Rhyming Rhino | Ep. 233

Have you ever been part of a team?

Maybe you teamed up with friends to build the tallest Lego creation ever... you teamed up with family members to clean your home or cook a meal... or you teamed up with other athletes to play a sport.

Being a team player and working toward a common goal can be really fun. But in today’s tale, when our main character decides not to be a team player, he gets left in the dust!

Our tale is called “Rhyming Rhino.” It was inspired by tales from parts of Africa.

Voices in this episode include Feodor Chin, Gamalia Pharms, Jessica Rau and Kel Mitchell.

Emmy Award-nominated actor and stand-up comedian Kel Mitchell is known for the classic Nickelodeon show “All That” and its movie spinoff, “Good Burger.” “Good Burger 2” is streaming now on Paramount +.

This episode was adapted for Circle Round by Rebecca Sheir. It was edited by Sofie Kodner. 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!

Think about something you accomplished as part of a team – something you may have had difficulty doing on your own.

Think about your accomplishment, then draw a picture of you and your team working together. When you’re done, share your picture with someone you have fun with – maybe even someone on your team!

And if you’d like, share it with us! Grown-ups, you can snap a photo of your Circle Round fan and their picture and email it to circleround@wbur.org. We may feature it in a future edition of “The Lion’s Roar,” the monthly newsletter for members of the Circle Round Club. Sign up at this link today!

Musical Spotlight: Balafon

This tuned percussion instrument usually has 16 to 27 keys made of very hard wood. Beneath the keys are small gourds which vibrate and buzz to create a distinctive sound that’s both percussive and melodic when you strike the instrument with mallets or padded sticks.

The balafon is the ancestor of the marimba, xylophone and vibraphone. The instrument’s oral history dates back to at least the 12th century, when the Mali Empire was on the rise.

The Manding name for the balafon is bala, but variations exist across West Africa, including the balangi of the Susu in Sierra Leone; the balo of the Mandinka people in the Gambia; and the gyil of the Dagara, Lobi, and Gurunsi in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast. Experts believe the name balafon is likely a European creation that merges bala with the Greek root phono, meaning “sound” or “voice.”

In ancient Africa, the balafon was a popular instrument among the storytellers/musicians known as griots (other common griot instruments include the kora – a stringed instrument similar to a harp – and the small lute known as the ngoni. Griots would often play music while telling stories or singing.

You can hear Eric Shimelonis playing the balafon in three other Circle Round stories: “Friends in High Places,” “The Chattering Clams” and “Chameleon’s Contest”!

Story Transcript:

NARRATOR: Long ago… a drought fell upon the rolling tropical grasslands known as the savanna. With no rain to quench the earth, the ground turned dry and dusty, and the sun’s blazing rays began baking the grasses, shrubs, and trees a crispy, crunchy brown.

The animals depended on the grasses, shrubs, and trees for food. So Elephant, the leader of the animals, called an emergency meeting.

ELEPHANT: Friends! If this drought stretches on much longer, we’ll find ourselves on the brink of starvation! After all, we can only nibble on burnt grass for so long. (beat) I know we’ve been searching high and low for food. But I say we double up on our efforts. Each and every day, sunup to sundown, we’ll try to cover even more ground, and journey even farther across the savanna in search of something to eat. (beat) Whaddya think?

GAZELLE: (unsure, skeptical) Mmmm… I don’t know about that, Elephant.

NARRATOR: Elephant shifted her gaze toward Gazelle as he shook his slender horned head.

ELEPHANT: What’s your concern, Gazelle?

GAZELLE: Well… if we keep roaming around with our bellies empty like this, we’re going to run out of energy! Bounding across the savanna burns some serious calories, ya know? I mean, talk about cardio!

ZEBRA: Gazelle is right!

NARRATOR: Now Zebra chimed in, flicking her black and white tail.

ZEBRA: Since this drought started, I’ve covered hundreds of miles searching for food. And LOOK at me! I’ve gotten so scrawny I can count the ribs beneath my black and white stripes!

RHINO: Oh! You think THAT’S bad?

NARRATOR: Now Rhinoceros piped up, glaring at Zebra with his beady eyes.

RHINO: Not only am I way below my target weight, but my stomach is growling so loud it’s scaring off the birds that ride on my back to eat ticks!

GAZELLE: / ZEBRA: / RHINO: (ad-lib quibbling, arguing, trying to one-up everyone else about how bad-off they are b/c of drought)

NARRATOR: Elephant stuck out her long gray trunk and let out a trumpet.

