A Tale Of Four Wishes

This award-winning story uses the framing device of a young girl named Jane (Tracey Gold), who meets a traveling whittler and storyteller named Skeeter (the late Rick Nelson). Jane complains...a lot. She wishes she had any other life but her own. So Skeeter, with his bag full of good books, teaches her about the importance of wishes and dreams. In Hug Me, based on the book by Patti Stren, a porcupine named Elliott wants somebody to hug--and for obvious reasons gets no takers; until he finds another porcupine. In The Man Who Had No Dreams (Adelaide Hall), a rich man lives a miserable life because he has nothing to hope for, stays awake all the time because he never does work and so never gets tired, and doesn't dream because he has no wishes--until an injured bird appears on his windowsill and changes his life. And in The Silver Pony (Lynd Ward), a non-narrative story is told of a boy who rides a magical pony and sees all the sights in every direction. Finally, in the last story, Jane Wishing(Toby Tobias), live action and animation is mixed together as Jane comes to understand that wishes are important, but hard work and perseverance are needed to make your dreams come true. Recommended.