WBUR Podcasts, Boston.

Have you ever lost something dear to you?

If so, how did it feel?

Probably not so great, right?

In today's tale, an unassuming bird loses a treasured possession, not because it goes missing, but because a bushy-tailed double-crossing thief steals it away.

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

Today, our story is called Seven Silver Rings.

It comes from several indigenous groups in present-day North America, including the Seneca and Shawnee.

Some really great people came together to bring you our version of this tale, including real-life couple Mariel Heller and Yorma Toconi.

Actress, writer, and director Mariel Heller has directed such films as The Diary of a Teenage Girl.

Can You ever Forgive Me, and a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

You grown-ups can see her in the Golden Globe-winning

TV series, The Queen's Gambit. Writer, actor, director, musician, and comedian Yormitakoni

authored the children's book, Little Fox, and The Wild Imagination. As part of the comedy

trio, The Lonely Island, he co-hosts The Lonely Island and Seth Myers podcast. So circle around, everyone,

for seven silver rings. If you've seen the nocturnal mammal known as raccoon, then you know he has a stocky body, short limbs,

and dexterous front paws with slender little fingers. His fur is grayish brown,

save for the black mask that surrounds his eyes and the black rings that go up and down his

bushy tail.

But once upon a time, raccoon didn't have that mask or those rings.

He was grayish brown all over.

This is the story of how everything changed.

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