Photo by Sven Scheuermeier on Unsplash

The Storyteller

Darryl Willis
Aug 27, 2017 · 2 min read

For years I ran around in storytelling circles. I would attend festivals, listen to tapes, and perform for schools and events. The story below was one such story that made the circuit. I don’t know its origin (if I did I’d give the citation).

It’s one of those stories that resonated with me. I hope it does the same for you.

Once an American was visiting a remote third world village that had been given the wonderful gift of electricity a few years before.

And it seemed in the past, some well-meaning Westerner also gave the village the gift of a television.

As the American wandered around the village he discovered an empty hut with the television unplugged in the corner of the hut. It was covered with dust and obviously out of use. So, he found a villager and asked him about the television. He discovered they had watched the television solidly for two months. But then, they finally turned it off and quit watching it completely. It had not been turned back on in years, and now it gathered dust.

“Why don’t you watch it any more?”

“Oh, we don’t need the television. We have the storyteller,” was the reply.

“But doesn’t the television know more stories than your storyteller?” the American persisted.

The villager dropped his head for a moment and kicked the ground with his toe. When he looked up, he had a huge smile on his face.

“Ah yes,” he replied. “The television knows many stories. But the storyteller knows me.”


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Darryl Willis

Written by

Has worked in non-profits for over 36 years and is currently a Regional Director for an international non-profit. He holds an MA from Lipscomb University.

Written Tales

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