The Tornado Two Step (Classic) - Pecos Bill Tall Tale for Kids

There's tension in the Folktale Forest! When two friends disagree over the blueprints for Midge the Pidge's new birdhouse, their argument starts to spin out of control. To help them see things differently, Jonathan shares the legendary tall tale of Pecos Bill, the rootinest-tootinest, roughest, toughest cowboy who rode a raging tornado and left behind one unforgettable legend about the Grand Canyon. Yippee-ki-yay! Will the friends learn to listen, compromise, and work together before their friendship blows away?

This reimagined tall tale, The Tornado Two Step, is a Dorktales Classic.

Episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/tornado-two-step/

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PARENTS, TEACHERS AND HOMESCHOOLERS:This story explores how misunderstandings and unspoken frustrations can quickly spiral into larger conflicts, just like the tornado in the legendary tale of Pecos Bill. Key lessons include the importance of communicating honestly, listening to others' perspectives, compromising when solving problems, and working together to protect friendships. The episode encourages kids to recognize conflict early and shows that respectful conversations often lead to better solutions for everyone.  

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS STORY about a retelling of a Pecos Bill tall tale, we think you’ll also enjoy this retelling of The Little Red Hen, episode 36, The Little Redge Hen: https://jonincharacter.com/little-redge-hen/ 

CREDITS: This episode is a Jonincharacter production. It was written by Amy Thompson, produced by Molly Murphy and performed by Jonathan Cormur. Sound recording and production by Jermaine Hamilton at Pacific Grove Soundworks.

Visit the official Dorktales shop, Once Upon A Merch at dorktales-shop.fourthwall.com to find fun merch inspired by our podcast.

Transcript

Jonathan 0:02

Hello, Dork Squad. I'm Jonathan Cormur, and you're listening to Dork Tales Storytime, the podcast for kids and their pop culture loving grown-ups.

Theme Song 0:14

It's a beautiful day for a story, adventuring glory, new friends and old ones, too. It's an excellent day to get swept away in a tale, so let us regale

Redge and Nicolai Argue

Theme Song 0:28

you

Redge 0:44

Bother! I told you.

Nicolai 0:46

No worries, I got it, I got it. Oh wait, wait, don't, don't

Jonathan 0:54

Redge, Nicolai, are you two all right?

Redge 0:59

Oh, Jonathan! Perfect timing. I'm glad you're here. I'm afraid for our birdhouse, we've just hit a big snag with regards to the design.

Jonathan 1:10

Oh, well, uh anything I can do to help?

Nicolai 1:13

Oh, no, thank you. I got this one.

Redge 1:16

Um actually, Nikolai, uh chap, maybe Jonathan has some good advice for us. We are borrowing his tools for this project, after all.

Nicolai 1:28

Fine.

Jonathan 1:29

Uh wait, you're borrowing my t all right. Uh what seems to be the trouble, my builder friends?

Nicolai 1:37

Well, we weren't seeing eye to eye about some details.

Redge 1:42

Some details? Only the most important details.

Nicolai 1:47

Reginald

Redge 1:48

What, it's true.

Nicolai 1:50

Ugh. This is exactly why I don't want to work on projects with you as much as I used to.

Redge 1:57

I thought you said you were busy with a new dance class.

Jonathan 2:01

Whoa, whoa, Redge! Nikolai, hold your horses. Uh why don't we start from the top? You gotta catch me up here. When I loaned you my workbench, you said you were excited to finally get started on the home for Midge.

Redge 2:16

Yes, that's right. This morning, Nikolai and I set out to craft the birdhouse for our woods' newest neighbor, Midge

Nicolai 2:25

the Pigeon.

Redge 2:26

Yes, Midge the Pidge is moving here in a couple of days, and we had the blueprints for her birdhouse planned, but they don't seem to be manifesting the way we expected.

Jonathan 2:39

Oh, why not?

Nicolai 2:42

Well, first the kitchen.

Redge 2:44

We disagree about the layout. You see? The window?

Jonathan 2:49

Yes. I see the window.

Redge 2:53

Well, I wanted Midge while she was washing dishes and standing at the sink, to be able to look out upon the bridge.

Nicolai 3:03

And that means we'd have to relocate the fridge.

Jonathan 3:07

Which you don't want, right, Nicolai?

