A story and a song: musical stories for children

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Fresh from the Batt Cave comes the second and final part of the Hungarian Wonder Tale about the Three Brothers and the Golden Apples.... It's a long one... so Buckle up for adventure!!

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It's nearly New Year 2026.... and to celebrate the past twelve months, we've adapted the Twelve Days of Christmas, Batt Lamb - style, (with some help from Tanya and Pete) to sing about all the great stories (and songs) we've shared  from around the world in the Batt cave during the year.

Thanks for tuning into the Batt Cave and Happy New Year from the Batt Cave!!!!!

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For a treat today the Batt Cave has two stories to share about Golden Apples.

First Tanya tells Batt Lamb all about the Ancient Greek story of Paris and the Golden Apple... of Gods and choices and all that great mythical stuff.

Then Tanya tells the first part of a long Wonder Tale from Bulgaria about three brothers and a golden apple tree. Follow this exciting tale  and then join us next month for the final instalment.

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Tanya tells Batt lamb the classic story of King Midas who's dreams come true when the Gods grant him one wish

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Pete has reached a golden milestone in November, turning 65! To celebrate, we've put together a collection of 'golden stories' to share. The first one is is from Ireland, and is aboutt a Leprechaun and his legendary pot of gold. Batt-lamb wonders about the rights and wrongs of taking things that don't belong to you but stealing a Leprechaun's treasure proves to be more difficult than anticipated.

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This traditional story comes from the Lotha Naga people who originate from North East India. A gentle but  lonley farmer finds an exceptionally large pumpkin growing in his garden. While the other villagers are suspicious, the farmer lavishes attention on this pumpkin, resulting in its magical transformation. But not everyone is happy with the harvest.

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Continuing with the theme of springtime in the Garden; Tanya and the Batt Crew tell a delightful musical story of a King who wants to give a gift to his three Daughters. The youngest asks for a Talking vine, a Smiling Apple and a Singing Ringing Pear... What a strange request?

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It's Halloween again and here in New Zealand it's springtime and that means lots of busy bees and other pollinators out and about pollinating all the flowers and plants in the garden.

Tanya has lots of pumpkin seedlings to give away and we thought we'd celebrate with "Pollinator Power"... A song/action story the children can move too, all about the industrious pollinators buzzing around the garden.

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Continuing The epic European adventure Our Heroes briefly pass through Norway on their way to Shetland.

This is a re-telling of the Classic Norwegian story : The Three Billygoats Gruff...told with verve and panache by BattLamb and Tanya....While Pete joins in pluckin' on the Banjo.

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During their big adventure, Tanya, Pete and Batt lamb were lucky enough to visit Papa Stour, one of the most westerly isles of  the Shetland Islands.

One of the old stories connected to Papa Stour is about a fisherman who gets stranded on the Vee Skerries and the bargin he makes that saves with a seal/selkie that saves his life.

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At long last, Pete, Tanya and Batt Lamb are back from their epic adventure, with new stories and songs to share - this month the stories are from Thailand, Shetland and Norway.

In celebration of spring, this episode begings with a Cuckoo song. Then Tanya shares a traditional Thai story all about planting seeds.Kasem is given some special seeds by his Grandfather, with instructions to 'not let the crows steal the seeds'. You can probably guess what happened! This fun story comes from a collection of stories that were collected...

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In the second half of the Batt-Cave from Sweden where the days are long and full of light, Tanya, Pete and Batt-lamb share  a story from Siberia about how hare brought light to a very dark world - a story for those experiencing the southern mid winter. Pete also shares a small refrain from a Swedish 70's classic all about summer and picking smöltron (wild strawberries) that was written by Mats Paulson. This song was taught to us by two Swedish women whom we met on our travels  that we shared the str...

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Tanya, Pete and Batt-lamb continue on their world storytelling adventure and are joined in Sweden by Greger (and Lena) who are long time fans of the Batt- Cave. This story is musical remake of a traditional Swedish folktale about making your wishes come true. Greger's wish comes true on this podcast - he and Batt-lamb sing a duet 'Baa, baa vita lamb' - the swedish version of 'Baa, baa black sheep.'

