The Snow Eater | Ep. 248

What is spring like in your part of the world?

Do the flowers and trees burst into bloom? Can you hear the twittering of birds and the buzzing of bees?

In some places, springtime is when certain animals emerge from the long winter’s nap known as hibernation – including most bears! In today's story, we’ll learn how the bear’s wintertime snooze came to be.

Our story is called “The Snow Eater.” It’s based on tales from the Blackfoot: indigenous peoples whose territory originally stretched from present-day Alberta in Canada, to the northwestern plains of Montana in the United States.

Voices in this episode include Amy Brentano, Kevin Corbett, Ryan Dalusung, Shawn Richardz, Todd Scofield, Dawn Ursula and Cree Summer, who’s lent her voice to such animated movies and TV shows as “The Patrick Star Show,” “The Loud House,” “Rugrats,” “Muppet Babies,” “DC Super Hero Girls,” “Atlantis: The Lost Empire,” “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and “Good Times,” which she also voice-directed. You grown-ups can check out Cree this season on the ABC comedy, “Abbott Elementary.”

This episode was adapted for Circle Round by Rebecca Sheir. It was edited by Sofie Kodner. Original music and sound design is by Eric Shimelonis. Our artist is Sabina Hahn.

GROWN-UPS! PRINT THIS so everyone can color while listening. We’re also keeping an album so please share your picture on Facebook and Instagram, and tag it with #CircleRoundPodcast. To access all the coloring pages for past episodes click HERE. Our resident artist is Sabina Hahn and you can learn more about her HERE.

Now it’s your turn!

Think about a time you were part of a team. Perhaps you and your family baked a cake together, or you built a fort with friends. Maybe your class put on a play, or you played on a sports team with your fellow athletes.

Find some paper and something to draw with, then make a picture of you and your team working together. Share your picture with a grown-up in your life, then ask them to tell you about a time they used teamwork to achieve a goal.

No matter our age, learning to be part of a team can help us practice patience, respect, and cooperation. It can also help us develop trust in other people… and confidence in ourselves.

Musical Spotlight: Native American Drone Flute

In a way, playing the Native American drone flute is like having your own choir: because of its two wooden tubes, the flute plays two notes at the same time! One side of the flute plays the melody, while the other plays a constant note (or “drone”).

Traditionally, Native American peoples have played the flute as accompaniment in spiritual rituals and meditation. In our episode, we use it to accompany action and adventure!

You can hear Eric Shimelonis play this instrument in several other Circle Round episodes, including “The Sweet Spot,” “Grandfather Stone,” “Maushop and Grandfather Sun” and “The Fire on the Other Side of the World.”

Story Transcript:

NARRATOR: Long ago, a young woman named Aponi lived with her grandmother. One year… in the middle of a cold, bleak winter… Grandmother fell ill. And as the old woman lay in bed, her body growing weaker and her breath growing fainter, she called her granddaughter to her side.

GRANDMOTHER: As you know, dear granddaughter, my days on this earth are drawing short. Soon I will enter the spirit world of our ancestors. But before I go, I wish to give you something.

NARRATOR: The old woman unfurled her fingers and handed Aponi a pipe, its long thin stem adorned with paint, beads, feathers, and fur.

APONI: (gasp) It’s beautiful!

GRANDMOTHER: It’s also POWERFUL. This pipe… is a medicine pipe. It was given to our people many ages ago by the Thunder Chief. And it has the power to do great things!

APONI: What kinds of things, Grandmother?

GRANDMOTHER: You shall see. When the time is right. (slowly, meaningfully; foreshadowing what comes ahead) When the time… is right.

NARRATOR: Soon after that, Grandmother breathed her last breath, and was gone. Now that Aponi was on her own, the bleak, bitter winter seemed to drag on and on. But then, as she was trudging through the snow and wind one bitingly brisk day, she suddenly realized why.

APONI: (GASP!) The chinook! It hasn’t come! The “snow eater” HASN’T COME!

NARRATOR: The chinook – or “snow eater” – is a warm, dry wind you’ll find in the Rocky Mountain region of North America. It’s called “the snow eater” because when it sweeps down a snowy mountainside, it makes the air so warm and dry that the snow can instantly evaporate! It can disappear into thin air before it even has a chance to melt.

APONI: The chinook should have blown in by now, eaten up the snow, and brought the spring! (beat) If it doesn’t come blowing in soon, I’m going to freeze – unless I starve first!

NARRATOR: Aponi was right: food and firewood were getting harder and harder to come by. But one morning, as she was hopelessly scouring the forest for both, she suddenly heard…

MAGPIE: Listen up, folks!

NARRATOR: … a voice!

MAGPIE: I’ve got news to share! BIG news!

NARRATOR: Intrigued, Aponi followed the voice to the edge of a snowy clearing. She hid behind a frozen tree as the chatty, black-and-white bird known as Magpie addressed a group of animals. There was fluffy, wide-eyed Owl…

OWL: What’s the newwwwwws, Magpie?

NARRATOR: …skinny little Weasel…

WEASEL: Don’t leave us hanging!

