Dorktales Storytime
Be the hero of your own story with Dorktales Storytime, the award-winning podcast for kids and their pop culture loving grownups. Enter their Once Upon a Time world where hosts, Jonathan Cormur and Mr. Reginald T. Hedgehog, take you on a storytelling journey of curiosity and acceptance. You’ll explore reimagined fairytales and fables with social emotional themes, discover inspiring stories of history’s hidden heroes, and experience imaginary tales of boundless possibilities.
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Dorktales Storytime
Knock on Wood - Stories for Kids
Jonathan is having the worst day ever—gum stuck in his hair, soaked clothes, and he's even missing a shoe! Redge thinks the wood nymphs caused Jonathan's series of unfortunate mishaps because he forgot to knock on wood. The two friends shrink down to the size of a speck of dust and go into the floorboards to investigate. But are the wood nymphs really creating bad luck or is it all an itty bitty misunderstanding?
Episode webpage: https://jonincharacter.com/knock-on-wood/
GRAB YOUR FREE PDF list of conversation questions for this episode:
https://dorktalesstorytime.aweb.page/ep97freePDF
PARENTS, TEACHERS AND HOMESCHOOLERS: This episode was inspired by the superstition to “knock on wood,” for good luck. Through Jonathan’s challenges, kids learn about: 1) the resilience of turning bad days around through a positive outlook; 2) curiosity and how asking questions and investigating the unknown can lead to creative solutions, and 3) critical thinking and separating facts from fiction. (Aligns with CASEL Social and Emotional learning framework)
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS STORY about shrinking down and exploring tiny places, go on an adventure to Once Upon a Time realm’s tiniest town in EP85 The Scribbleton Scramble: https://jonincharacter.com/the-scribbleton-scramble/
CREDITS: This episode has been a Jonincharacter production. Today’s story was written by Monique Hafen Adams, edited and produced by Molly Murphy, and performed by Jonathan Cormur. Sound recording and production by Jermaine Hamilton at Hamilton Studio Recordings.
Check out our friends at Armchair Adventures, a join-in story podcast for kids: https://www.madebymortals.org/armchair-adventures/
Brand new secret message from Redge after the credits! Make a comment or ask him a question by texting (it's one way) or emailing dorktalesstorytime@gmail.com (if you want to hear back from him).
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Now, go be the hero of your own story and we’ll see you next once-upon-a-time!
JONATHAN CORMUR: Hello Dork Squad. I'm Jonathan Cormur and you're listening to Dorktales Storytime, the podcast for kids and their pop culture-loving grown-ups.
THEME SONG: It's a beautiful day for a story, adventure and glory, new friends and old ones too. It's an excellent day to get swept away in a tail, so let us regale you.
REDGE: Oooh, Jonathan!
JONATHAN: Hi, Redge.
REDGE: Jonathan?! What happened to you?!
JONATHAN: It’s been a day, Redge. It has BEEN. a. day.
REDGE: I can see that! Why are you so terribly disheveled? Your clothes are wet, you’ve only one shoe, and Jonathan, are you missing a chunk of your hair?
JONATHAN: I’m afraid so, Redge.
REDGE: Oh my poor friend. Come in! Sit!
JONATHAN: Thanks for…inviting me in…to my own house….
REDGE: Of course! I’ll pour you a cup of tea.
JONATHAN: Well, I’m glad you’re here. I can always count on you to lift my spirits after a bad day.
REDGE: The worst day it seems. Tell me all about it.
JONATHAN: Let’s see: it ended with me getting my shoe stuck between the bicycle rack and the curb as I was trying to unlock my bike.
REDGE: Drats!
JONATHAN: I tried to yank my foot free and it slipped out of my shoe. I stumbled backwards, knocking over all the other bikes.
REDGE: Oof. Talk about backpedaling.
JONATHAN: Then I went to get my shoe back and while tugging at it, my fingers slipped and I bumped my head on my handlebars.
REDGE: I’ll get some ice for that!
JONATHAN: Thank you. The knock to the head sent me tumbling down the hill straight into a puddle.
REDGE: Oh, that explains your wet trousers and shirt.
JONATHAN: Right! But Redge! It hasn’t rained in over a week!
REDGE: Oh no! You’re right! How very unlucky! Wait- If that’s how your day ended, how did it start?
