Issue Number 3
November 2021
But first, a word just for the adults…
A MESSAGE FROM the TALE TELLER Hello there, adults. I think it might be fair to warn you that Mockingbird Tell Tale Letters are uncensored stories for kids, and so… you might not like them. Because as an adult, you prefer… how should I say this… umm… is “boring” the word? No, that might be too harsh. Maybe… umm… “tame”? Yes, tame. That’s it. I’ll go with tame. Let me begin again: Hello there, adults. I think it might be fair to warn you that Mockingbird Telltale Letters are uncensored stories for kids, and so… you might not like them. Because as an adult, you might prefer more tame stories like “How to Get Out Stains,” or “10 Kinds of Curtains,” or “How to Declog the Shower.” But if you wanna be a good adult from time to time, you have to read fun things to your kids, your nieces, your nephews, your grandkids, the kids you teach at Sunday school. Because you and I both know kids just don’t care all that much about stains, or curtains, or clogs. It’s not their job. Their job is go find something fun to do! Your job is to let them do it! So how are you, an adult who prefers tame things, supposed to read something as wild and undomesticated as a Mockingbird Tale Tell Letter? Here are some tips: * First take a deep breath in and a deep breath out – but do it as if you were an elephant * Next, let out three hoots like an owl * Lastly, bray your head like a horse (or even better, like you’re a unicorn or a pegasus!)
Now how’d that feel? Did you feel a little silly? I know you’re not used to having a good ole cattywampus* of a time. But you have to admit, it’s far more fun than all that yawning you usually do. Go on and admit you had fun! Now, begin the story remembering this feeling. Sincerely, Respectfully, Cordially and with Warm Wishes, Appreciation and Best Regards, The Tale Teller *For kiddos who don’t know what cattywampus is: first of all, you haven’t lived until you’ve had a good and proper cattywampus. A cattywampus is when you become an imaginary animal gone wild!!! You know that book Where the Wild Things Are? (Or is it called Where Are All The Wild Things At?) Anyway, if you don’t, have an adult read you that book immediately! ‘Cause let me tell you, in that book, Max gets all dressed up and has a good old cattywampus! Let the Wild Rumpus Start!
*Telltale Letters *
Allyship Edition Table of Contents Story: RABBIT’S HOUSE Page 5
BEYOND the STORY Page 9
Beginners: PRE K–KINDERGARTEN Page 10
Thinkers: ELEMENTARY Page 11
Rabbit’s House
An African Tale, adapted by Marcie Walker ong ago, when all stories belonged to all creatures and all creatures belonged to all stories, Rabbit lived in a neat little house just under the right corner of the sun and just left of the moon. Sun up, sun down, Rabbit lived a simple life, gathering leaves and berries and drinking in the days from the lake in the middle of the meadow amongst the grasses tall and sweet. On such an ordinary day as this, she returned to her neat little house to find the door blocked and locked. Rabbit’s whiskers twitched. She placed a long ear against the door and listened to someone breathing inside her house—deep sleepy breath in, deep sleepy breath out—over and over again. Furious Rabbit banged on the door to her very own house and called, “Who’s in my house?” Beneath Rabbit’s feet the earth began to tremble and a heavy groan seeped from inside the belly of the house, grummmmmmmmm grummmmmmmmm grummmmmmm grummmmmmm, deep sleepy breath in, deep sleepy breath out. Rabbit’s left foot began a soft, trembling tatty-tat-tat, and her right foot followed. Her heart responded to her feet with a pitty-pat, pitty-pat racing, racing so fast it could run from her chest. Rabbit pounded again, “Who’s in my house?” Ggrummmmmmmmm grummmmmmmmm grummmmmmm grummmmmmm, deep sleepy breath in, deep sleepy breath out. A big voice rumbled, “I am the shape-shifting changing one… I have trod through all kingdoms and soon I will soar every heavenly sky. I am called Many Feet. I take possession of myself. No one and nothing takes possession of me! How dare you disturb my sleep!”