Redge 3:10

He claims it limits cabinet space, but I'm only shifting it a smidge.

Jonathan 3:16

So uh let me make sure I have this correct. Nicolai the Firefly and Redge the Hedge are building a kitchen for Midge the Pidge, and you disagree about where to shift the fridge, a smidge, because it impacts her view of the bridge.

Redge 3:32

Exactly.

Nicolai 3:33

Simple as that.

Jonathan 3:34

I hate to break it to you two, but from what I'm gathering, this issue doesn't sound so simple.

Nicolai 3:41

Ugh

Redge 3:43

Ugh is right. I knew I should have called our beaver friend Glimmer and asked her for her expert builder advice.

Jonathan 3:52

Well, okay, but I don't think it's your plans, but rather well I'm picking up on quite a bit of tension between you two.

Nicolai 4:02

Well, I didn't start it.

Redge 4:04

Nor I.

Nicolai 4:05

Yes you did.

Redge 4:06

No, you did.

Both 4:08

No, you did. No, you did, you did, you did, you did, you did, you did, you did, you did, you did, you did.

Jonathan 4:15

Friends, friends, friends did all this start today?

Redge 4:22

Well, I was kind of unhappy when we drafted the blueprints, but I wanted to see how today went. I thought I could convince him.

Jonathan 4:32

And Nicolai, I picked up that you have some unresolved feelings about working with Redge. Why didn't you tell him this before?

Nicolai 4:41

Oh I was nervous about how he'd react.

Redge 4:46

What? You always do this.

Nicolai 4:50

Well, you always do this to me.

Both 4:52

No, you do. No, you do, no you do, no you do, no you do, no you do, no you do, no you do, no you do, no you

Pecos Bill and the Tornado

Both 5:00

do.

Jonathan 5:00

Hey fellas, fellas, please Not again. Can I tell you two a story I think relates to the situation? It might help.

Nicolai 5:11

Oh yes, please.

Redge 5:13

By all means.

Jonathan 5:15

Okay. Have you two ever heard of the story of Pecos Bill and the Tornado?

Nicolai 5:21

Uh Pecos who and the what now?

Jonathan 5:24

Well, Pecos Bill was the rootinest tootinest, roughest and toughest cowboy in the wild west. He was a big deal in the cowboy scene. He could hurl a lasso thirty feet. He could hit the spittoon across the saloon. But his most impressive skill of all was that Pecos Bill could stay astride anything. Gnarly waves, wild horses, bucking broncos, you name it. He was an expert rider, known for never falling, even on the most tumultuous of rides.

Redge 6:06

Hmm, uh that's all well and good, mate, but how does this talented cowman relate to a hedgehog and a firefly building a birdhouse?

Jonathan 6:17

Oh you'll see, here's the interesting part. There was just one time Pecos Bill ever got bucked. One day, he was in Kansas and decided to ride a tornado.

Nicolai 6:32

A tornado?

Jonathan 6:34

Yep. He decided to hop on the back of what the newspapers called the biggest gol' darn tornado you ever saw. It turned the sky black and green, and farmers say they heard its roar all the way in China.

Redge 6:52

From Kansas?

Jonathan 6:55

Yep.

Nicolai 6:56

Wow!

Jonathan 6:57

Oh, wait. We live in Once Upon a Time. Do you two even know how far apart Kansas and China are?

Both 7:05

Oh yeah! No. I can't say I do, mate.

Jonathan 7:10

Well, it's like the distance from here to the farthest reaches of the Fantasea, or the Biograsea.

Both 7:19

Wow.

Jonathan 7:22

What Pecos Bill didn't realize as he straddled the roaring tornado with a hearty Yeehaw was that this tornado didn't want to be ridden. So, as soon as Bill jumped on its back, it began a spitting and a spurtin' across the south of the United States. It rocked through Kansas all the way down to Texas.

Nicolai 7:49

Oh, what did Bill do?

Jonathan 7:52

Well, he couldn't do much but hang on tight. The tornado was picking up speed and ferociousness everywhere it went. It tied rivers into knots, flattened forests, and even carried cows far from their pastures.

Redge 8:14

Yikes!

Jonathan 8:16

I know, right? What Bill thought was something simple turned out to be a destructive dervish, only picking up strength as it continued on its path.

