January 5, 2023

Folktales Week Sweden Night (1-5-2023)

by Chompers

Background show artwork for Chompers

It's the conclusion of our Swedish folktale tonight on Chompers.

Where to Listen

Transcript

>> Rachel: Welcome back to Chompers, your morning and night toothbrushing show.


Start brushing on the top of your mouth. Pick a side, and brush all the way to the molars in the way back


>> Kids: 3, 2, 1 brush!


>> Rachel: We’re returning to our Swedish folktale, about a husband and wife who switch places for one day.  The wife is in the forest, doing the work the husband normally does -- chopping wood. (SFX chopping)


But so far, it’s not going very well for the husband.  The husband has gone down into the cellar to get bacon and cider -- but the dog stole the bacon! The noise gave the husband a scare … and as he jumped, he knocked over the cider… and ALL of the cider spilled ALL OVER the cellar floor! (SFX Spill)


This is a mess, the husband thought to himself. But there was no time to clean it up. He had to feed the cow and cook dinner still!  (SFX COW)


Find out after you switch your brushing to the other side of the top of your mouth, and brush your molars in the way back too.

 

Now, the field where the cow could eat sweet grasses was very far away, and the husband thought that was a hassle. So he thought up a plan.


Remember how our story takes place in Sweden? In the olden days, houses in Sweden sometimes had THATCH -- or GRASS -- roofs. And this family lived in a house just like that. Which gave the husband an idea - why not put the cow on the roof so it could eat the sweet grass there!?


Switch to the bottom of your mouth, and brush your front teeth too. 


So the husband tied a rope around the cow’s neck, and heaved and huffed and pushed her up on the roof. (SFX)  Then he threw the rope down the chimney, and then tied the rope around his waist.  (SFX)


Ah, perfect! Now he could check on the bread he was baking.


He opened the oven.  And discovered that the bread was burnt to a crisp!  


Just then he felt a jerk on his waist … and he was pulled across the room, into the fireplace.  He was pulled so quickly that his butt flew into the fireplace and snuffed out the fire! (SFX)


Switch to the other side of the bottom of your mouth, and don’t forget those front teeth 


 The cow had fallen off the roof and pulled the husband into the fireplace! (SFX cow)


And it’s at this moment that the wife came home with a big load of firewood. 


She saw the cow hanging from the roof, and her husband with his butt in the fireplace. She smelled the cider spilled in the basement. She saw the dog chewing on the bacon and the burnt loaf of bread. 


She smiled, and said.  So darling, it’s not as easy as it looks, huh?


Her husband shook his head and said, No. Not easy at all.


That’s it for Chompers tonight. Until next time…


>>Kids: 3, 2, 1 spit!