0:00

W-B-U-R

0:06

podcasts

0:17

Boston.

0:26

To get your tickets for

0:28

this live taping featuring

0:30

me, Rebecca Shear, composer

0:33

Eric Shimelonis, and members

0:35

of the Boston Symphony

0:37

Orchestra, visit w-b-u-r.org/Circle Round

0:39

and click on Events.

0:42

For now, enjoy this

0:44

favorite episode from the

0:46

Circle Round Archives. It's an

0:48

oldie, but goodie. We'll be

0:50

back with a brand new episode

0:53

soon. Until then, enjoy the

0:55

story. He's a fictional detective,

0:57

created by the British

0:59

author Sir Arthur Conan

1:01

Doyle. Sherlock Holmes solved

1:03

mysteries by noticing things.

1:05

He'd find all sorts of

1:07

teeny tiny clues, then put them

1:10

all together to figure out who

1:12

done it. The characters in

1:14

today's story are a lot like

1:16

Sherlock Holmes, but when they

1:19

use their powers of observation

1:21

in a particular case, they

1:23

become the suspects. I'm

1:25

Rebecca Shear and welcome to

1:27

Circle Round where story time

1:30

happens all the time. Today

1:32

our story is called Three

1:34

Clever Brothers. Versions of this

1:36

tale come from a

1:38

number of places including

1:41

Tunisia in North Africa,

1:43

Uzbekistan in Central Asia,

1:45

plus India, Iraq, and Siberia.

1:48

Some really great people came

1:50

together to bring you our

1:52

telling of this folk tale,

1:54

including Alexandra Billings. Grown-ups, you

1:56

may recognize Alexandra from Transparent

1:58

on Amazon Video. She also

2:01

has a new

2:04

movie out, Paddleton,

2:06

co-starring Mark DiClass

2:09

and Ray Romano.

2:11

So circle round,

2:14

everyone, for three

2:16

clever brothers. In

2:19

a small village, there

2:21

lived a teacher. The teacher

2:23

was never rich. but he

2:25

made enough money at the

2:27

local school to keep his

2:29

three sons comfortable. There was

2:32

the oldest son, Adam. Hello

2:34

there. The middle son, Aziz.

2:36

Nice to meet you. And

2:38

the youngest son, Amir. spoiler

2:40

alert. You're going to love

2:43

this story. Thanks to their

2:45

father. The one thing Adam

2:47

Aziz and Amir treasured above

2:49

all else was learning. Their

2:52

dad taught them to pay

2:54

close attention to everything, to

2:56

observe the world carefully, let

2:58

nothing escape their notice, and

3:01

see what they could learn.

3:03

Eventually the teacher grew too

3:05

old and weak to stand

3:07

in front of the classroom

3:09

all day, so he retired.

3:11

Soon after he called his

3:13

sons to his side. Adam,

3:15

Aziz, Hamir, you

3:17

three are the lights

3:19

of my life. But

3:21

as you know, I'm

3:24

drawing closer to

3:26

the end of that life.

3:28

And when I go, there

3:31

isn't much I can

3:33

leave you in the

3:36

way of worldlyley

3:38

riches. No acres

3:40

of farmland. No.

3:42

herds of cows? No piles

3:45

of gold. That's

3:47

why I ask you to promise

3:49

me one thing. Anything,

3:51

father. You name it.

3:53

We'll do it. The

3:56

old man's eyes

3:58

twinkled. All right. I ask

4:00

that each and every

4:03

day you work on

4:05

building up those

4:07

wonderful minds of

4:10

yours, because cleverness,

4:14

curiosity, wisdom,

4:17

those are the true

4:20

riches. And armed

4:22

with such riches,

4:24

you will never ever

4:26

be at a loss.

4:28

The three brothers gladly made their

4:31

promise, and after their father

4:33

breathed his last breath, they

4:35

set off for the capital

4:37

city to see what their

4:39

future might bring. Adam Aziz

4:41

and Amir trekked through fields

4:43

and valleys, climbed over hills

4:45

and mountains, and observed the

4:47

world around them all the

4:49

while, every little detail. At

4:51

last, they drew near to

4:54

the capital city. On the

4:56

outskirts of the bustling metropolis,

4:58

along a dusty dirt road,

5:00

they encountered a man. He

5:02

had curly black hair and

5:04

was wearing a long black

5:06

cloak. He was kneeling down

5:08

in the grass. And crying.

5:10

Adam reached into his pocket

5:12

and pulled out a handkerchief.

