Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was always reading, and rarely said a word.

And why should he? Every time he tried to speak, the words skidded, crashed and tangled on his tongue. The other kids laughed at his stutter and called him "Malcolm Bliss," a city mental hospital.

But like most stories worth telling, it has a happy ending:

Bobby Norfolk — host of the old "Gator Tales" show — was awarded the Circle of Excellence Award last month from the National Storytellers' Network. The award, according to the network, goes to "master storytellers who set the standards for excellence."

For yarn-spinners, there are no higher honors.

And Norfolk's fans, such as Wayne Schiefelbein, believe the honor is way past due.

"There isn't a better storyteller around," said Schiefelbein, principal at Holy Redeemer School in Webster Groves. "I first saw him perform in the late 1970s, and I have never, ever, had a group of kids who didn't enjoy Bobby."

Watching his wiry frame and rubbery face twist and contort and listening to his voice climb and sink across the octaves, it's simple why Norfolk is so good: He was meant to be.

"It was like angels have been watching me the whole time," Norfolk said.

CRONKITE AND CARTOONS

Norfolk, 58, grew up in the Ville neighborhood of north St. Louis to parents who had been stutterers. His pain began in grade school.

"It was terrible when teachers would call on me," he said. "The kids would laugh and make fun, so I retreated into books."

Because of his stuttering, Norfolk developed an affection for CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite. "I'd listen to every newscast, just to hear how he enunciated words," he said.

Norfolk also spent hours watching cartoons and mimicking the voices. "I loved them all: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, the Flintstones and even the Three Stooges."

By the time Norfolk reached Sumner High, he was a class recluse. But some teachers refused to let him sit quietly by.

"They gave me poems to read in class. I thought they were just mean, trying to embarrass me. But then I realized the meter, rhythm and rhyme took the stuttering right away. They pushed me into drama, glee club and chorus.

"They saw something in me," he said with a gratitude 40 years strong, "that I didn't see in myself."

JOURNALISM AND JOKES

Norfolk studied journalism in college, where he noticed that stand-up comics Richard Pryor and George Carlin were becoming as popular as rock stars.

"I went to Lou Bond's nightclub in Gaslight Square. He looked me up and down and said, 'So you think you're funny?'"

Funny enough to get the gig, Norfolk began working the local club circuit.

"I'd start out with Dick Gregory political stuff, then move to Carlin human-nature stuff," he said. "Then after they'd been drinking for a while, I'd go into the dirty Pryor-style stuff. Trust me, when everyone's been drinking all night, the political stuff doesn't go over."

Norfolk hooked up with "Zack and Mack," a well-known comedy team on the circuit. The members, Zack Carey and Johnnie McHaynes, both died in their 40s.

"A lot of people in that life lived on scotch and cocaine. I'd tell them, 'I don't like scotch and I don't want coke.' So I took a different route and got into yoga and meditation."

FINANCES AND FIELD TRIPS

Not making enough money on the circuit, Norfolk took a summer job in 1976 as a Gateway Arch park ranger. He stayed for 10 years. "I was one of the rangers who'd take kids around for tours," he said.

Jan Dolan, a park ranger at the time and now Norfolk's agent, said it was an incredible sight.

"People would literally wait for him to give a tour, and schools would call to set up a field trip and specifically request Bobby," Dolan said. "I found it so unusual because we'd become friends and I knew he was kind of shy, a bit of a loner. But when he would lead the tours, he'd end up with 200, 300 people in his."

In 1979, Norfolk made his first official storytelling appearance at a festival held at, of all places, the Arch museum.

"It was like freedom. When you work as a ranger, you have to wear the uniform and say certain things. But at the festival, I got to dress and act like I wanted, no restrictions."

TELEVISION AND TOURS

In 1988, KMOV-TV produced a local children's show called "Gator Tales." Norfolk spent the next four years with puppeteer Doug Kinkaid's "Grouchie Gator." The show ran in reruns until 1999.

Then he began touring extensively, visiting just about every continent and staying on the road about 10 months a year. He also wrote 12 children's books and an instructional book for adult storytellers, recorded 10 CDs and now is working on a DVD.

Recently, he appeared at Holy Redeemer school to work the bugs out of a new act with musician Dave Farver called "The Storytelling Express," in which they take kids on a "world tour" with Swedish, German, African and American folk tales.

Norfolk says he still has a good word to spread to children, including his first grandchild, a girl born in late October.

When asked if there were any other honors he desires, he thought and said, "There's a lifetime achievement award from the storyteller network, but that's for when you're about to retire.

"And as Duke Ellington once said, 'Retirement don't look good on me.'"