The series Il était une fois… les Amériques: Les premiers Américains (Once Upon a Time… the Americas: The First Americans) relates American history from the very beginning up to the twentieth century. Enjoy the opening song about the making of America and its first settlers...

A group of high school friends from the Haute-Savoie town of Scionzier are trying to stop the destruction of a small farm building they discovered and restored. One of their efforts is the organization of a community yard sale for the town.

It takes a lot of energy to be a zookeeper, bartender, and night watchman, especially if you only get three hours of sleep every night. But Alca the penguin never shirks any of his responsibilities, thanks to his seemingly endless supply of coffee with vitamins.

The musician Yacine Boularès talks to us about his large family, which spans two continents, and explains the origins of French influence in Tunisia.

Our friends Manon and Clémentine teach us some French tongue-twisters involving birds, turtles, armadillos, and mosquitoes. Try learning them all!

Our friendly platypus's case of mistaken identity has been addressed. He is finally able to discover his species just in time before hungry Leon makes a meal out of him!

In the final part of this Il était une fois... episode on the ecosystems, the Maestro explains what happened to the people and the famous statues of Easter Island. It's a lesson we'd do well to learn from.

Yacine Boularès, from the band Afro Groove Collective, talks about the different kinds of saxophones and gives a demonstration of each one. If you'd like to expand your saxophone knowledge even further, check out these Yabla videos from jazz musician Alex Terrier!

Come learn some animal idioms with Manon and Clémentine! They'll show you how cats, dogs, and wolves can help you to improve your everyday French.

A new arrival at the zoo is causing a stir. Is it a human? Is it a duck, a beaver or a cross between the two? Our new friend is having an identity crisis...

In part seven of this episode on the ecosystems, the young students are on a field trip (a marsh trip to be exact), where they witness firsthand the destruction of this precious ecosystem. But this is not a new phenomenon: once upon a time in Polynesia...

Yacine Boularès, a young French musician of Tunisian origin, demonstrates some of the differences between Western and Arabic music on his saxophone. If you like what you hear, check out Yacine's jazz band, Afro Groove Collective.

Daniel Benchimol is in the charming little town of Saint-Mammès, south of Paris. Its unique location at the confluence of the Seine and the Loing was a source of inspiration for the famous impressionist painter born of British parents, Alfred Sisley.