The Face-Off | Ep. 265

“Strong as a horse.” “Strong as an oak.” “Strong as steel.”

You’ve probably heard at least some of these expressions. And the general gist of all them is that strength is a physical thing; it’s all about size or heft.

But the truth is, strength is about much more than that. And as we’ll hear in today’s tale, big strength can come in little sizes.

Our story is called “The Face-Off.” It was inspired by tales from southern Africa, where it’s been told among the Shona people of present-day Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique.

Headlining this episode are Kelly Jenrette and Lamar Richardson. Grown-ups, you may know Kelly Jenrette from the CW’s “All American: Homecoming” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” on Hulu, as well as the Netflix films “Uncorked” and “All Day and a Night.” She’s also starred in two other Circle Round episodes: “The Troupe of Ten” and “The Extraordinary Pine Cone”! Lamar Richardson is an actor and Broadway producer who won 2024 Tony Awards for the new play, “Appropriate,” and the revival of the musical, “Merrily We Roll Along.”

This episode was adapted for Circle Round by Rebecca Sheir. It was edited by Dean Russell. Original music and sound design is by Eric Shimelonis. Our artist is Sabina Hahn.

GROWN-UPS! PRINT THIS so everyone can color while listening. We’re also keeping an album so please share your picture on Facebook and Instagram, and tag it with #CircleRoundPodcast. To access all the coloring pages for past episodes click HERE. Our resident artist is Sabina Hahn and you can learn more about her HERE.

Now it’s your turn!

No matter what size we are, we all have our own special strengths. Some of them are obvious, and some are more hidden. To help you remember your own special strengths, you can make your own Strong Box!

Find an empty tissue box and decorate it however you like. Each day, when you find yourself showing a strength – whether it’s something you worked hard on, or you’re improving at, or you’re really proud of – write it down or draw it, then put your note or picture in your Strong Box.

Do this every day, and as your Strong Box fills up, take out your notes and pictures from time to time and share them with a grown-up. And if you’d like, share them with us!

Grown-ups, you can snap a photo of your Circle Round fan and their Strong Box and email it to [email protected]. With your permission, we may include it in “The Lion’s Roar,” the monthly newsletter of the Circle Round Club!

Musical Spotlight: Mbira

Mbira are musical instruments traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board with thin metal pieces attached to the top; the pieces are all different sizes and play different notes. Experts say mbira date back 3,000 years, but back then the keys weren’t made of metal. Rather, they were made of wood or bamboo.

As with the more modern marimba variant known as the kalimba (which you’ll hear in our episode, “Sweet and Sour”), you hold the mbira’s board in your hands, then pluck the metal pieces with your thumbs.

To learn more about the mbira, you can hear composer Eric Shimelonis talk about it in “What Am I Hearing?," our special music episode of Circle Round!

Story Transcript:

NARRATOR: Long, long ago... before people came around... animals shared the earth as equals. But there was one animal who thought he was better than all the rest. And that animal… was Elephant.

ELEPHANT: Fellow animals! Behold my gargantuan body! My thumping great feet! My tremendous trunk! Who among you puny critters is anywhere near as large, powerful and strong as I? I daresay none of you. Not a one.

NARRATOR: As you can imagine, the other animals were quite fed up with Elephant’s boastful ways.

ANIMAL 1: That Elephant is such a braggart!

ANIMAL 2: …and BULLY!

ANIMAL 3: Somebody oughtta take him down a peg!

NARRATOR: And yet, nobody did. They were too afraid of getting walloped by his “gargantuan body,” trampled by his “thumping great feet,” or grabbed by his “tremendous trunk” and sent flying toward the heavens!

One morning, Elephant was trundling toward the river… shaking the ground with every step… when he came across Squirrel. She was crouching in the middle of the path and nibbling the long skinny seed pods that had fallen from an acacia tree.

ELEPHANT: Ho there, bushy-tailed creature of small size and even smaller importance! How dare you block my way?!! Be gone! At once!

