Encore: The Lumps of Clay
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WBUR Podcasts, Boston. ♪

Hi, Rebecca Shear here. If you're a Circle Round super fan, then you know we've got some exciting events coming up in Boston, Massachusetts, including a live recording with players from the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall this Saturday, February 8th. As we gear up for our Symphony Hall debut, this week we're bringing you an encore edition of Circle Round, a really fun episode you may have missed the first time around.

We'll be back with the first of our Symphony Hall episodes next week. To stay in the loop about all upcoming events, visit our website, wbur.org slash circle around and click on events. And now, on with the story. Famous playwright and poet William Shakespeare once wrote, The truth will out.

What he meant was, in most cases, in one way or another, the truth gets uncovered. And in today's story, we'll catch up with a favorite Circle Round character who finds an ingenious way to bring the truth to light. I'm Rebecca Shearer, and welcome to Circle Round, where storytime happens all the time.

Today, our story is called The Lumps of Clay. This Indian tale features a wise and witty character we've met in several other Circle Round episodes. Beer ball! ♪

Some really great people came together to bring you our story, including film, TV, and Broadway actor Malik Pancholi, whom you kids may recognize from animated favorites like Phineas and Ferb and Sanjay and Craig. Malik's currently starring in To My Girls at Second Stage Theater in New York. His second young adult novel, Nikhil Out Loud, is out this October. So circle around, everyone, for The Lumps of Clay. ♪

Long ago, there lived a mighty emperor. The emperor's sprawling palace held treasures beyond compare. Diamonds and pearls, sapphires and rubies, emeralds and amethysts.

But the emperor's greatest treasure was his chief advisor, a clever, cunning man named Beerball. Beerball was legendary for the sly and skillful ways he solved problems. And not just the emperor's problems. When everyday citizens faced a dilemma or dispute, they often journeyed to the palace to seek Beerball's wisdom and judgment.

One day, Birbal was visited by two women from the capital city. A jeweler... Greetings, Birbal! ...and a merchant. Salutations, Birbal! And as the jeweler explained, the two women were business associates. The merchant and I have been working together for some years now. You see, I go about collecting all sorts of jewels, then the merchant buys them so she can travel the land and sell them at market.

and she's always been a trustworthy colleague and friend. Until now. Oh, no, no, no. The merchant shot the jeweler a withering look. It's you who's always been a trustworthy colleague and friend.

Until now. That's not true. Yes, it is. Is not. Is true. Ladies, ladies. Please. Beerball held up his hand. The jeweler and the merchant fell silent. Jeweler, since you started to explain your case, I'll allow you to finish.

What happened between you and the merchant? Well, to be brief, the merchant stole from me. I most certainly did not. Did too. Now, jeweler, please, tell me your story. Well, your honor, yesterday was my birthday. So last night, I hosted a dinner party for a handful of friends, including the merchant.

As it happens, before my guests arrived, I received a new shipment of jewels. And included in this shipment was a golden elephant. A golden elephant? Yes, a statue of an elephant made entirely of gold. Not a life-sized statue, of course, but like something you could place on a table for display.

Oh, it was beautiful. So beautiful that I decided I wouldn't sell it. Instead, I would keep it in my personal collection. But when I woke up this morning, the golden elephant was missing. I couldn't find it anywhere. And you believe the merchant stole it? I sure do.

Last night at my birthday party, I proudly showed the elephant to my guests, and I made it very clear that the statue wasn't for sale. But the merchant asked if she could hold it to get a better look, and as she handled the twinkling treasure, I swear I saw a glint in her eye. Little did I know it was a glint of pure greed.

Because now the elephant is gone. The jeweler jabbed a finger at the merchant. And this woman has it. But that's impossible. No, it isn't. Ladies, I implore you to behave yourselves, or I'll have this case dismissed. Beerball turned to the jeweler. Jeweler, you say you invited a handful of guests to your dinner party.

How many guests were there? Well, including the merchant, there were four guests. So, given that the merchant was joined by three other people, how do you know one of the other three didn't steal the golden elephant? Well, that's easy, Your Honor. Whereas the merchant and I didn't meet until we were all grown up,

I've known the other three guests since I was a girl. They've always been my closest friends. They've always had my back. Beerball nodded. I see. And I thank you for sharing your side of the story, jeweler.