5:14

Excuse me, sir. Are you

5:16

okay? The man took the

5:18

handkerchief, blew his nose, then

5:20

looked at the brothers with

5:22

swollen red eyes. Thanks for

5:25

asking, but I'm afraid I'm not

5:27

okay at all. You see, I'm a

5:29

traveling merchant. And today, I

5:31

lost my best friend in

5:33

the whole entire world. Last

5:35

night we set up camp

5:37

here at the side of

5:39

the road, and when I

5:41

woke up this morning, he

5:43

was gone. Aziz and Amir

5:46

frowned. We're so sorry.

5:48

That sounds rough. It is.

5:50

I've known my friend since

5:52

I was a little

5:54

boy, and we've been

5:57

inseparable ever since. Well,

5:59

until now. Adam placed a

6:01

hand on the merchant's

6:03

shoulder. This might sound crazy,

6:06

but by any chance, is

6:08

your friend a camel? A

6:11

beige-colored camel? Immediately,

6:13

the merchant stopped crying.

6:15

How did you know?

6:18

Yes, yes, he's a camel,

6:20

as beige as the desert

6:22

sand. The three brothers exchanged

6:24

a look. And, this

6:27

beige-colored camel of

6:29

yours. Is he lame in his

6:31

right hind leg? Walks with a

6:33

bit of a limp? The merchant

6:35

raised his eyebrows at his

6:38

ease. Actually, yes. My camel

6:40

is lame in his right hind

6:42

leg. He's quite old now and

6:44

his legs aren't what they once

6:47

were. And is your camel

6:49

blind in one eye? The

6:51

left one? The merchant beamed

6:53

at a mirror. Correct again, he

6:55

is blind in the left eye.

6:57

Like I said, he's very old.

7:00

You three clearly know so

7:02

much about him. Can you

7:04

tell me where he is? The brothers.

7:07

Shrugged. Sorry, sir. I'm afraid

7:09

we can't. We've never

7:11

even seen your camel

7:14

before. The merchant was

7:16

taken aback. But somehow

7:18

you knew I was missing a

7:21

camel. And you described him

7:23

so perfectly, his beige

7:25

color, his lame leg,

7:27

his blind eye. How would

7:29

you know all that if you've

7:31

never laid eyes on him? Wait

7:33

a minute. You've stolen my

7:36

camel, haven't you? And now

7:38

you're adding insult to injury

7:40

by making fun of me.

7:43

The brothers threw up their

7:45

hands. No, good sir. That's not

7:47

the case at all. You see.

7:50

It just so happens that my brothers

7:52

and I... We... No, no, no, I

7:54

don't want to hear your excuses. In

7:56

fact, I don't want to hear another

7:58

word from the th- Three of

8:00

you until we're standing before

8:03

the judge. I'm taking you

8:05

to court. What will happen

8:07

when they stand before the

8:09

judge? And how did the

8:12

brothers know so much about

8:14

the merchant's missing camel? Who

8:16

will find out after a

8:19

quick break? The

8:25

reviews are in and Superfans

8:27

like you are loving the

8:29

Circle Round Club, an exciting

8:32

opportunity to support public radio

8:34

and get cool stuff, including

8:36

ad-free episodes and a personalized

8:38

birthday message from me. What

8:40

I like about the Circle

8:42

Round Club is that Rebecca

8:45

Shear sends extra messages and

8:47

it supports the show and

8:49

there are no ads. Grown-ups,

8:51

support public radio and sign

8:53

up today at w-b-u-r.org/Circle Round

8:56

Club. Welcome back to Circle

8:58

Round. I'm Rebecca Shear. Today

9:00

our story is called Three

9:02

Clever Brothers. When we left

9:04

off, A merchant was taking

9:06

three brothers to court. He

9:09

believed Adam Aziz and Amir

9:11

had stolen his lifelong friend.

9:13

An old camel. The judge

9:15

took careful notes as the

9:17

merchant told his side of

9:19

the story. All right. So,

9:22

based on what you told

9:24

me, you were missing one

9:26

camel. He's beige in color.

9:28

Lame in his right hand

9:30

leg and blind in his

9:32

left eye. Is that correct?

9:35

The merchant smiled. That's correct,

9:37

your honor. And further, based

9:39

on what you've told me,

9:41

these gentlemen were able to...

9:43

list every one of those

9:45

details. Yet they claim they've

9:48

never seen your camel before?

9:50

The merchant glared. That's correct,

9:52

your honor. I see. So,

9:54

Adam, Aziz, Amir, what do

9:56

you have to say for

9:58

yourselves? The oldest brother, Adam,

10:01

approached the judge's bench. We

10:03

stand by our claim, your

10:05

honor. You see, our father.

10:07

He was a teacher. He

10:09

was a teacher. And ever

10:12

since we were little, Father

10:14

taught us to observe and

10:16

learn, to let nothing go

10:18

unnoticed. That's why we knew

10:20

the merchant was missing a

10:22

camel. And what it looked

10:25

like. Interesting. So let's start

10:27

with the camel itself. How

10:29

did you know the merchant

10:31

was missing a camel? And

10:33

a beige one at that.

