Renée Englot
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
For cooperation stories I use a tale from the Slavey Nation
called 'The Long Winter'. A team of animals works together to find and rescue
heat. Together they do what no one animal could have done. You can find a
version on-line at
http://www.storiestogrowby.com/stories/long_winter_canada.html
I also use a story from the Dan tribe of Liberia. Head has a good life, but as
he meets and teams up with arms, body and then legs he discovers how much more
they can do when they work together. There's a picture book version, Head, Body,
Legs: A Story from Liberia by Won-Ldy Paye. When I tell it I use body cut outs
on the overhead projector as the visuals make the story much funnier.
Another story that would work is the one about the quails who learn that they
can escape the hunter's net if they all flap together. When they begin arguing
the hunter triumphs. There's a version here
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7098371/Folktales-of-Giving-Lesson-Plan
Fran Stallings
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship. Odd companions make vital
contributions to the hero's success.
Margaret Read
MacDonald -
Kanu Above and Kanu Below (look at the bottom of the
page) from
The Storyteller's Start-up Book. The chief says of the four
troublemakers....Let's keep them among us. And keeps them in the village rather
than banning them as the villagers want. These four then work together to rescue
the chief's daughter
Richard Marsh Ireland
(Fool of the World and the Flying Ship)...Which reminded me of
Baron
Munchausen with his band of oddly talented men: one blew the enemy down, one
could run super-fast, another with super strength, another with far-sight ... On
line or the Terry Gilliam DVD
Judy
Schmitt Ann Arbor, MI
If you've got room for one more: The
Riddle of the Drum - a Mexican variation of the Fool of the World/flying
ship - Prince Tuzan sets off to solve the riddle of the drumhead and win the
hand of the princess Fruela - if he guesses wrong he will be put to death by her
father, the King. Along the way he encounters men with fantastical skills and
invites them to come with him : Corin, Coran, the Runner; Tiran, Tiran the
Archer; Oyin Oyan, the Listener; Soplin Soplan, the Blower; and Comin Coman, the
Eater. These companions help him solve the riddle and pass two additional tests
devised by the crafty King and, in the end, they all live with the prince and
the princess at the palace. Part of the fun of telling this story is the
repetition of the names of the helpers and the recognition by Spanish speaking
students that the names all have meanings in Spanish. This story was published
as a picture book by Vera Aardema in 1979.
Camille Born
Champaign/Urbana, IL
The Old Woman and Her Pig - English Story where the pig will not cooperate
and go over the stile (or bridge) until the lady goes through a long series of
contact with people, animals, water and fire to get them all to do something...
when she does something nice for the cat, all the threats begin to get carried
out and the pig finally moves.
Susan
Gilchrist Madison, WI
One of my favorites
is the
Hopi story
of Frog and Locust who
sing loud enough for the Rain God to hear and send rain when they sing together
with one another and many other frogs and locusts.
Tom and Sandy Farley
Redwood City, CA
The Little Master Thief [in
Storytelling Star by James Riordan, Pavilion Bks, London 1999]
6 brothers learn to excel at different skills and combine them to rescue the
daughter of the King of Norway from a wicked magician. When she falls in love
with them all and cannot choose just one, the gods intervene and make them the
Pleiades.
Lynne Clayton
Park Forest, IL
One of the seven principles of Kwanzaa is Community - working
together. A great story demonstrating this is in Linda and Clay Goss' book -
"It's
Kwanzaa Time" - the story is about a family with many children. The
children keep fighting and creating a lot of chaos and unrest at home, so the
parents lure them into the woods and leave them there over night. Before the
parents leave, they give each of the children a gift. After the parents leave,
the children open the gifts separately and selfishly, but they soon discover
that if they are going to get through the night and find their way home in the
morning they will have to work together and share each other's gift. It is
through cooperation that they find their way home and a new love and respect for
their siblings.
And then there is always the quick and clever story about the differences
between heaven and hell. I don't know where to find this story, but I've heard
it many times and I suspect versions can be found on the internet. The story is
about someone being shown around both heaven and hell, which look identical.
All the people are a banquet table, but their eating utensils are too big to
bring to their mouths. In Hell, everyone suffers by smelling and seeing all the
wonderful foods, unable to figure out a way to eat any of it. In Heaven,
everyone is feeding each other and so, they're all well fed and having a
wonderful time. (Once a Good Man - version by Jane Yolen in
Here There
Be Angels)
Mary Clark New York
The Three Little Pigs come to mind as does . . .
The idea of "negative cooperation" - more or less cooperating towards something
that hurts or harms others. For example, many bullying stories could be thought
of as cooperation stories also.
Karen Chace
East Freetown, MA
The
Magic Pomegranate. I never thought of it as a cooperation story
before. Each brother uses the items they have found to help the princess who is
dying.
