Heather Forest

A rhymed retelling of the traditional tale about the industrious little red hen and her lazy friends.

The sun and the wind test their strength by seeing which of them can cause a man to remove his coat, demonstrating the value of using gentle persuasion rather than force as a means of achieving a goal.

The baker, Van Amsterdam becomes known in Colonial America for baking his St. Nicholas cookies but his greed drives him to become stingy in his business. When an old woman buys a dozen cookies from him and expects to receive 13, he withholds the last one. Unfortunately, his business goes downhill until the day she returns for 12 more cookies. But this time he gives her an extra measure and the custom of offering a "baker's dozen" or 13 items spreads...

Traditional stories endure generation after generation because although they are not literal they resound in truths on a human scale. Folktales remind us of wisdom so elemental it is often lost in the rush of everyday life, so that sometimes common sense makes no sense at all.

A greedy baker who offends a mysterious old woman suffers misfortune in his business, until he discovers what happens when generosity replaces greed.

A wise rabbi uses a pillow full of feathers to teach a gossipy villager a lesson.