Pat the Hat

Today there was a storytelling event for two folklore classes (including mine).  I went with my friend Montana (even though this meant getting up earlier than I normally would on a Monday).  It was great fun and I was glad to hear some stories.  It also made me feel more productive about my day.

Pat the Hat

The storyteller's name is Pat Speight (Pat the Hat Speight according to his website).  He was funny, easygoing, energetic, and a great storyteller.  I highly recommend visiting his website: http://www.patspeight.com/

I'm now going to tell two of the stories that I can remember him saying.  The last story he told was about a king who had four daughters.  The king was going out into the world for some adventure, but before he left he told his daughters that he was going to give them each a gift.  The eldest daughter held out her hand and he gave her a grain of wheat, she promised him that she would take good care of the grain and bought a very ornate box to keep it in.  The second daughter held out her hand and he gave her a grain of wheat, she promised him that she would take good care of the grain and she hid it deep in her wardrobe so that no one would take it.  The third daughter held out her hand and he gave her a grain of wheat, she promised that she would take good care of it, but knowing that he had bad eyesight threw the grain away thinking she'd just get another one when he came back.  The youngest daughter held out her hand and he gave her a grain of wheat and she promised that she would take good care of the grain.  Years and years later the king returned and asked his daughters to show him the precious gifts he'd given them.  So the eldest daughter went and got hers out of the ornate box and showed it to him and he told her she'd done well.  The second daughter reached into the back of her wardrobe and showed it to him and he told her she'd done well.  The third daughter went into the kitchen and got a new grain of wheat and showed it to him and he told her she'd done well.  He asked to see the youngest daughter's grain and she told him she didn't have it.  The king was angry with her and began to yell at her for losing the precious gift he'd given her.  She explained to her father that at first she wasn't sure what to do with the grain, but then she decided to plant it.  The next year she had nine grains, so she planted those and so on and so on through the years.  The youngest daughter drew back to the curtain to show a field of wheat and told the king that she didn't have the grain, but it was out there somewhere.  The king hugged his youngest daughter and told her that she is the only one who understood that a gift isn't meant to be locked up or hidden away or replaced with something new, it is meant to be shared.  This is why I have decided to share this story, and one other, with you, because Pat asked us to honor him by passing on any stories that we liked.

Another story I enjoyed was about a magical monkey paw.  There was a young man who had moved far from his home, but whenever he went back to his parents house they would know he was coming because he would always whistle the same tune and he was a poor whistler.  One night his parents hear him coming up the driveway and they run to greet him.  His father asks if the young man has brought them any presents, because he often brought them beautiful things.  He gives his mother a beautiful scarf and his father a handsome coat.  While he's getting their gifts a hairy thing falls out of his bag.  His mother asks what the horrid thing is and he explains that it's a magic monkey paw that will grant three wishes.  He said he won it in a poker game, but the he was told never to use it, so he put it up on the mantle.  The young man then said he was going out to collect his wages, so his mother knew that he would do that and then pop down to a pub before coming home for dinner.  The young man says goodbye to his parents and leaves.  His mother begins to cook dinner and then complains to her husband that the kitchen is too small and that they should build an add on.  Her husband asks how much that would cost and she says 20,500.  He asks where they would get that kind of money, and before he could stop her the woman grabbed the monkey paw and wishes for 20,500.  Just then there is a loud knock at their door, which was odd as people in those days used to just come in on their own.  They opened the door, it was their son's boss.  He tells them that he has terrible news.  When their son had come to collect his wages, there was a terrible accident and their son had died, but that the boss had insured him.  He presented the wages and insurance to the parents and it totaled 20,500.  The woman screamed.  Years went by and the woman still missed her son terribly.  One snowy night she couldn't take it anymore so she grabbed the monkey paw before her husband could stop her and wished that her son would be in the kitchen with her.  Then the couple heard their son whistling.  The woman began to run to the door, but her husband grabbed the monkey paw and wished that his son would return to his restful grave.  The woman opened the door and could see foot prints that led from her son's grave, but they stopped five feet before their door.

The Simpsons Monkey Paw

After this story he asked us if we'd heard it before.  I knew of a Simpsons episode where there was a magic monkey paw, but I didn't want to say anything for fear that he was referring to another traditional Irish story. Turns out the Simpsons episode is what he was referring to.  Oh well.

I could go on and on and write more of his stories but that would probably fill a short book.  I hope you enjoyed those two stories as much as I did (feel free to ask me to tell you more of his stories).