Have you ever had a toy that didn’t work quite right? Did you ever find a different way to play with that toy? Our new LingoListen Storytime: Buckets episode is about something just like that. So get comfortable with your little learner and listen along to this audio story!
LingoListen Storytime: Buckets
Storytime: Buckets Transcript
Narrator: Have you ever had a toy that didn’t work quite right? Did you ever find a different way to play with that toy? Welcome to Lingo Listen. Storytime today is about something just like that, so get comfortable. Once upon a time, a long time ago in China, lived a woman named Chang-Chang. Chang-Chang means sing in Chinese, and she loved singing.
Chang-Chang: [sings].
Narrator: Chang-Chang lived in a house at the top of a mountain. It was a beautiful place to sing, but the mountaintop didn’t have any running water. So, every day Chang-Chang went down, down, down the mountain to the river, carrying two wooden buckets. [river sound] She dunked the buckets into the river to fill them up. [dunking sound] Then, she walked slowly back up the dirt path to the top of the mountain.
Chang-Chang: [sings] Up, up, up the mountainside, my buckets swinging at my side.
Narrator: One day, when she got to the top of the mountain, she saw that one bucket had a crack in it. A lot of water had leaked out. The bucket noticed it, too.
Leak-A-Lot: Oh no. For sure, she’s going to throw me away.
Chang-Chang: I don’t think so.
Narrator: Said the other bucket
Chang-Chang: She’s too kind.
Narrator: Before bed that night, Chang-Chang tried to fix the cracked bucket with some clay
Chang-Chang: [sings].
Narrator: The next morning, Chang-Chang went down to the river, as usual, to fill up the buckets. [dunking sound] Then, she headed back up.
Chang-Chang: [sings] Up, up, up the mountainside, my buckets swinging at my side.
Leak-A-Lot: Oh, no.
Narrator: Whispered the leaky bucket, because guess what? The bucket was leaking again.
Leak-A-Lot: I’m no good, and I feel like I’m crying. [cries]
Chang-Chang: Don’t worry.
Narrator: Said the other bucket.
Chang-Chang: Of course, you’re good.
Narrator: That night, Chang-Chang sat down next to the empty buckets, but she didn’t try to fix the bucket again. Instead [music], she and the buckets made music together. Then, she decided to name her buckets. She called them Leak-A-Lot, we know which one that was, and Bongo. The next morning, they went down the mountain as usual, even though Leak-A-Lot was, well, leaky. This went on for days and weeks and months, and maybe even years. One day, Leak-A-Lot felt he could cry no more tears. He was sick of leaking water out on the path. It was time to speak up.
Leak-A-Lot: Excuse me. Excuse me.
Narrator: Chang-Chang didn’t hear at first. Then, she looked around for a minute before she realized who was talking. She was so surprised she couldn’t find the right words.
Chang-Chang: [mumbles] What?
Leak-A-Lot: Yes, it’s me. I’m just no good. Bongo here gets to the top of the mountain every day completely full. And me, I’m always half-empty.
Chang-Chang: You mean half-full.
Narrator: Said Chang-Chang.
Leak-A-Lot: Well, I don’t know, but I’m useless.
Chang-Chang: Useless, you are not. Haven’t you seen the mountainside lately?
Leak-A-Lot: Oh no. I’m usually too busy crying. I don’t look around much.
Narrator: So, Chang-Chang asked the bucket to please do his job one more day, but this time take a good look at the path as they climbed back up the mountain. If Leak-A-Lot still felt that he was useless, well, then he didn’t have to come down to the river anymore. So, she dunked the buckets [dunking sound] and started up the mountain path.
Leak-A-Lot: Oh.
Narrator: That’s the sound Leak-A-Lot made, because, do you know what he saw? Next to the path were flowers of all colors and sizes and bees buzzing and butterflies fluttering. But on the other side of the path, closer to Bongo, it was brown with just a little bit of grass.
Chang-Chang: You see, Leak-A-Lot, long ago, I thought you were imperfect and I tried to fix that crack of yours.
Leak-A-Lot: Sorry.
Chang-Chang: No, no. Then, I realized that you are perfect in your own way for a different job, and I began throwing seeds along your side of the path so that you could water them on our way back up.
Narrator: That’s how Leak-A-Lot learned that Chang-Chang had been grateful all these years for his leak. Together, they had made a beautiful mountainside garden.
Leak-A-Lot: [sings].
Chang-Chang: Up, up, up the mountainside, my buckets swinging at my side.
Narrator: We hope you liked the story, Lingo listeners. Have you ever used an old toy for a new job? Think about it. Goodbye until next time.
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