0:08

Have you ever woken

0:11

up early enough to

0:13

watch the sunrise? It's

0:15

pretty magical, right? Watching

0:17

those first glimmers of daylight as

0:20

they start to peek out from

0:22

the horizon? Today's tale

0:24

is all about how the first

0:26

sunrise came to be. way

0:28

way back in the

0:30

earliest and darkest and

0:32

coldest of times. I'm

0:39

Rebecca Scheer and welcome to

0:41

Circle Round, where story time

0:43

happens all the time. Today

0:46

our story is called At

0:48

First Light. It comes from

0:50

the Aboriginal peoples of Australia.

0:52

who have lived on this continent

0:54

between the Pacific and Indian

0:56

oceans for over 50 ,000 years. Some

0:59

really great people came together to

1:01

bring you our version of this

1:03

tale, including Natalie Dormer, whom you

1:05

grown -ups may know from such

1:07

TV shows as Game of Thrones,

1:10

The Tutors, and Elementary, as well

1:12

as The Hunger Games movies. Her

1:14

new film, Audrey's Children, is

1:16

in theaters now. So

1:18

circle around, everyone, for

1:20

at first, light. A

1:33

long time ago, back

1:35

when animals ruled the Earth, the

1:38

world was a dark place. A

1:40

cold one too. The

1:42

reason was clouds. The

1:46

entire planet was covered with

1:48

clouds. And unlike the clouds

1:50

we know, which float in the

1:52

air high above us, these

1:54

clouds hung right above the ground.

1:57

What's more, they were dense

1:59

and thick and solid, like

2:01

a low, hard ceiling. So

2:05

the animals had to spend their

2:07

days, or nights, it was hard

2:09

to tell the difference, trapped in

2:11

this thin layer of chilly darkness, shivering

2:14

and figuring out ways to

2:16

get around. Nowadays,

2:18

kangaroo hops and springs from

2:20

place to place, right? Well,

2:23

back in those early times, the

2:25

poor, pouched marsupial had

2:27

to crawl on all fours.

2:30

Oh, what I

2:32

wouldn't give to

2:35

jump and bound

2:37

and leap. The

2:41

tall bird, known as Emu,

2:43

couldn't possibly extend her long,

2:45

narrow neck. Instead, she

2:47

had to walk around all punched over.

2:50

Oh, such a caric

2:52

in my neck, and

2:55

my back, if only I

2:57

could stand up straight. And

3:00

Koala, there was no way

3:02

he could climb up and down

3:04

eucalyptus trees, because in the

3:06

darkness, he couldn't see the trees.

3:09

Hmm. Is

3:11

this a tree? Ow!

3:14

No, koala! It's

3:17

kangaroo! Oh!

3:20

Is this a tree? No!

3:23

It's emu! Watch

3:25

yourself, koala! Ugh,

3:27

I'm sorry. But how can

3:29

I watch anything when I can't

3:31

see anything? Oh my god, I can't

3:34

see anything! The

3:36

animals were miserable. And

3:38

the more miserable they became, the

3:40

more they quarreled. Their

3:42

moods turning as dark and frosty

3:44

as the earth itself. The

3:46

one creature who tried seeing

3:48

the bright side, so to speak,

3:50

was the black and white

3:53

bird known as Magpie. Oh, how

3:55

I dream of lifting off

3:57

the ground and flying. But

3:59

one flap of my pointy wings and

4:01

I'll bump against a cloud. There

4:03

must be some way to bring

4:05

light. to the world. Warmth,

4:08

too. They must. So

4:11

Magpie called all the animals

4:13

together to see what they could

4:15

do. Thanks for

4:18

accepting my invitation, friends. I

4:20

would say I'm happy to see

4:23

you, but given how dark it is,

4:25

that's pretty much impossible. Anyway,

4:29

I'm glad you're here. This better

4:31

be worth it, Magpie! Emu

4:33

stomped on my tail on

4:36

the way over, and it

4:38

won't stop throbbing. That's because

4:40

Koala smashed into me, and

4:42

I lost my balance. I

4:44

only smashed into you because

4:46

A, I couldn't see you,

4:48

and B, I was shivering

4:50

so hard. Haven't you

4:53

noticed how dark? And cold

4:55

it is around here? Look,

4:58

I must tie it as anyone. Friends,

5:01

friends, please. Listen,

5:05

I called us together because

5:08

we can't go on living

5:10

like this. We need light

5:12

and heat. I believe

5:14

it's high time we take action

5:16

and chase the clouds away. Kingaroo,

5:19

Emu, and Koala

5:21

exchanged a skeptical look.