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This episode was recorded in Sutri, Italy with the wonderful UK storyteller Xanthe Gresham - Knight. (Tanya and Xanthe were on their way to FEST - the Federation of European Storytellers Conference).

Batt-lamb is thrilled to help Xanthe tell a story with a sheep in it, and three other animals who set out to seek a holy man to help with their coughs. 

Turns out that companionship is a cure all for many ailments. 

You can find out more about Xanthe's wonderful storytelling and other projects here 

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This is the second part of our podcast from Singapore with Singaporian storyteller Mindy Neo. Tanya shares the story of the Hindu elephant headed god Ganesha after a visit to a local Hindu temple in Joo Chiat, the 2nd oldest in Singapore.

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Tanya, Pete and Batt- lamb are out in the world having an adventure and their first stop was Singapore where we met some of the local storytellers who are part of the Storytelling Association of Singapore. Mindy Neo is a member of the association and joined us to share a local story about the island Palau Ubin but not before we got into a bit of singing songs from Singapore and Waiheke respectively.

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This Taiwanese story tells why the mountain called Ban Pin Shan – the half faced mountain is the shape it is. It all starts with an old man who arrives selling delicious dumplings but the dumplings prove to be more than a yummy treat.

As usual Tanya weaves her story magic (in a slightly forgetful way!)

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In this big double bill episode, Tanya, with a lot of help from Batt Lamb (and Pete), tells a story that centres around the Japanese celebration, Setsubun - the Japanese bean throwing festival.  In early February, in anticipation of Spring, people drive out bad luck and the oni (demons) associated with it, to welcome in the new. This version of the story comes from storyteller Cathy Spagnoli, who has now passed, and was told to her by a Japanese friend.

Then in a similar vein comes the old story song about a...

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This story is an adaptation of a Chinese story about Grandma Bear, who is not feeling well and has taken to her bed. All her friends: Fox, Pig and Uncle Frog come to help her and she share her dream of a healing rainbow.

Then Tanya and Pete finish off by singing a lullaby in te reo Māori called 'Moe Moe Pēpē'.

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Staying on the bridge theme, Tanya and Pete share the old English nursery rhyme, 'London Bridge in Falling down' with all it's verses, documenting the many different faces of this famous bridge.

Then they tell the story of a Pedlar (poor seller of second hand things) who has a recurring dream that if he travels to London Bridge great riches will be his. 

A story about what happens when you are brave and crazy enough to follow your dreams!!

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In Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand we have just had the ANZAC day commemerations (25th April). In the spirit of peace we're sharing a story and a song all about 'building bridges' where two 'waring' brothers find help to reconcile their differences from an unlikely source.

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Join Tanya, Pete and Bat Lamb for stories and songs about rainbows. 

The story today is from the First Nations, Chumash people who are the original people of the Californian coastal area. It tells of a magical Rainbow bridge created by the  earth goddess Hutash that once stretched between the island of Limuw/Santa Cruz (where the Chumash originated from) and mainland California. 

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Tonight Tanya and Pete tell a story from The Seneca Native American Nation. It's the story of how in the beginning there were no stories... until stories began to be told from an unusual source.

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It's St David's Day and the Batt Cave are celebrating with a dragon story from Wales about a mean Ruler and a Father-less boy. Dragons will be involved for sure!

Also Tanya is celebrating the release of her new book Seasonal storytelling, with a hat song from one of the many songs and stories in the book...Enjoy!!

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Continuing the Snake theme it being the year of the snake... Tanya and Pete start off by introducing Samuel the Snake, and they sing a snake song with some rhyming questions. 

Then Tanya tells a cute story about a baby snake and a baby mouse who meet by surprise.... What will Happen??

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It's the first Batt Cave of the New Year, in fact it's two New Year Celebrations... The Gregorian and the Chinese New Year as well.

As it is the Chinese year of the Snake, Tanya and Pete share a story that has snakes in it from Korea about a man who has a sack full of stories but is reluctant to share them... I think the Stories have other ideas!