NARRATOR: …and shaggy Coyote.

COYOTE: Spill the beans already, won’t you?

MAGPIE: Alright, friends. Brace yourselves. (beat) I know what happened… to the chinook!

OWL: You doooooooo?

MAGPIE: I do! (beat) It was STOLEN! …By BEAR!!!

WEASEL: Bear stole the chinook?!??

COYOTE: Where did that burly bully TAKE it?

MAGPIE: Word has it he brought the chinook to a secret den somewhere – so he could hoard the warmth for himself! After all, he’s sick and tired of shivering all winter long. Just like WE are!

OWL: Truuuuue… but thanks to Bear’s greediness, we might never see spring again!

WEASEL: Yeah! We’ll all grow colder… and hungrier…

COYOTE: …and the chinook will stay with Bear FOREVER! [shih-NOOK] (rhymes with “book”)

APONI: I wouldn't be sure about that!

NARRATOR: The animals jumped and whipped their heads around as Aponi stepped into view.

APONI: I’m sorry to startle you – but I come as a friend. A friend who’s every bit as cold and hungry as you are… and every bit as eager to welcome the spring! (beat) My name is Aponi. And I don’t believe the chinook has to stay with Bear forever.

NARRATOR: The animals exchanged a skeptical look.

MAGPIE: But Bear is bigger than all of us! 

OWL: Not to mention burlier.

WEASEL: And bossier!

COYOTE: We could never get that bully to set the snow eater free!

APONI: You know what? You’re probably right.

NARRATOR: Aponi smiled.

APONI: (with a smile) That’s why we’re going to TAKE it!

MAGPIE: / OWL: / WEASEL: / COYOTE: “Take it”?????? 

APONI: Absolutely! By working together! (beat) Magpie. Thanks to your long tail and rounded wings, you’re a whiz at swooping and diving. Right?

MAGPIE: (not sure where Aponi is going with this) Right…

APONI: And Owl! You have incredible hearing – and eyesight. You can hear and see stuff from miles away. True?

OWL: (not sure where Aponi is going with this) Truuuuuuue…

APONI: And Weasel! Not only are you lightning-fast, but you can flatten your body and slither through the tiniest of cracks! Yes?

WEASEL: (not sure where Aponi is going with this) Yes…

APONI: And Coyote! You’ve got strong, muscular legs that can push and kick. Correct?

COYOTE: That IS correct. (beat) But what does any of this have to do with taking the chinook?

APONI: It has EVERYTHING to do with taking the chinook. If we band together, and use our special strengths, I believe we can track down the snow eater and rescue it from Bear’s clutches. (beat) Are you with me?

NARRATOR: Magpie, Owl, Weasel and Coyote were quiet for a moment. Then, one by one, they nodded their feathery and furry heads.

MAGPIE: We’re with you, Aponi! 

OWL: We’ll work toooooogether!

WEASEL: We will rescue the chinook!

COYOTE: We will set the snow eater free!

APONI: That’s the spirit! (beat) I just have to make one quick stop at home. Then we can get started. (beat) (heartfelt, slower, meaningful) And listen, friends. With a little courage, and a LOT of teamwork, I promise: spring… will finally be SPRUNG!

NARRATOR: How will Aponi and her new friends work as a team to rescue the snow eater?

We’ll find out what happens, after a quick break.

[BREAK]

NARRATOR: I’m Rebecca Sheir. Welcome back to Circle Round. Today our story is called “The Snow Eater.”

Before the break, Aponi and her animal friends Magpie, Owl, Weasel and Coyote were determined to free the warm chinook wind – or “snow eater” – from Bear’s secret den.

Aponi stopped home to fetch the medicine pipe her dearly departed grandmother had given her. Then she and the animals ventured into the winter wilderness. Owl acted as scout, flying ahead and surveying the landscape below.

As the group passed through an ice-sculpted valley beneath a towering mountain, Owl let out a hoot.

OWL: Hoo Hoo! I hear Bear’s grumbles and growls coming from the top of that mountain! And I see a big pile of rocks; it looks like the entrance to a secret den!

APONI: Well done, Owl! Bear must be up there… which means the chinook must be up there too! (beat) Come on, everybody. We’re going UP!

NARRATOR: Slowly but surely, Aponi and the animals made their way up the snow-covered slope. When they reached the pile of rocks, Aponi turned to Weasel.

APONI: Weasel. I want you to slide beneath these rocks and scurry inside. Take a look around the den, then come back out and tell us what you saw.

WEASEL: You’ve got it!

NARRATOR: Quick as a wink, Weasel flattened his slender body and slithered under the rocks. When he wriggled out a moment later, his dark eyes were shining.

WEASEL: I saw the chinook! (beat) It's in the very back of the den, and it’s tied up inside a great big bag. Bear is standing over it, and watching it like a hawk.

APONI: Nice job, Weasel. And thanks for the heads up.

NARRATOR: Aponi turned to Coyote and Magpie.

APONI: Coyote? Magpie? You’re next. (beat) Coyote, I want you to use those strong legs of yours to move some of these rocks, so that Magpie and I can enter the den. And once we’re in, Magpie? I want you to swoop and dive like your life depends on it. (beat) Got it?

