The Flame Keeper
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Have you ever given up something you value so that someone else can benefit? It's what we call a sacrifice. Sometimes we make sacrifices to benefit people we know, like letting a friend step ahead of us in line. Sometimes we make sacrifices to benefit people we don't know, like donating our possessions or free time to a charity.

We're about to meet a character who makes her own sacrifice. And when she does, she truly heats things up. I'm Rebecca Shear, and welcome to Circle Round, where story time happens all the time. Today, our story is called The Flame Keeper. It was inspired by tales from the Huichol people, an indigenous group from Mexico, the southernmost country in North America. ♪

Some really great people came together to bring you our version of this folktale, including Cameron Jones and Joy Ofodu. Grown-ups, you may recognize Cameron Jones from Panic! on Prime Video and the Showtime series Shameless. Joy Ofodu is a comedian, voice actor, and host of the podcast Dating Unsettled. She'll make her directorial debut with her new film, Heart of Sunshine. So circle around, everyone. For the Flame Keeper.

Long, long ago, in earlier times, all the fire on Earth was kept locked away by a mysterious man known as the Flamekeeper. The Flamekeeper hoarded the fire in his house atop a mountain. And every now and again, a desperate group of cold, shivering people would venture up the slope and knock at his door. Flamekeeper? We've come to ask you about your fire.

The only heat we enjoy comes from the sun. Only light too. Can you please share one little flame? But each and every time... Share one little flame? The response was the same. I will not share one little flame. I will not share any of my flame with anyone. Now get lost. The animals of the world saw the people's suffering.

And one animal took pity on them. The clever, nimble creature known as a possum had a long, pointed face, small, rounded ears, and, back in those long-ago times, a fluffy, bushy tail. One day, a possum called all the animals together to make an announcement.

Friends, I have decided I shall visit the Flame Keeper's house and bring fire to the people. The animals' mouths, snouts, and beaks dropped wide open. Are you for real, Opossum? The Flame Keeper's mountain is steep and tall. And the Flame Keeper is nasty and mean. He'll never share his fire with you. Don't worry, I have a plan. But in order for it to work, I need your help.

I need you to gather wood. Wood? Yes! The other night I journeyed up the mountain and hid outside the fling keeper's house. When I peeked through the window, I saw that he was feeding the fire with wood! He was dropping in all these branches, sticks, and twigs, and the flames gobbled them up. So, while I'm gone, I need you to collect as much wood as you can, then pile it into a big heap at the foot of the mountain.

Can you do that for me? The animals agreed. And while they set to work gathering firewood, a possum jumped into action. First, she scampered through the forest, yanking vines off trees. Then she wove the vines into a net. Over and under, over, under, under.

After that, she tracked down a papaya tree and picked as many bright orange fruits as she could, pausing every now and then to devour one herself. Gotta keep my strength up if I want my plan to work. Then, with her net full of papayas slung across her back, a possum clambered up the mountain, all fired up to face the flamekeeper and set the fire free.

What will a possum do when she meets the flame keeper? Will her plans succeed? We'll find out after a quick break. Support for Circle Round comes from Indeed. You just realized that your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. There's no need to wait. You can speed up your hiring with Indeed.

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Welcome back to Circle Round. I'm Rebecca Shear. Today, our story is called The Flame Keeper.

Before the break, a possum asked her fellow animals to gather a big stack of firewood. Then she picked a bunch of papayas, and under the light of the moon, she climbed to the mountaintop abode of the Flame Keeper, a mysterious man who was keeping the world's fire to himself. Poking her head through the window, a possum smiled her friendliest smile. Good evening, Flame Keeper.

"'May I come in?' The Flamekeeper flashed his unwanted visitor a glare. "'No, opossum, you may not come in, especially if you're going to beg me to share my fire, as all those silly people have been doing.' "'I won't do anything of the sort, but I will offer you these.' She held up her net of papayas. "'The way you guard that fire all day and night, you must be hungry.'

I'd be happy to give you all the papayas in this net if you let me sleep by your fire tonight. Then in the morning, I'll get up nice and early and bring you more wood. The flamekeeper stole a glance at his dwindling stack of branches and his waning stash of food. All right, fine. If you give me those papayas and gather more wood in the morning, you may sleep by my fire. Thank you, flamekeeper. Thank you. A possum bounded through the door.

And as the flame keeper tore into the papayas, a possum stretched out by the fire, wrapped her fluffy, bushy tail around her body, and pretended to fall asleep. It was late at night, and soon the flame keeper began to nod off.

He fought to keep his eyes open, but within minutes he was snoring away, rivulets of sticky papaya juice streaming down his chin. A possum rose to her feet and tiptoed to the stack of firewood.

She grabbed a stick, clenched it in her teeth, then lowered it into the flames, allowing one end to catch fire. Then she spun around and raced toward the door, her fluffy, bushy tail wagging with delight. Unfortunately, as she scurried past the snoozing flame keeper, the thick fur of her fluffy, bushy tail tickled his face, and he woke right up. What's that?

What's going on? When the flame keeper caught sight of Opossum, his angry eyes glowed as bright as the fire. Opossum! You were trying to steal my fire! How dare you! The furious man grabbed the stick from Opossum's mouth and flung it into the flames. There! So much for your pathetic attempts at robbery, Opossum. I should have known I couldn't trust you, you rascally thief.