5:23

At least they would have exchanged a

5:25

skeptical look where they able to

5:27

see each other's faces. Chase

5:30

the clouds away?

5:32

And just how are

5:34

we supposed to

5:36

do that, Magpie? Do

5:38

you have any

5:40

brilliant ideas? The

5:42

truth is, I

5:45

don't. But I'll bet

5:47

we could come up with some ideas as a

5:49

group. All we have to do is put

5:51

our heads together. There was

5:53

a long pointed pause

5:55

and then no way magpie

5:57

We're too busy banging

5:59

our heads together to brainstorm

6:02

ideas So you're on

6:04

your own when it comes

6:06

to finding a way

6:08

to chase off those clouds

6:11

All of us are

6:13

in that dark and we

6:15

always will be To

6:17

magpie's dismay Kangaroo, emu and

6:19

koala turned around and

6:22

stomped away in the murky

6:24

gloom, stumbling and bumbling

6:26

all the while. Out!

6:29

Watch it! No! You watch

6:31

it! I told you, none

6:33

of us can watch anything! Oh,

6:38

right. Fine. If

6:40

the other animals won't help me,

6:42

I'll find an answer on my

6:44

own. I'll put on my thinking

6:46

cap. I'll mull it over. And

6:49

with any luck, it

6:52

won't be long before I

6:54

see the light. What

7:00

ideas will magpie come

7:02

up with? Do you have

7:04

any suggestions for the black and white bird?

7:08

We'll find out what happens after

7:10

a quick break. A

7:15

whole new season of terrestrials

7:17

is coming. Radio Lab's family -friendly

7:19

show all about nature. This season

7:21

we are back with a

7:23

new batch of episodes where we

7:25

come face to snout with

7:27

some of the wildest, gnarliest creatures

7:29

on this planet. We

7:32

discover music, magic,

7:34

medicine, and a whole

7:36

lot of fun. Starting

7:38

April 17, all on the Radio Lab

7:40

for Kids Feed, wherever you listen to

7:42

podcasts. Welcome

7:47

back to Circle Round. I'm

7:49

Rebecca Scheer. Today, our

7:51

story is called At First

7:53

Light. Before

8:00

the break,

8:03

Magpie was determined to bring

8:05

light and warmth to the

8:07

Earth by banishing the

8:09

dark, solid clouds that hovered

8:12

uncomfortably close above But

8:14

when kangaroo, emu, and koala

8:16

refused to help her formulate a

8:18

plan, Magpie knew

8:20

she was on her own.

8:22

Okay, think. Magpie,

8:25

think. The black and

8:27

white bird wracked her brain for an idea.

8:29

Hmm. Hmm.

8:34

Hmm. But

8:36

her mind felt empty. Come

8:39

to think of it, my

8:42

stomach. Feels empty too.

8:45

It's time for a snack. She

8:47

stuck out her beak and began

8:49

pecking around in the darkness, hoping

8:51

to find a spider, worm,

8:53

or cockroach to gobble

8:55

down. Come on, little critters.

8:57

I know you're here somewhere. At

9:00

least I hope you are. The

9:02

hungry bird pecked and

9:04

pecked until she struck

9:07

something. Oh!

9:09

Only it wasn't a

9:11

spindly spider or squishy

9:13

worm or crunchy cockroach.

9:15

Instead, it was something

9:17

long and rough and

9:19

spiky. She couldn't see

9:21

it, of course, but

9:24

when she ran her wings over

9:26

it, she immediately knew what it was.

9:28

It's a stick. A

9:31

nice hefty stick. Must

9:33

have snapped off a

9:35

tree branch Obviously the stick

9:38

was no substitute for

9:40

food But all at once

9:42

it gave magpie some

9:44

precious food for thought I've

9:47

Got it. I know

9:49

how to chase the

9:51

clouds away Once again, she

9:53

called the animals together

9:55

once again, they came fumbling

9:57

and bumbling over Careful

9:59

with that big emu Once

10:08

Magpie sensed the other animals

10:10

were close by, she began

10:12

the speech she had so

10:14

carefully prepared. We're

10:32

going to have to work

10:34

together. Work

10:36

together? Not a

10:38

chance, Magpie. We

10:40

could never work

10:43

together. Well, I

10:45

beg to differ. And

10:47

I can prove it.

