International Night at Wiley Elementary

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Story Squad performed for the International Night celebration at Wiley International Humanities Magnet in Raleigh on May 9th.  Three storytellers shared tales from:

  • Germany: “The Three Spinners” is a story  much like Rumpelstiltskin, in which a girl’s mother claims the girl loves spinning straw.  When confronted with rooms full of straw, she enlists the help of three old women: one with a huge thumb, one with a huge lower lip, and one with an enormous foot.  They spin the straw in exchange for her promise to invite them to the wedding.  When the prince learns that they are disfigured from spinning, he insists that his new bride never spin again, and so the three spinners save the day.
  • Africa: “Counting Leopard’s Spots” tells the tale of how vain leopard wants to know how many spots he has.  Several animals try, but none can count high enough.  Finally rabbit says that leopard has only two spots (light ones and dark ones).
  • Russia: “Grandfather Bear is Hungry” is the story of a little chipmunk who gets his black stripes from Grandfather Bear’s claws after feeding him in the middle of winter when no other food could be found.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the tales as part of the larger experience of International Night.