All 23 Tales Now Have Audio — On LibriVox, Diverse Voices, and "Their End Was Bacon"

Today was a really good day for the Sanctuary.

All twenty-three public domain tales now have audio. And honestly, I'm still a little amazed that this happened in one day. LibriVox had a treasury recording that covered nineteen of the tales in one go — which was such a gift. The remaining four we sourced separately. Appley Dapply wasn't on LibriVox at all, so I recorded a short one myself and uploaded it. It works.

And I just have to say — the way we live now, and the technology we have right now at this moment in time, is really something. LibriVox itself is an amazing resource. Free audiobooks, recorded by volunteers, for anyone in the world. And then there's Claude, who managed to wire up all twenty-three tales with audio, build the chapter player for Little Pig Robinson, and get the whole thing working — in one session. I really couldn't believe how quickly it all came together.

Originally I wanted to find one narrator, or a consistent group, so the audio would feel unified. But then I started actually listening and I changed my mind. The diversity is better. If children are the ones who are going to listen to this — and young children at that — I think hearing many different kinds of voices does so much more for them. And what's really special is that some of the LibriVox narrators are very young themselves. Children, recording audiobooks, for free, for everyone. A child listening to another child narrate these stories — that's not a compromise at all. That's really wonderful. And you know how much those young narrators are getting out of it too. The experience of reading carefully, of carrying a story for someone else. That's real education.

The recording for Little Pig Robinson is done by this really wonderful young girl. Clear voice, really pleasant to listen to. And I was following along with the text while she was reading, and she got to the part about Robinson's aunts — Miss Dorcas and Miss Porcas — and Beatrix's line about what eventually happens to them.

"Their end was bacon."

I just laughed out loud.

That is so Beatrix. She builds this whole warm little universe — Robinson's aunts, their cozy farm, their love for him — and then in three words she just doesn't flinch. Real pigs. Real world. She's not sugarcoating anything, but she's also not making a big deal of it either. She just states it and moves on. And I think that's really amazing. That she can write about this little pig and his whole adventure with so much warmth, and at the same time be completely honest about the world he lives in.

I'm really happy this is all happening. I'm happy LibriVox exists. I'm happy that today, all twenty-three tales have a voice.

Good day.