JONATHAN: How did it start? I woke up this morning, got out of bed, went to the bathroom, turned on the light, and there in the mirror, and what did I see?
REDGE: Ah! What!
JONATHAN: Gum. Stuck in my hair. Gum!
REDGE: No! How did gum get THERE?!
JONATHAN: I. Don’t. Know.
REDGE: Oh, Jonathan. I’m so sorry.
JONATHAN: You know what’s funny, Redge? Last night, just before bed, I distinctly remember saying, “Tomorrow is gonna be a great day! I can just feel it!”
REDGE: Oh noooo, Jonathan.
JONATHAN: What?
REDGE: Did you—(whispering) did you knock on wood after you said that?
JONATHAN: Knock on wood?
REDGE: Shh sh shhhhh! (Whispering) Yes. Did you knock on wood?
JONATHAN: (whispering) Why would I do that?
REDGE: Because the nymphs that live in the wood of your furniture are listening.
JONATHAN: Nymphs? Like here in my desk?
REDGE: Yes! Wood nymphs.
JONATHAN: Wood nymphs? Like in my dresser?
REDGE: Yup!
JONATHAN: How about this door frame?
REDGE: Yes, they can live in the very walls of your house which I know can sound a bit off putting. Creatures in your walls…
JONATHAN: I guess, but my best friend is a talking hedgehog who lives in a magical forest. Wood nymphs in my walls aren't too far-fetched. Hanging in the Folktale Forest has taught me nothing is impossible!
REDGE: Hear, hear!
JONATHAN: Why do you knock on wood though?
REDGE: These nymphs love to wreak havoc for creatures who boast about their good fortune. You knock on wood so they can’t hear what you’ve said.
JONATHAN: How about: “Today’s the day I’ll beat level 10 and get my highest score ever!”
REDGE: Knock knock knock!
(They knock.)
JONATHAN: Or if I said “I just know I'll get cast as the lead in the new Bards and Balladeers fall festival one act!”
REDGE: Oh, I do hope you audition! But you better knock!
(They knock.)
JONATHAN: Now the nymphs can’t hear and shift our luck?
REDGE: Yes! You can imagine how incredibly noisy it is to have someone knock on your domicile.
JONATHAN: (Angrily) You know what? I think this is unacceptable.
REDGE: J-Jonathan?
JONATHAN: I want to speak with them. I deserve an explanation! Hello?! Helloooooo!
REDGE: Jonathan, why are you shouting at the walls?
JONATHAN: I want to speak to the wood nymphs. I think a conversation is in order. I have a bald spot on my head from the gum, wet clothes from the puddle…what they’re doing is not only unfair, it’s down right not nice.
REDGE: Yes, yes. Agreed! But Jonathan if we want to hear what they have to say we must shrink down to their size. Their tiny voices can only be heard with tiny ears.
JONATHAN: Ah ha! Gotcha! Well, how do we shrink down? Eat a shortbread cookie from Wonderland?
REDGE: No, no that’s how you get to Scribbleton, the tiny town in the Folktale Forest. It’s a bit trickier than that.
JONATHAN: How so?
REDGE: Well, wood nymphs are small. Very small. Smaller even than fairies. Smaller than a slug. Smaller than even an ant.
JONATHAN: Wow. What size are they?
REDGE: They’re about the size of a speck of dust.
JONATHAN: Whoa! That IS small!
REDGE: Yes, and to achieve that size we must stomp on the petals of some shrinking violets.
JONATHAN: Shrinking violets?
REDGE: Yes.
JONATHAN: How do you know that?
REDGE: Oh— Zinnia Fig the Hedge Witch told me all about it. We started a Garden Club last spring and my petunias have never been brighter!
JONATHAN: Do you have any of these shrinking violets on hand?
REDGE: Yes! It’s just our luck that I’ve been growing them in my garden alongside the petunias. It’s late in the season and a chill is starting to settle in, but they’re probably perfect for the picking!
JONATHAN: GASP!
REDGE: What is it?
JONATHAN: Don’t you think you should knock on wood?
REDGE: Ah! You’re right, Jonathan!
They Knock
REDGE: Now let’s go see what we find.
(Redge opens the door and they walk outside.)