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It's New Year in the Batt Cave and Tanya, Pete and Batt lamb start off with a Thankyou song to remember all the things we are grateful for.... then members of the Batt Cave share what they are grateful for over the past year. 
Tanya then tells a lovely story about a king who decides to hold a competition to find the most beautiful sound there is.... there are many contenders.....

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The festive stories continue. In Italy, January the 6th is when La Befana, the Christmas witch appears, Batt lamb has plenty of questions about La Befana and her meeting with the three wise men/Kings as they travelled over 'field and fountain, moor and mountain' through Italy, following the Christmas star.

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With Christmas nearly upon us we in the Batt Cave bring you a New Zealand take on the Classic Gingerbread Man story... of course Bat-lamb manages to get a starring role! It's a rocking and rolling story to move along to.
Then we finish off with a Christmas song we wrote last Christmas "Waiting for this day to begin".
Merry Christmas!!! Tanya, Pete and Bat-Lamb

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We're on the countdown to Christmas and Tanya, Batt Lamb and Pete start off the Batt Cave with presents of the imaginary kind - a fun musical game for everyone.
Then Tanya tells a story about magic decorations on the Christmas tree that come to life when no one is looking. It's an upbeat musical story that the children will have fun dancing to that is featured in Tanya's new book for teachers/parents 'Seasonal Storytelling'  which is available to pre order now.

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Fresh from the Batt Cave comes the fun story of Lulu who is visiting her Grandmother and is having difficulty getting to sleep... so Grandmother has some very interesting ideas to help her sleep. 
Batt Lamb plays a cameo role in the story!

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Tanya and Pete, along with children on Waiheke, have just been celebrating the arrival of Migratory birds on our shores. These include the Bar-Tailed Godwit/Kuaka which has made the loooong journey from western Alaska to New Zealand for a summer holiday and the Shining Cuckoo called the Pīpīwharauroa, which has flown from Indonesia/Bismarck Archipelago to have it's young. Like all cuckoos the Pīpīwharauroa lays it's egg in another birds nest (Grey Warbler/Riroriro).
So to celebrate the cuckoo Tanya tells a Mexican folk tale that connects the...

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Tanya and Pete have been celebrating Mad Hatters Day at a friends Birthday party, and decided to tell the Popular Indian story about a hat seller and his meeting with a group of very mischievous monkeys.
They brought along a selection of colourful hats ... and a song to go with the story too.

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Here it is.. the second and final part of the Firebird story: a Wonder tale from Russia 
....Enjoy!!

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This week in the Bat Cave Tanya , Pete and Bat lamb present part 1 of a Russian story about an Old man who discovers a magical feather.
 He has a great friend in his horse and together they face many challenges the Tsar  (who is not a very nice bloke!) puts to them.
Be sure to tune in next week for the exciting conclusion to this Wonder Tale!!

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Tanya bought some felt butterflies in Australia and got inspired to sing this butterfly song and tell the story of the magical transformation butterflies undergo.

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On the teams epic recent trip to Australia Tanya and Pete were invited to Mintara in South Australia to tell stories for a grown up audience on the theme of community and the links we all share with those around us. This was one of the stories told... a well known traditional story called Soup from a stone, about a traveller who comes to a town and proceeds to cook soup with a stone... the locals are very intrigued!

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Tanya, Pete and Batt lamb have just got back from a month touring and performing in Australia. 
They start off with a spring song to celebrate spring arriving here in New Zealand, and then tell an old English story about a girl Beth who stays up one night and meets a Faery.

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It's the middle of winter in New Zealand and it's the best time to plants trees... Tanya and Pete have just planted thirty plus trees and wanted to celebrate the wonder of trees in the Batt Cave this week. 
They start off with a song about trees in the garden, then they sing a traditional English tune used to Wassail (Celebrate) the apple trees that comes from the West Country in England where Peter grew up..
Finally they tell a story from Estonia about a man Called Mikku who sets out t...

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Tanya and Pete share more Matariki songs about some of the stars in the Matariki Cluster and then tell a very poignant story from the Māori tradition about Tāwhirimātea, the God of te hau/ the wind and how Matariki came to be in the sky.

