WBWR Podcasts Boston.

Have you ever found yourself in a tough situation? If so, were you tempted to take the easy

way out? As we'll hear in today's story, when we take shortcuts in life, very often

they lead far from where we think they will.

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

Today our story is called The Little Blue Pebble. You'll find versions of this tale from a

great number of countries across the world, including Mexico and Argentina, India and

the Philippines, Kenya and Russia, Serbia and Yugoslavia, plus France and Denmark, Germany

and Italy. So really great people came together to bring you our adaptation of this

folktale, including Broadway performers, lifestyle bloggers, educators and new dads, Brett

Schuferd and Stephen Hanna, the dynamic duo behind Broadway husbands. So Circle Around

and everyone, for The Little Blue Pebble. Axel and Otto were farmers who lived way out in the

country side. On a plot of land beside their small cottage, they grew potatoes, carrots

and corn. Their chocolate-colored workhorse, brown eyes, helped them plow and plant and

cart their crops to the market. Axel and Otto worked their tails off, sun rise to sunset,

but a summer turned to fall. They began to worry about the long bleak winter ahead.

Otto, the snow will be falling any day now. Money's tight and with our drafty cottage and

threadbare clothing, I don't know how we'll make it through the season. I know what you

mean, Axel. And that's why I've been thinking. We ought to sell brown eyes. Sell brown

eyes, but she is our one and only horse, and she helps with so much work on the farm. I

know, I know, and I love her every bit as much as you do. But what other choice do we have,

Axel? We need money fast, and selling brown eyes is the only way.

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