REDGE: Here! Look! They’re perfect! Just as I thought. Come, come! A few for me and a few for you.
JONATHAN: Wait! This is going to make us the size of a speck of dust?
REDGE: Yes! Thrilling, isn’t it?
JONATHAN: Certainly! But shouldn’t we head back to my house?
REDGE: Oh you’re right! Once we shrink down to a speck of dust. Two steps will suddenly be…
JONATHAN: Two miles!
REDGE: Let’s hurry back!
JONATHAN: Before we go…
REDGE: Yes, Jonathan?
JONATHAN: I must say: your petunias have never looked better.
REDGE: Right?! Thank you.
(They shuffle back.)
REDGE: Here's a good spot! There’s a knot in the wood of the floorboards right here by the leg of your couch. We should be able to get into the wood from there.
JONATHAN: I just step on the flowers?
REDGE: Yes—be sure to give them a few good stomps.
(They stomp. And shrink. Stomp. Shrink. Stomp. Shrink.)
REDGE: Voilá!
JONATHAN: Wow! So this is what the inside of my floorboards looks like!
REDGE: It’s a whole new, wood grain world!
JONATHAN: Will we find the wood nymphs there?
REDGE: We'll see! Historically, wood nymphs are very anti-social creatures. They’re not likely to give us a warm welcome.
JONATHAN: I don’t understand these wood nymphs. They create bad luck for those with good intentions and they won’t even say hello?! I don’t get it.
REDGE: Wood nymphs’ history dates back to the very creation of the Folktale Forest when everything was still—AH!
CHERRY: AH!
JONATHAN: AH!
SPRUCE: AH!
CHERRY: Who are you?
SPRUCE: And how did you get here?!
CHERRY: But mostly…
SPRUCE: And more importantly…
CHERRY/SPRUCE: Please go away!
REDGE: Ah ha! Wood nymphs!
SPRUCE: What do you want with us?
CHERRY: Why are you here?
SPRUCE: And moreover…
CHERRY: And furthermore…
SPRUCE/CHERRY: Leave us alone!
JONATHAN: Well, you were right, Redge. They’re not for warm welcomes.
REDGE: Let’s start over, shall we? My name is Redge and this is my good friend Jonathan. And you must be the wood nymphs living in Jonathan’s floorboards.
JONATHAN: Yes! And we’ve shrunk down to your size to let you know that we don’t want you listening in on our conversations anymore!
CHERRY: Spruce?
SPRUCE: Yes, Cherry?
CHERRY: Are they gone yet?
SPRUCE: I’m afraid not, Cherry. And that one seems rather angry with us.
JONATHAN: What do you expect! I had the worst day! My clothes are wet, I’ve bumped my head, and I had to cut a chunk of my hair off. Look!
CHERRY: Ooh!
SPRUCE: Ah!
JONATHAN: Why would wood nymphs want to do that to people?
CHERRY: Spruce?
SPRUCE: Yes, Cherry?
CHERRY: What is he talking about?
SPRUCE: I don’t knoooow…
REDGE: Excuse me. Let me interrupt here. You see my friend is rather upset because last night he said “Tomorrow is gonna be a great day! I can just feel it!” And he didn’t knock on wood afterwards, leaving you wood nymphs to sabotage his good intentions and create the opposite of the great day he was certain he would have. Is that right, Jonathan?
JONATHAN: That's it, Redge! And we’ve come here to find out why? Why would wood nymphs do that?? Shouldn’t we be allowed to feel good and confident without worrying little nymphs in our walls are going to bring us down?
(Cherry begins to cry.)
SPRUCE: Cherry. Cherry. It’s ok.
(Cherry cries harder.)
JONATHAN: Oh no.
REDGE: Are you ok?
JONATHAN: I didn’t mean…I’m…oh gosh…
CHERRY: (crying) See! I told you, Spruce!
SPRUCE: No no no. Don’t be silly.
CHERRY: Nobody likes us!! Wahhhh!!!
SPRUCE: Cherry, no. That’s not it. It’s just a misunderstanding.
CHERRY: (big tears)THEY THINK WE’RE MEEEEEEEEEEAN!!! WAHHHHHH!
REDGE: Oh my….
JONATHAN: No…it’s just….I’m confused. Why would wood nymphs do those cruel things?