10:35

Adam's eyes sparkled. That's easy,

10:38

your honor. When we encountered

10:40

the merchant this morning, we

10:42

noticed the grass next to

10:44

him was all squashed down,

10:46

as if a sleeping camel

10:48

had been lying there. Plus,

10:51

the merchant's black cloak was

10:53

covered in beige-colored hairs, all

10:55

of them straight as an

10:57

arrow. But, as you can

10:59

see, the merchant's own hair

11:01

is black, and curly as

11:04

a fiddlehead. So, the beige

11:06

hairs must have belonged... to

11:08

the camel! How about the

11:10

lame, right-hine leg, then? How

11:12

did you know about that

11:15

one? Now a Z's approach

11:17

to the bench. One word,

11:19

your honor. Footprints. As we

11:21

walked along the dusty dirt

11:23

road, we noticed the most

11:25

intriguing set of tracks. They

11:28

looked like they should have

11:30

been made by a creature

11:32

with four hooves, but we

11:34

only saw footprints from three

11:36

hooves. The fourth hoof, the

11:38

one on the back right

11:41

side, it looked like it

11:43

had been dragged across the

11:45

ground as the animal made

11:47

its way along the way

11:49

along the road. So that

11:51

leg must have been lame.

11:54

And what about the blind

11:56

left eye? Why? What led

11:58

you to that conclusion? Amir

12:00

joined his older brothers at

12:02

the bench. You see, your

12:04

honor, lush grass and leafy

12:07

trees lined both sides of

12:09

the road we were on.

12:11

But on the right side,

12:13

every now and again, we

12:15

noticed that the grass had

12:17

been eaten clear away. And

12:20

the trees were bare, like

12:22

they'd been nibbled by an

12:24

animal. Meanwhile. The grass and

12:26

trees on the left side

12:28

of the road hadn't been

12:31

touched, almost like the animal

12:33

hadn't seen them. The judge

12:35

gazed down at the three

12:37

brothers. She was about to

12:39

say something when the merchant

12:41

piped up. With all due

12:44

respect, your honor, none of

12:46

this proves that the brothers

12:48

are innocent. They still might

12:50

have stolen my camel. I

12:53

say, put these three fellows

12:55

to the test, right here,

12:57

right now. Have them describe

12:59

something they've definitely never seen.

13:01

The judge mulled over the

13:04

merchant's suggestion. All right then,

13:06

let there be a test.

13:08

The judge leaned over and

13:10

whispered something to her two

13:12

court clerks. Immediately the pair

13:14

rushed out of the room.

13:16

When they returned, they were

13:19

carrying a large... chest. They

13:21

set it down on the

13:23

floor, right in front of

13:25

the three brothers. Adam, Aziz,

13:27

Amir, inside this chest is

13:29

one object, a very particular

13:32

object, which I'd like you

13:34

to describe to me right

13:36

now. The brothers went into

13:38

a huddle. When they came

13:40

out a moment later, they

13:42

were grinning from ear to

13:44

ear. Well, your honor, by

13:47

our observations, the object is

13:49

small. and round and green.

13:51

Therefore, it must be none

13:53

other than an unright pomegranate.

13:55

The judge motioned for her

13:57

clerks to open the chest.

14:00

The lid swung open, and

14:02

indeed, at the very bottom,

14:04

was one unripe pomegranate. The

14:06

judge clapped her hands with

14:08

delight. Well done, gentlemen! Please,

14:10

tell us how you figured

14:12

that out. Well, Your Honor.

14:15

From the way your clerks

14:17

carried the chest, we could

14:19

tell it wasn't very heavy.

14:21

Neither of them was struggling

14:23

or straining at all. And

14:25

when they set the chest

14:27

down on the floor, we

14:30

heard the sound of something

14:32

rolling from one end to

14:34

the other. We also noticed

14:36

that the clerk's shoes were

14:38

covered in fresh grass clippings.

14:40

As we entered the courthouse

14:43

today, we observed a pomegranate

14:45

orchard beside the building, and

14:47

the grass had just been

14:49

mowed. Furthermore, at this time

14:51

of year, pomegranates aren't yet

14:53

ripe. So instead of being

14:55

big and red, the fruits

14:58

are small and green. And

15:00

so... What else could it

15:02

be? But? An unripe pomegranate?

15:04

Of course! I hereby declare

15:06

this case dismissed. After the

15:08

trial, the merchant apologized to

15:10

the brothers. He definitely saw

15:13

the error of his ways.

15:15

And when he left the

15:17

courthouse and returned to his

15:19

campsite, can you guess what

15:21

he found there? Or who,

15:23

rather? That's right, his camel.