COYOTE: / MAGPIE: (in unison) Got it!

NARRATOR: Coyote took a breath, then shoved the rocks aside with a kick. But just as Aponi and Magpie were squeezing through the opening, they heard a deep growl…

BEAR: (GROWL!)

NARRATOR: …and saw the big hulking form of Bear skulking their way.

BEAR: I THOUGHT I heard intruders trying to enter my secret den! How dare you barge your way in here and – (gets interrupted mid-sentence)

NARRATOR: But before Bear could utter another word, Magpie was flapping her rounded wings, flicking her long tail, and swooping all over him!

MAGPIE: Ha HA! WooHOO! Ya! Take that! And THAT! Weeeee! Ha ha ha! Whew!

NARRATOR: Bear squirmed, wriggled and writhed as he tried fighting off the dive-bombing bird.

BEAR: (ad-libs) Stop that! Get off me! Go! Get away! Git! Yahhh! Gahhh! Stop it! Get out of here! Go! Leave me alone! Get away! Stop that! Stop it! Arrrr! Yarrrrr!

NARRATOR: Now that Bear was sufficiently distracted…

BEAR: (more ad-libs)

NARRATOR: …Aponi skirted past him, seized the bag with the chinook inside, and hoisted it over her shoulder.

APONI: I’ve got it! Magpie, I’ve got the chinook! Go out and join the others! I’ll take it from here!

NARRATOR: Magpie did as she was told. But the moment she winged her way out of the den, Bear made an unexpectedly quick recovery! He let out a roar…

BEAR: (ROAR!)

NARRATOR: …then scrambled to his feet and came lumbering toward Aponi.

BEAR: You aren’t trying to steal MY chinook… Are you????

APONI: YOUR chinook???? Last time I checked, the snow eater belongs to everyone!

BEAR: Not anymore! It’s MINE now. And guess what? (beat) SO are YOU!

NARRATOR: Aponi didn’t have a second to lose. As Bear lunged at her with another roar…

BEAR: (ROAR!)

NARRATOR: …she reached into her pocket and pulled out… the medicine pipe!

APONI: (to herself) Grandmother said to use this pipe when the time was right, and this time seems as right as any!

NARRATOR: Quick as a wink, she put the pipe to her lips, puffed out her cheeks… and blew!

A cloud of smoke came bursting out, enveloping Bear in a gauzy haze. At first, he froze, standing still as a stone. Then, slowly, his head lolled backward, his jaws opened wide, and he let out a yawn so powerful, Aponi could feel his hot breath on her face.

BEAR: (YAWWWWWWN!)  (tired, yawning) Gosh! Is it bedtime already? I’m so drowsy all of a sudden!

NARRATOR: Bear staggered backwards, swaying and tottering.

BEAR: (yawning all the while, falling asleep) I don't know why, but I can hardly keep my eyes open! Maybe if I just… lay down… and took a little nap…

NARRATOR: And with that, he crumpled to the ground… curled into a big, burly ball… and dropped off to sleep.

BEAR: (humorous snoring/sleeping sounds)

NARRATOR: As Bear snored away, Aponi hurried out of the den and back to her friends.

APONI: Okay everybody! I have the chinook. But I need your help getting this bag open. Bear’s knots are super-tight!

NARRATOR: The animals set to work undoing the knots. Magpie used her long black beak.

MAGPIE: (ad-lib efforting sounds)

NARRATOR: Owl used her thick, sharp talons.

OWL: (ad-lib efforting sounds)

NARRATOR: Weasel used his pointy little teeth.

WEASEL: (ad-lib efforting sounds)

NARRATOR: Coyote used his powerful jaws.

COYOTE: (ad-lib efforting sounds)

NARRATOR: And then… at long last… the bag burst open… and out flew the chinook!

NARRATOR: After sweeping across the mountaintop, the warm, dry snow eater rushed down to the world below. In an instant, the blanket of snow vanished.

APONI: We did it, friends! We freed the chinook! We freed the snow eater! (beat) But we’d better get out of here. Bear could wake up any minute!

NARRATOR: Aponi, Magpie, Owl, Weasel and Coyote scurried down the slope. And just in time, too. Because who should come roaring out of his den…

BEAR: (ROAR!)

NARRATOR: ...but a very angry Bear.

BEAR: They’re gone! Those thieves are gone. And so is my chinook! Now I’ll have to endure the icy cold winters again. (beat) Unless…

NARRATOR: A gleam came into his eye.

BEAR: …Unless I sleep through the winters! That nap did feel good. Every year, when winter comes, I can just conk out!

NARRATOR: And wouldn’t you know it…

BEAR: (YAWN!)

NARRATOR: …that’s exactly what he’s done ever since.  Bear spends all winter hibernating…

BEAR: (humorous snoring/sleeping sounds)

NARRATOR: …snoozing and dreaming in his den. And then, when the chinook comes blowing in… and its warm, dry breeze eats up the snow… the world springs back to life – and Bear does, too.