While the playgroup children played in the garden, I disappeared inside to create a magical land. A land made of table dolls, play silks, roving, flowers and toys.
When I was ready, I popped back outside for a little tidy up before singing our transition song
Puppet show is in the town, everybody gather round
Once the children settled down to watch and listen we sang…
Mother of the fairy tale, take me by your silver hand. Sail me on your silver boat, sail me silently afloat. Mother of the fairy tale, take me to your shining land
And then I told the story.
Once upon a time, there was a little boy. He had been playing all day long. But now he didn’t know what to do. So he said to his mother. ‘Mama I have played and played and played, and now I don’t know what to do.’ And his mother said ‘somewhere nearby there is a little round house, with no windows and no doors, with a chimney on top and a star inside. Why don’t you see if you can find it.’
And so the little boy walked over the bridge and into the flower meadow. There he found a little gnome. He said to the little gnome ‘I am looking for a little round house, with no windows and no doors, with a chimney on top and a star inside. Have you seen such a house?’ And the little gnome said ‘no, I have not seen a little round house, with no windows and no doors, with a chimney on top and a star inside. But the farmer might know. Why don’t you visit him and ask’.
And so the little boy walked through the flower meadow to the farm. There he found the farmer. He said to the farmer ‘I am looking for a little round house, with no windows and no doors, with a chimney on top and a star inside. Have you seen such a house?’ And the farmer said ‘no, I have not seen a little round house, with no windows and no doors, with a chimney on top and a star inside. But the wood gnome might know. Why don’t you visit him and ask’.
And so the little boy walked through the farm to the woods There he found the wood gnome. He said to the wood gnome ‘I am looking for a little round house, with no windows and no doors, with a chimney on top and a star inside. Have you seen such a house?’ And the wood gnome said ‘yes, I have seen a little round house, with no windows and no doors, with a chimney on top and a star inside. Why don’t you look around the woods and see if you can find it’. And the boy did!
He took the little round house, with no windows and no doors, with a chimney on top and a star inside back to his mother. He said ‘Look mama! I found the little round house, with no windows and no doors, with a chimney on top. But I can’t see the star inside.’ And his mama took a cutting board and a knife and cut the little round house in half. And the little boy said ‘Now I see the star!’
And after the tale was told, we cut the apple to share among the playgroup children.
There are many variations of this story. This is the one I told because of the toys I had on hand and what I remembered of it. Since then I have been reminded that there is often a charming final character ~ the wind! And often it is the wind that helps the little boy find the little round house, with no windows and no doors, a chimney on top and a star inside. Because the wind goes everywhere after all.
Blessings, Kelly