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Mānawatia a  Matariki. In the Batt cave today we are celebrating Matariki, the Māori new year. We start by sharing a fantastic Matariki waiata by our friends Loopy Tunes in Ōtautahi/Christchurch. The star cluster, Matariki is important to many different cultures all over the world and has many names. In English it's called the Pleiades, in Japan Subaru and in China Mao. We share a story from the Wurundjeri people of south eastern Australia, who call the cluster, Karatgurk, after seven sisters and their flaming digging sticks.

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For the third in our trio of fox stories ... this story comes from the Inuit and is about a woman who longs for and digs deep to find herself a child. A fox helps realise  her dream.

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Tanya tells an energetic and fun version of this popular tale, about Chicken Licken who gets hit on the head by a falling acorn and thinks the sky is falling... then sets off to tell the King

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Tanya and Pete have dressed up to go to a party, and as Tanya is dressed as a fox , they have decided to tell a traditional English story about a certain Mr Fox and his sack.... I wonder what is in the sack??

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This story (and catchy song) from the Batt Cave is from West Africa  and is all about Anansi....the trickster spider man. 
Anansi was a very smart but troublesome god who was changed into a spider by his father Nyame for not giving up his mischievous ways, and there are many traditional stories about Anansi - this is one of them.

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The Batt Cave kicks off tonight with a song about air and then Tanya and Pete share a  Gluscabi story that comes from the Abenaki first nations of America people. In this story Gluscabi's curiosity and frustration with the wind lead him to meet Wouchowsen, the mighty wind eagle where he learns that what often frustrates us, can also make us strong.

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The Batt Cave kicks off tonight with a song about air and then Tanya and Pete share a  Gluscabi story that comes from the Abenaki first nations of America people. In this story Gluscabi's curiosity and frustration with the wind lead him to meet Wouchowsen, the mighty wind eagle where he learns that what often frustrates us, can also make us strong.

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Another of the Batt Caves's harvest stories: Tanya tells a story from Russia about a farmer and his struggles to harvest a Giant Turnip from his land. 

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Still on the theme of Harvest time: Tanya tells an English story about a Farmer and his dealings with the boggart... an old mischievous spirit set on causing trouble.
Then they follow up with another old harvest song... Oats, peas, beans and barley grow... except Tanya substitutes produce thats ready to harvest in our garden... Apples, Feijoas and Kumara.

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Its Easter in the Batt Cave and in New Zealand that means Harvest time in the garden.
Tanya, Batt Lamb and Pete have fun with the Batt cave participants identifying produce fresh from the garden and singing a Harvest song... Hip Hip Hip the harvest home!!

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Tanya tells this story from Andalusia in Spain to the Batt Cave about a young girl who looses her necklace.
Be warned that it is a bit of a scary story with a mean Ogre with a bad attitude in it!!

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Aesop is credited with several hundred fables: hot from the Batt Cave comes this tale of the ant who is industrious and hard working, and the grasshopper who takes a more laid back approach. In a first for Pete he not only plays the music but also plays the part of the grasshopper! Tanya takes on the role of the ant with her usual mastery of unusual voices.
A twist to the story is introduced by asking the Batt Cave audience how they think the story should end....Enjoy!!

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Its still hot and summery here in NewZealand and the Cicadas are in full song.
Here is a story from the Andaman Islands about the Cicada who loves to play his drum; and how this affects the whole balance of nature!

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Another story from the Batt Cave celebrating the Chinese New Year. This is the story of a boy called Chi Yu and how he uses a magic bead he finds to help out his village during a drought. His kindness is punished by a greedy farmer and Chi Yu finds himself transformed.

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It's the time of the Chinese New Year , so Tanya and Pete share a story about the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac and how decided the order they appear in.

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With the start of a new year and it being Australia Day Tanya tells a story from the indigenous Peoples of South East Australia about Tiddalik the frog who is a very thirsty frog indeed!

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Tanya and Pete share a story about a king who is looking for a successor to rule his kingdom and comes up with a novel way of selecting the new King.
Of course there is a boy called.... (What else!) Jack who thinks he will throw his hat in the ring.