ELEPHANT: Friends! FRIENDS! There’s no need to argue; we’re all in the same boat. We all need to eat something, AND we need to conserve our energy. (beat) So… how about a new plan? How about we go out and search for food one at a time?

GAZELLE: You mean, we take turns?

ELEPHANT: Exactly, Gazelle! Each day at sunrise, one of us will voyage across the savanna while everyone else rests. The minute we find some food, we go back and tell the others.

ZEBRA: And then we take them to where the food is?

ELEPHANT: That’s right, Zebra! We lead the way so we can share what we found! (beat) How does that sound!

ZEBRA: It sounds great!

GAZELLE: Terrific!

NARRATOR: All eyes were on Rhino, as they waited for his response.

RHINO: I hear you on this plan, Elephant. I do. But when you say we “share” what we found… do you mean like, we share ALL the food we found? Or just SOME of it?

ELEPHANT: I mean ALL of it, Rhino! At times like these, we have to support each other. Like I said, we’re all in the same boat. (beat) So…? Who’d like to search for food first? (beat) Gazelle! You are the swiftest runner among us. How about you?

GAZELLE: Sure thing, Elephant! I’ll set out first thing tomorrow!

NARRATOR: So the next morning, as the flaming red sun was rising in the wide open sky, Gazelle began his search.

GAZELLE: Okay. I’ve got to find food somewhere. Everyone is counting on me!

NARRATOR: Gazelle spent all day bounding across the savanna, but when he returned to the other animals…

GAZELLE: (disappointed, distraught) Sorry, friends!

NARRATOR: …he had nothing to show for it.

GAZELLE: (disappointed) I couldn’t find a thing. Guess it’s burnt grass for dinner tonight. Again.

ELEPHANT: That’s alright, Gazelle. I’m sure you did your best. We’ll just try again tomorrow! (beat) Zebra? Would you like to have a go?

ZEBRA: Sure thing, Elephant!

NARRATOR: But the next day, after galloping hither and thither beneath the sweltering sun…

ZEBRA: (disappointed, distraught) Sorry, friends!

NARRATOR: …Zebra also came up short.

ZEBRA: I gave it my best shot!

NARRATOR: So the next day, Elephant gave it a whirl. Yet just like Gazelle and Zebra…

ELEPHANT: Sorry, friends!

NARRATOR: …she was unsuccessful, too.

ELEPHANT: But hey – there’s always tomorrow! (beat) Rhino! I believe it’s your turn!

NARRATOR: Rhino felt his heart drop. The last thing he wanted to do was wander around the savanna beneath the burning sun! And if by some miracle he actually found some food, the last thing he wanted to do was SHARE it! But he wasn’t about to say that out loud.

RHINO: Um… to be honest, Elephant… I don’t know if I’m the best one for this job. I mean, we rhinos don’t have very good eyesight, you know? I might walk right by some delicious patch of grass and not even know it!

ELEPHANT: Okayyyy… But what about your sense of smell, Rhino? Your nose is so fine-tuned you could probably smell that grass from a mile away.

NARRATOR: Rhino sighed. He knew he was stuck.

RHINO: Alright. Fine. I’ll take my turn. But if I don’t come back, it’s because I passed out from exhaustion, starvation, or some combination of BOTH!

NARRATOR: So… the following morning, Rhino roused himself awake and took off across the savanna. Or trudged across, more like!

RHINO: Ugh. The sun is so hot already! And my stomach is so empty! (beat) In fact, it’s emptier than that dried-up waterhole over there! The one with that strange tree growing above it? Not sure what kind of tree is, but maybe it’s got some fruit on it! Or at least a handful of leaves…?

NARRATOR: Rhino trundled over to the tree and pointed his horned head upward.

RHINO: Awww shucks. This tree is every bit as withered and wilted as everything else on the savanna!

NARRATOR: Rhino let out a groan as he sprawled his massive body beneath the tree’s brittle branches.

RHINO: [GROAN] I have never been this famished in my life. (beat) I’m so tired and hungry in all of this heat! Can’t anyone give me something to eat? (beat) Hey! That rhymed! I guess starvation is turning me into a poet and I didn’t even know – (gets interrupted before finishing “know it”) Ouch!

NARRATOR: Rhino let out a wince.

RHINO: Something just hit me on the head! What WAS it?  Ow! There it is again!  And again! And AGAIN!

NARRATOR: Rhino raised his head and squinted up at the tree. As his beady eyes went into focus, his jaw dropped low.

RHINO: Well, I’ll be!!!! If my eyes don’t deceive me, I know exactly what keeps bonking me on the noggin! But even more important: (dramatic as we go to the break) I know that I will never be hungry again! (beat) OW!