Rabbit quivered and quaked, shivered and trembled from the tips of her toes to the very tips of her long skyward ears. She sat beside her neat little house just beneath the right corner of the sun and just left of the moon, and she cried and cried, so many tears, so many tears that all the tears ran to the lake and told the lake, who was mother to all, what great terribleness had come to her daughter, Rabbit. And Mother Lake did what mothers do for their children. She sent help. First to hear Rabbit’s tears was Python, who slithered, slither-sauntered, slither-sauntered all the way to Rabbit’s front door. “Whatssssss wrong, Rabbit? Ssssssooooo many tearssss, you’ll make an ocean,” he said. With sniffling trembles, Rabbit said, “There’s a giant problem squatting in my house. It won’t come out and so I can’t get in.” “What!?!” Python said outraged. “You did not invite him in?” Python was a great believer in not entering places where you had not been invited and therefore did not belong. He called out in his most indignant voice, “Who daresssssss to enter uninvited into my ssssssister Rabbit’sssss houssssse?” Ggrummmmmmmmm grummmmmmmmm grummmmmmm grummmmmmm, deep sleepy breath in, deep sleepy breath out. A big voice rumbled, “I am the shape-shifting changing one… I have trod through all kingdoms and soon I will soar every heavenly sky. I am called Many Feet. I take possession of myself. No one and nothing takes possession of me! How dare you disturb my sleep!” Hearing this, Python slithered into striking action, “Well, I am Python, I am the Crusher and I will wind and wind, and sssssssqueeze and sssssssqueeze until I crush you and this houssssssse!” “No,” Rabbit cried. “You can’t crush my house. That won’t help! Please go on your way.” And, so Python slithered, slither-sauntered, slither-sauntered away. And more of Rabbit’s tears ran to Mother Lake to tell her what had happened. At this time, Elephant was at the lake drinking her fill. She heard Rabbit’s tears and immediately went to see if she could help. Elephant tromp-tromped, tromp-tromped all the way to Rabbit’s, and listened to her sister’s most unfortunate story. With sniffling trembles, Rabbit told her, “There’s a giant problem squatting in my house. It won’t come out and so I can’t get in.” Elephant was furious. “What?!?”she said outraged. “Someone is taking up all the room in your house!?!” Elephant was a great believer in respecting others’ personal space. She called out in her most indignant voice, “Who dares to take up all the room in my sister’s house? Who dares to intrude upon my sister’s personal space?”
Ggrummmmmmmmm grummmmmmmmm grummmmmmm grummmmmmm, deep sleepy breath in, deep sleepy breath out. A big voice rumbled, “I am the shape-shifting changing one… I have trod through all kingdoms and soon I will soar every heavenly sky. I am called Many Feet. I take possession of myself. No one and nothing takes possession of me! How dare you disturb my sleep!” Hearing this, Elephant trumpeted into swinging action, “Well, I am Elephant. I am the Mountain and I will trample and trample, stomp and stomp until I pummel-pound you and this house!” “No,” Rabbit cried. “You can’t pummel-pound my house. That won’t help! Please go on your way.” And so Elephant tromp-tromped, tromp-tromped away. More of Rabbit’s tears ran to Mother Lake to tell her what had happened. It was just at this time that Frog was visiting Mother Lake, resting beside her. She listened to what each and every tear told Mother Lake about Rabbit’s sad and frightened heart. Eventually, she hip-hopped, hip-hopped to Rabbit’s house to keep company beside her sister. “You are so sad, so sad, and I am so sorry dear Rabbit. Shall I sit here beside you?” With sniffling trembles, Rabbit said, “But what good will sitting do? There’s a giant problem squatting in my house. It won’t come out and so I can’t get in.” Ggrummmmmmmmm grummmmmmmmm grummmmmmm grummmmmmm, deep sleepy breath in, deep sleepy breath out, the big voice rumbled on and on. Now Frog was a great believer in watching and waiting, listening and watching in order to know what really lurks beneath the surface of things and where it was safe and not safe to tread. She sat beside Rabbit watching and waiting, listening and watching in order to know what really lurked beneath the surface of Rabbit’s house. So, the two sisters sat side-by-side, right alongside Rabbit’s neat little house just beneath the right corner of the sun and just left of the moon. So many tears, so many tears running to the lake. Soon in the quiet, Rabbit understood exactly what really lurked, uninvited, beneath the surface of her house, taking up all the room, intruding upon her personal space. “Frog,” she said, “Will you help me get that voice out of my house.” “But how?” Frog cried. “The voice is so big, and you and I so, so small.” Rabbit quietly whispered her plan into Frog’s ready-to-lend ear. Then, Rabbit leapt into speedy action. Standing at full height atop Frog’s shoulders, and in her bravest voice, she demanded, “Who’s in Rabbit’s house?” Ggrummmmmmmmm grummmmmmmmm grummmmmmm grummmmmmm, deep sleepy breath in, deep sleepy breath out. A big voice rumbled, “I am the shape-shifting changing one. I have trod through all kingdoms and soon I will soar every heavenly sky. I am called Many
Feet. I take possession of myself. No one and nothing takes possession of me! How dare you disturb my sleep!” Hearing this, Frog straightened her spine and pushed Rabbit even higher on her shoulders. And Rabbit said, “I am the wind-snatching, quaking one. I stand head-and-shoulders above the rest and I plough beneath the surface of all things. I am called Long Teeth. I multiply myself again and again. No one can overtake me and mine! How dare you tread here! Come out of this house or else me and all of mine are coming in!” Hearing this, the big voice inside Rabbit’s house cowered in fear, and so slowly opened the door and crawled out and skittered away to his proper place. Seeing what they saw, Rabbit and all her friends and neighbors laughed and laughed. For it had only been a tiny caterpillar inside causing all of Rabbit’s woes. Laughing tears chased the sorrowful ones to Mother Lake to tell her all about Rabbit’s great victory and joy. The tears all danced and cried and laughed together just east of the setting sun and continued on beneath the rising new moon. And this story is told and done.