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Members of the Batt Cave audience take part in the telling of this story about two children who discover a mermaid on the beach. 
Treasure is involved, so sit back and enjoy this fun tale told by Tanya and Pete.

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It's that special time of year again!! 

Tanya, Pete and Batt lamb are here with two new Christmas songs they have written to celebrate the Southern Hemisphere Christmas and New Year in New Zealand with all that means... Hot summer days, fresh plums and strawberries, swimming at the beach.
It's also a time for family, remembering those we love and those who have passed and are with us in spirit.

Wishing you all a positive and happy 2024!!!

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To celebrate Pete's Birthday, Tanya and Bat Lamb decide to tell a 'Peter ' story, of which there are many to choose from. 
They settle on the classic tale of the boy who cried wolf, with Peter in the main role.Of course  Bat lamb uses her super hero powers to deal with the wolf!

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Or join the live monthly Batt Cave storytelling club at https://ko-fi.com/tanyabatt0027/tiers Duration: 00:20:40

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The time of your life is a story by Tanya Batt and it is her latest picture book published.
It tells the story of a boy and his curiosity about the nature of time... can his new watch help him save up time?

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It's a new Batt Cave session, and it's a new year for Pete.... It's his Birthday!!
Tanya , Bat Lamb and Pete celebrate with the story of Issun-bōshi : A boy who is only the small size of a thumb, but he has very big courage as he journeys out into the world to pursue his dream of becoming a Samurai Warrior.

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Rounding off the Bat Cave's stories this month; Tanya with enthusiastic help from Bat Lamb tell a story from India about a king and his four daughters. The king decides to give a gift to each daughter as the story begins.

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Tanya and Pete share this fun version of the classic Aesop's Fable; The Tortoise and the Hare.
Tortoise challenges Racy Rabbit to a race.... I wonder who will win?

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This delightfull story from Africa has been a part of Tanya's story telling  since very early in her career as a full time weaver of magical tales. 
It tells of how mosquitos ended up with that annoying whine we sometimes hear in the night.

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A fun story about Lulu who is staying at Grandma's house and is having trouble getting to sleep... A familiar problem to parents!  
Grandma comes up with some creative ideas to help her sleep.

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Tanya and Pete present a lovely story (that Tanya thinks she heard from storytellers Laura Simms many years ago) about the search for a great teacher and great wisdom. This story is dedicated to the memory of a great and generous friend Pennie  Brownlee, who will always 'dance in our hearts'.

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Tanya has a magic box and a story that goes  with the box... then members of the bat cave  take turns at guessing what is inside. What do you think will be inside???

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During their recent visit to Malaysia Tanya and Pete heard this story from their storytelling friend Ng . It's the story of a very hairy Orangutan (person of the forest) and the very clever Mika who uses her wits to escape the Orangutan's unwanted attentions!

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Storyteller, Miss Jum from Thailand shared a story with an important message from Brazil about five little monkeys who always wanted to play. She learnt this story from one of her teachers Margaret Read Macdonald who has collected stories from all over the world and kindly shared it with us. We first met Miss Jum in Pune in India at another storytelling festival.  You can hear more of Miss Jum's stories here.

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You can find our audios and books to purchase at https://imagined-worlds.net/story-shop Duration: 00:09:36

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Pete, Tanya and Batt lamb were in Malaysia to take part in an international story telling festival recently, and their story-telling friend from Indonesia, Aryio  ) was also there. Ariyo helps organise all kinds of wonderful storytelling events in Indonesia and is often performing in storytelling festivals through out South East Asia.Batt lamb was so excited when Ariyo said he would share a story on the Podcast.
Aryio tells a lovely story about a Rabbit and some carrots and sharing, using the aid of a string . Batt lamb manages to sit quietly t...

