By: Ava Rogha Reviewland Ratings 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿
As a big fan of visuals, I have never given podcasts much of a chance.
However, after listening to a couple of podcasts by “Plum Forest Podcast”, I realized how intriguing it really is to use my hearing senses to understand story plots!
It’s almost like reading, but better. A podcast does the job for you.
And “Plum Forest Podcast” was surely a great start for me!
Plum Forest Podcast is a collection of modernized English versions of Chinese fables and short stories. So, imagine old Chinese fables turned into more relatable versions, which makes it easier for us millennials in particular to connect with them.
The various episodes of the podcast tell different stories, but today we will focus on The Birdbath and The Hive.
The episodes all start with an introduction to the podcast and a brief backstory of the episodes. After that, the storytelling begins with a narrator and actors. Each episode successfully cancels out all your negative and stressful thoughts for twenty to thirty minutes!
Spoilers ahead!
The first episode I listened to was The Birdbath. This episode tells the story of a married couple in New York, who are the landlords of an apartment. When a new tenant moves in, the husband Jerry decides to knock on his door to welcome him to the block. Although they have a polite encounter, something seems off about the new tenant, Ed, which is why Jerry’s wife does some snooping to get to learn more about him.
Shortly after, Jerry decides to invite Ed for drinks to get to know him more, but Ed politely invites Jerry over instead.
Jerry is surprised to see how beautifully his house is decorated. The narrator does a great job explaining the visuals and the gorgeous decorations around the house, which are inspired by the Chinese culture.
Ed offers Jerry drinks and some food, and the man gladly accepts.
Losing track of time, Jerry is now intoxicated and all he can see is ornamental butterflies in Ed’s apartment, dancing to the beat of the music that is playing.
The two then play drinking games and have an overall good night. That is until Jerry thanks Ed for the stay and heads back home.
However, Jerry never makes it home that night... And his wife finds him fast asleep on the hallway floor!
A little while passes and Ed moves out, leaving a note for Jerry. Considering Ed’s sudden move is unexpected, Jerry heads to his apartment to check the condition of the place. And surprisingly, the place is in perfect shape. Though, there is one thing that really catches Jerry’s attention before he leaves the apartment, and that is a birdbath that is left in Ed’s yard, hence the name of the story!
The birdbath is symbolical to the story. It contains goldfish and crystal clear water. It doesn’t freeze, despite the seasonal changes, and the water remains clear.
That’s until one day the water does finally freeze. Jerry and his wife cannot believe this sudden change. He attempts to touch the birdbath, but everything suddenly vanishes through thin air, just by one touch.
Now this is where the story gets interesting.
A little while later, a knock is heard on Jerry’s door, which is basically the plot twist of the story. Since I do not want to spoil the story’s ending, all I can say is that the man who knocks on Jerry’s door is looking for Ed…
To hear what happens next, you’re going to have to listen for yourself! I must admit that I was surprised when I heard the story’s major plot twist, given that I had so many different thoughts about Ed’s intentions during this episode.
Moving on to the The Hive, the episode starts with Plum Forest Podcast creating awareness and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as informing people where they can donate to change the current situation.
The Hive is about an animal farm with the bees and the snails in focus, but not your usual ones! These are talking bees and snails almost like the ones we are used to see in Disney animated movies.
This episode talks about a conflict that rises between the bees and the snails when Mrs. Snail is bothered by all the buzzing outside her home. She complains to the bees and tells them that her babies are about to sleep, but instead of respecting Mrs. Snail’s wishes, King Bee is rather furious and tells her not to threaten his family. He explains why the bees are useful to the humans and brags about the honey they make, as opposed to the snails.
This little discussion between the bees and the snails leads to a battle between the two. The snails head over to the bee’s hive to get their revenge, but end up eating all their honey instead. Being clueless of the snails’ cruel intentions, King Bee invites them to stay the night. And overnight, all the bees’ babies are poisoned by the snails and their honey is ruined. This angers King Bee and he threatens to kill the snails if they do not leave.
And shortly, with wax in their hands, the bees murder the snails before leaving the hive forever.
As you can tell, this episode is so actionfilled you won't have time to move your thoughts elsewhere! It also contains some humorous moments as well that I do not wish to spoil, but put a smile on my face for a minute there!
The bees and the snails sort of remind me of human-beings in conflict over a small matter. It really just shows how small conflicts can escalate if people don’t treat each other with kindness. This battle that eventually leads to the snails’ death, started as a little negative discussion between these two tiny animals. If the bees respected Mrs. Snail’s wish of being quiet from the start, they would’ve all have been alive and lived in unity at the farm.
This episode is very different from The Birdbath, which is what I like about this podcast. I love how each episode tells a completely different story. Variety is key!
Just like we are used to see at the end of the movies we watch; at the end of each episode all the actors and actresses involved are introduced to the audience. They all do a great job turning these fables alive, which certainly helps people who are just getting into podcasts like me!
These episodes are great to listen to while relaxing, cooking or even when you’re going for a walk. The episodes come out weekly at https://www.plumforestpodcast.com/, so stay tuned for updates and make sure to check them out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Castbox as well!
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