June Story: Jack's Tall Tale

This is a story that is included on my book/CD You Don't Know Jack, but it was recorded earlier this year at Our Lady of Pompeii Elementary School in Montreal.

This is one of the first stories I learned, certainly the first Jack story I learned. As the story nears its end, there's a part that is so outrageous, the audience often cries out their incredulity at the tale, which gives me no end of satisfaction.

What I love about this story is how Jack, once he decides what he's going to do, refuses to give up. Even when his first story fails to trick the King, he tries it again from a different angle. All the Jacks that I know, and even those I've only heard about, have this unyielding desire to continue to push forward. It's a quality to which we all need to aspire.

Jack's Tall Tale (15:46 minutes)

A Wise Fool story for April

The Wise Fool is a classic theme in storytelling. I've always been a fan of underdog stories, and Jack has always had great things to teach us. Even in modern storytelling, we always root for the underdog because he embodies our greatest fears and hopes. Somewhere, lurking in our psyche, we fear that we're not good enough, but we hope that we can carry the day just by being who we are.

Our hero Jack shows us that if we just trust in ourselves, we can rise to any occasion. No ghost is too terrifying, no dragon is too big, no quest is too impossible, unless you don't try and Jack always tries.

In this story, Jack Cures the Doctor, everyone seems to be trying to trick everyone else. Everyone is playing the fool, challenging the others to out-fool, to out-wit. This story is featured on my book/CD You Don't Know Jack, but I really like this recording of it because you can hear the children's reaction to Jack's solution.

I love it and I hope you do too. Happy April Fool's day!

News: This story was published on my new CD "The Bard's New Hat". Read more about it on my website.

Jack Cures the Doctor (11:17 minutes)

St. Patrick's Day story: The World's Greatest Thief

This is a story taken from my book/CD You Don't Know Jack called The World's Greatest Thief. It remains one of my favorite stories to tell because when the secret is revealed, first there's confusion, then there's amazement.

The World's Greatest Thief (4:41 minutes)


One of the first times I was contacted by the CBC to tell an Irish story for St. Patrick's Day, I told the producer that I had a story, but it was about 6 minutes long. "Oooooh," he said. "Six minutes is a long time for radio. Can you shorten it?" I said I would try to get it down to three minutes.

So I worked on shortening the story, but I took many details out and had to practice speaking as quickly as I could without stuttering. I finally got it down to three minutes and made my way to the Old Dublin pub where the live broadcast was to take place.

I met with the host, Ms. Anne Lagace Dowson, and we chatted briefly off the air about the story I was to tell. She asked me how long it was and I proudly replied I could tell it in three minutes. "Ooooh," she winced. "Three minutes is a long time for radio. Can you shorten it?"

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all.