StoryNory

Have you ever walked into a place and thought, "I've seen this before" - even when you know you've never been there. This episode of our spooky series The Dutch Hotel explains why you might get that feeling sometimes.  This story is dedicated to Adam, Yarden & Neta who asked us to do something just a bit spooky.

Hello, this is Jana, and I'm here with some lines by the English poet and artist, William Blake.  It's a sweet, simple poem, with a deep meaning. Little Lamb who made thee           Dost thou know who made thee  Gave thee life Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing wooly bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice!           Little Lamb who made thee           Dost thou know who made thee             Little Lamb I'll tell thee,          Little Lamb I'll tell thee! He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb:  He is meek & he is mild,  He became a little child:  I a child & thou a lamb,  We are called by his name.          Little Lamb God bless thee.           Little Lamb God bless thee. And that was The Lamb, by William Blake, published in 1789 in his book, Songs of Experience. Blake not only wrote and illustrated his poems, but he made the books himself.  He engraved words and pictures into metal so that they could be printed.  As you heard in this poem, he believed that all living things are united, because God made all of us.  For now, from me Jana

Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) is a born from a stone egg on Flower Fruit Mountain. He seeks immortality and invincible  strength in battle. Soon the Jade Emperor in Heaven hears about all the trouble is creating on Earth and decides to give him a job to keep him an eye on him . The Monkey King is the hero (perhaps anti-hero) of China's epic Journey to the West written in the 16th Century. Read byWe are partly publishing this to fill a gap in our Chinse Years of the Animals Cycle (hence the mention to people born in the Year of the Monkey). Jana and adapted for Storynory by Bertie. Do check out how you can support us on Storynory.

Where are your shoes when you can't find them? A small story about a pair of trainers (sneakers) that go for a run on their own.

What is more important in life, handbags or cake?  One of our Small Stories, aimed at our "smallest" audience members, but we hope the older ones among you will find this funny too! This is about a Crocodile who loves to go shopping. The song at the end is sung by Jana! Jana of course narrates the story, written by Bertie. And if you would like to support us regularly or one off, please visit our website at https://www.storynory.com.

The Monkey boasts that there is no animal in the Jungle that he can't trick.  The Bear challenges him - he knows one animal the monkey can't trick. The monkey takes up the challenge. The prize is a whole hive of honey.

A Bird of Paradise isn't actually a bird. It's a plant that looks like an exotic bird. Or is it?

A lush, sleepy story about a star who leaves the nest and falls to Earth. Read and sung by Jana for Storynory - and written by Bertie.

We'd be very happy if you support us!  https://www.storynory.com/support-us/ The Fox Princess Hello, this is Jana, and I'm here with one of our Small Stories.  It's about a fox who can change shape.  And although it's very much set in London, stories of shape-shifting foxes originally come from Korea and the Far East    A fox went to watch the Changing of the Guard. She poked her nose through the railings of the palace. A boy pointed and called out, "Fox!" The fox did not want a guard to spot her. So she turned into a princess.   The guard opened the gate and bowed. Inside the palace, the red-headed princess gazed around. Everything was shiny and grand. Then she smelt something nice. She followed her nose to the kitchen.   The cook looked up. "What would you like, Your Highness?" he asked. She replied, "Chicken wings… And a saucer of warm milk."   She went upstairs to a bedroom. A footman brought a plate of chicken wings and a saucer of warm milk. She ate every last bite and lapped up the milk. After that, she went downstairs again. A young princeling smiled at her. "Let's play hide and seek," he said.   She closed her eyes and counted to twenty. She opened them.  She sniffed. And she found him hiding under the grand piano. They went out into the garden. The princeling closed his eyes and counted to 20. The princess turned back into a fox and hid under the shed.   The princeling searched. He looked behind the trees and inside the summer house. But he could not find her.   Then the King's dogs came into the garden. The fox felt scared. She ran. Across the grass, through the palace, and out of the front gates. A guard shouted, "Fox!" But she was gone. Back to the park.   And that was the Small Story of the Fox Princess, written by Bertie, and read by me, Jana.  And please don't forget, if you support us financially, via PaPal, Patreon or any other way, you can ask us for a first name shout out. And you can take part in our monthly writing competitions.  See Storynory for details.    For now, from me, Jana, goodbye. Song The Fox Princess Count to twenty. Don't look around. Listen out -  for the slightest  sound. Feel a  shimmer, or a spark — A rusty streak, through the dark . Shape shifts, flame flicks,

