If you know me you know I love Harry Potter, it's one of my four true geek loves. So when I heard they were releasing an audio book for The Tales of Beedle the Bard I was beyond excited. I love the Harry Potter audio book series. I use to listen to those every year during my long commutes. Those audio books were done by the very talented Jim Dale (US) and Stephen Fry (UK), yep I have all the book by both of them, though Dale is my favorite of the two. For this new audiobook they actually got some of the Harry Potter cast members to read the stories. Warwick Davis (Professor Filius Flitwick and Griphook) , Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Noma Dumezweni (Hermione Granger in the original West End and Broadway runs of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and Jude Law (Young Albus Dumbledore).
If you don't know what The Tales of Beedle the Bard is, it's a collection of Wizard Fairy-tales in the World of Harry Potter. The 5 stories include are -
"The Wizard and the Hopping Pot"
This story is about the legacy of an old man who, in his generosity, used his pot to brew magical potions and antidotes for other people when they needed his help. Upon his death, he leaves all his belongings to his only son, who has none of the virtues his father had. After his father's death, the son finds the pot and a single slipper inside it together with a note from his father that reads, "In the fond hope, my son, that you will never need it".
Bitter for having nothing left but a pot, the son closes the door on every person who asks for his help. Each time he does so, the pot takes on the symptoms of the ones who ask for help; it starts disturbing the son and prevents him from having any peace of mind. This continues until the son finally gives up and provides aid to the town. Upon doing this, the pot's ailments are removed one by one and the son's ordeal finally ends one day when the slipper he received from his father falls out of the pot; he puts the slipper on the pot's foot and the two walk off into the sunset.
"The Fountain of Fair Fortune"
In this story, there is a fountain where once per year, one person may bathe to have his or her problems answered. This is how three witches meet. The first witch, Asha, suffers from an incurable disease. The second, Altheda, endures poverty and powerlessness due to a robbery. The third, Amata, is distraught after being left by her beloved. The three witches decide to try to reach the fountain together but along the way, a luckless Muggle knight, Sir Luckless, also joins them.
On their path to the fountain, they face three challenges. The first involves a giant worm that demands "proof of [their] pain". The second, a steep slope where they have to bring the "fruit of their labours". The third challenge, crossing a river, requires them to pay with "the treasure of [their] past". Amata passes the challenge by using magic to withdraw the memories of her ex-lover and drop them into the water.
At the fountain, Asha collapses from exhaustion. To save her, Altheda brews an invigorating potion that also cures Asha of her disease and need of the fountain. Altheda realizes that her skills are a means to earn money, so she also no longer needs the fountain. Amata realizes that washing away her regret for her cruel and false lover removed her need as well. Sir Luckless bathes in the water, after which he flings himself at Amata's feet and asks for "her hand and her heart" which she happily gives. Everyone gets an answer to his or her problem, unaware that the fountain held no magical power at all.
"The Warlock's Hairy Heart"
The story is about a young and handsome warlock who decides to never fall in love, so he uses Dark Arts to prevent himself from doing so. His family, hoping he will change, does nothing. However, one day, he hears two servants whispering about him not having a wife, so he decides to find a talented, rich, and beautiful witch and marry her to gain everyone's envy.
He meets that girl the next day. Though the girl is both "fascinated and repelled", the warlock persuades her to come to a dinner feast at his castle. During the feast, she tells him that she needs to know he has a heart. The warlock shows her his beating hairy heart inside a crystal casket in his dungeon. The witch begs him to put it back inside himself. After the warlock does so, she embraces him. However, being disconnected from its body for so long, his heart has developed savage tastes as it has degenerated into an animalistic state. And so he is driven to take by force a truly human heart. He tears out the witch's heart to replace his own, but finding that he cannot magic the hairy heart back out of his chest, he cuts it out with a dagger. Thus he and the maiden both die, with him holding both hearts in his hands.
"Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump"
This story is about a king who wants to keep all magic to himself. To do this he needs to solve two problems: he must capture and imprison all of the sorcerers in the kingdom and he has to learn magic. He creates a "Brigade of Witch Hunters" and calls for an instructor in magic. Only a "cunning charlatan" with no magical ability responds. The charlatan proves himself with a few simple tricks and begins to ask for jewellery and money to continue teaching. However, Babbitty, the king's washerwoman, laughs at the king one day as he attempts to do magic with an ordinary twig. This causes the king to demand the charlatan join him in a public demonstration of magic and warns that the charlatan will be beheaded if anyone laughs. The charlatan later witnesses Babbitty performing magic in her house. He threatens to expose her if she does not assist him. She agrees to hide and help the demonstration.
During the performance, the brigade captain asks the king to bring his dead hound back to life. Because Babbitty cannot use magic to raise the dead, the crowd thinks the previous acts were tricks. The charlatan exposes Babbitty, accusing her of blocking the spells. Babbitty flees into a forest and disappears at the base of an old tree. In desperation, the charlatan states that she has turned "into a crab apple" and has the tree cut down.
As the crowd departs, the stump starts cackling and makes the charlatan confess. The stump cackles again, demanding the king never hurt a wizard again, and build a statue of Babbitty on the stump to remind him of his foolishness. The king agrees and heads back to the palace. Afterwards, a "stout old rabbit" with a wand in its teeth hops out from a hole beneath the stump and leaves the kingdom.
"The Tale of the Three Brothers"
The story is about three brothers who, while traveling together, reach a treacherous river. They make a magical bridge over the river wherein just as they cross, they meet the personification of Death, who is angry for losing three potential victims. He pretends to be impressed by them and grants each a wish as a reward. The oldest brother asks for an unbeatable dueling wand, so Death gives him the Elder Wand. The middle brother asks for the ability to resurrect the dead, so Death gives him the Resurrection Stone. The youngest brother does not trust Death and asks for a way to stop Death from following him, so Death reluctantly gives him his Cloak of Invisibility. Afterward, the brothers go their separate ways.
The oldest brother resolves a previous qualm by using the wand to kill the man with whom he quarreled, but his bragging about the wand's incredible power ends with him getting robbed of it and murdered in his sleep. The middle brother resolves a previous loss by using the stone to bring back the woman to whom he wanted to be married, but the sight of her being partly alive and full of sorrow for being back in the mortal world ends with him committing suicide. The youngest brother Death never manages to find, as he stays hidden under his cloak. Many years later, the brother removes his cloak and gives it to his son. Content with the life he has lived, he greets Death as an old friend and equal. The thing about this is that the youngest brother makes the smartest decision. The two older brothers ask for something good but end up being murdered or killed.
This last one "The Tale of the Three Brothers" is one of the main themes in the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The rest were just titles until Rowling actually wrote them all and produced it's own book.
Can only get the audio book on Audible starting March 31st. Follow the
LINK
For those who don't know Nerdstrong had to shut down because of the current world crisis. Which would be fine but the timing couldn't have been worse. Nerdstrong's lease was up in April and Coach Andrew (the owner) had found a new location, in the same industrial area just a smaller unit and we were planing to move and then this virus hit and everything changed.
At the beginning of April Andrew had a Zoom meeting with gym members and announced that the gym would be closing permanently. With an uncertain future, no guaranteed income and swarmy building owners Nerdstrong could be no more. I kind of knew this was coming but hearing it out loud was difficult. I think I was in a kind of a shock. I remember not having much of a reaction, until Patty started to tear up and then the waterworks started and I had to turn away from my camera. Afterwards I kind of pulled away from folks, a few Nerdstrong folks messaged me to make sure I was okay but I haven't really talked about it much to anyone and then today when that picture popped up on Facebook and I saw what was, and will probably never be again my heart broke and everything kind of hit me all at once. This idea of not having Nerdstrong Gym when all this craziness is over is heartbreaking. This gym and community has been such a huge part of my life the past 5 + years and I really don't know what I will do without it once we go back to "normal".
I'm happy to say that Nerdstrong isn't dead, it lives online now, Nerdstrong Gym has a
Twitch channel with daily workouts, there are also Zoom classes you can
join in on. Unfortunately none of this has really clicked for me
and I've been mostly absent from the new virtual gym. Don't worry though I'm still working out, that's one of many great things Nerdstrong has instilled in me, my love of fitness. And our community continues to grow as we get new online members from all over the world. 
