Prepare to be whisked away into the magical realm of Rudyard Kipling as we unravel "The Crab That Played with the Sea." By the fireside of imagination, we recite the tale of the Eldest Magician and the defiant King of the Crabs, Pau Amma, whose rebellion against the natural order stirs the seas. As your eyes grow heavy and the world fades to a whisper, our storytelling promises to cradle your slumber with the soothing allure of mythic landscapes and the ancient dance of the tides.
The music in this episode is Freeform by Rannar Sillard.
Prepare to be whisked away into the magical realm of Rudyard Kipling as we unravel "The Crab That Played with the Sea." By the fireside of imagination, we recite the tale of the Eldest Magician and the defiant King of the Crabs, Pau Amma, whose rebellion against the natural order stirs the seas. As your eyes grow heavy and the world fades to a whisper, our storytelling promises to cradle your slumber with the soothing allure of mythic landscapes and the ancient dance of the tides.
The music in this episode is Freeform by Rannar Sillard.
Welcome to Dreamful Podcast bedtime stories for slumber. Welcome to Dreamful Podcast bedtime stories for slumber. I would like to start off this episode by thanking our newest supporters, mallory Goering and Shane Dowling. Thank you both so much, and I hope you have the sweetest of dreams. If you'd like to support the show and gain access to the subscriber-only episodes while receiving a shout out, visit dreamfullstoriescom and, on the support page, find a link to become a Buzzsprout supporter or subscribe via Supercast. If you listen on Spotify, you can also subscribe to the bonus episodes on your Apple Podcasts app. Unfortunately, you won't get a shout out, though, because I can't see your name in Apple Podcast, but your donations go toward things like music licensing, equipment upgrades and paying my awesome editor, katie, and if you haven't done so already, you need to go check out her podcast, heavenly Bedtime. Visit dreamfullstoriescom, slash heavenly bedtime for more information and follow Heavenly Bedtime on your favorite podcast app to make her beautifully produced scripture readings part of your nighttime routine.
Jordan:
In this episode, I will be reading a tale from Rudyard Kipling's Just so Stories. Rudyard Kipling might sound familiar to some of you because he is the author of the Jungle Book, and this is the story of the crab that played with the sea. So snuggle up in your blankets and have sweet dreams.
Jordan:
Thank you In the time of the very beginnings, and that was in the days when the eldest magician was getting things ready. First he got the earth ready, then he got the sea ready and then he told all the animals that they could come out and play. And the animals said oh, eldest magician, what shall we play at? And he said I will show you. He took the elephant all the elephant there was and said Play at being an elephant, and all the elephant there was played. He took the beaver all the beaver there was and said Play at being a beaver, and all the beaver there was played. He took the cow all the cow there was and said Play at being a cow, and all the cow there was played. He took the turtle all the turtle there was and said play at being a turtle, and all the turtle there was. Played the turtle there was played One by one. He took all the beasts and birds and fishes and told them what to play at.
Jordan:
But towards evening, when things grew restless and tired, there came out the man with his own best beloved little girl, daughter, sitting upon his shoulder and he said what is this play, eldest magician? And the eldest magician said oh, son of Adam. This is a play of the very beginning, but you are too wise for this play. And the man saluted and said yes, I am too wise for this play, but see that you make all the animals obedient to me Now, while the two were talking together, palama, the crab, who was next in the game, scuttled off sideways and stepped to the sea, saying to himself I will play my play alone in the deep waters and I will never be obedient to this son of Adam. Nobody saw him go away, except the little girl daughter, where she leaned on the man's shoulder and the play went on till there was no more animals left without orders and the eldest magician wiped the fine dust off his hands and walked about the world to see how the animals were playing.
Jordan:
He went north and he found all the elephant there was digging with his tusks and stamping with his feet in the nice new, clean earth that had been made ready for him. Kun, said the elephant there was, meaning is this right? Payakun, said the eldest magician. Meaning that is quite right. Meaning that is quite right. And he breathed upon the great rocks and lumps of earth that all the elephant there was had thrown up, and they became the great Himalayan mountains. He went east and he found all the cow. There was feeding in the field that had been made ready for her, and she licked her tongue round a whole forest at a time and swallowed it and sat down to chew her cud. Kun said all the cow there was Haya. Kun, said the eldest magician, "'and he breathed upon the bare patch where she had eaten "'and upon the place where she had sat down "'and one became the great Indian desert "'and the other became the desert of the Sahara "'He went west and he found all the beaver. There was making a beaver dam across the mouths of broad rivers that had been got ready for him. Kun said all the beaver there was Paya. Kun, said the eldest magician, and he breathed upon the fallen trees and the still water and they became the Everglades in Florida. Then he went south and found all the turtle. There was scratching with his flippers in the sand that had been got ready for him, and the sand and the rocks whirled through the air and fell far off into the sea. Kun said all the turtle there was Haya Kun, said the eldest magician, and he breathed upon the sand and the rocks where they had fallen in the sea and they became the most beautiful islands of Borneo, sumatra, java and the rest of the Malay archipelago, archipelago by and by.
