Winking Kat Tales
37 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsOriginal musical audio plays and adaptations of classic stories for all ages. Each episode features a new story.
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Episodes
Henny Penny
November 23, 2023 19:00 - 35 minutes - 24.5 MBHENNY PENNY GREEN SERIES (ages 4 & up) Copyright © 2023 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt produced by Winking Kat Books "HENNY PENNY" is a musical mash-up of two classic fables, "The Little Red Hen" and "Chicken Little". Our story features Henny Penny over the course of four seasons as she plants & harvests her wheat, then turns the wheat into flour. Every time she has a big task to do, her friends make excuses not to help her. When she uses the flour to bake a delicious & f...
The Artist's Brush
July 30, 2022 00:00 - 41 minutes - 28.3 MBTHE ARTIST'S BRUSH Red Series (ages 6 & up) Copyright 2022 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt & Larry Bridges published by Winking Kat Books This delightful new episode of Winking Kat Tales is adapted from an old Dutch fairytale - although the fairy in this story isn't the usual type of magical fairy. He is a wood fairy or elf named Haan e'Kam. When Haan e'Kam spots a young, unsuccessful artist named Johannes, he decides to play a clever trick on him. Johannes believes hi...
The Legend of Robin Hood
March 14, 2022 19:00 - 49 minutes - 34.3 MBTHE LEGEND OF ROBIN HOOD Red Series (ages 7 & up) Copyright 2022 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books This new, and slightly silly, musical adaptation about the famous heroic bandit, Robin Hood, features the familiar characters of Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, as well as the treacherous duo of Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. All is not well in Nottingham. Good King Richard leaves England in the hands of his greedy brother, Pri...
The Musicians of Bremen
November 11, 2021 20:00 - 43 minutes - 29.9 MBGREEN SERIES (ages 4 & up) Copyright © 2021 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt produced by Winking Kat Books The Musicians of Bremen is a musical re-telling of the familiar story from Germany about a group of 'retired' animals who must find a new purpose in life. Ida the donkey, Schnookie the Cat, and Red the Rooster have all been dismissed by their owners because they've grown too old to do the job they spent their lives doing. They each search for a new purpose to find some...
Does It Ever Snow in New Orleans & Season 3 Update
October 08, 2021 21:00 - 22 minutes - 15.6 MBBonus Episode In this episode Pat interviews Fox 8 Meteorologist, Nicondra Norwood, about the weather in New Orleans and asks the very important question, "Does it Ever Snow on the Bayou?". Since it's a very important part of the story of our musical, Bayou Bug Tales, we thought we better find out the truth. This episode also has some new information about what's happening at Winking Kat Tales and our new blog, TaleBehindTheTale.com that offers lots of fun facts about the stories and som...
The Scarecrow
October 01, 2021 20:00 - 56 minutes - 38.8 MBTHE SCARECROW Red Series (ages 7 & up) Copyright 2020 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books "The Scarecrow" is a new musical adaptation of a short story by the popular American author, Washington Irving. Like many of Washington Irving's stories, the Scarecrow is set in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains at the beginning of the 19th Century. The main character is a scarecrow constructed by the Widow DeWitt to help keep her company during he...
Bayou Bug Tales
August 31, 2021 17:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBBAYOU BUG TALES GREEN SERIES (ages 4 & up) Copyright © 2021 by P. Haines-Ainsworth, Terence Alaric Levitt, Larry Bridges produced by Winking Kat Books Bayou Bug Tales is a musical re-telling of the familiar fable of "The Ant and The Grasshopper" set in Louisiana Bayou country. The music is upbeat and fun, plus there are some fun new characters like Bertram, the tadpole, and Clarissa, a caterpillar, who transform into a frog and a butterfly respectively as the seasons pass. Bayou Bug Tale...
Purrlie's Mission to the Milky Way
August 06, 2021 00:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MBPURRLIE'S MISSION TO THE MILKY WAY Red Series (ages 6 & up) Copyright 2020 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books Purrlie, like most cats, is very curious about everything. When her friends Bruno the Dog and Hermes the Owl tell her about the Milky Way in the sky, Purrlie is curious to know if the Milky Way is really made out of milk. With the help of her engineering friend, Catalina the Cat, Purrlie and her friends build a rocket ship out of tun...
Arcani and the Tree of Dreams
June 16, 2021 06:00 - 40 minutes - 27.7 MBBlue Series (ages 5 and up) Copyright © 2021 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books "Arcani and the Tree of Dreams" is an original musical story inspired by a folktale from Bolivia. It is about a boy who dreams about setting his own path in life instead of the road he is destined to travel. The boy, Arcani, falls asleep under a toborochi tree one day. When he wakes he sees a strangely dressed man standing nearby. At first, Arcani thinks the ...
