In the Wolf’s Mouth | Ep. 267

“In bocca al lupo!”

That’s an old Italian saying meaning “in the wolf’s mouth.” It’s meant to be a wish for protection and luck, by being safe 'in the mouth of a wolf.'

In this week’s episode we’ll meet a character who actually does go into the mouth of a wolf. And she uses everything she has to stay protected and lucky!

Our story is called “In the Wolf’s Mouth.” It’s inspired by tales told in the southern European country of Portugal.

Voices in this episode include one person and one person only: the incredible Jennifer Hale! Jennifer Hale has lent her voice to hundreds of animated shows including “X-Men ‘97,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,” and “Unicorn Academy.” She holds the Guinness World Record for “most prolific female video-game voice actor” and starred in another Circle Round episode you may know and enjoy: “Donkey Business”!

This episode was adapted for Circle Round by Rebecca Sheir. It was edited by Dean Russell. Original music and sound design is by Eric Shimelonis. Our artist is Sabina Hahn.

GROWN-UPS! PRINT THIS so everyone can color while listening. We’re also keeping an album so please share your picture on Facebook and Instagram, and tag it with #CircleRoundPodcast. To access all the coloring pages for past episodes click HERE. Our resident artist is Sabina Hahn and you can learn more about her HERE.

Now it’s your turn!

Next time you encounter a problem, you can use your “big, strong mind” to figure it out by asking yourself four questions.

And remember: if you try a solution and your problem still isn’t fixed, take another solution for a spin. Above all: keep at it, and don’t give up. To quote the famous scientist Albert Einstein: "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."

Musical Spotlight: Portuguese Guitar

The pear-shaped plucked string instrument known as the Portuguese guitar (guitarra portuguesa in Portuguese) has twelve steel strings, strung in six courses of two.

The Portuguese guitar differs from other guitars in several ways: it’s smaller, it’s shaped like a pear, and it has a violin-like bridge which is not rigidly fixed to the soundboard. These distinctive characteristics stem from the fact that the Portuguese guitar is actually a cittern: a close cousin of the guitar. Because of its relatively inexpensive price and ease of play, the cittern was popular in Europe during the Renaissance. A specific cittern, the English guitar, is thought to be the direct ancestor of the modern Portuguese guitar!

The Portuguese guitar is widely used in Portuguese traditional music, especially the genre known as fado. You can see and hear the Portuguese guitar in this NPR Tiny Desk Concert segment featuring Marta Pereira da Costa.

Story Transcript:

NARRATOR: Of all the animals who lived in the lush and leafy forest, the biggest and strongest of all was, by far – (gets interrupted)

WOLF: (interrupting) Wait! Let me guess. You’re talking about ME, right? Surely you’re talking about ME!

NARRATOR: I’m about to get to that! …The biggest and strongest of all was, by far… Wolf.

WOLF: See? I told you it was me! But why stop at “biggest and strongest”? I’m also the loveliest… the  smartest…

NARRATOR: (sarcastic, under breath) The “humblest”...?

WOLF: (didn’t quite hear) What did you say?

NARRATOR: Nothing! Nothing. But listen, Wolf. We have a lot of material to cover. So can we please continue with the story?

WOLF: Only if I get to be the main character!

NARRATOR: You absolutely do!

WOLF: Very well then. Carry on!

NARRATOR: Thank you! Now. Wolf wasn’t just big and strong…

WOLF: And lovely! And smart!

NARRATOR: (warning) Wolf…?

WOLF: Sorry. I couldn’t resist.

NARRATOR: …she was also, as you may have gathered, proud. She was constantly parading and preening through the forest as she carried on about how magnificent she was.

But Wolf was’t just a braggart. She was also a bully, always bossing the other animals around.

WOLF: Pheasant! I’m hot. Fan me with your wings or I’ll snatch you with my fangs!

PHEASANT: (timid) Of course, Wolf! Will do, Wolf!

WOLF: Rabbit! Go and fetch me some fish to eat. Before I eat YOU!

RABBIT: (timid) You betcha, Wolf! Absolutely, Wolf!

WOLF: And Mouse! My fur is matted. Comb it out, or I’ll gobble you UP!

