Bedtime Stories Podcast Fairytales and Folk Tales from the Lilypad for kids

Zyvorn Cornebius Maxaro the Brown

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:20:59 -0600

A Tales from the Lilypad original story by Marlene Wurfel.

Zyvorn Cornebius Maxaro the Brown is a lot like every other meadow mouse except that he's also a wizard.

Happy New Year The New Year's Fairy Re-released

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 16:37:43 -0600

Happy New Year, from Lily

Shoutout to Josephine (as Ella Dawn)

This largely forgotten but wonderful fairytale is written and rearranged by Marlene Wurfel, based on the concept and story by the American fabulist Emilie Poulsson (1853-1939)

Music:

“English Country Garden” & “Alpine Bierhalle” & “Christmas Homecoming” by Aaron Kenny courtesy YouTube Audio Library

Auld Lang Syne (Instrumental) by the Jingle Punks courtesy YouTube Audio Library

Sound effect attributions:

“Fairy Logo” by DDmyzik courtesy of a Creative Commons Attribution Licence via www.freesound.org https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

“Coagulated” by Timbre & “Champagne Cork Pop” by Ruben Uitenweerde courtesy of a Creative Commons Attribution Licence via www.freesound.org

"Fireworks, Close, A (H1).wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Fr eesound.org

The Anger Monster

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 15:18:25 -0600

An original story by Marlene Wurfel inspired by the Buddhist allegory of an anger monster who thrives on anger and shrinks from kindness.

Ghost Pirate Ship

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 18:18:57 -0600

A Halloween origin story.

The Fuzzy Castle

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 19:02:47 -0600

An original story about a girl finding her way through a dark forest with a little help from hundreds and hundreds of bunnies.

Switch It On

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 12:39:22 -0600

This is a spin off of Ray Bradbury's 1955 Book "Switch On The Night," reprised and remixed for modern listeners by Marlene Wurfel.

What do we switch on when we switch off our electronics?

Non-commercial story for kids & family, Copyright is Fair Use

Intro and Outro Music by Reid Alexander Whelton

Episode 100: A Star Suit for You

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 21:38:59 -0600

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Lily. This is calming, meditative story about a star suit that fits you just right. Put it on to travel through the clouds, dance with the Northern Lights, and visit the stars. "See" Great Bear (Ursa Major), Cygnus, Sirius, Tama Rereti, and other constellations.

Original script and narration by Marlene Wurfel

Audio Mix Features Creative Commons Music via YouTube Studio:

Peacefully by E's Jammy Jams
Angel Guides by Jesse Gallagher
Shasta Trinity by Jesse Gallagher
Owls by Lish Grooves
Cosmic Groove Space Travel by Cooper Cannell

#starlore #cygnus #ursamajor #sirius #greatbear

The Boneyard Dog and Friends Halloween Story

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 21:26:42 -0600

An original tale of skeletons who get a chance to dance and play one magical halloween night in a spooky boneyard.

Music: Corny Candy by The Soundlings and Among the Stars by Everet Almond.

Three Dandelion Stories

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 20:15:33 -0600

Three stories that explore the relationship between dandelions and the wisdom of children.

The Dandelion Who Couldn't Roar is an original fable by Marlene Wurfel for Tales from the Lilypad

The Legend of the Flower Fairy is based on an Aesop's Fable, rewritten and rearranged by M Wurfel

The third story about dandelions in the garden is based on a traditional Sufi tale and rewritten and rearranged for TFTL by M Wurfel

Intro and Outro music by Reid Alexander Whelton

Acoustic music featured Acoustic Guitar by ViraMiller -- https://freesound.org/s/744879/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

A Good Dog Re-released

Fri, 24 May 2024 18:22:21 -0600

A 2016 story re-released form the vaults. An original story, dedicated to the best dog ever, for Tales from the Lilypad by Marlene Wurfel.