Gail Froyen
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Gail collected these stories from Storytell years ago, when
they were talking about cooperation stories:
Perfect Music (source unknown)
Once upon a time
there was beautiful town - streets paved in gold and buildings that were built
of shimmering stone with jewels embedded. However, because of neglect, the city
was swallowed into the earth.
The legend said
that only the perfect music could make it rise to its former glory.
Countless
musicians came to the site to play their best. Some came, played, and moved
on. Some came and stayed. There was a man with his tube, a lad playing bass, A
woman who brought a whole set of timpani on a cart and a girl with her
baritone. They each played alone and then began playing together bringing a
rhythmic pulse, providing the bedrock for the music.
But still the city
remained covered.
One day there was a
young lad was walking along playing a violin. He played it so beautifully the
angels would sing. As he was traveling to the site he met someone who played
the flute. Her notes were so merry that they made you want to dance. They
discovered they were on the same quest. As they walked side by side they began
to play their instuments together revelling in the new harmonies and riffs.
Before long they were
joined a drummer, a cornet player, and a mother singing. She was carrying a babe
shaking a rattle. As the troupe continued on its way they along came folks
playing the French horn, clarinets, a variety of saxophones, trombones, cellos,
and even a guitar and a harmonica. Each added their own tones, values, feelings
- each providing something new and unique.
Nearing the hallowed
place, they began to hear deep rich tones with a beat inviting them and
propelling them forward. When the travelers arrived at the hallowed place, they
joined the musicians already there and for a moment they were silent. Then they
gathered facing the legendary site of the beautiful city and began to play.
They did not play individually but as one. The air was filled with melody,
harmony, rhythm. With consonance and dissonance, with sound and color.
The earth began to
tremble, then split open as the beautiful city rose once more to its original
splendor. What one sound - no matter how beautiful - could not do, all could do
together playing together.
Story expanded from
one by Ron Adams
Mountains and Cliffs told by Linda Spitzer
credit to Rabbi David Holtz adaptation of his story in Chosen Tales edited by
Peninna Schram
Schmuel, a merchant, lived
a long time ago in a little village that was in Poland . He had a business where
he sold a little bit of this and a little bit of that from the back of his
wagon. Usually he sold merchandise just to his family and neighbors where he
lived. But once a month he would load a little bit of this and a little bit of
that into his wagon, hitch up his horse and head off on a trip to sell his goods
to the people living in other towns. When he went on these trips, his son Avrom
always went along.
In order to get out of
this village, Schmuel had to travel on the only road that led out of town. This
road was a long and winding mountain road, with the cliff on one side and the
mountain on the other. Nothing very exciting happened. But the boy thought that
this was an adventure and loved to go along.
One day the trip started
off like any other. All morning they followed the road that wound around and
around. It was almost noon when they came to the top of the mountain. As they
started down around the bend, the horse stopped. Schmuel and his son looked to
see what made the horse stop. There in front of them was a tremendous pile of
rocks which had rolled off the side of the mountain right into the middle of the
road. The horse stopped because it didn't know what to do. If they had been in
the valley it would have been a simple matter to pull off into the field and go
around the pile of rocks.
But here, on this road,
they couldn't go around. It seemed they would have to go back.
Avrom said, "Don't worry
father, I'll get rid of those rocks and then we'll be on our way." And with that
he jumped down from the wagon and began to throw the rocks over the cliff. He
worked for two hours and when he was done, all of the rocks were gone but one.
A huge rock was still sitting in the middle of the road. No matter how much he
tried, he could not move it. The horse and wagon still could not get past.
Avrom got back into the
wagon looked up and said, "I'm sorry father, but I can't move the last rock, and
we can't get around it. I'm afraid we'll have to go back."
Schmuel looked down at him
and said, "Have you really done everything you could?"
Surprised by the question,
Avrom thought for a moment. "I've got an idea. We have a piece of burlap in the
back. I'll just wrap it around the rock and pull it off the road."
He jumped out of the wagon
and pulled and pulled. His muscles bulged. But he rock didn't budge.Disappointed,
he walked back, and said, "I'm sorry father. It's no use. We'll have to go
back."
Schmuel tilted his head
and asked again, "Have you really done everything you could?"
Though he was very tired,
the boy thought for a moment. Suddenly an idea came to him. Because they sold a
little bit of this and a little bit of that, they sold lumber and in the wagon
there was a long piece of wood. He went to the rock, placed one end of the wood
underneath and began to lean on the other end. He pushed with all his weight.
He pushed until his eyes bulged. But the rock did not budge.
He trudged back to the
wagon. Once more he said, "I'm sorry father, I just can't move that rock. We'll
have to go back."
Once again the father
looked at him and said, " Have you really done everything you could?"
This time Avrom got angry.