So now... His eyes rested on the merchant. Let's hear your side, merchant. After all, the jeweler is accusing you of theft. That's a serious crime. Yet you insist you did not steal the elephant. There's no way I could have, your honor. Because there wasn't an elephant to steal. No!

Beerball cocked his head. What do you mean there wasn't an elephant to steal? Well, the jeweler did invite me and three other guests to her party last night. But she never showed us an elephant. We ate dinner. We had birthday cake. Then all the guests went home. All right.

Beerball folded his arms. So if there was no elephant, as you say, then why would the jeweler accuse you of stealing one? Maybe because she's jealous of me. I've been selling her jewels for some time now, and I've made a nice profit. That's how it works when you're a merchant. You buy goods for one price, then you mark them up. You charge more than you paid for them. That's good business. Ha ha!

I'm sorry. Jealous of you? Please! I'm not jealous of you. You're jealous of me because I wouldn't sell you that golden elephant and you couldn't make a profit off of it, so you stole it. But like I said, there's no way I could have possibly stolen... Ladies! I appreciate you sharing both sides of your story, but before I can make a judgment on this case...

I'm going to need a few things. Guards? Beerball snapped his fingers, and a pair of uniformed men snapped to attention. Listen, men. I want you to go out and find the other three guests from the jeweler's birthday party. Bring them to the palace, along with three large pieces of cloth and three big lumps of clay.

Once we have the guests, the cloth and the clay, then maybe, just maybe, the truth will start to take shape. Cloth? Clay? What is Beer Ball up to? And whose story do you believe? The jeweler's or the merchant's? The truth will out, or so we hope, after a quick break.

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If you're a Circle Round superfan, we've got a super fun opportunity for you. Join the Circle Round Club and you'll support our public radio podcast and, as this happy member raves, get cool stuff, too. My grandfather bought me a Circle Round membership last Christmas. I really like it because we get a stuffed lion and a reusable bag, which we use all the time for library books.

I also enjoy the birthday message from Rebecca Shear. Grown-ups, sign up your superfan today at wbur.org slash CircleRoundClub. Welcome back to Circle Round. I'm Rebecca Shear. Today our story is called The Lumps of Clay. When we left off, Wise Witty Beer Ball was presented with a curious case.

A jeweler had hosted a birthday party for four guests, including her business associate, a merchant. The jeweler claimed she had shown her guests her newest acquisition, a golden elephant statue, and the merchant had stolen it. The merchant, on the other hand, claimed there was no golden elephant, and that the jeweler was just jealous of her success.

After Gearball heard both sides of the story, he asked his guards to bring him the three other party guests, plus three pieces of cloth and three lumps of clay. Thank you, guards, and welcome, guests, if you don't mind.

I'd like to ask the three of you some questions. First, is it true that last night you attended the jeweler's birthday party? The guests' faces lit up with smiles. It's true, Your Honor. We attended the jeweler's birthday party. And what a party it was! Okay. And is it true that at this birthday party, the jeweler showed you a golden elephant?

The guest's smiles grew wider. She did show us a golden elephant, your honor. We got a nice, long look at it. And what a beauty it was. All right, and the merchant here. Did you see her hold the golden elephant in her hand?

The guest's smiles faded. Oh, she was holding the golden elephant all right. She was practically drooling over it. She said it was the finest statue she'd ever seen, and she knew it would fetch a fortune at the marketplace. I see. And I appreciate your testimony.

but we still have a bit more work to do. Guards... Again, Beerball snapped his fingers. Again, the uniformed men snapped to attention. Guards, please take our three party guests here and escort them to three separate rooms in the palace. The guards did as they were told and ushered the three guests out of Beerball's chamber, down the palace corridor, and into three separate rooms. When the guards returned, Beerball gave them a nod.

Thank you, men. Now, I want you to bring each guest a piece of cloth and a lump of clay. Tell each guest to use the clay to sculpt an exact replica of the golden elephant they saw at the jeweler's house. Tell them to capture as many details as possible. Then tell them to cover their sculpture with cloth and wait for you to come back and get them.

Tell them they have exactly one hour to complete their task. The guards bustled out of the room and delivered each guest to the cloth, the clay, and Beer Ball's instructions. Ten minutes went by, then thirty, and finally after one hour had passed, the guards led the three party guests back to Beer Ball's chamber. Each guest was holding their cloth-covered clay in their hands.

