Hello and welcome to super great kids' stories.

Wise tales from storytellers around the world which will make you laugh and

sometimes cry. Recommended for ages 5 to 105. I'm Kim and I love stories. Well hello super great kids.

I hope you're having a happy week. I've got two reasons to be cheerful.

First of all, we've reached our 250th story on the podcast. So, to celebrate, we thought this week we'd share not one, but two stories with you. And my second reason to be cheerful is that I've just been on a little trip to Shropshire in the English countryside,

where I stayed in a house which is over 400 years old.

I don't think it was haunted, but it might have been.

There were plenty of creaking sounds at night, but sadly I didn't meet the ghost of the bloody finger.

And the stars in Shropshire shone so brightly it felt as if Sky God had just scattered his jewels across the sky. Amazing. The first

story we're going to hear today has lots of stars in it. It's about a poor girl who sets off

one winter night under the stars to find her luck. It's called Starcoin, and it's a fairy tale from Germany told by

Simona Schummelveda. Just before we begin, there are lots of stories people tell about stars

and how they think that they got into the sky. Some people say they're the eyes of dragons in the sky,

and others say that they are the holes in the cape which Sky God has thrown across the sky.

If you were to make up a story about how you think the stars became,

how would you explain how they got there?

Maybe a sky giant scatters his marbles in a tantrum.

Or a volcano shoots up diamonds instead of lava and they stick all over the sky?

Have a little think about the story you'd tell while we have a quick word with the grown-ups.

Ready? Off you go.

This week's podcast is sponsored by Indeed.

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