A bear was walking down the road. He passed by a house and smelt a nice smell. He stopped. He sniffed. He looked through the window. A little girl was eating her breakfast. This is a "small Story" for our younger listeners, but we hope if you are a little bit older you will also find it amusing.  We will be doing a few more of these.   Support us!  https://www.storynory.com/support-us/

The results are in!  Jana reads the winning entries from our Writing Competition. We asked you to write about Birthdays, good birthdays, disastrous birthdays, any type of birthday. And here are the amazing winning entries.  Of course kids who grow up listening to Storynory are wizards with words!   Support Storynory to enter our next competition - the next competition is on the subject of SNOW  - send your snowy stories to us by February 14.  https://www.storynory.com/support-us/  Open to supporters.

It's New Year in the Jungle and the animals are playing party games including Charades. The Bear has to pretend to be a flamingo. Do you think the animals will guess his secret? Support Storynory for a name shout out and for entry into our next writing competition: https://www.storynory.com/support-us/

The Cafe by the Sea is closed for Christmas. The humans are happy opening presents and eating food. But who can spare a crumb for the mice who live in the cafe? Thanks to our sponsor. Listen to Wink: Stories for Better Bedtimes - https://lnk.to/wink-bedtime-storiesLA

We revisit London's Luxurious - and haunted - Dutch Hotel. A famous actress is staying at the hotel. She asks Yogi and Nafsi to time-travel back to 1972 to meet her younger self and put right a wrong.  If you have younger kids, you'll enjoy our Sponsor's calming bedtime podcast. Listen to Wink: Stories for Better Bedtimes - https://lnk.to/wink-bedtime-storiesLA.

It's Halloween on the pond, and Tim the Tadpole is feeling scared. A Story from our archive to celebrate 20 years of Storynory! - Read by Natasha and written by Bertie. Cover art by Sophie Green.Look out for our new website coming up soon.

This is Jana and I’m here with one of fairy tale land’s most famous characters: Puss in Boots. He’s the hero of many a holiday pantomime here in Britain. He’s appeared as a character in the film Shrek and he’s even starred in his own movie. But this version is a bit older than the movie. It was written in 1891 by JL Marks. Our hero is a very clever cat who likes to dress up as a human and walk around in a pair of boots. He performs all sorts of tricks to make his master rich. I would like a cat like that - and I’m sure you would too.

Jake Explains how Birdy and a prize pig called The Emperor look for treasure!  Listen to the full audio episode Birdy's Treasure Hunt!

Fairy tales from the world over including some of the famous English stories such as, Dicking Whittington, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Three Little Pigs. Also some very sweet stories from Japan.

The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson     Read by Richard Scott THE MOON has a face like the clock in the hall;   She shines on thieves on the garden wall,   On streets and fields and harbour quays,   And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.      The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,     The howling dog by the door of the house,   The bat that lies in bed at noon,   All love to be out by the light of the moon.      But all of the things that belong to the day   Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;   And flowers and children close their eyes   Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.       And that was the moon, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I hoped you enjoyed that poem which conjures up the night time in some very visual verses.

A pair of city mice visit the seaside cafe and invite Jimmy and Judith to the Big City! They make the journey and meet automatic vacuum cleaners and cats with fancy titles.

The Cafe by the Sea needs a new Cake Baker. The owner runs a competition to chose the right baker for the job. All the customers can vote for their favourite cake. Natrually the mice who live in the cafe want to vote for their favourite cake-maker.