Jordan:
The eldest magician met man on the banks of the river and said Ho, son of Adam, are all the animals obedient to you? Yes, said the man. Is all the earth obedient to you? Yes, said the man. Is all the sea obedient to you? No, said the man. Once a day and once a night, the sea runs up the river and drives the sweet water back into the forest so that my house is made wet. Once a day and once a night, it runs down the river and draws all the water after it so that there is nothing left but mud and my canoe is upset. Is that the play you told it to play? No, said the eldest magician. That is a new and a bad play. Look, said the man. And as he spoke, the great sea came up the mouth of the river, driving the river backwards till it overflowed all the dark forest for miles and miles and flooded the man's house. This is wrong. Launch your canoe and we will find out who is playing with the sea, said the eldest magician. They stepped into the canoe, the little girl daughter came with them and the man took his dagger and they pushed out on the river. Then the sea began to run back and back and the canoe was sucked out of the mouth of the river past Selangor, past Malacca, past Singapore and out and out to the island of Bintang, as though it had been pulled by a string.
Jordan:
Then the eldest magician stood up and shouted Ho, beasts, birds and fishes that I took between my hands at the very beginning and taught the play that you should play, which one of you is playing with the sea? Then all the beasts, birds and fishes said together Eldest magician, we play the plays that you taught us to play, we and our children's children, but not one of us plays with the sea. Then the moon rose, big and full over the water and the eldest magician said to the hunchbacked old man who sits in the moon spinning a fishing line with which he hopes one day to catch the world Ho, fisher of the Moon, are you playing with the sea? No, said the fisherman. I am spinning a line with which I shall someday catch the world, but I do not play with the sea. And he went on spinning his line.
Jordan:
Now there is also a rat up in the moon who always bites the old fisherman's line as fast as it is made. And the eldest magician said to him Ho, rat of the moon, are you playing with the sea? And the rat said I am too busy biting through the line that this old fisherman is spinning. I do not play with the sea. And he went on biting the line.
Jordan:
Then the little girl, daughter, put up her little soft brown arms with the beautiful white shell bracelets and said oh, eldest magician, when my father here talked to you at the very beginning, I leaned upon his shoulder while the beasts were being taught their plays. One beast went away, not only into the sea, before you had taught him his play. And the eldest magician said how wise are little children who see and are silent? What was the beast like? And the little girl said he was round and he was flat and his eyes grew upon stalks and he walked sideways like this and he was covered with strong armor upon his back.
Jordan:
And the eldest magician said how wise are little children who speak truth? Now I know where Pau'ama went. Give me the paddle. So he took the paddle. But there was no need to paddle, for the water flowed steadily past all the islands till they came to the place called the heart of the sea, where the great hollow is that leads down to the heart of the world, and in that hollow grows the wonderful tree that bears the magic twin nuts. Then the eldest magician slid his arm up to the shoulder through the deep, warm water and under the roots of the wonderful tree he touched the broad back of Pauama the crab, and Pauama settled down at the touch and all the sea rose up as water rises in a basin when you put your hand into it.
Jordan:
Ah, said the eldest magician. Now I know who has been playing with the sea. And he called out what are you doing, pau Amma? And Pau Amma, deep down below, answered Once a day and once a night I go out to look for my food. Once a day and once a night I go out to look for my food. Once a day and once a night I return. Leave me alone.
Jordan:
Then the eldest magician said Listen, powama, when you go out from your cave, the waters of the sea pour down into the heart of the sea and all the beaches of all the islands are left bare and the little fish die and the king of the elephants, his legs are made muddy. When you come back and sit in the heart of the sea, the waters of the sea rise and half the little islands are drowned and the man's house is flooded and the king of the crocodiles, his mouth, is filled with the salt water. Then Palama, deep down below, laughed and said I did not know. I was so important Henceforward. I shall go out seven times a day and the waters shall never be still. And the eldest magician said I cannot make you play the play you were meant to play, pahwama. And the eldest magician said I cannot make you play the play you were meant to play, pauwama, because you escaped me at the very beginning. But if you are not afraid, come up and we will talk about it. I am not afraid, said Pauwama, and he rose to the top of the sea in the moonlight.
Jordan:
There was nobody in the world so big as Pauama, for he was the king crab of all crabs, not a common crab, but a king crab. One side of his great shell touched the beach at Sarawak, the other touched the beach at Pahing, and he was taller than the smoke of three volcanoes. As he rose up through the branches of the wonderful tree, he tore off one of the great twin fruits, the magic double-kernel nuts that make people young. And the little girl saw it bobbing alongside the canoe and pulled it in and began to pick out the soft eyes of it with her little golden scissors. With her little golden scissors, now, said the magician, make a magic, pauama, to show that you really are important. Pauama rolled his eyes and waved his legs, but he could only stir up the sea because, though he was a king crab, he was nothing more than a crab.
