Fairy Tale of the Month - December 2020
The Mitten
Ukrainian Winter Fairy Tale
Photos of the puppet theatre of the curative centre Phoenix.
Once, an old man wandered through the forest, his puppy leaping after him. As he walked, the man lost a mitten. Then a little mouse came running and crawled into the mitten. "This is where I want to live!" it said. A little frog came hopping and asked, "Well, who lives in that mitten-house?" "It is Nibbles, the little mouse; and who are you?" "I am Leapy, the little frog. Please, let me in!" "Come on in!” So they were two.
A bunny came up and asked: "Well, who lives in that mitten-house?" "We are Nibbles, the little mouse, and Leapy, the little frog; and who are you?" "I am Speedy, the bunny rabbit. Please, let me in!" "Come on in." So they were three. A little fox tiptoed by and asked, "Well, who lives in that mitten-house?" "We are Nibbles, the little mouse, Leapy, the little frog, and Speedy, the bunny rabbit. And who are you?" "I am Hunter, the little fox!" Then the four of them crouched in the mitten. A little wolf trotted by, stopped in front of the mitten and asked: "Well, who lives in the mitten?" "We are Nibbles, the little mouse, Leapy, the little frog, Speedy, the bunny rabbit, and Hunter, the little fox. And who are you?" "I'm the little wolf Rufflehead. Let me in!" "Come on in!" He crawled in too, and there were five of them. A boar pattered along. "Well, who lives in that mitten-house? " "We are Nibbles, the little mouse, Leapy, the little frog, Speedy, the bunny rabbit, Hunter, the little fox, and the little Wolf Rufflehead. And who are you?" "I'm Sniffy, the boar. Please, let me in!" It was terrible, everyone wanted to live in the mitten! "But you don't fit in anymore!" "It'll be all right, just move a little bit!" "If you must, crawl in!"
The boar crawled in, too. Now there were six. Oh my! It was so tight, they could neither turn nor move! Then suddenly one heard the twigs crack, and a bear came along. He also approached the mitten. "Well, who lives in that mitten-house?" "We are Nibbles, the little mouse, Leapy, the little frog, Speedy, the bunny rabbit, Hunter, the little fox, the little Wolf Rufflehead, and Sniffy, the boar. And who are you? " "Growl, growl, growl, growl, there's a lot of you in there alright. I am Father Bear. Please, let me in!" "How could we let you in? It is already more than crowded in here". "Well, it'll be okay." "Then come in, but only with one hind leg." And the bear crawled in, and there were seven of them, but they sat so close together that the mitten burst at the seams.
In the meantime, the old man realized that he had lost a mitten. He turned around and went looking for it. But the puppy leaped ahead. It ran and ran and saw the mitten on the ground, moving. Then the puppy barked: "Woof, woof, woof!" The animals were frightened, tumbled out, took to their heels and ran into the forest. And then the old man came and picked up the mitten.
The story comes from the curative school Phoenix, Kharkiv, Ukraine. The Phoenix School was founded 10 years ago, as the first school of curative education in Ukraine. Children with severe or multiple severe disabilities attend this school. Through the lessons, they get the opportunity to learn and with the help of numerous artistic projects as well as other activities, such as excursions or concerts and plays, they can experience themselves as full members of society. The Phoenix School does not receive any state support and depends on donations from parents and friends.
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The collection of fairy tales and poems from all over the world was created as part of the single-day campaign Waldorf-One-World-Day, WOW-Day for short. On this day, children and young people are directly and actively committed to a better world. Besides, they organize a multiplicity of special donation actions, that connect humans on all continents with one another. The proceeds are used to support children with school time, a protective community or a warm meal. >> learn more about the WOW-Day