"Yes! Yes I have! I have been pushing and pulling and rolling and throwing rocks
for over two hours. I've used burlap, I've used lumber. I really have done
everything I could!"
Schmuel shook his head and
said quietly, "No, you haven't, because you haven't asked me to help you." With
that he climbed down from the wagon, and then he and his son walked to the rock.
Together, they rolled it off the road and over the cliff. Then they climbed
into the wagon, and they were on their way.
May you not only continue
to offer help to others in need, but in the coming year, think of asking for the
help that you need from others.
Here is a story I just used at a Volunteer
banquet. This is just the quick summary. You can flesh it out. It started as a
joke but expanded makes a nice short story.
Many years ago a famous organist was
giving a concert. Back in the time when an assistant pumped the organ. He played
magnificently. At the intermission as he left the stage the assistant said, "We
did good." At that the organist went off on a tantrum that HE was the organist,
etc. After the intermission he returned, took his place, hands poised over the
keyboard and started. Not a sound came out. The curtain parted and the assistant
stuck his head out and asked, "Are WE ready to begin?" Then I point out that the
volunteers are the "WE" that makes the organization run.
****** * * * * * * *
* *
The Stone Before the Door
A Folktale from Morocco
Adapted by Storyteller
David Keesey-Berg for the occasion of the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary of
Andrew and Patti Rogness.
There was once a man so
rich he measured his money by the bushel, as some people measure corn or
potatoes. But even his great Wealth could not protect him against the great
changes of life. One day he became gravely ill and because he sensed that the
end was near for him, he called for his son.
He said to his son,
"since the day you were born, your welfare has been my chief concern in life.
But now I fear that I can no longer take care of you. I give over to you all my
wealth, but this will mean little if you have no one with whom to share your
life and your love. When the time comes that you feel a desire to marry, I have
asked my oldest and most trusted friend to find a bride for you. Not just any
bride, but the bride God has chosen for you. Listen to him carefully and follow
his instructions as though they are my very own." Having blessed his son, the
father died.
As time went by, the
young man decided that he desired to marry. He remembered his father's words and
so he went to his father's trusted friend and asked for his help. The friend
said he would find a bride for him, not just any bride but the bride that God
had chosen for him.
A few days later he
returned and said that he had found a bride. She was beautiful, of the finest
character and with a spotless reputation. All the necessary arrangements were
made and a suitable wedding feast was planned. The young man was very excited.
On the day before the
carrying of the bride to the young man's house, his father's friend came to him
and said, "I have found you a fine bride, but to discover if she is the one that
God has chosen for you, this is what you must do. Tonight, after the bride is
brought to your house, she will be waiting for you in your room. I have caused a
heavy stone to be placed before the door and before you go in to your bride, you
must move that stone. If you succeed, then she is the one God has chosen for
you, but if you fail, then she is not the one and you must send her back to her
family." That night, the bride was brought with much pomp and celebration. She
was wrapped in a beautiful robe and she waited with eyes closed and her face
veiled. When the young man came, he could see the beautiful and mysterious
figure through the half-opened door. But, just as the trusted friend had said,
barring his way was that stone.
It did not look that
large, but when the young man tried to move it, it turned out to be exceedingly
heavy. He tried with all his might to move that stone, but it would not budge,
even a single inch. Finally he had to give up, Sadly, the beautiful bride was
sent back to her family even though arrangements had made for the match, and a
fine wedding feast had been planned.
After some time the
father’s trusted friend came to the young man with news of a second bride.
Again the bride was brought to the young. man's house and once more he stood
before that half-opened door facing that heavy stone. He had prepared himself
with great care and knew that he was stronger than the first time. Surely this
time he would move the stone.
He pushed and he pulled
with all his strength. He used tricks he had not even thought of the first time.
He struggled all night long but he could not move that heavy stone even a single
inch. With great sadness, the beautiful bride was sent away. The young man was
disappointed and, by now, a little discouraged.
After some time had
passed, a third bride was found. She was as beautiful as the others and was of
spotless reputation All the preparations were made as before, but this time the
young man said. "If I can not move the stone tonight, I will not try again. I
will take this as a sign that I am not meant to be married."
He bent his back and
seized that heavy stone. He pulled and. pushed until his back ached and his
groans of weariness rang through the house. Then, to his surprise, he saw a
Slender figure slip through the half-opened door and he heard a quiet voice say
to him, "let me help you move the stone".
The two of them placed
their hands together and they moved that stone quite easily! In that moment, the
young man knew that he was looking not at just any bride, but the bride that God
had chosen for him. And the young woman knew that she was looking into the face
of the husband that God had chosen for her.
What neither of them
knew, in that moment, was that having found the one chosen by God was not
enough. They would learn, that to establish their marriage and to secure their
happiness, every day they would have to put their hands together to move that
heavy stone before the door.
Posted by: Shoshi, Israel
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