Jordan:
And the eldest magician laughed you are not so important after all, pau Alma. He said Now, let me try. And he made a magic with his left hand, with just the little finger of his left hand. And lo and behold, pau Amma's hard blue-green, black shell fell off him as a husk falls off a coconut. And Pau Amma was left all soft. Indeed, you are very important, said the eldest magician. Shall I ask the man here to cut you with his dagger? Shall I send for the king of the elephants to pierce you with his tusks, or shall I call the king of the crocodiles to bite you?
Jordan:
And Pauwama said I am ashamed, give me back my harsh shell and let me go back to the heart of the sea, and I will only stir out once a day and once a night to get my food. And the eldest magician said no, pauama, I will not give you back your shell, for you will grow bigger and prouder and stronger, and perhaps you will forget your promise and you will play with the sea once more. Then Pau Amma said what shall I do? I am so big that I can only hide in the heart of the sea, and if I go anywhere else, all soft as I am now, the sharks and the dogfish will eat me. And if I go to the heart of the sea, all soft as I am now, though I may be safe, I can never stir out to get my food, and so I shall die. Then he waved his legs and lamented Listen, powama, said the eldest magician, I cannot make you play the play you were meant to play, because you escaped me at the very beginning.
Jordan:
But if you choose, I can make every stone and every hole and every bunch of weed in all the seas safe for you and your children for always. Then Pahama said that is good, but I do not choose yet. Look, there is that man who talked to you at the very beginning. If he had not taken up your attention, I should not have grown tired of waiting and run away and all this would never have happened. What will he do for me? And the man said If you choose, I will make a magic so that both the deep water and the dry ground will be a home for you and your children, so that you shall be able to hide both on the land and in the sea. And Pahama said I do not choose. Yet Look, there is that girl who saw me running away at the very beginning. If she had spoken, then the eldest magician would have called me back and all this would never have happened. What will she do for me? And the little girl daughter said this is a good nut that I am eating.
Jordan:
If you choose, I will make a magic and I will give you this pair of scissors, very sharp and strong, so that you and your children can eat coconuts like this all day long. When you come up from the sea to the land, or you can dig for yourself with the scissors that belong to you. When there is no stone or hole nearby and when the earth is too hard, by the help of these same scissors, you can run up a tree. And Pahama said I do not choose yet, for all, soft as I am, these gifts would not help me. Give me back my shell, oh eldest magician, and then I will play your play. And the eldest magician said I will give it back, pauama, for eleven months of the year, but on the twelfth month of every year it shall grow soft again. To remind you and all your children that I can make magics. And to keep you humble, pauama, for I see that if you can run both under the water and on land, you will grow too bold. And if you can climb trees and crack nuts and dig holes with your scissors, you will grow too greedy, powama. With your scissors, you will grow too greedy, pauama. Then Pauama thought a little. It said I have made my choice, I will take all the gifts.
Jordan:
Then the eldest magician made a magic with the right hand, with all five fingers of his right hand, and lo and behold, pauama grew smaller and smaller and smaller, till at last there was only a little green crab swimming in the water alongside the canoe, crying in a very small voice Give me the scissors. And the girl daughter picked him up on the palm of her little brown hand and sat him in the bottom of the canoe and gave him her scissors and he waved them in his little arms and opened them and shut them and snapped them and said I can eat nuts, I can crack shells, I can dig holes, I can climb trees, I can breathe in the dry air and I can find a safe place under every stone. I did not know I was so important. Kun Haya Kun, said the eldest magician, and he laughed and gave him his blessing. And little Powama scuttled over beside the canoe and into the water and he was so tiny that he could have hidden under the shadow of a dry leaf on land or of a dead shell at the bottom of the sea. And the rat of the moon stopped biting the line of the moon stopped biting the line and the fisherman let his line down till it touched the sea and he pulled the whole deep sea along, past the island of Bintang, past Singapore, past Malacca, till the canoe whirled into the mouth of the river again. Kun, said the fisherman of the moon.
Jordan:
Payakun, said the eldest magician, see now that you pull the sea twice a day and twice a night, forever, so that the fisherman may be saved paddling. But be careful not to do it too hard, for I shall make a magic on you as I did to Pauama. From that day to this, the moon has always pulled the sea up and down. This, the moon, has always pulled the sea up and down and made what we call the tides. Sometimes the fish of the sea pulls a little too hard and then we get spring tides, and sometimes he pulls a little too softly and then we get what are called neap tides. But nearly always he is careful. Because of the eldest magician In Powama, you can see when you go to the beach how all Powama's babies make little places for themselves under every stone and bunch of weed on the sands. You can see them waving their little scissors, and in some parts of the world they truly live on the dry land and run up the palm trees and eat coconuts. Thank you, thank you no-transcript.