10:49

There's no point in even

10:51

trying, Magpie. Kangaroo's right. All

10:54

we do is

10:56

bicker. And squabble. And

10:58

quibble. We're constantly

11:00

butting heads! Sometimes, literally!

11:03

Because of how we stumbled through the darkness. That's

11:06

a good one, Koala! And

11:09

so true. Totally

11:11

true! Right? It's

11:14

absolutely ridiculous. Yeah! Yeah, exactly!

11:16

Can you put your gloves

11:18

away? Okay, I

11:21

hear you, but friends, friends!

11:25

Do you realize what happened just now?

11:27

The three of you didn't

11:29

bicker. You didn't squabble.

11:31

You didn't quibble or butt

11:34

heads. You actually

11:36

agreed on something. Wait!

11:40

We agreed on something? Really?

11:43

Really. You agreed

11:46

on the fact that

11:48

you never agree. Kangaroo,

11:50

emu and koala paused. So

11:54

what you're saying

11:56

is... can agree after

11:58

all. We don't

12:00

always have to butt

12:02

heads. We can

12:04

actually get along? Absolutely.

12:09

You just proved it to be true. So

12:11

now, what do you say? Are

12:14

you ready to work together and bring

12:16

light and warmth to the world? Kangaroo,

12:19

Emu and Koala knew that

12:21

Clever Magpie had them right

12:23

where she wanted them. So...

12:25

What else could they do, but

12:28

once again, agree. Oh,

12:30

count me in, Magpie!

12:32

Me tell! Me

12:34

three. What do we

12:36

do first? First, we make

12:39

a big pile of wood. Branches,

12:41

sticks, fallen tree limbs,

12:43

the longer and stronger,

12:45

the better. Kangaroo,

12:48

Emu, and Koala did as they were

12:50

told. They scurried through the

12:52

darkness. Feeling around for

12:54

wood and tossing it into a

12:56

pile. Great work, friends. Now

12:58

that we have a nice big pile, each of

13:00

us must hold as many pieces of wood as

13:03

we can. Then we'll use

13:05

the sharp, pointy ends to

13:07

push up. Push up?

13:10

If we push the sticks

13:12

up, they'll bump against the

13:14

sky. Indeed they will. And

13:17

that's exactly what we want. So

13:20

go! The animals

13:22

grabbed as much wood as they could. Then

13:25

they began to

13:27

push. They

13:31

pushed. And

13:35

they pushed. And

13:39

after a little bit of time and

13:41

a whole lot of teamwork, do

13:43

you know what happened? The

13:46

solid clouds began to

13:48

lift. Up they

13:50

rose, higher and higher, until

13:52

they were towering far above

13:54

the earth. For

13:59

the first time ever,

14:01

the animals were free to

14:04

move and roam. Kangaroo

14:06

began to bound around, emu

14:09

extended her long, narrow neck, and

14:11

koala scurried up into the branches

14:14

of a eucalyptus tree. As

14:16

for magpie, She

14:18

burst into song. Her

14:24

joyful warbling rang out

14:26

loud and clear, so

14:28

loud and clear, in fact, that

14:30

it woke up the sun.

14:33

The golden orb began rising in

14:36

the east, filling the

14:38

sky with shimmering shades of

14:40

yellow, orange, and red,

14:42

and finally, finally, beaming

14:44

light and warmth. to

14:46

the earth below. Ever

14:49

since then, in certain parts of

14:51

the world, it's Magpie's

14:53

voice that ushers in the

14:55

dawn. If you wake

14:57

up early enough and you step outside, you

15:00

just might hear the clever bird

15:02

sing out and awaken the sun. So

15:05

we all can delight

15:07

in a brand new day.

15:17

Now it's your turn. You

15:19

can work as a team

15:21

artistically by doing a scribble

15:24

swap. Find a partner and make

15:26

sure you each have a piece of paper

15:28

and something to draw with. Now

15:30

close your eyes and draw

15:32

a scribble. Once you're

15:34

done, trade papers. Look at your

15:36

partner's scribble and use it

15:38

to create a full picture. Think

15:41

about what the scribble reminds you of.

15:43

How might you add to it? Let

15:45

your imagination run wild. And when you're

15:47

both finished, share your pictures with each

15:49

other. And if you'd like, share them

15:51

with us. Ask a grown -up

15:53

to snap a photo of you

15:56

and your scribble swaps and email

15:58

it to circleround at WBUR .org.