WK_Tale Behind The Tale of Mr. Popper's Penguins
April 28, 2021 00:00 - 33 minutes - 23.4 MBThe Tale Behind The Tale of Mr. Popper's Penguins Inspiration and Penguins Age 7 - Adult What inspires an artist or an author to create? In the case of the authors behind the creation of the classic story Mr. Popper's Penguins inspiration happened when the family took a trip to the local movie house to see a newsreel about Admiral Byrd's trip to the Antarctic. The penguins in the film sparked Richard Atwater's imagination and the book he wrote along with his wife, Florence, has entertai...
The Three Little Pigs
April 04, 2021 22:00 - 28 minutes - 19.4 MBTHE THREE LITTLE PIGS Green Series (ages 3 & up) Copyright 2021 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books Some stories have been told by almost every culture in every language for centuries. No one is really sure when The Three Little Pigs was told for the first time. Some think it might have even originated as an Aesop fable. The only thing we do know for sure was that the first printed version appeared in a book in England around 1840. Since then...
WK_ Tale Behind The Tale- Trickster Tales
April 01, 2021 05:00 - 8 minutes - 5.81 MBTBT SERIES - Episode 2 Ages 7 to Adult Every culture in the world has a rich tradition of telling trickster tales. The main character of these stories is not a brave hero. Instead, the main character is a clever and sometimes not-so-nice person or animal who likes deceiving the other characters or causing trouble. Using "Puss 'n Boots" as an example of a Trickster Tale, we illustrate how it is possible to like a trickster without approving of what they do. This episode also gives a num...
Tale Behind the Tale Series - Introduction
March 24, 2021 20:00 - 3 minutes - 2.71 MBIntro to The Tale Behind the Tale Series ALL AGES What is the inspiration behind some of our favorite stories? Who are the storytellers that shared them with the world? Why do we love telling stories? In this series of mini-episodes, we will play detective and find out the answers to these questions and more. This first episode is an introduction to these special bonus episodes and an invitation to ask your questions about the origin of your favorite stories and storytellers. We'll a...
The Dancing Princess
January 19, 2021 19:00 - 1 hour - 44 MBTHE DANCING PRINCESS Red Series (ages 6 & up) Copyright 2020 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books "The Dancing Princess" is an original story based on a folktale from Eastern Europe. It is about a princess named Yulia who loves to dance so much that she is always wearing out her shoes. She is afraid her father will be upset, so she doesn't tell him why her shoes are wearing out. Her father, King Valentine, decides to sponsor a challenge. An...
The Nightingale
November 15, 2020 01:00 - 53 minutes - 36.9 MBBlue Series (ages 5 and up) Copyright © 2020 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books "The Nightingale" is adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's story by the same name about an Emperor and a plain Nightingale who become friends. Published in 1843, "The Nightingale" quickly became one of his most well-known stories. It is about an Emperor who is lonely and often sad. His trusted Counselor doesn't know what to do to cheer him up, when a servant ...
Winking Kat turns Two
October 21, 2020 23:00 - 2 minutes - 1.86 MBOctober 2020 marks the beginning of a second year of creating new musical stories for you. We're excited to tell you about some of the stories, videos, and activities we have planned.
Treasure Island
September 05, 2020 19:00 - 53 minutes - 36.7 MBPurple Series (ages 7 and up) Copyright © 2020 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books Treacherous pirates, buried treasure, and a mysterious island have helped make Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure novel, "Treasure Island", one of the most re-told stories of all time. In our Winking Kat adaptation of this wonderful story, we've added some humor and several fun songs while keeping the mystery, colorful characters, and adventure of the origi...
Winking Kat Tales: Cinderella
June 21, 2020 03:00 - 50 minutes - 34.8 MBRed Series (ages 6 and up) copyright © 2019 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books Winking Kat presents a new, musical adaptation of the familiar tale of "Cinderella". We've chosen Charles Perrault's sweet, romantic version of the story written in the late 1600's. It is set in France and has new songs and fun characters (and a little less gore than the Grimm Brothers' version of the story). Seven fresh new songs make this version something fun a...
