What are the people like?
Given how many of us move around the world, this old tale of tolerance seems particularly appropriate
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I first heard this folk tale years ago, and the old man (as is sometimes the case) was Socrates.
Research online shows little. This page describes it as Yiddish, whereas Prof. Ashliman simply attributes it as a North American story.
Subsequently I heard from a UK storyteller that she has always told it about Nasruddin.
Then Bob Kanegis told me via Storytell that the tale is embedded in the book-length poem The People, Yes by Carl Sandburg. A good tale gets around!
The recording was made in Nov. 2015 at a school in Bavaria, where the next tale in the programme was Milk and Sugar.
Disclaimer
The video clips here are all amateur quality, shot in various theatres.
Their intention is just to show the range of my storytelling and give a flavour of a live performance.
Permission is granted for use in non-commercial educational contexts.
The videos are © Richard Martin.
Professionally recorded CDs and DVDs are available here.
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Permission to tell outlines my views on copyright
For those who are teachers: Telling stories in the classroom: basing language teaching on storytelling