MOUSE: (timid) Sure thing, Wolf! Whatever you say, Wolf!

NARRATOR: As you can imagine, Pheasant, Rabbit and Mouse didn’t like this treatment one bit. But they never spoke up for themselves – lest Wolf devour them with her razor-sharp teeth.

WOLF: Actually, my real power lies in my jaws. Just one bite, and I could easily tear through skin, muscle, AND bone!

NARRATOR: That is impressive, Wolf. And scary.

WOLF: Thank you!

NARRATOR: But listen. We’re getting a little off-track. So why don’t you go off and admire yourself in a mirror or something? Until we’re ready for you?

WOLF: That is an excellent idea! I’ll be back in two shakes of a wolf’s tail! And what a gorgeous tail it is! Though not nearly as gorgeous as my FACE. Or my paws! Or my ears! Or my back!

NARRATOR: Okay. So where were we?

WOLF: (from “offstage”; repeating Narrator) ‘Pheasant, Rabbit and Mouse never spoke up for themselves! Lest I devour them with my razor-sharp teeth!’

NARRATOR: (calling “offstage”) Thank you, Wolf! You can go now! (beat) So anyway. Basically, Pheasant, Rabbit and Mouse lived in constant fear of Wolf.

But there was one animal in the forest who eventually decided that enough was enough. The way she saw it, it was time to make a change… and take matters into her own hands.

…Or, more accurately, her talons.

Who do you think has the guts to stand up to Wolf? And how will she do it?

We’ll find out, after a quick break.

[BREAK]

NARRATOR: I’m Rebecca Sheir. Welcome back to Circle Round. Today our story is called “In the Wolf’s Mouth.”

Before the break, the smaller animals in the forest were afraid to stand up to bossy, big-headed Wolf.

Well, all but one: Owl.

OWL: Did someone say my name? Actually, that was a rhetorical question. I know you said my name. My hearing is so sharp, I can hear sounds up to ten miles away.

NARRATOR: That’s amazing!

OWL: Perhaps… but I don’t feel the need to brag about it. Unlike Wolf, with her bossy-pants ways! (imitating Wolf) “I’m the biggest! I’m the strongest!”

NARRATOR: Don’t forget “loveliest and smartest”!

OWL: Uch. I wish I COULD. (beat) But listen. Owls are known for being WISE… right?

NARRATOR: That’s been the case with many of the stories we’ve told on this podcast!

OWL: And thus far I have thought it wise to steer clear of Wolf. Keep my head down. But not any longer!

NARRATOR: Do you have a plan? Because the wise owls in these stories always come up with some kind of plan.

OWL: I don’t have one just yet. …Do you mind if I fly off and concoct a scheme for how to cut that bully down a notch? Owls are solitary creatures and we do our best thinking alone.

NARRATOR: That’s absolutely fine. And besides, Wolf is about to re-enter the story anyway.

WOLF: (“offstage”) Oh! Is it time for me to come back now?

NARRATOR: (calling “off-stage”) It sure is! (beat) Um, Owl? You’d better beat it.

OWL: Indeed. (hoot-like) Toodle-ooooo! 

NARRATOR: So. One evening, Wolf was walking through the forest –

WOLF: (re-entering scene) Parading and preening, you mean! It’s one of my favorite talents!

NARRATOR: Yes! She was parading and preening through the forest, when who should she stumble upon… but Mouse.

MOUSE: (nervous) Uh, hi Wolf! Hope I’m not standing in your way! …Please don’t eat me!

WOLF: Eat you?

NARRATOR: Wolf rolled her eyes.

WOLF: Believe me, Mouse. I can certainly find someone more worthy of my splendiferous stomach than a measly mouse! Now scram!

MOUSE: (timid) Sure thing, Wolf! Whatever you say, Wolf!

NARRATOR: As Mouse scurried away, Wolf sauntered on, her nose stuck high in the air.

Before long, she came upon Rabbit.

RABBIT: (nervous) Hey there, Wolf! Didn’t mean to block your path! …Please don’t eat me!

WOLF: Eat you?

NARRATOR: Wolf shook her head.

