Tell Me a Story

Are there sweeter words to a storyteller’s ear?

This past fall I performed at my sister’s church in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Among other things, I told a number of stories during the Sunday school hour to a group of pre-K through 5th grade kids. After three stories (one of which was Peter walking on the water), the preschoolers (which included my 4-year-old niece, Gaby) left to do other activities in their classroom while I finished up with a few more “older-focused” stories for the elementary-aged kids.

Later that afternoon we were all in the car and my sister asked what other stories I’d told (she’s one of the pre-school teachers so had also left after the first three stories). As I was telling her about them, Gaby, who had been busy watching a movie on her little portable DVD player in the back seat, perked up and said, “Aunt Tracy, tell me about Peter.”

At first, I took her comment literally, thinking she wanted more information ABOUT Peter. (Silly me … can you tell I don’t have kids of my own?!) “Well, what do you want to know?” But her mom quickly set me straight, “No, she wants you to tell her the STORY about Peter again.”

In all the years I’ve been telling stories professionally, and despite all the accolades I’ve received—and I’ve received many—I don’t know that anyone has EVER asked for an “encore;” or, perhaps more accurately (and touching), for a specific story to be repeated so immediately. It’s a storyteller’s dream come true, especially when it comes from someone you’re not even sure was paying attention.

So, it more than made up for the fact that during the entire time I was telling a story for the Children’s Sermon during worship, Gaby sat down front, before God and the entire congregation, sticking her finger down her throat gagging herself!