The Fairy Tale Art Cart

In today's draw along episode, we travel to Mexico for a folktale that answers the question: Why do lizards sunbathe?
One morning, the sun doesn't rise and one by one, the biggest and strongest animals in the world go looking for it and give up. There's just one small animals who keeps looking. This is a story about what happens when everyone says it can't be done, but someone keeps going.
Could the tiniest animal alive be the one who saves the entire forest?
🎨 What You'll Draw Today (4 Drawing Prompts):
The world without the sun
La lagartija, the small but mighty lizard who won't stop searching
La roca, the glowing rock with el sol (the sun) sleeping warmly inside
La fiesta, the wild, joyful celebration that calls the sun back out

📦 Supplies You'll Need:
4 pieces of drawing paper
Your favorite drawing materials (crayons, markers, colored pencils — whatever adds warmth and color!)

🔗 Links & Resources:
📬 Join the Fairy Snail Art Cart Club — monthly envelopes stuffed with a bonus episode, art projects, stickers, stationery & more → [link in description]
📧 Sign up for the Fairy Tale Art Cart Newsletter — podcast news, early event access & newsletter exclusives → [link in description]
🎧 Love this episode? Check out Why Mosquitos Buzz In People's Ears, another folktale where the sun goes out of the sky

In today's draw along episode, we travel to Korea for a beloved folktale called Heungbu and Nolbu. It's a story about two brothers whose choices about helping and kindness are very different, and a tiny injured swallow and magic seeds that bring some very unexpected rewards (think: gold, goblins, and debt collectors.)!
This is a story about generosity, jealousy, and what it really means to give without expecting anything back. And along the way, your kids will draw four illustrated scenes!
🎨 What You'll Draw Today (4 Drawing Prompts):
Two very different homes side by side
The swallow returning in spring, carrying a tiny seed in its beak
One of Heungbu's magical gourds spilling open with riches
One of Nolbu's gourds...and Nolbu's face when it opens

📦 Supplies You'll Need:
4 pieces of drawing paper
Your favorite drawing materials (crayons, markers, colored pencils — whatever adds a little pizzazz!)

🔗 Links & Resources:
📬 Join the Fairy Snail Art Cart Club — monthly old-school envelopes stuffed with a bonus episode, art projects, stickers, stationery & stories → [link in description]
📧 Sign up for the Fairy Tale Art Cart Newsletter — podcast news, early event access & newsletter exclusives → [link in description]
🎧 Loved this episode? Check out "The Calabash Children". It's another story about magic gourds!

Ever wonder why mosquitos buzz in your ear at night? This West African folktale has the answer, and it starts with one tiny braggart who told one very big lie.
In today's draw along episode, we follow the chain reaction set off when a boastful mosquito tells an outlandish story to an iguana. One by one, the animals of the forest misread what's happening, panic spreads, an owl's nest is lost, and suddenly... the sun won't rise. All because of one lie that nobody stopped to question.
It's a beautifully layered folktale about the consequences of dishonesty, the way rumors spread, and why truth matters — wrapped in the most imaginative, kid-friendly story you'll hear all summer.
🎨 What You'll Draw Today (5 Drawing Prompts):
Mosquito bragging to Iguana — what does Iguana's dignified (but frustrated) face look like?
Python all scrunched up inside Rabbit's cozy burrow
Crow in mid-flight, sounding the alarm across the forest
The gathering of animals — King Lion presiding while each one tells their part of the story
Mosquito hiding in the bushes, small and tucked away, as the forest figures out the truth

📦 Supplies You'll Need:
5 pieces of drawing paper
Your favorite drawing materials (crayons, markers, colored pencils, whatever helps you add pizzazz!)

🔗 Links & Resources:
📬 Join the Fairy Snail Art Cart Club — monthly envelopes stuffed with a bonus episode, art projects, stickers, stationery & more
📧 Sign up for the Fairy Tale Art Cart Newsletter — podcast news, early event access & newsletter exclusives
🎧 Love this episode? Check out "The King's Secret" — another folktale about truth-telling and the big problems lies create

📌 Note for Grown-Ups: This story includes a moment where Iguana puts sticks in her ears. Rachael reminds young listeners that we never put anything in our ears — it's just part of the old folktale.