NARRATOR: What do you think Rhino saw in the tree?

And are his days of hunger really over?

We’ll find out, after a quick break.

[theme music out]

[BREAK]

[theme music in]

NARRATOR: I’m Rebecca Sheir. Welcome back to Circle Round. Today our story is called “Rhyming Rhino.”

[theme music out]

NARRATOR: Before the break, the animals of the savanna were taking turns searching for food during a drought. Gazelle came up short, as did Zebra and Elephant. But when it was Rhino’s turn, he stumbled upon a virtual gold mine.

RHINO: This tree! It looks all withered and dead. But somehow, all of its branches are bursting… with fruit!

NARRATOR: It was true! And the fruit on the tree was so plump and ripe, it was falling from the branches…

RHINO: Ouch!

NARRATOR: …and bopping Rhino on the head!

RHINO: Okay. I am moving out of the way. And I’m digging into all this fruit!

NARRATOR: Rhino grabbed a piece of fruit and began to chew. His face lit up with pleasure as the sweet juices dribbled down his chin.

RHINO: (eating) Mmmmm!

NARRATOR: After he swallowed the first piece…

RHINO: [GULP!]

NARRATOR: …he scarfed down another…

RHINO: [ad-lib voracious eating]

NARRATOR: …then another…

RHINO: [ad-lib even more voracious eating]

NARRATOR: …then another!

RHINO: [ad-lib even more voracious eating]

NARRATOR: But even after he had polished off all the fruit that had fallen…

RHINO: [GULP!]

NARRATOR: …he was still hungry!

RHINO: Oh, what I wouldn’t give for more fruit from this tree! After starving for so long, I’m still famished as can be! (beat) Well look at that! I rhymed again! Just like I did be – (interrupted before finishing “before”) Ouch!

NARRATOR: Once more, fruit after fruit began plummeting from the tree. Rhino jumped out of the way. And then… all at once… he understood everything.

RHINO: (a-ha moment) This tree… is MAGIC! If you tell it you want some food, and you RHYME while you’re doing it, it’ll shower you with delicious, yummy fruit! (beat) I know I’m supposed to go back and tell the other animals what I found. (beat) Buuuuut…

NARRATOR: A mischievous glint came into his eye.

RHINO: ...but what if… I DON’T? What if I keep this tree all to myself? Even if the other animals happen to come across it in their wanderings, they’ll never know it bears fruit!

NARRATOR: Rhino guzzled down the rest of the fruit…

RHINO: (ad-lib eating, swallowing)

NARRATOR: …and even though his belly was so full he could hardly move, he made his way back to the other animals.

ELEPHANT: Rhino! You’re back!

GAZELLE: Did you find any food?

ZEBRA: Tell us! Please!

NARRATOR: Rhino put on the most miserable expression he could muster.

RHINO: Well, Elephant. Gazelle. Zebra. I wish I had better news. But even though I looked high and low, I didn’t find any food I could share with you.

NARRATOR: Elephant gave Rhino a smile.

ELEPHANT: That’s alright, Rhino. It sounds like you did your best. (beat) It also sounds like we’re having another dinner of scrubby burnt grass. There are still a few patches left around here. Dig in, everybody!

NARRATOR: Elephant, Gazelle and Zebra tucked into their meager meal. But then Elephant noticed that Rhino didn’t join them.

ELEPHANT: Go ahead, Rhino! Take your share!

RHINO: Nahhhh. I’ll pass. Even though I trekked far and wide today, my belly feels totally full. (beat) So you go ahead and have my share. Less food for me means more food for YOU!

ELEPHANT: Well! That’s very noble of you, Rhino! Thank you!

NARRATOR: The following day, it was Gazelle’s turn to look for food. Rhino, meanwhile, snuck back to the tree by the dried-up waterhole.

And do you know what he did?

RHINO: My belly’s so empty, I could break down and cry! I must have some food, and that’s no lie!

NARRATOR: You guessed it! He made up another rhyme, then leaped out of the way as the tree began showering him with fruit… which he happily gobbled down.

RHINO: (ad-lib voracious eating)

NARRATOR: Once his stomach was as swollen as a balloon, Rhino waddled back to the other animals. They greeted him with long faces; Gazelle’s was the longest of all.

GAZELLE: (bummed) Hey Rhino. I was just telling the others how I didn’t find any food today. Care to join us for some more burnt grass?

NARRATOR: Rhino flashed Gazelle what he hoped was a sympathetic smile.

RHINO: That’s alright, Gazelle. I’m actually not the least bit hungry. You go ahead and eat my portion. You deserve it!