Rascally thief? A possum felt a rush of rage. You're the one who's been hoarding all the fire in your house and refusing to share it. If anyone is a rascally thief in this scenario, it's you.

The flame keeper gnashed his teeth. Next thing Opossum knew, he was lunging right at her. Doing his best to grab her fluffy, bushy tail, Opossum jumped back to get away from him. Get off!

But in doing so, she ventured too close to the fire. Her tail brushed against the flames, and the fur began to spark and smolder. Oh, no! The flamekeeper's face broke into an evil grin. I've heard of a thief getting caught red-handed, opossum. But I've never heard of one getting caught red-tailed. Until now! Oh!

As the flamekeeper fell down in hysterics, clutching his belly and hooting and howling, a possum saw her chance. With her tail flaming behind her, she took to her heels and bolted out the door. Oh, my tail! My poor, poor tail! How foolish was I to think I could take fire from the flamekeeper! Possum fought back tears as she dashed down the steep slope.

But when she neared the foot of the mountain and caught sight of the animal's stack of firewood, her tears vanished. Wait a minute! I did take fire from the flame keeper! I did it! Without missing a beat, she sprinted toward the woodpile and took a running leap. The moment she landed...

The fire on her tail spread to the branches, sticks, and twigs. As they began to crackle and spark, a possum dove to the ground and batted her tail on a stone to snuff out the flames. All the commotion brought the other animals running. "A possum! You're back!" "And you brought fire!" "Just like you said you would!" "What happened to your tail?" A possum stared at her friends. Then she stared at her tail.

The fluffy, bushy appendage was no longer on fire, but it was also no longer fluffy or bushy. Thanks to the burning hot flames, every single hair had been scorched off, and opossum's tail was now skinny, pink, and bald.

But you know what? That skinny, pink, bald tail wound up coming in quite handy. To this day, a possum uses her naked, muscular appendage to climb trees and balance on branches. She even uses it to pick up and grasp on to food. What's more, ever since that fateful day, a possum has held a place of honor in Mexico.

The Ouichol people revere the opossum as a symbol of wisdom because of the kind and courageous way she put her life and tail on the line to bring warmth and light to the world. Now it's your turn. Opossum took a chance to make the world a better and brighter place. What's something you'd like to take a chance on or something new you'd like to try?

Perhaps you can try placing your own order at a restaurant or climbing higher on the playground. Maybe you can try out for a new team or try making a new friend. When we take chances, it stretches us and takes us out of our comfort zone. But even if it's challenging, it can bring big and bright rewards. This week's episode, The Flame Keeper, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear. It was edited by Dean Russell.

Our original music and sound design is by Eric Shimilonis. Eric's featured instruments this week were the congas and bongos, traditional to Latin percussion. To learn more about this family of instruments used in Latin and Latin American music, and to see a photo of Eric playing them, visit our website, wbur.org slash circleround.

Circle Round's artist is Sabina Han. Sabina has created a black and white coloring page for every single Circle Round story, and you can print them out and color them in. Grown-ups, visit our website, wbur.org slash circleround, and click on Coloring Pages. ♪

Special thanks to this week's actors, Cameron Jones and Joy Afodu. Cameron Jones' credits include Panic on Prime Video and the Showtime series Shameless. You can also see him in the award-winning short film Chocolate with Sprinkles.

Joy Ofodu is a comedian, voice actor, and podcast host who heads her own company, Enjoyment Endeavor. Joy is working on a short film about fathers and daughters. You can find a link to this project and learn how you can be part of it on our website, wbur.org slash circle around. Love Circle Round and want to circle around with us in even more ways while also supporting public radio?

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Now that you've made it to the end of this Circle Round episode, we want to know, what's your favorite Circle Round story? Thousands of fans just like you have been telling us about the Circle Round stories they like best. Take a listen. Maybe one of their favorites is one of yours, too.

Hello, my name is Maxwell and I'm from Perth, Australia. And my favourite Suckaround story is The Laughing Canoe because I like the part when the canoe tries to suck the fisherwoman cousin up.

My name is Esther. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My favorite Circle Round story is the bright yellow hat because I love flowers. My name is Andine and I'm from Massachusetts and my favorite Circle Round story is the freeway gift card.

I like the part where it says, Whee! My name is Judah. I live in Chicago, Illinois. And my favorite circle around is the shepherd's disguise. And I like the part when the shepherd tricks Lemo. My name is Adira. I live in Chicago, Illinois. And my favorite circle around story is...

Hungry Hippo and I like the part when Hippo interrupts everybody when they want to share. Hello, my name is Sawyer. I live in Muckleteel, Washington. My favorite Circle Round story is the Starfruit Tree. I liked the part when the older sister sang, "It's left on the island of gold," because who cares if you get left on an island of gold if you can't sell gold to anyone to get food?

My name is Lucy. I live in Muckleteo, Washington, and my favorite Circle One story is the rice cakes and the Onis. I like the part when they hop in the pan and they try to float away, but then the Onis suck all the water out.

Did someone mention a story you've missed? Not to worry. Grown-ups, you can find all of our Circle Round stories, plus links to the Circle Round Club, picture books, coloring pages, and oh so much more on our website, wbur.org slash circleround.