The Caterpillar and the Wild Animals

An East African Folktale

By: Bill Gordh

Narrated by: Bill Gordh

Length: 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Award-winning storyteller Bill Gordh (Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence winner, National Association of Parenting Periodicals Gold Award winner) presents this folk tale live with no script, accompanied only by his own dynamic banjo playing.

Caterpillar is small but has a big voice. When Rabbit goes out and leaves her door open, Caterpillar decides to play a trick on rabbit. It crawls inside rabbit's house and slams the door. When rabbit returns, she gets scared because she sees scratchy marks on the ground and her door is closed. She asks who's in her house. The caterpillar answers in its big voice, "It's me, the Long One." It frightens Rabbit. Along comes Lion.

Lion offers to help and knock on the door and asks, "Who's in Rabbit's House." With its big voice the caterpillar replies, "It's me, the Long One." The Lion is frightened and runs off and hides. The same thing happens with Elephant and Rhino. Rabbit is about to give up. Little Frog hops up and offers to help. Rabbit thanks Frog, but suggests it is too small. Frog asks for a chance. Frog has been watching all day. After it knocks and hear the caterpillar's loud reply, Frog rolls up a leaf into a megaphone and makes a loud sound threatening to jump all over "the Long One".

The little caterpillar throws open the door and comes running out showing that it is just a little caterpillar. The big animals laugh at the joke. Caterpillar is still frightened. Frog hops up and shows its megaphone trick.

©2013 Bill Gordh (P)2014 Audible Inc.

The Long One and The Loud One 😄

The folktales by Bill Gordh are so much fun, for young and old. The Long One, the caterpillar plays a trick on rabbit, climbing into rabbit's hole and slamming the door. When rabbit returns, she finds her door closed and scratchy marks outside. When she asks who is inside, the caterpillar yells: "The Long One", frightening rabbit away. The Lion, Elephant and the Rhino all come in turn and the caterpillar scares each of them away. But when the Little Frog wants to try his luck, the rabbit says, but you are so small. Still insisting he get a try, rabbit relents. So frog rolls up a leaf into a megaphone and goes to rabbit's door and threatens to jump all over The Long One. 🤣 Well, this gets the caterpillar's attention and he throws open the door and announces, it's only me, the caterpillar. 😱 But caterpillar is still frightened . . . until Little Frog jumps out and shows him that his megaphone is only a leaf. 😁