Two fairy tales from Southern China. In the first, a man is lost in the jungle, and is crowned King of the Apes. The second is a little like a romantic fairy tale that is well known in the west.  Sponsored by Kaboom! Kaboom: An Audio Adventure Podcast An audio adventure podcast for the whole family to enjoy together

An Indian story that features a variety of characters, including a Tiger, a buffalo, a tree, and a road. Yes, that’s an unusual collection, and there are more too.  A kind hearted gentleman sets a tiger free.  A good deed deserves at least a nice thank you, you might think. But that is not what the tiger has in mind.

By ELIZA COOK ( 1818-1889 ) Read by Natasha A MOUSE found a beautiful piece of plum cake, The richest and sweetest that mortal could make; 'Twas heavy with citron and fragrant with spice, And covered with sugar all sparkling as ice.

Fairy tales from the world over including some of the famous English stories such as, Dicking Whittington, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Three Little Pigs. Also some very sweet stories from Japan.

Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?

Two fun fables from India's Panchatantra - The Lion the Cave and the Jackal . The Bedbug and the Flea. And we introduce you to a great adventure podcast, Kaboom!

Burns Night is a celebration held on the 25th of January in honour of Scotland's famous poet, Robert Burns. We celebrate this Scottish evening with the story of Tam O'Shanter (originally told in a poem by Burns) who stays out late and meets a gang of witches on his way home.

Jake wants three wishes - just like in a fairy tale. But although Birdy is no-ordinary bird, he is reluctant to grant Jake his wishes. You seek, realy life isn't always so easy...

The jungle is filled with the sound of chain saws. It turns out that the humans are building tracks through the jungle. What is this all about? The monkey the bear rush to find out. Sponsored by CrunchLabs. https://crunchlabs.com/story

Katie is learning Latin - the language of the ancient Romans - at school. What's the point of this deadbeat language? Her mother says there is every point to learning Latin, especially if you are a witch who needs to understand magic. And as Katie is not making much progress, her mother finds her a Latin Tutor - a highly unusual one as it turns out. Read by Natasha.  Written by Bertie.

A ghost is playing pranks on the hotel - some of them are funny but the trouble is, they are getting the hotel a bad name.   Who is the mischievous ghost? Parents might like our story of Cleopatra (for 16+) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM-VD9pl4bA

This is a story about an old friend of ours. His name is Birdy. He’s a crow who has lived for hundreds of years and known all sorts of important people, including kings and queens. In this story Birdy tells Jake that dinosaurs are not necessarily extinct. Birds, for example, are closely related to dinosaurs, and it's just possible that he and his sister might meet one or two.... Also, check out Kids Stories, Science and Secrets by Rockford's Rock Opera.

Halloween is on the way, so hurry up and get writing! Send us your spooky story by midnight London Time on October 20,2023. See https://storynory.com for details.

A Great Greek myth for you! It's a tale of a Greek boy named Phaethon and his extraordinary adventure that changed the face of the world. .Get ready for a tale of gods, superpowers, and a lesson that will stay with you! Listen on, and you will learn how the Sahara in Africa became a desert - or at least you will hear the story, according to ancient Greeks. Sponsored by https://kiwico.com/story - crates of innovative and educational projects.

A little girl is sick and the doctors says the only medicine that can cure her comes from the tears of the tigress. The Monkey promises to trick the Tigress into giving up some tears. Will his tricks succeed? Dedicated to Hallie in New York.

Rowland's sister is healing the wounds of the Innkeeper - but the older brothers, Benedict and Edmond are convinced that he is a highwayman who tried to rob them. What is the innkeeper's secret? Sponsored by Storybird.ai.

Happy Valentine! A folk tale from England about an honest boy who wants to marry his sweetheart - and receives some magical help. Dedicated to Edwyn in California who supports us on Patreon.

