O nce upon a time, there was a colourless tiger. All his shades were greys, blacks and whites. So much so, that he seemed like something out of an old black and white movie. His lack of colour had made him so famous that the world's greatest painters had come to his zoo to try to put some colour on him. None of them succeeded, as the colours would always just drip down off his skin. Then along came Van Cough the crazy painter. He was a strange guy who travelled all about, happily painting with his brush. Well, it would be more accurate to say that he moved his brush about, as if to paint; because he never put any paint on his brush, and neither did he use canvas or paper. He painted the air, and that's why they called him Van Cough. So, when he said he wanted to paint the colourless tiger, everyone had a good laugh. When entering the tiger's cage he began whispering in the animal's ear, and moving his dry brush up and down the tiger's body. And to everyone...
As a learning tool, storytelling can encourage us to explore their unique expressiveness and can heighten our ability to communicate thoughts and feelings in an articulate, lucid manner. These benefits transcend the art experience to support daily life skills. In our fast-paced, media-driven world, storytelling can be a nurturing way to remind us that spoken words are powerful, that listening is important, and that clear communication between people is an art.