NARRATOR: Squirrel froze mid-nibble. Her first instinct was to do as Elephant said and skedaddle.

But then, she thought twice. Because Squirrel was a clever critter. And suddenly, she had an idea for how she might deflate Elephant’s enormous ego.

SQUIRREL: Well, good morning to you TOO, Elephant! Sheesh! You really do think you’re high and mighty, don’t you?

ELEPHANT: “THINK” it?

NARRATOR: Elephant flicked his trunk.

ELEPHANT: I don’t just THINK it, Squirrel. I KNOW it! I am the greatest animal on earth, and I dare anyone to prove otherwise!

SQUIRREL: Oh you do, do you?

ELEPHANT: I do!

SQUIRREL: Well in that case… consider your dare accepted.

ELEPHANT: By who?

SQUIRREL: By ME! I hereby challenge you… to an eating contest!

ELEPHANT: (laughter) An eating contest?!? Are you for real, Squirrel? This behemoth belly of mine is practically bottomless! (beat) Take those acacia pods you're nibbling. I can devour more of those pods in one day than you and your entire family can consume in one week!

SQUIRREL: So you say… But we squirrels have our own special strengths! (beat) So how about we gather a whole bunch of acacia pods, then at first light tomorrow we meet in the clearing in the middle of the forest, and we start eating? The eating will continue all day long. Come nightfall, whoever is still stuffing their stomach with acacia pods is the winner!

NARRATOR: There was a long, pointed pause as Elephant considered Squirrel’s challenge. Then his mammoth mouth stretched into a grin.

ELEPHANT: Alright, Squirrel! At first light tomorrow we shall hold an eating contest! (beat) May the strongest prevail.

NARRATOR: Squirrel spent all night gathering acacia pods. And come morning, when the first rays of sun came streaming through the trees, she brought the pods to the clearing in the forest.

Elephant had not yet arrived. But Squirrel discovered she wasn’t alone. Word of her challenge had spread, and the other animals had shown up to witness the big event.

ANIMAL 1: Gosh, Squirrel! You really think you can do this?

ANIMAL 2: Elephant’s belly is so big, he could fit an entire forest’s worth of acacia pods inside!

ANIMAL 3: How can you possibly beat him?

SQUIRREL: Don’t worry, friends. Elephant may have a bigger belly than I do, but I have more brains. And I’m not afraid to –

ELEPHANT: (interrupting) (faux-delighted) Well look at this! The gang’s all here!

NARRATOR: The ground quaked as Elephant stomped into the clearing, an overflowing basket of acacia pods clasped tight in his trunk.

ELEPHANT: I thought you and I would be alone, Squirrel – if you even bothered to show up. But I am delighted we have some spectators to witness your colossal defeat! (beat) I must say: these acacia pods are going to be sweet. But victory… (laughter) Victory will be even SWEETER!

NARRATOR: What do you think will happen when Elephant and Squirrel face off?

We’ll find out how it goes, after a quick break.

[BREAK]

NARRATOR: Welcome back to Circle Round. I’m Rebecca Sheir. Today our story is called “The Face-Off.”

Before the break, Squirrel challenged Elephant to an eating contest. At the end of the day, whoever was still stuffing their stomach with pods of acacia seeds would be the winner.

When Elephant came thundering into the clearing, he arrogantly addressed the other animals who had shown up to watch.

ELEPHANT: I must say, you all are in for quite a show as Squirrel and I compete! I WOULD say that she and I are about to go head to head and toe to toe, but let’s get real. Her HEAD isn’t even as BIG as my TINIEST toe! (laughter)

NARRATOR: Squirrel rolled her eyes.

SQUIRREL: Look, Elephant. As much as we are LOVING the jokes… can we please get going? And perhaps our friends can kick things off by giving the command to start?

ELEPHANT: (sobering up) Oh! Of course! Though they may have to speak up. My ears are keen, but sometimes it’s so hard to hear those eensy-weensy insignificant little voices.