SPRUCE: That’s a common misconception. Creatures of the big world have always blamed their troubles on us teeny tiny–
CHERRY: So itty bitty.
SPRUCE: Little nymphs.
CHERRY: But…
SPRUCE: But…
CHERRY/SPRUCE: We don’t have that kind of magic.
JONATHAN: You don’t?
CHERRY/SPRUCE: No!
SPRUCE: Never have.The confusion is because of Douglas–
CHERRY: (with distain) Douglas.
SPRUCE: Douglas was a rather grumpy nymph who really liked the quiet.
CHERRY: So he started a rumor. He made the big world believe if they said anything with great confidence, nice and loud, that wood nymphs would make bad things happen.
SPRUCE: Once the rumor took hold, the big world certainly got a lot quieter.
CHERRY: Which made Douglas much happier.
JONATHAN: So it’s all Douglas’ fault?
REDGE: He’s the reason we knock on wood?
CHERRY: That's right!
SPRUCE: Most definitely!
CHERRY/SPRUCE: Yup!
CHERRY: And might I add: it’s painfully loud when you knock.
SPRUCE: Scares the begeebees out of me every time.
CHERRY/SPRUCE: And hurts our ears.
CHERRY: Now…now no one likes us when really we’d never want anyone to have a bad day.
REDGE: So all this time wood nymphs have been living peacefully alongside the big world—why haven’t you made this known before? You could have told the Folktale Council. We have meetings every third Monday of the month with a double meeting in November for Jolly Holly event planning. All are welcome!
SPRUCE: Well…
CHERRY: It’s just…
SPRUCE/CHERRY: We’re terribly shy.
JONATHAN: Oh gosh! I feel horrible. It wasn’t that you don’t give warm welcomes.
REDGE: You’re just shy.
CHERRY: That’s right.
SPRUCE: That’s us.
CHERRY/SPRUCE: Can’t help it.
JONATHAN: And I guess bad days just come and go.
REDGE: It has nothing to do with the wood nymphs in the walls.
CHERRY: Nah uh.
SPRUCE: Not at all.
CHERRY/SPRUCE: Just happens.
JONATHAN: Well, an apology is in order. I am so sorry.
REDGE: As am I! And I’ll be sure not to knock on wood and startle you anymore.
SPRUCE: Wow!
CHERRY: How nice!
CHERRY/SPRUCE: Thank you!
REDGE: Well, it seems I was wrong, Jonathan—Bad luck and bad days simply come and go. There’s no placing blame on anyone. That’s just life really. Taking the good and the bad hand in hand and always remembering to keep moving forward.
JONATHAN: Well, there’s one thing for certain.
REDGE: What's that?
JONATHAN: Having a bad day certainly makes me appreciate the good ones.
REDGE: Spot on, Jonathan!
JONATHAN: And bad days also make me very grateful to have a good friend like you to lean on.
REDGE: Oh, Jonathan. Ditto my friend. Ditto.
CHERRY/SPRUCE: Awwwwww!
CHERRY: Ummmm, excuse me?
JONATHAN: Yes?
SPRUCE: Are those shrinking violets?
REDGE: Why yes!
CHERRY: Can we have a few petals?
SPRUCE: There’s nothing wood nymphs love more than drinking shrinking violet tea.
REDGE: Delightful! Very important question though…what are your favorite snacks?
SPRUCE: Jonathan’s been eating blueberry muffin crumbles in the morning!
CHERRY: We love a blueberry muffin crumble!
CHERRY/SPRUCE: Especially the crumb part!
REDGE: Marvelous!
CHERRY: I’ll boil the water!
SPRUCE: I’ll get the crumbs!
JONATHAN: Make yourself right at home.
JONATHAN CORMUR: This has been a Jonincharacter production. This story was written by Monique Hafen Adams, edited by Molly Murphy, and performed by Jonathan Cormur. Sound recording and production by Jermaine Hamilton at Hamilton Studio Recordings. Reach out to us on Instagram or email us at dorktalesstorytime@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: So gather your squad for all to see. It's a universe that we've imagined. There's twists and turns and lessons learned. This is where the unexpected happens. Join our humble hosts and hit the trails of the wonderful, wacky, wild world of Dorktales.
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