Winking Kat Tales: Aesop's Boy Who Cried Wolf & The Dog and His Bone
May 18, 2020 07:00 - 18 minutes - 12.6 MBGREEN SERIES (ages 4 & up) Copyright © 2020 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt produced by Winking Kat Books This episode is the last in a series of several episodes that featured tales adapted from Aesop's fables. In this fifth episode, we feature the fables of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" and "The Dog and His Bone". "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" is the story of a shepherd boy, named Jacob, who wants to play a practical joke on his neighbors. Twice he calls to them saying there is a...
Winking Kat has been busy
May 07, 2020 19:00 - 1 minute - 1.16 MBLike many of you we've been stuck inside for the last few months. But that doesn't mean we haven't been busy. We wanted to give you a brief update of what is happening here at Winking Kat. We're having to adjust and do some things in different ways, but we've been working on new stories and songs to bring to you soon. Check it out.
Winking Kat Tales: Aesop's The Sun, The North Wind, & The Man
April 18, 2020 22:00 - 19 minutes - 13.4 MBGreen Series: Ages 4 and Up Copyright © 2018 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt Produced by Winking Kat Books 2020 This episode is the second in our series of short musical adaptation of popular Aesop Fables. This episode features two fun tales, "The Sun, The North Wind, & The Man" and "The Crows & The Pitcher". "The Sun, The North Wind, & The Man" tells about a contest long ago between the Sun and the cold and blustery North Wind. The North Wind bet the Sun that he was str...
Winking Kat: The Town Mouse & The Country Mouse
April 04, 2020 00:00 - 43 minutes - 30.2 MBBlue Series (ages 5 and up) Copyright © 2020 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books "The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse" is a new musical adaptation of the familiar fable by the famous Greek storyteller, Aesop. It is the story of a city mouse, Maria, who is bored with her day to day life. She invites her cousin, Marta, who lives in the country to come to visit. Marta finds the city life too noisy and hectic. She tells Maria to come back to ...
Winking Kat Tales: Aesop's Fables -The Lion & The Mouse
March 19, 2020 19:00 - 14 minutes - 9.98 MBGreen Series (ages 4 & up) Copyright © 2018 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books The Lion & The Mouse is the first of three episodes dedicated to the fables of the Greek storyteller, Aesop. Winking Kat has adapted this familiar fable into a short, musical, presentation for young audiences. The story is about a lion who reluctantly makes friends with a little mouse. The mouse, Tillie, promises that their friendship might be important someday, b...
Season 2 Update
January 12, 2020 01:00 - 1 minute - 976 KBSeason One of Winking Kat Tales is up and ready for listening, but we're not taking time to celebrate. The Winking Kat is busy getting everything ready for Season 2 and more new story episodes. Plus, we're planning interviews with storytellers, our talented actors, teachers, scientists, and more who can give us fun facts and details about the history and origins of the stories we tell. BE SURE TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND SUBSCRIBE TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE NEW STORIES AND ACTIVITIES, ...
Winking Kat Tales: The Tortoise and the Hare
January 01, 2020 20:00 - 28 minutes - 19.3 MBGreen Series (ages 3 and up) copyright © 2019 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books This new musical adaptation of Aesop's familiar fable of "The Tortoise and the Hare", is full of new songs and fun characters. As in the original story, Hare challenges Tortoise to a race to see who is fastest. Hare, of course, is confident that he will win so he takes too much for granted and makes some bad decisions. Tortoise, with the help of her friend and c...
Winking Kat Tales: Hercules and the Golden Apple_part 2
November 12, 2019 19:00 - 23 minutes - 16.2 MBPurple Series (for ages 7 and up) copyright © 2019 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books Calliope and the other muses continue the story of "Hercules and the Golden Apple". Based on the advice from Hemmingway, the Old Man of the Sea, our hero travels to Egypt to find instructions for the next part of the journey to the Garden of Hesperides. But to get those instructions he has to ask the great Sphinx three riddles. Her riddles are never easy, but...
Winking Kat Tales: Hercules and the Golden Apple_part 1
November 12, 2019 01:00 - 28 minutes - 19.9 MBPurple Series (for ages 7 and up) copyright © 2019 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books Winking Kat has adapted the famous myth of "Hercules and the Golden Apple" into a fun and silly musical full of colorful characters from Greek mythology. The focus is on one of Hercules' twelve labors. Hera, wife of Zeus and always a nemesis of Hercules, constantly tries to thwart Hercules' quest to fulfill his many labors needed to free his soul from guilt. S...
Introducing Winking Kat Tales
October 23, 2019 23:00 - 1 minute - 1.21 MBWhat is this podcast about? And what can you expect from future episodes? Here is a quick summary of the history behind the Winking Kat Tales podcast any why we decided to offer these fun and original radio plays to you.