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In this Batt Cave episode Tanya tells another of her published picture book stories. This is a wishing story that was told to her by an Irish story teller called Eilish De Bara about a woodcutter  who has to make a difficult decision when faced with a wish. The book is beautifully illustrated by famous Italian artist Nicoletto Ceccoli and can be purchased here https://imagined-worlds.net/story-shop/p/the-faerys-gift-book-with-audio-cd

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Tanya tells another of her own wonderful picture book stories about a boy who tells all his friends his Dad is a Dragon Catcher... is he really ? You can purchase copies of the book here https://imagined-worlds.net/story-shop/p/my-dads-a-dragon-catcher

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Tanya and Pete sing a story song all about the New Zealand long-finned eel, also known in te reo Māori as a tuna. This is the largest freshwater eel in the world. At the Awaawaroa Bay eco village where Tanya and Pete live, they are celebrating the tenth  anniversary of the only private eel sanctuary in Aotearoa that was the started by another resident of the village Tilde Sorenson, when she was a child. If you enjoyed this story you might enjoy the album 'Dance Upon Our Earth' that the story song co...

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Tanya shares something a bit different tonight in the Batt Cave... A telling of one of her own story books about a boy called Jake who has a favourite shirt with fish pictures on it. Then strangely the fish leave the shirt and head for the sky.... what will Jake do now? You can purchase copies of the book here https://imagined-worlds.net/story-shop/p/catching-fish

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A story from Sierra Leone about bat and the gift of darkness to the world.  Sun asks bat to fly a special gift up to the moon. 
Another wonderful story featuring bats from Tanya , Pete and Batt Lamb in the Batt cave. Then they finish up  with a reprise of the 'Bats are incredible' song.

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Or join the live monthly Batt Cave storytelling club at https://ko-fi.com/tanyabatt0027/tiers Duration: 00:12:11

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Bat Lamb bravely takes on the challenging role of Little Red Riding Hood in this re-imagining of the classic French tale with Tanya and Pete in the Batt Cave.

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Tanya, Pete and Bat Lamb have been on a story telling tour of Northland in Aotearoa/New Zealand with their brand new show 'Bats Incredible'; a collection of stories and songs all about the fascinating and intriguing world of bats.
They start with the fun song 'Bats are incredible', then move on to a suspenseful story from the Hawai'ian Islands about the mythical eight eyed bat called Pe'ape'a-Maka-Walu..... Watch out for the eight eyed bat!

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Tune in for the  exciting fourth and final episode of Mareep the sheep... a story created from the whacky suggestions of the Batt Cave audience. Mareep and her friends fly off only to be sucked into a flying house where a strange basket ball playing nose awaits them! 
Will they escape? Will Mareep ever be free of her heavy wool? will we ever find a way to resolve this story?

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Pete has just made a bird bone flute for our friend Moira, and this inspired Tanya to tell a touching story from Mexico about a Grandfather and his Granddaughter, his flute and their journeys through different dimensions with the power of music. This version of the story was collected by June Peters while visiting Mexico in her book co authored with Fiona Collins - Folk Tales of the Ever After: Stories about Death, Dying and Beyond.

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Tanya tells a funky version of the classical Ancient Greek story of Arion and the dolphin. Arion is a wonderful singer... and somehow Batt lamb competes with him in a singing competition... stranger things have happened! (but not often).

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In the exciting continuation of Mareep the Sheep, the three travellers meet an unusual chicken... then an even more unusual banana! will they find the answers that lead them on to the haunted purple cottage?? tune in to find out.

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Bat lamb snuggles up to listen to a scary story from the Cree First Nations people of Canada explaining how bats originated.

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https://imagined-worlds.net/batt-on-the-mat
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Tanya and Pete have been commissioned to write a song for Junk to Funk... a recycled fashion show on Waiheke island. This is the result... a song that is a re-telling of an old story about a Taylor who keeps recycling the suit he made in ever smaller garments until......

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Tanya and Pete have been picking olives, so they decided to share an Ancient Greek story about where the olive tree came from. This is preceded by a catchy song about the turning of the seasons as we move into winter.  Bat Lamb wasn't much help picking olives, but turns up to help with the podcast as only she can.