Ever been bossed around (or, ever done the bossing)? In this draw along episode, we tell a beloved Cuban folktale about a very proud rooster on his way to his uncle's wedding. When El Gallo, The Rooster, gets his magnificent beak muddy right before the ceremony, he demands that everyone around him fix the problem: the grass, the goat, the stick, the fire, the water. One by one, they all say... nooo way.
It's not until Rooster stops demanding and starts asking that something beautiful happens. His old friend El Sol, the sun, reminds him that friendship is a two-way street and that even small, everyday acts of kindness matter more than we know.
This folktale is told with a sprinkle of Spanish (and a whole lot of heart), making it a wonderful bilingual storytelling experience for little ears.
What your child will draw:
El Gallo the rooster, all dressed up with a muddy beak
La hierba (grass), la cabra (goat), el palo (stick), el fuego (fire), and el agua (water) — all saying no!
El Sol the sun and El Gallo, side by side in friendship

What you'll need:
2 pieces of drawing paper
Your favorite coloring materials (crayons, markers, colored pencils — whatever adds pizzazz!)

Mentioned in this episode:
🐓 Episode: The Bremen Town Musicians (another rooster story!)
📬 Join the Fairy Snail Art Cart Club — monthly envelopes full of bonus episodes, art projects, stickers & stationery
📧 Sign up for the Fairy Tale Art Cart Newsletter for early access to live events & newsletter exclusives

What if the days were so short that by the time you said "good morning," it was already nighttime?
In this draw along episode, we travel to the world of the Māori people and discover the folktale How Maui Caught the Sun, a story about Maui the demigod who is done waiting around for things to get better and decides, with his brothers by his side, to do something no one has ever dared to do before. Maui is clever. Maui is bold. And Maui has a plan that is either going to change the world...or go spectacularly wrong!
Will ropes really be enough to hold the fastest thing in the sky?
What You'll Need to Draw Along
3 pieces of drawing paper
Your favorite drawing materials — colored pencils, crayons, markers, whatever brings the pizzazz!

Drawing Prompts in This Episode
Drawing Prompt #1 — Invent a Sun Trap!
Drawing Prompt #2 — Hiding at the Horizon
Drawing Prompt #3 — Maui Faces the Sun
About This Episode
This episode tells the Māori folktale How Maui Caught the Sun, a story about a bold young demigod who refuses to accept that the days are too short. When everyone else shrugs and goes to bed hungry and grumpy, Maui gathers his brothers, weaves ropes from harakeke plants through the night, and travels to the very edge of the world to catch the sun before it can race across the sky again.
At the center of the story is the power of creative thinking, working together as a family, and being brave enough to try something nobody has ever tried before.
Themes in this episode: creativity, bold thinking, teamwork, community, perseverance, the power of asking for change
Great for ages: 4–10 (and the grown-ups who can't help listening too!)
Links & Resources
🐌 Join the Fairy Snail Art Cart Club — Become a supporting member and unlock bonus episodes PLUS a monthly envelope of art projects, stickers, stationery, and more delivered straight to your door! → CLICK HERE TO BECOME A MEMBER
🖍️ Free Coloring Page — Download the free coloring page that goes along with this episode at our website → CLICK HERE TO GO TO COLORING PAGE DOWNLOAD
🎧 Loved this episode? Listen next: Maui Brings Fire, another adventure with our bold and clever friend Maui, this time all about how the first flame came to the people!

About the Show
The Fairy Tale Art Cart is a draw along podcast for kids where you become the illustrator of the stories you hear. Host Rachael Harrington, art teacher turned globe-trotting professional storyteller, guides young artists through folktales from around the world, pausing the story for drawing prompts and music so kids can bring each scene to life on paper.
Perfect for screen-free afternoons, car rides, rainy days, and bedtime wind-downs. All you need is paper, something to color with, and a wide-open imagination.
New episodes drop regularly. Follow, subscribe, and leave a review to help more families discover the magic of draw-along storytelling!