Two funny stories about our tricky Monkey. The are both about wanting the impossible! In the first, Baby Bushcat wants to be a monkey - so he can play and have fun all day. In the second story, the Monkey wants to fly - but ends up falling - for a trick - and literally falling too! Thank you to Wondery for supporting the show. Check out Flip & Mozi's Guide to How to be an Earthling for fun and education.

Rama tries to string the Bow of Shiva and win the hand in marriage of Princess Sita

A Hindu prayer sung by Jana.  The words are universal.  Om jai Jagdish hare  Oh Lord of the Universe Swami jai Jagdish hare Mighty Lord of the whole Universe Bhakt jano ke sankat The suffering of your followers Daas jano ke sankat  The sorrows of your followers Kshan men door kare  In a moment you take them away Om jai Jagdish hare Oh Lord of the Universe

A Hindu prayer sung by Jana.  The words are universal.  Om jai Jagdish hare  Oh Lord of the Universe Swami jai Jagdish hare Mighty Lord of the whole Universe Bhakt jano ke sankat The suffering of your followers Daas jano ke sankat  The sorrows of your followers Kshan men door kare  In a moment you take them away Om jai Jagdish hare Oh Lord of the Universe

The Hindu gods are unhappy because demons are attacking the holy men who bring harmony to the world. The demons are sent by the evil Ravana, who cannot be killed by a god, but only by a man. The gods decide that Vishnu will be born in mortal form to take on Ravana.. In the Kingdom of Ayodhya, King Dasharatha longs for a son. Then his wives give birth to four sons, one of whom is Rama, the most powerful human alive.

The Dutch Hotel is getting ready for Halloween. The Jones family, who manage the hotel, have an even more important event - the arrival of Grandma from Cyprus. Her name is Eleni, and she is not short of opinions about everything. She also reveals some of Mum's secrets (Mum's name is Angeleki) and the kids, Nafsi and Yogi, want to learn more. Why was mum afraid of ghosts when she was young? And why is she so against all superstition now?

The Dutch Hotel is getting ready for Halloween. The Jones family, who manage the hotel, have an even more important event - the arrival of Grandma from Cyprus. Her name is Eleni, and she is not short of opinions about everything. She also reveals some of Mum's secrets (Mum's name is Angeleki) and the kids, Nafsi and Yogi, want to learn more. Why was mum afraid of ghosts when she was young? And why is she so against all superstition now?

Katie's birthday is on its way. Last year her mum gave her a book on Botany! This time she wants some rollerblades and a computer. But her mum thinks that rollerblades are dangerous and computers cost a lot of money. She goes for a walk in the botanical gardens with her best friend, Isis. They are surprised to see Katie's cat, Solomon, is there too. So Katie turns Isis and herself into cats, and they follow Solomon through the undergrowth. What do they discover? Katie the Witch returns to Storynory!

BZZZZZZZ! A failytale from India about a magical Soldier called Sir Buzz who plays the part of a Genie.

The young Princess Beatrice saves an un-golden fish. The fish grants her three wishes. She is torn. Should she make unselfish wishes for the world? Or think of herself?  A funny fairytale from our Prince Bertie series.  In the real world, we extend our respects to Her Majesty the Queen who lived unselfishly and with enormous dignity.

Nafsi and Yogi live in London's Dutch Hotel, where their father, Alan, is the manager. They have travelled to the past to witness a duel fought by the founders of the hotel, two Dutch brothers. Now they return to the present where the legend of the duel lives on. Zelda, the hotel's owner, wants to make a documentary about the story. But is she interested in the truth? Sponsortd by Outschool/storynory.

Nafsi and Yogi live in London's Dutch Hotel, where their father, Alan, is the manager. They have travelled to the past to witness a duel fought by the founders of the hotel, two Dutch brothers. Now they return to the present where the legend of the duel lives on. Zelda, the hotel's owner, wants to make a documentary about the story. But is she interested in the truth? Sponsortd by Outschool/storynory.