Story Library

Add a Comment

10 Comments

Comment by Jackie Baldwin on April 11, 2008 at 3:55pm

Hi to all of you in Story Library...
For the past 10 years, Story-Lovers has been devoted to bringing you public domain stories and illustrations from everywhere in the world, not only specifically, as in Come Sit on Grandma's Knee (with its collection of stories from the early 20th century), but woven throughout SOS's hundreds of categories as storytellers from around the globe have contributed their stories, anecdotes, suggestions, references, links, experiences, tricks and tips to help you find not only public domain stories, but also thousands of other genres, that will assist you in getting started on or expanding your storytelling career.
http://www.story-lovers.com/listsofstories.html

Just take a peek at Come Sit on Grandma's Knee! All these public domain stories are categorized by country and date of publication. So easy to find...and you'll discover lots of helpful information about the stories and a variety of sources, both online and in books.
http://www.story-lovers.com/grandmasknee.html

So... if you have any public domain stories of your own, I encourage you to share them with all of us through Story-Lovers. It's quick, easy and right on target. All you have to do is send your story and I'll post it immediately for all to enjoy and even do a little extra research for you to find alternate sources and other information about the stories themselves that everyone may not know.

And if you already tell some of the public domain stories you find in Story-Lovers, let us know about your experiences and what you find has worked best for you in the story, what audiences you find most receptive, and how you have shaped and reshaped your story over time until you got it just right to tell!

And it's SO easy! Just enter your keyword(s) into the Google search box on the Story-Lovers home page or the main SOS page, and whoosh! there you go...right where you want to be to find the best story to fit your needs. All categorized and right at your fingertips!

Have a fun experience in your searches!
Jackie B.
www.story-lovers.com

Comment by Dianne de Las Casas, Author, Award-Winning Storyteller on April 8, 2008 at 7:09am

Nick:

I think we could have both. I do like seeing how other tellers shape their stories. I can't wait for others to post some stories! I wish there was a way to categorize the stories by genre or country...

Warmly,
Dianne

Comment by Nick Smith on April 7, 2008 at 10:41pm

This is a great idea. My immediate question is this:
Do people want "polished" versions of stories posted here, or just the bare bones? Or maybe both? I ask because I find that I "personalize" most folk tales a great deal as I work with them, so for ME, the simpler the starting version, the easier it is to mold. On the other hand, it is also fun to see what another teller has turned a story into.
If this is going to be a "reference library" of folktales, let's discuss that and shape it the way we want it.

Comment by Daniel Bishop, the Storyteller on April 7, 2008 at 10:30am

This I like, Lets tell some stories.

Comment by Doria Hughes on April 7, 2008 at 9:44am

This is wonderful Dianne, what a marvelous resource you have created - within a resource - for all of us! Fresh back from the Sharing the Fire conference I am all juiced up to work up more stories and share them. Actually, a while ago I came across one I really like, which I call "Lion's Bad Breath".

Lion wakes up one morning with a bad taste in his mouth and decides to ask the other animals if he has bad breath. He asks Jackal, who tells him his breath stinks something awful, and Lion is so offended that he gives him a whallop. Lion next asks Fox, who lies and says his breath smells sweet and fragrant. Lion is even angrier at this, since he knows that Fox must be lying, so he gives him an even bigger whallop. Lion next asks Rabbit, who trembles in fear, whether his breath smells bad. Rabbit apologizes for not being able to say one way or another, since he has a terrible cold and cannot smell anything! (To see my performance of this tale, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icbc_VE_Pv0

I believe I found this story in a collection by Margaret Read MacDonald, and she said it was from Burma. Does anyone else know this one, or if there are other variants in other countries?

Comment by David Joe Miller on April 7, 2008 at 6:16am

Oh!... this is good.... very good!

Thanks "D"
best,
DJM

Comment by Patricia Kjolhede on April 7, 2008 at 6:01am

Thanks for starting this group--for now I am listening--but I promise to contribute soon. I see this as both a valuable resource for all of us and a fun communication tool. Happy telling!!

Tricia

Comment by Sondra Singer on April 6, 2008 at 11:56pm

Great idea, Dianne! Again, not much time to help out here right now, but hopefully, soon! By the way, how do you know if a story is actually in the public domain or whether it is copyrighted by someone without going through a lot of research?
Sondra

Comment by Steve Evans on April 6, 2008 at 11:08pm

Yes, what a great idea. I'm looking forward to this! STEVE

Comment by Tom A.B. Taylor on April 6, 2008 at 9:57pm

Dianne,

Thanks for a most excellent idea in creating this group; it will be of great benefit for many. Saw Bill Mooney this afternoon at the Silver Spur Theater in Salado - of course, he was wonderful - a huge hit, and very gracious to 'the folks' afterward - at one point he discussed the importance of working with public domain material, so I know he'd strongly affirm your action w/ your newest group.

Many thanks,

Tom