About this episode Embark on a captivating weekly adventure with 'Around the World in Stories,' where your child will journey to a new corner of the globe. Each episode unfolds a vibrant tale steeped in unique cultural traditions, delicious foods, fascinating folklore, and the spirit of its people. Narrated by a seasoned traveler, this series promises to spark curiosity, broaden horizons, and instill a lifelong appreciation for our planet's rich diversity, making every listen a passport to wonder.
0:00 A single cattle ranch in Australia is bigger than the entire country of Belgium.0:07 That kind of wide-open space is a world away from the busy banks of the Nile we sailed last week, isn't it?0:16 But the stories here are just as ancient.0:20 Ready for another adventure?0:22 Good.0:23 Fasten your seatbelt.0:24 Our plane touches down not on a runway, but on a long strip of red dirt.0:31 The door opens and a wave of heat washes over us, smelling of dust and something sweet, like honey and mint.0:40 This is the Australian Outback.0:43 The sky is SO big, a deep, cloudless blue that seems to go on forever.0:49 A man named Jarli, with kind eyes and a warm smile, is waiting for us.0:55 He’s an Aboriginal elder, and his people have lived on this land for more than sixty thousand years.1:04 "Want to see some real magic?" he asks, his voice like the low rumble of distant thunder.1:12 We climb into his dusty jeep.1:15 For hours, we drive.1:16 The red earth stretches in every direction.1:20 At first, it looks empty.1:22 But then, you start to see it.1:25 A flash of green and red as a parrot darts by.1:29 A lizard, sunning itself on a hot rock.1:32 Jarli points.1:34 “The land isn't empty,” he says.1:36 “It’s just quiet.1:38 It’s waiting.” He tells us a story from the Dreamtime, the time before time.1:45 He tells us about the Rainbow Serpent, a creator being who slithered across the flat, sleeping land.1:53 As it moved, it carved deep grooves with its body.1:58 Those grooves became the rivers.2:01 Where it rested, it created waterholes, called billabongs.2:06 The whole world, he explains, is a story the serpent wrote.2:11 Just as the sun begins to dip low, we arrive at one of those billabongs.2:17 And that’s when the quiet land wakes UP.2:21 A family of kangaroos, tall and graceful, are drinking at the water's edge.2:28 One has a baby, a joey, peeking out of its pouch!2:32 High in a eucalyptus tree, a sleepy koala munches on leaves.2:37 And then, a sound echoes through the air.2:41 A wild, bubbling laugh.2:43 A kookaburra!2:44 Jarli builds a small fire as the sky turns orange, then purple, then a deep, velvety black filled with more stars than you could EVER count.2:56 He mixes flour and water and bakes a simple bread called damper in the hot coals.3:03 It’s warm and smoky and the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted.3:09 "The Rainbow Serpent is sleeping now," Jarli says, looking up at the Milky Way.3:16 "But its dreams are all around us." And sitting there, under that blanket of stars, I understood.3:25 The land wasn’t just dirt and rock.3:28 It was alive.3:29 It was a library of stories, a home, a song.3:33 The world is full of these ancient songs, you just have to know how to listen.3:40 I wonder… where the next one will take us?
