On April 15, 1956, Hungary?s postal service started offering recorded bedtime stories for the price of a local call. The first tale, by Emil Kolozsvári Grandpierre, entitled ?The Wife of King Mathias?, was told by Juci Komlós.
Editor and radio director Dénes Liska, who still considers the service his labour of love, notes that some of Hungary?s most renowned actors and actresses were convinced to record bedtime stories for the service in the 1950s and 60s. They included Éva Ruttkai, Iván Darvas, Ferenc Ladányi, Miklós Gábor and Mari Szemes. Liska explains that the telephone helps to create a more intimate relationship between listener and storyteller, and children always prefer surroundings they are familiar with when being told a story. He adds that the stories told on the service are enjoyed as much by adults as they are by children.
Liska?s own favourites are classic folk tales, so he is biased toward choices from Elek Benedek and the Grimm brothers. Over the past 50 years, Liska has recorded about 10,000 bedtime stories.
The service attracted as many as 50,000 callers a month at one time. But interest has dropped considerably in the past several years, even though the service is still only the cost of a local call.
For a short time, callers will be able to enjoy recordings of stories made when the service first started. The number is 317-1888.
In 2000, Szabad Tér publishing house issued a collection of the best recorded stories on CD and in book form called ?Wire Tales?.
Source: Hungarian Press Agency (MTI)