Beyond the Story for Parents & Educators
“As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, we are caught in a ‘network of mutuality,’ and that means our collective fate is intertwined. We will thrive or fail together.” Beverly Daniel Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
Beginners: Pre K–Kindergarten OUR GREATER VISION: To embolden our kids to be good allies by first becoming good listeners. Every child is equipped to be a partner in our humanity. However, every child’s abilities will differ depending on their predisposition, their maturity, and their biological ability. The goal is to help our children to do their best to be good allies and not to set expectations beyond their capability. The most important thing for us to remember is that allyship begins with caring. There are lots of ways for our children to show care to the world. OUR MOST ILLUMINATING THOUGHTS: Who tried to help Rabbit? How would you have helped Rabbit? How do you think Rabbit felt? SHARE THIS: Did you know that there was a little girl who had a really hard time going into her school because others tried to block her way? Her name was Ruby Bridges. But she had a friend like Frog who helped her – a teacher named Barbara Henry. OUR PRACTICE & INTENTION: Start speaking the language of allyship to your children when your children are really young. When your kids see you encounter a simple obstacle—for instance, you can’t find your car keys— you can wonder aloud, “I wonder who will help me?” You can even try simply pointing out allyship that you see in your daily routines: “Wow, <fill in the blank> needed help and <so and so> helped them.” If your child hears about an injustice in school or on the news, ask them: “Who was the saddest and needed the most help?” “Who helped them?” “How would you have helped?”
Thinkers: Elementary OUR GREATER VISION: To encourage our elementary thinkers to be supportive friends who stand up for others when needed. To help them find the need and their proper role in helping to fix what’s broken. We want them to be like Frog, offering their shoulders. But also we want them to be like Rabbit, humble enough to accept help, vocal in what specific help is needed, and courageous enough to do what is needed. OUR MOST ILLUMINATING THOUGHTS: What do you think about the way Python and Elephant tried to help? Who do you think you’re most like in the this story: Rabbit, Python, Elephant, or Frog? Have you ever been afraid of something that turned out to be tiny like the caterpillar in the story? SHARE THIS: Have you heard of Ruby Bridges? When she was 6 years old, she was the first Black girl to go to school with white kids in our country. Some people thought Ruby was a “Ggrummmmmmmmm grummmmmmmmm grummmmmmm grummmmmmm, deep sleepy breath in, deep sleepy breath out, shape-shifting changing one.” But of course she was just a child. And actually, those people were the shape-shifting changing ones threatening Ruby and her family: “No one and nothing takes possession of me! How dare you disturb my sleep!” And Ruby was like Rabbit. She had to be very brave even though she was afraid. But there were many people who helped her, like Frog helped Rabbit. One of those helpers was a teacher named Barbara Henry. She came to school every day to teach Ruby. She was an ally to Ruby. (If your kids ask more questions about why people didn’t want Ruby to go to school, be honest. Then show them pictures of Ruby Bridges today. Sometimes it helps kid to see that an injustice was overcome. Our Practice & Intention: Read In Her Own Words: Barbara Henry’s Experience, A Personal Essay.