WOLF: Believe me, Rabbit. I can certainly find a creature more worthy of me to eat than a runty rabbit! Now skedaddle!

RABBIT: (timid) You betcha, Wolf! Absolutely, Wolf!

NARRATOR: As Rabbit hopped away, Wolf strolled on, her head held high.

After a little while, she encountered Pheasant.

PHEASANT: (nervous) Greetings, Wolf! What a pleasure to see you. …Please don’t eat me!

WOLF: Eat you?

NARRATOR: Wolf flicked her ears.

WOLF: Believe me, Pheasant. I can certainly find a creature more worthy of me to eat than a feeble pheasant! Now shoo!

PHEASANT: Of course, Wolf! Will do, Wolf!

NARRATOR: As Pheasant winged away, Wolf swaggered on, a smug smile on her face.

WOLF: I truly AM the biggest and strongest! The loveliest and smartest! Why, I am the most extraordinary creature who ever – (gets interrupted)

OWL: (hooting)

NARRATOR: Wolf was interrupted by a hooting sound coming from a nearby tree. Ever so quietly, she stalked toward it… and there, perched on a low branch… was Owl.

OWL: (faux-scared) Greetings, Wolf! I hope I didn’t disturb you! …Please don’t eat me!

NARRATOR: Wolf paused. She rarely saw Owl in the flesh. And as she gazed upon the plump, stout bird, she decided that this – THIS was a creature worthy of her to eat.

Wolf crouched down low. Then she let out a growl…

WOLF: (growl!)

NARRATOR: …sprang into the air…

WOLF: (ad-lib mighty spring)

NARRATOR: …and seized Owl in her mighty jaws!

WOLF: (ad-lib seizing Owl in mouth)

NARRATOR: Owl tried to remain calm. This was all part of her plan, after all. Despite her racing heart, she sought to gather her wits.

OWL: (buttering up Wolf as she enacts her scheme) Oh Wolf! You have caught me! May I make a feast worthy of such a great creature as you.

NARRATOR: Just as Owl had hoped, Wolf was pleased by the compliment. Instead of swallowing Owl into her belly, she held off, in hopes of hearing more pretty words in her ears.

WOLF: (as if she has bird in her mouth) Go on…

OWL: I’d be happy to go on! Because surely you know, Wolf, that an owl like me isn’t easy to capture! We don’t fly fast, but we fly silently. We’re stealthy. So nobody ever hears us coming! Nobody but YOU, that is.

NARRATOR: Again, Wolf held off on chomping down.

WOLF: (as if she has bird in her mouth) Tell me more…

OWL: Of course I’ll tell you more! But the way I see it... what good is a compliment if no one else is around to hear it? So if I were you…? I would call out to the other animals, so you can show them what a precious prize you’ve caught! Then they, too, will realize that you truly are the most amazing of all creatures.

WOLF: (as if she has bird in her mouth) And the biggest?

OWL: And the biggest!

WOLF: (as if she has bird in her mouth) And the strongest?

OWL: And the strongest!

WOLF: (as if she has bird in her mouth) And the loveliest?

OWL: And the loveliest!

WOLF: (as if she has bird in her mouth) And the smartest?

OWL: And the smartest!

WOLF: (as if she has bird in her mouth) Well, in THAT case…

NARRATOR: Wolf took a breath, then opened her mouth wide. But as soon as she did…

OWL: (hoot-like) Toodle-ooooo!

NARRATOR: …Owl broke free and launched herself toward the sky. And at that very moment, the other animals happened to emerge from behind the trees. They had seen everything, and Wolf was mightily embarrassed… for being mightily outsmarted!

OWL: Guess you’ll have to show off your prize some other time, Wolf! And you’ll have to find some OTHER meal worthy of you to eat! Like… say… HUMBLE PIE…?????? (laughter) Or perhaps you can just EAT CROW! (laughter) Oh! I am a HOOT!  (laughter) 

NARRATOR: Well, I’m happy to say that Wolf learned a lot that fateful day. She still prided herself on being the biggest and strongest – but only physically. Because at long last she finally understood that even more powerful than a big, strong body… is a big, strong mind.