NARRATOR: Over the days that followed, Rhino kept sneaking off to his magic tree and making up another rhyme about his hunger.

RHINO: My stomach’s as empty as an empty cup. Oh how I wish I had fruit to fill it up!

NARRATOR: And each and every time, the tree would explode with ripe fruit, Rhino would guzzle it down, then he’d return to the other animals with a bulging belly and tell them that, somehow…

RHINO: …I’m just not hungry!

NARRATOR: Now, it’s possible this scheme could have stretched on for weeks, if not for the keen eye… of Elephant. One evening, after Rhino had gone to sleep, Elephant pulled Gazelle and Zebra aside.

ELEPHANT: Listen, you two. Am I getting loopy from all this sun and heat, or is Rhino… getting larger???

NARRATOR: Gazelle and Zebra cocked their heads.

GAZELLE: Actually… now that you mention it… he IS getting larger!

ZEBRA: And yet we never see him eat! How could Rhino get so large if he never eats?

ELEPHANT: That’s precisely what I’ve been wondering! The rest of us are getting smaller. And thinner. Yet Rhino is looking hale and hearty as ever! (beat) Tomorrow is Rhino’s day to search for food. I say the three of us follow him. I have a hunch he’s keeping something from us!

NARRATOR: Early the next morning, Elephant, Gazelle and Zebra trailed after Rhino as he lumbered off across the savanna. They crouched behind a tall rock as he approached a burnt, brittle tree.

Unaware that he was being watched, Rhino put on a woeful face, then made up another of his rhymes.

RHINO: This wretched hunger has me tired and sick! I’ll waste away if I don’t get food quick!

NARRATOR: As usual, the tree showered Rhino with fruit… and Elephant, Gazelle, and Zebra watched with disbelieving eyes as he shoveled it down.

ELEPHANT: (lower voice, since they’re hiding) Are you two seeing what I’m seeing? Is Rhino really snarfing down fruit that magically appeared on that tree?

GAZELLE: That’s sure what it looks like!

ZEBRA: Look at him tearing through that pile! Is he really going to eat the whole thing?

NARRATOR: The answer to Zebra’s question… was yes. And once Rhino made the first pile disappear, he took a breath, and then…

RHINO: If I don’t get more food, this day might be my last! I need to fill my belly, and I need to fill it fast!

NARRATOR: Once more, plump ripe fruit began falling from the tree. After Rhino wolfed it all down, he curled up on the ground and fell asleep.

RHINO: (ad-lib sleeping/snoring)

NARRATOR: As Elephant, Gazelle and Zebra watched Rhino snoring away, it suddenly dawned on them why he was so “hale and hearty”!

ELEPHANT: It’s… the tree! Rhino recites a little poem…

ZEBRA: (snarky) A little DISHONEST poem…!

GAZELLE: …and the tree showers him with fruit!

ELEPHANT: We must put an end to this scheme. And I know how we’ll do it. Tomorrow, we’ll follow Rhino again. And we’ll make sure the only thing he eats… is humble pie!

NARRATOR: So… the following morning… Elephant, Gazelle and Zebra crept behind Rhino as he took the usual path to his tree. And just when he was about to open his mouth and recite another rhyme… the three animals came bursting out.

ELEPHANT: (calling out) A selfish rhino this one’s been!

GAZELLE: (calling out) He gorges and guzzles…

ZEBRA: (calling out) …while his friends grow thin!

NARRATOR: Rhino was flabbergasted.

RHINO: Wait! Listen! I can explain everything! I – (gets interrupted mid-sentence) OUCH!

NARRATOR: Rhino ducked his horned head as the tree began sending down fruit – faster and harder than ever!

RHINO: You see? Ow! This tree – Ouch! Has food – Ooo! For all of us! Gah! 

NARRATOR: Elephant, Gazelle and Zebra paid Rhino no mind. They were too  busy digging into the fruit – and enjoying their first real meal in weeks!

ELEPHANT: Mmmmmm!

GAZELLE: Yum!

ZEBRA: Om nom nom!

NARRATOR: As for Rhino, he couldn’t help himself. He snatched up a piece of fruit and popped it into his mouth. But the moment he did…

RHINO: (ad-lib spitting out)

NARRATOR: …he spit it back out again!

And do you know why?

Because the fruit tasted… like sand!

It wasn’t sweet. It wasn’t juicy. Instead, it was as dry as the parched earth of the savanna, baked and scorched beneath the smoldering sun.

So, after trying to pull a fast one on his friends, Rhino finally got what was coming to him. He got his just desserts – and some poetic justice, to boot.

RHINO: Ow!