NARRATOR: The other animals exchanged a look. Then they took a breath, and gave the command.

ANIMAL 1: Get ready…!

ANIMAL 2: Get set…!

ANIMAL 3: Goooooo!

NARRATOR: Quick as a wink, Elephant and Squirrel began tucking into their piles of acacia pods.

Elephant had skipped breakfast. So he was extra ravenous and munched steadily.

ELEPHANT: (ad-lib munching sounds)

NARRATOR: Squirrel got off to a strong start as well. But with such a tiny stomach, it wasn’t long before she slowed down. And Elephant noticed.

ELEPHANT: Ho there, Squirrel! Didn’t you tell me just yesterday that squirrels have “special strengths”??? Yet you can hardly cram another pod into that minuscule mouth of yours!

SQUIRREL: I meant what I said, Elephant! We squirrels DO have our own special strengths!

ELEPHANT: (sarcastic, condescending) Whatever you say, Squirrel. Whatever you say!

NARRATOR: Elephant eagerly went back to his eating. He was so absorbed in his task that he didn’t notice what Squirrel did next.

First, she took a quick glance around. Then, she flashed the other animals a mischievous grin… before silently skittering away.

And the moment she disappeared through the trees, do you know what happened?

Her older brother scampered into the clearing! And without missing a beat he took his sister’s place! He grabbed an acacia pod from the pile and began to chomp.

When he ran out of room in his belly, another squirrel brother took his place.

Then a cousin.

Then an uncle.

Then an aunt…

All day long, one hungry squirrel after another took their turn at the pile of acacia pods.

Elephant, meanwhile, didn’t look up once. Determined to win the contest, he just kept packing in the pods. But as nightfall approached, his super-sized stomach begin to gurgle. He choked down another acacia pod, then grumbled to himself.

ELEPHANT: Ugh. I’m feeling a little green at the gills! Surely Squirrel isn’t still eating, right? She must have thrown in the towel hours ago!

NARRATOR: For the first time in a long time, Elephant took a breath, and a pause, and glanced over at his competitor. To his surprise and dismay…

ELEPHANT: (GASP) No!

NARRATOR: …there was Squirrel, her cheeks packed with acacia pods!

SQUIRREL: (with full mouth) Hi, Elephant! (swallows her bite with a gulp) Gosh. You haven’t looked up from that pile of pods all day! How ya doing?

NARRATOR: Elephant couldn’t believe his eyes! Given how full HE felt, how could Squirrel possibly have spent the whole day eating?

Well, you and I know the answer, right? She hadn’t! She had taken her original place just a few moments ago… after hour upon hour of tag-teaming by her family.

Because Squirrel really did mean what she said the day before: she and her fellow squirrels had their own special strengths. Strength in speed, strength in cleverness… and strength in numbers!

Elephant, of course, was in the dark about all of this. The colossal creature felt a rush of envy… then fury… then queasiness.

ELEPHANT: (full, queasy) I hate to say it, Squirrel… but my stomach is so swollen I can hardly move! Soooo…

SQUIRREL: (egging him on) Yes, Elephant…?

ELEPHANT: (reluctant, ill) ...now that it’s nightfall...

SQUIRREL: (egging him on) Go on...

ELEPHANT: (reluctant, ill) ...and now that you’re the one still somehow stuffing pods into your belly...

SQUIRREL: (egging him on) Mm-hmm…?

ELEPHANT: …I have no choice but… to declare you the winner.

NARRATOR: Squirrel smiled.

SQUIRREL: Thank you very much, Elephant. Like I said: we squirrels have our own special strengths! In fact, all animals have their special strengths too – not just you. I hope in the future you’ll come to see that.

NARRATOR: And… wouldn’t you know it… he did. After that fateful day when little Squirrel cut him down to size, Elephant worked hard to be kinder and more humble. And once he finally swallowed his pride, everyone had to agree: he was a whole lot easier to stomach!