15:26

Turns out the old creature

15:28

had wandered off in search

15:30

of more water. By the

15:32

time the animal had limped

15:34

back, his best friend in

15:36

the whole entire world had

15:38

leapt to some very false

15:41

conclusions and zipped off to

15:43

court. Now, as for Adam,

15:45

Aziz at Amir, they decided

15:47

to settle down in the

15:49

capital city. They became teachers.

15:51

just like their father. And

15:54

each and every day, the

15:56

three clever brothers helped their

15:58

students build up the greatest

16:00

riches of all. their minds.

16:02

Now it's your turn. Look

16:04

around you right now and

16:06

pick one object you can

16:09

see, but don't tell anyone

16:11

what it is. Instead, brainstorm

16:13

three clues that will help

16:15

someone else figure out what

16:17

your object is. Three hints

16:19

to help guide their way.

16:21

Once you have your three

16:24

clues, share them with a

16:26

family member or friend. Then,

16:28

see if they can use

16:30

their Sherlock Holmes skills to

16:32

name your object. This week's

16:34

story, Three Clever Brothers, was

16:37

adapted by me, Rebecca Shear,

16:39

and edited by Circle Rounds

16:41

executive producer, Jessica Alpert. Eric

16:43

Shimelonis creates our original music

16:45

and sound design. Our artist

16:47

is Sabina Han. Sabina's made

16:49

a black and white picture

16:52

for every circle round story,

16:54

and you can color them

16:56

in. Visit our website, w-b-u-r.org/circle

16:58

round, and click on coloring

17:00

pages. Special thanks to this

17:02

week's actors, Evan Casey, James

17:04

Conachek, Adam Mastriani, Maurice Emanuel

17:07

Parent, Jeffrey Song, and Alexandra

17:09

Billings. Alexandra stars on Transparent

17:11

on Amazon Video. Season 5

17:13

comes out later this year.

17:15

You can also see Alexandra

17:17

in the new feature film,

17:20

Paddleton. co-starring Mark Du Plus

17:22

and Ray Romano. The featured

17:24

instrument in today's story was

17:26

the Rhodes Piano. You can

17:28

learn more about this electric

17:30

piano and see a picture

17:32

on our website. Again, that's

17:35

w-b-u-r.org/Circle Round. And if you

17:37

haven't yet subscribed to Circle

17:39

Round, find us on Apple

17:41

Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you

17:43

get your podcasts. And please,

17:45

write us a review. We'd

17:48

love to hear what you

17:50

think of the show. Circle

17:52

Round is a production of

17:54

W-B-U-R, Boston's NPR News Station.

18:00

I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for

18:02

circling round with us. Now

18:04

that you've made it to

18:06

the end of this circle

18:08

round episode, we want to

18:10

know. What's your favorite circle

18:12

round story? Thousands of fans,

18:15

just like you, have been

18:17

telling us about the circle

18:19

round stories they like best.

18:21

Take a listen. Maybe one

18:23

of their favorites is one

18:25

of yours, too. My name

18:28

is Angela. And my favorite

18:30

secret round store is Death

18:32

No Either. And my favorite

18:34

part is with Bear Church

18:36

to Catch by Goodbye. My

18:38

name is Anna. I live

18:40

in Chicago with a noise

18:43

in my favorite circle round

18:45

episode in The Blizzard Wizard.

18:47

And I like the part

18:49

where the blizzard withers is

18:51

like part. My

18:54

name is Deacon. I live in

18:57

Aurora, Colorado. My favorite circle around

18:59

Surrey is Stella the Dragon. My

19:01

favorite part was when Stella stood

19:04

up to the Dragon. My name

19:06

is Sawyer. I live in a

19:08

world called Otto. My favorite story

19:11

is the freeway pot. My favorite

19:13

part is when it says Skip.

19:15

Skip. My name is Molly

19:17

and I live in Nashville Pecke. My

19:20

favorite children are stories home to be

19:22

home. My favorite part is one here,

19:24

good hunt, leopard, and she ran and

19:27

she went forever and ever and ever

19:29

and did ever. My name is Rowan.

19:31

I live in Philadelphia. My favorite school

19:34

room story is Missouri Love's Company. My

19:36

name is Rowland. I live in Philadelphia.

19:38

And my favorite circle out story, misery

19:40

is up. My name is Annie, and

19:43

my favorite circle around the story, is

19:45

Granny Snowstorm. My favorite part is when

19:47

Boris' heart melts, and he becomes nicer.

19:50

Someone mention a

19:52

story a missed? Not

19:54

to worry! to worry! you

19:56

can find can of

19:59

our of stories, plus

20:01

links to the

20:03

Circle links to the Circle Round

20:06

pages, and oh so

20:08

much more on

20:10

our oh so much more on our

20:13

website, w-b-u-r.org slash, Circle Round.