Cloudspinner & the Hungry Serpent

Cloudspinner and the Hungry Serpent: Sometimes the only way out of trouble is up. Using your wits is always uplifting!

1. Cloudspinner & the Hungry Serpent (Japan): When faced with danger, sometimes the only way out is up. A magical spider maiden who helps a kindly farmer must escape the fangs of a sneaky serpent.

2. The Long Dangerous Journey (Hopi-Tewa, Northern Arizona) – Told to me by Jose Rey Toledo: Grandmother Spider leads Earth’s creatures from confusion and chaos towards happier lives in brighter but not perfect worlds, warmed by her co-creator Grandfather Sun.

3. Mother Air, Mother Water (Finland): Together and apart, Mother Air and her rebellious daughter, Mother Water, shape Earth and Sky and all the wonders they contain.

4. Thor’s Magic Hammer (Norse): When a gang of greedy giants steal Heaven’s greatest weapon, Thor and his little brother Loki play a hilarious trick on the King of the Giants and save Heaven.

5. Wild Onions (Acomawi, Northern California): On a mountainside, six women discover a delicious new food. When they bring the wild onions home, their men cannot stand the smell. The women call on their magical powers to find a new home.

6. The Hidden Ball (Venezuela): From the Sky World above, the god Wanadi comes to Earth to watch over creation. The birth of an evil spirit called Odosha causes Wanadi to hide the good people away in a cave.

Winner of a 2015 Storytelling World Honors Award

Copyrights © 2020 Beatrice Bowles

Excerpt from Thor’s Magic Hammer:

Loki raced back up to Heaven and fell on his knees before Freya, Thor’s wife, the beautiful long-braided Goddess of Love. “The King of the Giants has stolen Thor’s hammer and won’t give it back unless you marry him. You must dress yourself as a bride and hurry to the underworld, or all Heaven will be destroyed! “Marry him? Marry a wretched giant when I am already married to Thor? It’ll be a hot day in Heaven before I leave my divine husband for a wretched giant!” Freya’s braids flew every which way in her anger.  All the other goddesses agreed that she had every right to refuse to marry a giant.

The gods agreed too, but the hammer had to be returned, they insisted, or Heaven might be destroyed. The gods and goddesses argued about what to do, but clever little Loki came up with a plan.

Adam Zappa – La Scuola Elementary School, First Grade Teacher
“One of the loveliest qualities that Beatrice brings to our classroom is an understanding of different world cultures though the stories she tells and weaves together. Beatrice captivates children of all ages with her storytelling and web spinning. She is master of her craft.”

Professor Flora Joy Publisher – StoryTellingWorld.com
“Congratulations! Your storytelling resource, “Cloudspinner and the Hungry Serpent”, will receive one of the prestigious Storytelling World Awards from Storytelling World/Storytelling Magazine.”<

Carla Fava-Schmitt – Third Grade (Berkeley, CA)
“I love what Beatrice’s stories teach us about nature.”

Alessio deCapua Director – Eden Project (Cornwall, England)
“A wonderful CD: what a tremendous selection of stories! I particularly felt the force of the evil teachings (fight, hate, hoard and gamble!) in The Dangerous Journey–and in the current world of politics. The cross-dressing Thor fighting the king of giants made me smile broadly. I will share this with my Eden Project colleages!”

Sean Buvala – StoryTeller.net
“The latest audiobook by Beatrice Bowles is one that will take children on a journey of words and music, allowing their imaginations to soar. Cloudspinner and the Hungry Serpent, a collaborative project between Bowles and musician Sara MacLean, brings the listener to a place where they can wander through castles in the clouds.’ This collection has the sound that embodies the best of what a storyteller or storytelling event for children should be. It offers a slightly jazz-and-rhythm-infused yet calming journey with words spoken as if the colors of the story pour forth from the mouth of the teller and the fingers of the musician. Bowles is not talking down to young listeners but inviting them to keep up with her images. Yet in the midst of these stories, there’s often a wild (onion) wink from the teller to the adults who may also be listening along with children. If you like stories that speak to the minds and dreams of a child, this is a good addition to your collection.”

Lucinda – Fourth Grade – Bank Street School (New York City)
“Your stories are suspenseful, mind boggling, mysterious, thoughtful, exciting, funny, mystical, happy, and off the wall!”

Adriana Duerte – Founder/Director of Moonluza Seminar on Fairy Tales and Healing from Trauma (Sintra, Portugal)
“It was a great honour and pleasure to have Beatrice as speaker during our III International Seminar on Fairytale and Storytelling Therapy in Portugal. She is a fantastic storyteller, unique in every way and a wonderful person. Beatrice took us on an incredible journey to different cultures, different traditions and different worlds with her brilliantly chosen stories and her green wisdom that links us all to nature. What a feast full of magic. Truly amazing!”

Jane Shaw – Dean of Religious Life, Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA)
“Your stories are suspenseful, mind boggling, mysterious, thoughtful, exciting, funny, mystical, happy, and off the wall!”

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales. – Albert Einstein

“These five fantastic tales will take you all over the place, from up to the clouds to the undersea realm of the Sea Dragons–and even into Underworld where greedy giants lurk! Within each wild adventure, you will discover clever strategies for survival in hard times. The second story– the one about Spider Grandmother and Grandfather Sun-surprised and delighted me so much that I became a storyteller. No matter how small or young you are, by using your imaginative powers and working for the good of all, you can become the champion of your dreams. May these stories stretch your imaginations to amazing lengths and keep you wondering.” ~ Beatrice Bowles