The Underground Mouse
September 25, 2019 19:00 - 10 minutes - 7.02 MBGreen Series (for ages 5 and up) copyright © P. Haines-Ainsworth "The Underground Mouse" is an original story about a young girl, Daisy Whistlewhite, who spies a little mouse playing in the discarded papers at the Underground station in London. Soon all the waiting passengers begin watching the mouse, too. As the train approaches the station, everyone worries the mouse will not survive. For a short time all the strangers waiting for the station unite and become friends as they cheer for ...
Winking Kat Tales: The Underground Mouse
September 25, 2019 19:00 - 10 minutes - 7.02 MBGreen Series (for ages 5 and up) copyright © P. Haines-Ainsworth "The Underground Mouse" is an original story about a young girl, Daisy Whistlewhite, who spies a little mouse playing in the discarded papers at the Underground station in London. Soon all the waiting passengers begin watching the mouse, too. As the train approaches the station, everyone worries the mouse will not survive. For a short time all the strangers waiting for the station unite and become friends as they cheer for ...
The Day Zero Left Dodge; a musical, mathematical Western
September 14, 2019 23:00 - 30 minutes - 21.2 MBPurple Series (for ages 7 and up) copyright © 2019 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books "The Day Zero Left Dodge" is an original musical adventure from the Old West. Every number in Dodge City has a value, or so it seemed. When Crazy Eight and his gang arrive and steal some of Seven's sheep, Zero volunteers to join One and his posse. One explains that it doesn't matter if Zero joins or not. Insulted and hurt, Zero leaves Dodge. Zero's absen...
Winking Kat Tales: The Day Zero Left Dodge
September 14, 2019 23:00 - 31 minutes - 21.8 MBPurple Series (for ages 7 and up) copyright © 2019 by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books "The Day Zero Left Dodge" is an original musical adventure from the Old West. Every number in Dodge City has a value, or so it seemed. When Crazy Eight and his gang arrive and steal some of Seven's sheep, Zero volunteers to join One and his posse. One explains that it doesn't matter if Zero joins or not. Insulted and hurt, Zero leaves Dodge. Zero's absen...
Winking Kat Tales: Balfour and The Magic Hat
September 07, 2019 02:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MBGreen Series (ages 4 and up) copyright © 2018 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books Balfour and The Magic Hat is an original musical for ages 3 and up. It was created in cooperation with the Shapiro Foundation for Anti-Racist Education. In our story, Balfour wants to see the world and go on a journey. His Grandmother makes a special hat for him to wear. It's special because he can twist it, button it, or pull it into all kinds of different shap...
Balfour and The Magic Hat
September 07, 2019 02:00 - 34 minutes - 24 MBGreen Series (ages 4 and up) copyright © 2018 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt published by Winking Kat Books Balfour and The Magic Hat is an original musical for ages 3 and up. Balfour wants to see the world and go on a journey. His Grandmother makes a special hat for him to wear. It's special because he can twist it, button it, or pull it into all kinds of different shapes. On his journey, Balfour travels to a small island. The people on the island live in three dif...
Charles Perrault and Mother Goose
September 04, 2019 22:00 - 3 minutes - 2.65 MBCharles Perrault wrote "Puss 'n Boots" and versions of several other very famous fairy tales, but who was he? And why did he title his book, "Tales of Mother Goose"? In this brief overview of his life and stories, we talk about the times he lived in and how he turned old folktales into the famous stories we know today.
Winking Kat Tales: Puss 'n Boots
August 29, 2019 05:00 - 44 minutes - 30.5 MBPurple Series (for ages 7 and up) copyright©2019 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt An original, musical adaptation for young audiences by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt. Based on the classic story by Charles Perrault. "Puss 'n Boots" is set in France. Philippe, the youngest son of a wealthy farmer, inherits only two things from his father - an envelope with five silver coins and a tabby cat named, Puss. Little does Philippe know that Puss is much more valuable...
Puss 'n Boots adapted from the story by Charles Perrault
August 29, 2019 05:00 - 44 minutes - 30.5 MBPurple Series (for ages 7 and up) copyright©2019 by P. Haines-Ainsworth & Terence Alaric Levitt An original, musical adaptation for young audiences by P. Haines-Ainsworth and Terence Alaric Levitt. Based on the classic story by Charles Perrault. "Puss 'n Boots" is set in France. Philippe, the youngest son of a wealthy farmer, inherits only two things from his father - an envelope with five silver coins and a tabby cat named, Puss. Little does Philippe know that Puss is much more valuable...