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Tanya, Pete and Batt Lamb present the next exciting episode of Mareep the Sheep.... a story made up entirely from the plot suggestions of the Batt Cave participants.
This month Mareep continues his perilous journey with the pink pig  in search of the oracle rubbish bin.  An elephant on a bicycle and a talking tree help them find their way to a singing volcano! Will they make it up the volcano??

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You can find our audios and books to purchase at https://imagined-worlds.net/story-shop Duration: 00:16:56

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In this episode Tanya and Pete begin with a song about Neighbours, then share four short stories about a personality from ancient Turkey called the Hodja.
In the first story the Hodja borrows a cooking pot. 
In the second one  his neighbour would like to borrow a donkey.
The third story is about his neighbours helping search for something the Hodja has lost.
The fourth story is a gem about a good life and life choices.
Enjoy!!.......

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Straight from the Batt Cave comes the story of Little Yellow Duck, a re-imagining of a Native American creation story, about a Little duck that bravely faces the challenge of helping bring the earth into being.

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Mareep the sheep, a brand new story made up by Tanya incorporating all the ideas suggested last month by the Batt Cave audience. We decided this could be the start of a serial story with part two coming soon using all the new whacky ideas from this months audience... so tune in soon for the next exciting instalment!!!

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Fresh from the Batt Cave comes the story of the Gecko who couldn't sleep : a story from the Island of Bali about a Gecko who can't sleep because of the buzzzzzing of the Fire Flies. He enlists the help of Tiger, and thus ensues a tale of difficulties, but also a tale of the interconnectedness of all things.

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In this story from the Caribbean, Tanya tells the story of Tipengi, a tale of a girl who is not very well treated by her Step-Mother, but with help from all her friends Tipengi has a trick or two up her sleeve.

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Tanya and Pete retell the story of Batkiwi by author & friend Melinda Szymanik https://melindaszymanik.blogspot.com/ about a kind-hearted Kiwi who wants to be of service to any forest friends in need....Who will help Kiwi be a hero?
Melinda has also just published a sequel to Batkiwi called 'There are no Moa, e Hoa' ....check it out!https://aotearoabooks.co.nz/there-are-no-moa-e-hoa/

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This story from te ao Māori comes from the Te Arawa confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe ( waka ). Hatupatu later became a Te Arawa chief but this story is an abridged account of his earlier exploits as a tama/young boy. 

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Tanya and Pete sing a cool new story song, then join with members of the Batt Cave to find suggestions for an original story that Tanya will create for next months Batt Cave evening.... I think an exploding sheep was mentioned!

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The Batt team ( with Batt Lamb’s unbeatable help) tell an old Chinese story of many suns and their battle for ascendancy in the sky . Originally it was told as ten suns but we whittled it down to six….it’s still pretty hot up there!

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The episode begins with a welcome song that uses te reo Māori which is followed by a traditional Nigerian story about why the sky is so far away and how it is that people had to learn to grow their food.

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The last Batt Cave for 2022 where Pete, Tanya and Batt lamb muse about what's growing in the garden (with a memory game), the best bits of 2022 and create a recipe for 2023. The recording wraps up with a wassailing song (an old British Christmas tradition) to encourage and thank the fruit trees.

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It's Tanya's birthday !!! It's also strawberry time here in New Zealand/Aotearoa and Tanya tells a Cherokee story from North America about where strawberries come from, accompanied by Peter playing some of the wooden flutes he makes. As usual Batt lamb provides her unique perspective on the proceedings!

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Tanya has been doing some lovely work with the local school around gardening and the stories and provenance of the vegetables and fruits we grow. First of all Tanya shares a song the children and her created about this project, then she tells the story of the Giants Garden... an adaptation of a  beautiful story written by Oscar Wilde

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To mark the one year birthday of the 'Batt Cave', Team Batt & Forster start with a song from their album, ' The Universe of Story'. called 'The Universe's Dream'.
This is followed by an excerpt from the album all about the molecule Hydrogen and how vital it was in the creation of the Universe. You can listen to the album for free here:      https://open.spotify.com/artist/7AAJ3JJWyigkSa4xd2bp8P Happy Birthday and thanks for listening :-)

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