The Nightingale

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 13:17:54 -0600

The Nightingale by Marlene Wurfel

Rewritten and rearranged from the Hans Christian Anderson literary fairytale version

Intro Outro Music by Reid Alexander Whelton

The story of an Emporer, his empire, and a little brown bird whose voice has the power to change the world, something like yours does.

Evergreen: Affirmations for a New Year

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 18:59:29 -0600

Beautiful listeners, this is Lily's Christmas card to you. Evergreen is a 10-minute calming mediation for kids and family, wishing your love, light, rest, relaxation and growth in the New Year.

The Forest Bride a Finnish Fairy Tale

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 21:09:05 -0600

A Finnish fairy tale re-written and re-told for Tales from the Lilypad by Marlene Wurfel. Eino must look for a sweetheart but gets lost in the Dark Woods. Then he sees a little cottage with a bright light in the window and smoke curling up from the chimney. Could his true love be inside?

Peter Squirrel

Sun, 10 Sep 2023 14:44:13 -0600

A camping story forged in some of Canada's beautiful national and provincial parks, with gratitude to all the squirrels who helped write, voice, and edit this episode.

A Tales from the Lilypad original inspired by Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit: Peter Squirrel knows he shouldn't hang around Campsite #11, his father had a terrible accident there, but it smells like marshmallows and cookies.

Original music by Reid Alexander Whelton

The Little People: A Fairy Tale by a Real Queen

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 20:15:00 -0600

A version of The Little People by Carmen Sylva, Queen of Roumania (1901). Edited, annotated and re-arranged by Marlene Wurfel.

Music Intro by Reid Alexander Whelton.

Legend of the Wooden Shoe

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 16:30:41 -0600

Lily finds this old folktale about the origins of wooden shoes, The Netherlands, and gnomes to have a fascinating and different way of looking at our relationship with nature.

It's rewritten and rearranged for Tales from the Lilypad by Marlene Wurfel. “The Legend of the Wooden Shoe” is adapted from a 1918 version in English by William Elliot Griffis in Dutch Fairytales for Young Folks.

Original music composed by Reid Alexander Whelton for Tales from the Lilypad.

Project Gutenberg link to eBook version of Dutch Fairytales for Young Folks: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7871/pg7871-images.html

Merry Christmas from Lily

Sat, 03 Dec 2022 18:11:12 -0600

Peace, love & joy from Lily to you!

Music by DJ Williams courtesy YouTube Audio Library

Six Husky Puppies

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 21:47:58 -0600

This poem is inspired by the land and literature of Yukon, Canada

The Orange Shirt Story featuring Phyllis Webstad

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 20:28:23 -0600

“The Orange Shirt Story” read by author Phyllis Webstad with permission from Medicine Wheel Education
www.medicinewheel.education

This is the true story of a little girl and her very important orange shirt. Six-year-old Phyllis Webstad was as excited to wear her shiny new orange shirt as she was to attend school for the first time. But her first day at the St. Joseph Mission near Williams Lake, BC was nothing like she expected. Her orange shirt was taken away from her, never to be returned.

Since 2013, each year on September 30th, we wear orange to honour the Residential School survivors like Phyllis. We honour their experiences and the experiences of their families. Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples, local governments, schools and communities to all come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for future generations of children.

It is a day to reaffirm that EVERY CHILD MATTERS.

Music by Alexander Reid Whelton

For more information about Orange Shirt Day visit www.orangeshirtday.org

Books available: medicinewheelpublishing.com/collections/english-books/products/the-orange-shirt-story

Thor and the Storm Fairies

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 21:27:21 -0600

A chocolate lab named Thor is caught in a summer storm. He catches something in the rain: a storm fairy.

A Tales From the Lilypad original story by Marlene Wurfel

Music: Midsummer Sky by Kevin MacLeod & Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod

Storm sounds courtesy of a Creative Commons Licence via freesound.org

Midsummer Sky by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100158
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Danse Macabre - Busy Strings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100556

Artist: http://incompetech.com/