Welcome back, friends. Now, let's take a look at those clay elephants of yours. At the count of three, I want you to remove your cloths. Ready? One, two... As the guests pulled their cloths away from their sculptures, the jeweler's face fell. But the merchant's face broke into a grin. And do you know why?

Well, the clay sculptures the party guests held in their hands, they were all very different. Oh, sure, each one looked more or less like an elephant. But the first elephant was small, about the size of an orange, with its trunk hanging down toward the ground. The second elephant was bigger, the size of a grapefruit, with its trunk sticking straight out from its body.

And the third elephant was even bigger, the size of a cantaloupe, say, with its trunk twisting and curving up to the sky. Not only that, but the first sculpture had tusks. The second sculpture was missing a tail, and the third sculpture showed the elephant rearing up on its hind legs. There was a gleam in Beerball's eye as he looked at the jeweler. Well, jeweler, you did say your three friends have always had your back.

But in this case, they backed you up on an out-and-out lie! Beerball gestured toward the clay elephants. It's clear from these three very different sculptures that there was no golden elephant. You made the whole story up just to ruin the merchant's good name. But now, because of your dishonesty...

I'm afraid you've ruined nobody's name but your own. This case is dismissed. The jeweler threw up her hands and stomped out of Beerball's chamber in a huff. The merchant, on the other hand, stayed behind and thanked Beerball for proving her innocence.

Because, once again, the brilliant advisor had used his legendary wit and wisdom, cunning and cleverness, to help the truth take shape.

Now it's your turn. It can be hard to solve problems. So next time you encounter a problem, try putting yourself in someone else's shoes. Someone you admire. It could be a teacher, a friend, a really cool character from a book or a movie or podcast. Whoever it is, pretend you're them. Think about how they would approach this problem. What options might they consider? How might they handle it? Looking at problems from someone else's point of view can help you find solutions you never dreamed of

So next time you're struggling with a problem, step into someone else's shoes and give it a try. This week's story, The Lumps of Clay, was adapted by me, Rebecca Shear. It was edited by Circle Round's supervising producer, Anne-Marie Sievertson. Our original music and sound design is by Eric Shimilonis.

Our artist is Sabina Han. Sabina has drawn a black and white picture for every Circle Round story, and you can color them in. Grown-ups, you can print out more than 160 coloring pages on our website, wbur.org slash circleround. Special thanks to this week's actors, Ryan DeLusung, Erica Rose, David Swanson, Alexia Trainor, Dawn Ursula, and Malik Pancholi.

Grown-ups, check out Malik Pancholi in Murders in the Building on Hulu and in To My Girls, now playing at Second Stage Theater in New York. And kids, listen for Malik in Phineas and Ferb and Sanjay and Craig. Malik is the chair and co-founder of the anti-bullying nonprofit Act2Change.org. His second young adult novel, The Keel Out Loud, is out this October.

Our featured instrument this week was the sitar. You can learn more about this plucked, stringed instrument from the Indian subcontinent and see a photo of Eric Shimilonis playing one on our website. Once more, that's wbur.org slash Circle Round. Love the stories you hear on Circle Round? Please take a moment to give us a five-star review on your favorite podcast app and tell your friends to follow us wherever they get their podcasts. Circle Round is a production of WBUR, Boston's NPR news station.

I'm Rebecca Shear. Thanks for circling around with us. 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 Roland. I live in Montreal, Canada. My favorite story is the Basilic Stare. I like the part where Conrad turns to stone. My name is Otto. I live in Cupertino, California. My favorite circle round story is laughing and crying. My favorite part is when the carpenter saws the riddle.

Hello, my name is Alvin. I live in California and my favorite circle round is the head and the heart. My favorite moment is when Gabriel picks up the tin cup and finds out that it transforms into a silver cup. Hi, my name is Halsey and I'm from Annapolis, Maryland. My favorite circle round story is a biscuit basket because I like the pirate one.

owner said another basket and owner wants it and then he gets all mosquito-bited. My name is Aiden and I live in Boston, Massachusetts and my favorite circle round story is the devil of a job and my favorite part is when Cotunia takes a rock out of the wall. My name is Roger

And I live in Maine and my favorite circle around is Moshup and the Sun.

I'm Rena. And I'm Elliot. We live in New York City. My favorite story is the crystal story box. And my favorite part is when Anansi wraps Python with his vines. And my favorite story is pulling strings. And I like the part where his waist gets so small.

Did someone mention a story you've missed? Not to worry. Grownups, 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.