers. The best thing about doing this is you get to eat all the sweets. There you go. Lovely. And that's how you make shadow puppets. It's dead easy and I'll be using some of these in my next story. I hope you enjoy it. Once upon a very long time ago in the village of Swaffham in Norfolk, there stood a house. It wasn't a large or impressive house, quite the opposite. It was small, cramped, badly made. And every time it rained, the roof would leak. The family that lived in it, however, loved it very much despite its many faults. Because, you see, it was their home. Beside the house stood a tree, an old tree, an ugly tree with wrinkled skin. Despite its looks, it was a friendly tree. And the local Children loved to climb its many twisted branches. The man of the house was a pedlar, a traveller, a fellow who went from place to place, selling things that he'd collected. He never had much to sell. He never had much money. Well, he wished Life would be so much easier if he were richer. A new house, a bigger house. No more leaky roof. Well, a man can dream. And that's exactly how our story gets going, with a dream. It was a strange dream. The pedlar had the same dream three nights running. In the dream. He saw a great city, the city of London. He saw London Bridge stretching across the busy River Thames, and he heard a voice and the voice told him to leave. Leave your home. Leave your family. Go to London There on the bridge you'll find your heart's desire. The first night the pedlar dismissed it as just a dream. On the second night, the pedlar dismissed it as a coincidence, but on the third night that pedlar woke up, convinced that his dream would come true, he would go to London and on London Bridge he would find what he wished for. He would find his riches. So despite their protestations, the next morning he said goodbye to his wife and Children, and with his dog for company, he set off for London. The pedlar walked and walked and walked through woodland, through marsh, through town and city. Further from home than had ever been before. He walked and walked and walked. Every day was more exhausting than the last. But it would all be worth it. It would all come true. He would follow his dream and find his riches. The road was long and hard and dangerous. The countryside was wild, so it was good to have his dog by his side. He slept where he could in barns, in fields under hedges. After many long and weary days, too many to mention, he arrived at the great City of London and he stepped onto London Bridge. He'd made it. He was here. In those days, the river was very busy. Ships sailed to and fro continuously. The bridge had many shops up and down its length open day and night. They had lots to sell. They made lots of money. On the first day, the pedlar walked the length of London Bridge over and over and over again. He and his dog, they visited each and every shop. Maybe his riches will be found in one of those. The shopkeepers, they were all too busy to talk to him. No one could help him. On the second day, he did the same. He and his dog wandered in and out of the shops, to no avail. As the sun went down, he gazed at the river flowing under the bridge. He was starting to have doubts. He was starting to feel foolish. Maybe it was just a dream. He missed his home, his family. But no, that wasn't right. The dream had seemed so real and the voice had definitely said, leave your home, leave your family, on London Bridge you'll find your riches. It had to come true. So on the third day the pedlar walked London Bridge again. He visited all the shops several times. And the shopkeepers all said, oh not you again! Look for the last time I know nothing about any jewels or any gold. The pedlar walked to the edge of London Bridge. He stared down at the fast flowing river below. What would people think if you return to Swaffham penniless? Hopeless. He'd be a laughing stock. Maybe he wouldn't return. That's a good idea. Yeah, it'd be too embarrassing. He'd stay here and make what he could of life in London. That's it. No, no, that's ridiculous. He couldn't live life without his family. He had no choice. He had to swallow his pride. He looked down at his dog. Come on boy, let's go home. But just then he heard a voice behind him. Excuse me. The pedlar turned and saw behind him a baker and he recognised him as the owner of one of the shops that has frequently been in over the last three days. Why do you keep coming into my bakery? The pedlar apologised. Oh no need to apologise, said the shopkeeper, I'm just curious, that's all. I mean, I've been watching you for days, going into and out of all the shops, you know, staring at the river. Are you selling something? Are you a beggar? The pedlar assured the baker that he wasn't a beggar. He was a pedlar. Although at the moment he didn't have anything to sell. The baker was full of curiosity. Well, why are you wandering all over London Bridge? What are you up to? The pedlar explained that he lived out in the country and his house wasn't large or impressive. It was small, cramped, badly made. Every time it rained, the roof would leak. You see, he loved it because it was his home and he'd left his home and he'd left his family behind, all because of some stupid dream. What dream made you leave your home and come all the way here to London? So the pedlar told him all about the voice, the voice that had said, leave your home, leave your family, go to London and on London Bridge you'll find what you seek. Hahahaha! Well, you shouldn't believe what dreams tell you to do. I've had a dream. The same dream three nights running it is, and in that dream, a voice has s told me to leave my home, leave my business, travel out into the countryside, find a small village, and there I'll find a small house with an old, ugly tree out front and wrinkled skin, many twisted branches and apparently in the roots of that tree, I would find a great treasure but I would be as big a fool as you if I went around believing what voices in dreams tell me. And then he started to walk away. But the peddler shouted after him, Excuse me, What was the name of the village in your dream? Swaffham! And the baker disappeared into his bakery. The peddler looked down at his dog. The dog looked up at the peddler. Then they both wasted no time hurrying back to Swaffham, walking home as fast as their legs could go. When he reached home after explaining things to his confused family, he looked down beneath the tree, Down, down he dug and there, between the roots, he found a great treasure. Hundreds of gold pieces. He was rich. Life would be so much better now he was rich. He could buy a new house, a larger house, no more leaky roof. But he didn't buy a new house, although he did mend his leaky roof. Instead, he did something really kind. He used his good fortune to help all the people of Swaffham. And if you go to Swaffham, you'll see lots of pictures of the peddler and his dog on signs, in windows and there's a carving and his dog look. And that's it. Thanks so much for listening everyone. Have a go at making shadow puppets at home won't you, and I'll see you soon