Storytelling is a great adventure for everyone from the person that hires the teller to the audience. The adventure can go anywhere and do anything but sometimes it goes off the tracks!

Recently I was telling a story about Thomas the Tank Engine and his Very Noisy Day AKA Clackety Clack. The basic premise is that at every stop an animal gets on the train and makes it nosier. It’s a great participation story that I adapted for Thomas and it is a cumulative tale.

Now this particular week I had already told this story at three other places but all of these were morning shows at libraries or schools.  This show was in the early evening after school and the kids were wound UP!

First I brought out the Monkey puppet to get on the train. All went well with that. I brought out several more puppets and that ran smoothly too.

When I bought out the Tiger puppet though, the kids went NUTS! They were so enthusiastic with LOUD roars, that the parents and library personnel looked alarmed! It was also clearly going to distract from the being able to hear the story. I had to think fast!

Putting my finger to my mouth I waited for the parents and caregivers to shhh the kids a bit and then I said, “Mr. Conductor told the Tiger he was MUCH too noisy for even the very noisy day on the train and could NOT get on the train.” With that I put the Tiger puppet back in my bag. The parents giggled. The kids looked confused but they were game to play along anyway.

We went on to find out what the Little Girl puppet did that was so noisy. The story train went off the tracks but together we put it back on the rails and finished with a lovely, fun story.

I remember a few summers ago, I had traveled up to a library in North Alabama. I made the cardinal mistake of asking a question I shouldn’t have to an audience. Why was it a mistake? Because there is always ONE who is disagreeable. Anyway, I said, “Do you want to hear another story?”

One little girl very loudly said, “No!”

I smiled and looked at her as the story train screeched off the rails for a few microseconds.

“Well then, I suggest you put your hands over your ears like so,” I said, demonstrating, how to cover your ears to block sound. “Because I’m going to tell another story for those that do want to hear one. I wouldn’t want you to hear it if you don’t want to.”

Again the parents laughed and the train was put back on track.

In life and storytelling, I’ve found that being flexible is so important. If we are, and we all work together, we can always get the “train back on the tracks" whether it is a story train, life, or anything else.