January 7, 2022

Folktales Week Chamorro Night (1-7-2022)

by Chompers

Background show artwork for Chompers

How do the islanders defeat the giant fish that's eating their island? Find out tonight on Chompers!

Where to Listen

Transcript

>> Rachel: Welcome back! It’s time for Chompers, your twice daily tooth brushing show!


Start brushing on the top of your mouth on one side, and make little circles with your brush around each tooth.


>> Kids: 3, 2, 1 brush! 


>> Rachel: It’s Folktales Week and tonight we’re finishing a story that the Chamorro people in Guam tell, about how the island got so skinny (SFX) in the middle.


In this story, a giant fish is EATING the land! He’s taking bites from one side … (SFX) and then the other side!  (SFX) And if he keeps eating the land, he’ll eat right through it! And the island of Guam will become two islands!


So the fishermen went out searching for the fish, so they could capture it, and make it stop eating the island!


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


They searched deep in the ocean but when night came, and they still had not found the fish.


The next day everyone was talking about how the fish had not been caught. 


A group of women talked about the giant fish as they washed their hair in a pond in the middle of the island.


They were using LEMONS to wash their hair, to make it smell wonderful.  And when they were done, the water smelled wonderful too … because it was filled with lemon peels.


Switch to the bottom of your mouth, and give your tongue a brush too.


The next day, a young woman noticed a lemon peel on the beach. But the beach was nowhere near where the women washed their hair.


She sat down to think.


And then she realized:


The fish must have been eating a SECRET TUNNEL all the way from the pond in the middle of the island to the sea! The lemon peels had flowed through the secret tunnel from the pond to the sea -- and that’s why when the fishermen searched for the fish in the ocean, they couldn’t find it! It was hiding in the pond!


Switch to the other side of the bottom of your mouth, and keep brushing! 


She ran to gather together the other young women … “Ladies! I know where the fish is hiding!  We have to catch it!”


The young women all gathered at the spring and created a plan.  They would cut off their long dark hair, and weave it into a net.


In this story, the young women have magical powers!  And as they wove the net, they sang. 


And as they sang, the net grew larger.  (SFX Singing)


The giant fish heard their beautiful voices and swam to the surface of the pond to listen. (SFX swimming/singing)


And then … they caught the fish up in the net.


And the fish never returned to the island.  The young women had saved the day.


That’s it for Chompers tonight, you did a great job brushing. Don’t forget to…


>>Kids: 3, 2, 1 spit!