Nicolai 8:28

And he couldn't plan for any of it?

Nicolai 8:31

Not really. He just had to ride along. The best he could do was chab it with his spurs from time to time. But this tornado had a stubborn will of its own.

Redge 8:59

Hmm, sounds a lot like you, Nicolai.

Nicolai 9:02

What me?

Redge 9:04

Well, isn't that why you're telling this story, Jonathan?

Jonathan 9:08

Um not exactly, Redge. It's about both of you.

Redge 9:13

It is?

Jonathan 9:15

Yes. As you know, Bill was riding that tumultuous tornado across the country.

Redge 9:22

Yes, yes, yes, we get it, Cad Bane. The river twisting, the forest flattening, etc, etc.

Jonathan 9:29

Ah, but what you didn't know is this tornado also brought rain. Finally, it decided it wasn't getting rid of old Pecos Bill so it headed to rain itself out in Californ-y and buck ol Bill off.

Pecos Bill 9:47

Tarnation!

Jonathan 9:50

And it downpoured its way through Arizona. And Bill exclaimed, when he saw that the rain washed out the Grand Canyon.

Redge 10:03

Wait, you told me about the glorious Grand Canyon before Uh That's how it was made?

Nicolai 10:14

No blueprints?

Jonathan 10:17

That's how the legend goes. Pecos Bill saw the Grand Canyon get carved out by the tornado's rain. Then the tornado got Bill off its back in one swoop in Southern California, where Bill hit the ground a little too hard. In fact, it's been said that thud made the ground sink below sea level. And that spot is what folks now call Death Valley. And yeah! The rodeo was born.

Redge 10:52

That's wild, Jonathan. Wild

Nicolai 10:56

Didn't really seem like Pecos Bill had very much control of the situation.

Jonathan 11:01

Well he didn't. That's kind of the point.

Redge 11:05

But

Here's What They Learned

Redge 11:06

why?

Jonathan 11:07

Well, Reg and Nikolai, I noticed you two were kind of doing what Pecos Bill was. You both had a big problem to tackle, and you both knew the right way to do it. Just like Bill, you didn't give up on your stance. And that's admirable, but just like with the Tornado and Bill, sometimes little problems can quickly spiral out of control into much bigger issues.

Nicolai 11:34

Hmm. I can see that.

Redge 11:37

Yes, I suppose I can too. Nicolai, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before that I disagreed with your change to the plans.

Nicolai 11:47

Ah thanks, Redge. I should have told you sooner that I was annoyed too. Our blueprints couldn't stand a chance when I was coming in already heated.

Redge 11:59

Well, friend, I wasn't trying to create a metaphorical Grand Canyon in our relationship either. I guess I should have compromised a bit more.

Jonathan 12:10

Exactly. Nobody can predict how things will go, but it's important to realize that it's better for tough situations to be talked out before they grow into tension tornadoes, destroying everything in their path. Then nobody wins.

Redge 12:28

Right. We can work it out as a team instead.

Jonathan 12:32

Wow, you two are really embracing the story. But what'll you do about Midge, her fridge, and the view of the bridge?

Redge 12:42

Well I'm certain we can figure it out together. Maybe if we rig her digs with a larger wall,

Nicolai 12:51

then the window wouldn't need to be so small.

Jonathan 12:57

And you could move the sink a smidge instead of the fridge

Nicolai 13:02

and Midge would get a glorious view of the bridge.

Redge 13:08

Brilliant! Well solved, my friends. Oh, and anything else we disagree on, we'll discuss and come up with a compromise.

Nicolai 13:19

You're darn tootin'. Thanks for the story, Jonathan, and for loaning us the tools.

Jonathan 13:26

My pleasure. I think you two make mighty fine pardners.

Nicolai 13:31

Yeehaw!

Redge 13:34

Tallyho!

Credits, Ways to Reach Us

Jonathan 13:37

This has been a Jon in Character Production. Today's story was written by Amy Thompson and performed by Jonathan Cormur. Sound recording and production by Jermaine Hamilton at Hamilton Sound Studios. Reach out to us on Instagram or email us at DorkTalesstorytime at gmail.com. Find links in the show notes or go to DorkTalesStorytime.com. Now, go be the hero of your own story, and we'll see you next once upon a time.

Theme Song 14:12

So gather your squad.