James Funnyhat's Table of Fables

This is a story about the famous Brer Rabbit, who has tricked and been tricked in the southern United States for many years.  It is the story about why he has a short tail and a also a story about how when we get too proud, we don't think quite right and something bad is bound to happen.   To find out how to support the show go to:   www.JamesFunnyhat.com

The monkeys are known to all the other animals as the smartest, brightest, and cleverest.  They have great ideas that are so brilliant they will surely change the whole jungle and the whole world!!  The only thing is, they always forget their great ideas.  This is the story about one monkey, Rex Monkey, who has a really good idea and he is very determined not to forget it.   Before the story there is a very appropriate question for James that is asked by a young listener about the difference between monkeys and people.   Thanks for tuning in, to support the show go to www.jamesfunnyhat.com

This episode has a story about a group of kids who go trick-or-treating on Halloween.  They come across a house with a mysterious note with a challenge: whoever can push open the door will get The Biggest Haloween Haul Ever!  The kids give it a go, they try harder and harder but can't seem to open the door until....you'll find out.   Another mysterious thing happens too before the story even begins - a listener named Levi jumped into the podcast!  James has no idea how he did it but somehow he got into the podcast and caused some mischief.    Thanks for listening! To support the show, go to www.jamesfunnyhat.com    

In this episode, there is a tale from the Blackfoot Nation who live in Alberta, Canada.  It is an ancient story about why turtles are never, ever seen in winter.  It is also a story about sleep and how when we don't get enough we act differently and usually not for the better.   Thanks for tuning in to A Table of Fables!  Your support helps to keep the show happening and you can find out how to support it at: www.jamesfunnyhat.com.

Gene is a boy who lives down by the river and doesn't do too much all day apart from throwing rocks at fish.  He has a dream though.  He dreams of a different life of adventure, courage, and fine things.  How can he make the world he dreams of be what he sees when he opens his eyes? Adventure awaits in the first episode of Season two.   Thanks for tuning in to A Table of Fables!  Your support is what keeps this show on the air!  So please consider, sharing your favourite episodes with your friends, leaving a great review, and making a donation at:   www.jamesfunnyhat.com   Thanks,   James Funnyhat

This Episode features a story about Mullah Nasrudim, who is famous in Iran, Turkey, and throughout the Middle East.  Nasrudim is invited to a very fancy event and buys the fines clothes from Yasmina's boutique.  After a long adventure, he wonders if he should have dressed in such finery after all.   A listener asks how James made some sounds in Episode 4 but he can't remember quite how to do it...he's still trying!    

Lorena keeps hearing something that no one else can hear.  It's a kind of music that makes her dance and she can't help but move when she hears it.  The only problem is that she hears the music at times that are not good times for dancing....at least according to some people!   James always has a story bell but in Episode 23, at the request of a listener, he tries a few other things instead.  Nothing seems to work quite as well as the story bell.   To support the show visit www.jamesfunnyhat.com

Episode 22 is full of adventure, pirates, storms, shipwrecks, and treasure.  After sailing across the world, the pirates may have found that the best treasure of all was with them all along.   If you love this podcast, find out how to support it at www.jamesfunnyhat.com.

Nathan is a smarty-pants in Grade 3 who knows a whole lot of stuff.  He seems to know so much that there is nothing else to learn.  Can anyone teach him anything?  Ms. Broccoli is his teacher and she is...she's awesome - if anyone can teach something new it's probably her.  Episode 21 has story of what happened on a very interesting day.   A listener asked if James could climb into a mirror last week.  This week, another listener has some more advice about how he can get through.   If you would like to support the show, please visit www.jamesfunnyhat.com

This episode is packed with danger and adventure.   Princess Karina is minding her own business when a dragon comes and drags her away from her castle.  The brave knights, Roland and Tonio come to save her and that seems like just the right thing but are they up to it?   Karina may need to take matters into her own hands and find out what sort of Princess she is. A listener also reveals the mystery of who was climbing on the CN tower so James reveals some new podcast rules about listening while skateboarding on tall buildings - this podcast has to be safe!!!  James also tries to climb into a mirror to see what is on the other side.

This episode features the epic adventure of Mary who uses her super powers to save the zebras, the trees, the wetlands, the oceans, and everything in between....she may have saved everything a bit too much but she sure had an exciting time of it!!!   To support this podcast, visit my website: www.jamesfunnyhat.com

This episode is a retelling of a European folk tale in true James Funnyhat style with a happy and lively musical score.  A shoemaker has a job fixing and and making shoes.  One day he gets so much money that he doesn't have to work anymore.  That's a good thing, isn't it?  This tale explores that question.   There is also a question from a listener who asks James what he would rather sit on: ice cubes or fire.  James tries both...

Dr. Edison Datum is a very clever inventor who has made many marvellous gadgets.  His new Interplanetary Boomerang is so popular that he has to start a factory and hire workers to make enough of them.  Working in a factory is not easy though and Dr. Datum is very frustrated that his workers keep making mistakes.  His solution: a robot that is perfect and will not make mistakes - just like he doesn't make mistakes.   If you love A Table of Fables, find out how to support the show at: www.jamesfunnyhat.com

Episode # 16 tells the tale of an epic adventure to a legendary place where miracles are said to happen. Do miracles happen?  The scientists and reporters want to discover the truth and they find it where they least expect....   Some questions from listeners take us into a comparison of dots and polka dots, and James finds out if cactus needles are sharp or if they only look sharp.

