WBUR Podcasts, Boston.

Have you ever heard the expression, nothing ventured, nothing gained?

What this saying means is if you never venture, if you never try, you never take any risks,

then there's not much you can expect to gain or achieve.

This expression comes to life in today's tale,

care of a teeny tiny bird with sky-high dreams.

I'm Rebecca Shear, and welcome to Circle Round, where story time happens all the time.

Today, our story is called Lighting a Spark.

It was inspired by tales from the Western European country of France.

Some really great people came together to bring you our story, including Charlene Amoya,

whom you grown-ups may know from such TV shows as Sons of Thunder and How I Met Your Mother.

Watch for her new comedy film The Breadwinner, coming to a theater near you on May 29th.

So circle around, everyone. For lighting a spark.

Once upon a time, the Earth had no fire, because every flame, every spark, every light was contained in the sun.

Living without fire was tough on the people. They had to go to bed at dusk so they wouldn't stumble in the dark past sunset.

They had to eat their food raw and spend the chilliest months huddled under blankets, trying to rub sensation back into their frozen toes.

The animals, on the other hand, fared much better.

They had fur and feathers to keep them warm, and many had night vision, helping them

find their way in the shadows. But one animal took notice of the people's suffering, and took pity.

That animal was the reddish-brown bird known as Jenny Wren. It isn't fair that the people have to shiver and stumble and chew on rubbery, stringy food.

If only there were a way to fly up to the sun, grab a spark, and bring it down to earth.

Jenny Wren had a long, fluffy, feathery tail, but her round wings were puny and short, and her body was no larger than your thumb.

...