Summer Camp: The Salmon Famine

Circle Round - WBUR

In 'The Salmon Famine,' a trickster coyote confronts three giant sisters who hoard salmon by building a dam, trapping fish essential for the ecosystem. Disguising himself as their baby, he infiltrates their cave and secr

Key takeaways

• Coyote shapeshifts into a baby giant to infiltrate the sisters' cave

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:01) Hi, listeners, it's your camp counselor, Erica Henningson. I'm here with you all summer, bringing you Circle Round's best stories about our big, beautiful, shared outside. Today's episode is called The Salmon Famine. It's a story about what happens when we are feeling a little selfish and refused to share with others. Spoiler alert, it does not go well. Let's circle around the campfire and take a listen. WBUR Podcasts, Boston. This Circle Round episode was one of two recorded in February 2025 at Boston's Symphony Hall, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. And now on with the story. Think about a time you shared with someone. Maybe you shared a toy or some food. Maybe you shared some time. Sharing with others can make everyone feel good. But in today's story, we'll meet three giants who refuse to share until a clever coyote does his share to teach them a giant lesson. I'm Rebecca Shear and welcome to Circle Round Live at Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. Today our story is called the Salmon Famine. It comes from indigenous tribes of the present-day Canadian and American Pacific Northwest. Joining me on stage is a star-studded cast of actors, Josh Gundleman, Hari Kandibolu, Fath Saly, and Bethany Van Delft. Providing musical accompaniment under the direction of our own Eric Shimelonis is a world-class sextet from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Kathy Bassrack on Viola, Chris Elchico on clarinet, Clint Foreman on flute, Ben Levy on double bass, Suzanne Nelson on Bassoon, and Austin Ruff on Horn. So circle around everyone. For the salmon famine. The world was ruled by animals. The cleverest and cleverest of all creatures was coyote. The wild and wily dog was always playing tricks. Sometimes he used his cunning to get something he wanted. Sometimes he used it to teach a lesson. This story is about a time he did both. coyote made his home along a wide, winding river, and like the other animals who lived by the riverside, each year coyote eagerly awaited the running of the salmon. The running of the salmon happened every summer when the big sleek fish known as salmon left the saltwater of the ocean and swam upstream to the freshwater of the river where they had first been born. And what a feast those salmon make. The minute we animals spot those plump delicious fish muscling against the current, we reach into the river, snatch them out of the water, and enjoy a mouth-watering meal. However, this particular summer, something unexpected happened. The salmon didn't show up, and though coyote and the other animals waited. Here, fish, fish, fish. And waited. Nice, fishy fishies. The salmon never appeared. What is going on? The salmon should have started running by now. If the salmon don't come, a long-hungry famine will. I must get to the bottom of this mystery. Coyote bolted toward the water and dove in. He floated downstream for hours, keeping his eyes peeled for salmon. At last, as he drifted past a thick, Tangled Forest. What should he spy in the river, stretching all the way from one side to the other, but... A dam! A big wall of logs and stones. The dam is catching the salmon as they swim upstream. And look, it's trapping them so they can't move. Who would do such a thing? Who would build a giant dam and hoard the fish for themselves? The moment coyote asked that question, he heard the sound of... thundering footsteps, followed by the sound of thundering voices. Coyote leaped from the river and sprang behind a bush just as three giants. Sisters, actually, burst out of the forest. One was especially tall. It's time to eat, sisters. One was especially wide. Look at all these yummy salmon we've caught. And one was especially hairy. They're going to be absolutely delicious. All three giants were carrying big wooden clubs. And before coyote's very wide eyes, each of the sisters seized a flip-flopping fish by the gills. Come here. Hold it from the water. You're going to get away from me. Then smashed it with a club blow to the head. Sorry, you've got to do it. With their dazed dinners and their jumbo hands, The sisters lumbered back into the forest. Coyote waited till they were out of sight before emerging from his hiding place. I can't believe it. Those giant sisters are hogging all the salmon by trapping them in their dam. I must find a way to free those fish by using my cunning, my wiles, and my magic. Something we didn't mention