Hello and welcome to Super Great Kids Stories,
wise tales from storytellers around the world which will make you laugh and sometimes cry.
Recommended for ages 5 to 105.
I'm Kim and I love stories.
Hello Super Great Kids and how are you?
I'm very happy
because lots of you have been sending in beautiful pictures of the Rainbird from last week's story and I've been chatting to my friend Kate Corkery about which stories we're going to tell at our upcoming online summer show.
We're hoping to share a few song stories because both Kate and I are big song fans.
The story this week is called Inch Boy and it's from Japan.
It's a just because story,
just because I really like it and I think you might like drawing pictures of the monster.
A big red Oni.
Oni are horned demon-like creatures in Japanese folktales and they're a bit like a cross between an ogre and a troll.
The story is told by the talented storyteller Masako Cary.
Masako is one of those lucky people who has lived in two different countries.
She was raised in Japan and now she lives in Northern Ireland so she knows plenty of stories about Japanese Oni and Irish fairy folk.
Lucky her.
Just before we hear from Masako I've got a question for you.
Which is your favourite kind of monster and why?
It might be a troll like in the Norwegian story Butterball or it could be a beast as in the Brazilian story The Beast Who Wants a Feast or it might be a witch like Baba Yaga or a giant like the Whistling Giants.