In this episode, James tells a story from Western Africa about the origins of how chickens came to eat something that we would never eat.  After listening, you probably won't be tempted to eat a cockroach but you may very well be decide not to act like one!   A listener tricks James into having a 'timeout' for breaking the rules so James makes a new rule so it won't happen again.   Thanks for listening, find out how to support the show at: www.jamesfunnyhat.com  

Catrina loves cats and everything about them.  She has pictures of cats on her clothes, in her room, and on just about everything.  Unfortunately though, she doesn't have a cat.  She really wants one, she dreams about having one, and she asks her parents all the time.  Will she ever have a cat? Or only a wish for a cat? Before the story, James tries to impress a listener by playing a guitar standing on a stool....it doesn't go so well.   If you love the show, share it with your friends and consider donating to make it happen every week.  Find out how at: www.jamesfunnyhat.com

This episode, features a story about King Gaston.  King Gaston loves very fancy food more than anything else but he realizes that the one thing he doesn't have is a favourite food that he loves above all others.  He begins a contest to see which chef can produce such a food.  There are so many talented chefs and delicious food that the King can't decide amongst them. Then one day, a mysterious stranger arrives riding on a unicorn.  She claims that she can make a food that Gaston will enjoy more than all the others.  After a long journey, he comes to a decision.   This episode is supported by Alex in Michigan who also sent in a recording of her question for James.

This episode features one of James' most requested stories.  It is about a princess who has a condition that makes her a little different than most of the other princess out there in the realms of princesses.     Before the story, there is an announcement of three more rules for listeners to follow and James finds out which crayons taste best. 

This episode of A Table of Fables takes us into World Folklore with a story from that most classic Jamaican trickster, Anansi.  This is the story of how Anansi first lost his hair and it has a significance for anyone who has ever been tempted to bend and twist the truth to their advantage....that is to say every one of us!   Before the story, Arjan writes in to point out that James Funnyhat is not very observant and Dante tricks James into singing the alphabet with his fingers in his mouth....yikes!   If you love the show, please spread the word and consider donating at www.jamesfunnyhat.com  

This is a story about a man who is so miserable and grumpy that everybody calls him Mister Misery.  He has every reason to be so miserable because everywhere he looks he sees trouble.  One day though, he decides to change and finds out that somehow the rest of the world changed too.  A groovy piano score will keep you tapping your toes as Mr. Misery transforms. James makes a few more rules about listening to the podcast and does a painful investigation into the slipperiness of banana peels. Thanks to Yan in Toronto for supporting the show. If you would like to support The Table of Fables, find out how at www.jamesfunnyhat.com.

Episode 9 features the King of The Jungle. Who is the King of the Jungle? Monkey? No. Flamingo? No. Goldfish? No. It's the Lion. But the Lion has a problem that he can't fix. Who can fix it? Who is powerful enough to help the most powerful of all? And is there only one way to be powerful? Or helpful? With an original score that starts off grand, switches to the mischievous, sinks to the ridiculous, and ramps up the grandeur once again, it will be a ride full of fun.  Like fables of old, this one has talking animals that make us think more deeply ourselves.  

This story begins, "Once upon a time, a LONG time ago...", and it really is a long time ago, to the time of The Me Bird.  But The Me Bird may have something important to tell us about today.  We will travel back in time and maybe have a look at the present.   Before the story begins James talks about some of the longest-lived creatures on earth and, at a listener's request, says, "GYDDDFDKWOHJJJUKKLSKIKDRYTILDKJVNDK."

Elizabeth loves art of all kinds and makes beautiful things all day long.  Her favourite art form is painting and one day, at the easel, she is visited by a bird who helps her paint the most beautiful masterpiece she has ever painted.  All she wants is for the bird to come back so she can paint her next masterpiece - but where is that Small Brown Bird? With an evocative soundtrack of marimbas and kalimba, this story transports the listener to ponder the nature of creativity and how to call for a muse.   Listeners ask about the Story Bell and get James to see what soap tastes like (!!!!).

A grand, sweeping tale with herds of wild horses travelling epic landscapes, a journey to a foreign land to find a lost tribe, a contemplation of the relationship between perception and reality, and a dose of juvenile potty humour - this story has it all! James asks listeners to find something they haven't noticed before and, at the request of a listener, eats a SPICEY HOT jalapeño pepper.    

In this story that is set in a travelling circus, a boy has a great idea about what he wants to be when he grows up.  When he tells everyone, they laugh and tell him it is not a good idea.  What does he do when everyone tells him he shouldn't - he does it anyway!  Would you?   There are some questions about Linus McKooky and why his arm was floating in the air in Episode #3.  Also James gives four more rules about listening to the podcast, and two boys from Toronto wrote in to say that they were breaking the rules when they were listening to earlier episodes.   Thanks so much to Harper in Toronto, and Anthony James in Vermont, USA for supporting this podcast!

This is a story about two different ways of asking for things and being thankful for receiving things.  There is Bunny's way, and Bear's way...which way would you choose? Also, James answers some email from listeners and tries to do a back walkover.

Linus McKooky is an amazing and incredible soccer player who has won many games for his team.  When he gets to the finals of the World Cup, he feels something new - he feels nervous for the first time.

James introduces the show and tells a story about the rise and fall and rise of a great civilization and the importance of questions, wonder, and an open mind.

James answers questions about his hat, tries to figure out how a listener sat on a wall without sliding down, and tells a story about anticipation, fear, and finding friendship.