16:00

With your permission, we may feature

16:02

it in The Lion's Roar, the

16:04

monthly newsletter of the Circle Round

16:06

Club. More on this super fun,

16:08

super fan membership opportunity in a

16:10

moment. But first... This

16:14

week's episode at First Light

16:17

was adapted by me, Rebecca Scheer.

16:19

It was edited by Dean

16:21

Russell. Our original music

16:23

and sound design is by Eric

16:25

Chimalonis. Eric's featured instrument this

16:27

week was the didgeridoo. To learn

16:29

more about this wind instrument created

16:31

from a long piece of hollowed

16:33

-out wood and to see a

16:35

photo of Eric playing one, visit

16:37

our website, WBUR .org slash

16:40

Circle Round. Circle

16:42

Round's artist is Sabina Hahn. Sabina has

16:44

created a black and white coloring page for

16:46

all of our Circle Round stories, and

16:48

you can print them out and color them

16:50

in. Grown -ups, you can

16:52

find all of them at WBUR .org

16:54

slash Circle Round. Special thanks

16:56

to this week's actors, Amy

16:58

Brantano, Terrence Lamont Jr., Erica

17:01

Rose, and Natalie Dormer.

17:03

Natalie's new film, Audrey's Children,

17:05

tells the true story

17:07

of Dr. Audrey Evans, the

17:10

first woman to head her

17:12

department at the world -renowned Children's

17:14

Hospital of Philadelphia and the co

17:16

-founder of Ronald McDonald House. Audrey's

17:18

Children is in theaters now.

17:21

Want to circle around with us in

17:23

even more ways while also supporting

17:25

public media? Join the Circle Round

17:27

Club. You'll help keep

17:30

our WBUR podcast going strong

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early access to tickets for

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our live events. Sign

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circle round. Grownups, if

17:49

you have a moment, please leave

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us a five star rating or

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review on whatever podcast app you're

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using right now. It helps other

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listeners find the show so we

17:59

can make the circle round circle

18:01

even bigger. Circle Round

18:03

is a production of

18:05

WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.

18:13

I'm Rebecca Scheer. Thanks

18:15

for circling round with us. Now

18:21

that you've made it to the

18:23

end of this Circle Round episode, we

18:25

want to know, what's your favorite

18:27

Circle Round story? Thousands of fans, just

18:29

like you, have been telling us

18:31

about the circle round stories they like

18:33

best. Take a listen. Maybe

18:35

one of their favorites is one of

18:37

yours too. I am

18:39

Gula. I come

18:41

from Jerusalem, and my

18:43

favorite episode is Horse

18:45

for Hire. I like

18:48

it when Marie tricks

18:50

Pierre. My name is

18:52

Walker and I live

18:54

in Kentucky. And

18:56

my favorite story is The Princess

18:58

and the Neighbor. And why I

19:00

like it is because he gives

19:02

a gift that helps her get

19:04

better. My name is Mabel. I

19:07

live in Greenbelt, Maryland. My favorite

19:09

circle round story is The Colonel of

19:11

Truth. I like it because

19:13

Mabel teaches the Queen a lesson. My

19:16

name is Will. I live in

19:18

one of Massachusetts, and

19:20

my favorite circle round is

19:22

counting crocodiles. I like

19:24

the part where Mouse Deer

19:26

tricks old crocodiles. Hi,

19:28

my name's Jeremiah. I'm

19:30

from Pennsylvania, and my

19:33

favorite circle round story

19:35

is Bandana Split. Hi,

19:37

my name is Hazel. I

19:39

live in Illinois. My

19:42

favorite circle round story is

19:44

Granny Snowstorm. I like

19:46

the part when boys goes

19:49

cannonball. My name

19:51

is Captain. I live in Philly.

19:54

And my favorite story is

19:56

fighting cats and dogs. My

19:58

favorite part is when the

20:00

cat went on the dog's back

20:02

to swim across the river

20:04

to retrieve the pearl that the

20:07

owner got as a present. I

20:09

love you, Rebecca. Did Did someone

20:12

mention a story you've missed? Not

20:14

to worry. Grownups, you can find

20:16

all of our circle Round stories,

20:18

plus links to the Round Club,

20:20

picture books, coloring pages, and oh

20:22

so much more on our website,

20:24

wbr .org slash circle round.