The Storyteller ( character ) In " Jim Henson ' s The StoryTeller " and " " , the Storyteller is a character who narrates the stories and brings each tale to life . He shares the company of a talking dog named Dog as he tells each story . The difference in actors , appearance , and time frame between the two series suggest that the two storytellers are not meant to be the same character , as does a reference in the book " No Strings Attached " to a " new storyteller , " but with the same dog . Jim Henson ' s The StoryTeller . In all nine episodes of " Jim Henson ' s The StoryTeller " , the Storyteller is portrayed by John Hurt . Heavy make - up was used to create the character , notably large ears and a prosthetic nose . The Storyteller was initially conceived by Jim Henson as an animatronic puppet character . However , Ron Mueck filmed a test with facial prosthetics , to suggest that an actor in make - up would be more effective . The Storyteller is always comfortably seated by a fireside , since as he explains in the opening prologue , " the best seat by the fire " was always saved for the storyteller . Within the narrative frame , his only companion is Dog . However , the Storyteller twice became a participant in his own tales . In " Hans My Hedgehog , " it is the Storyteller whose card divinations remind the King of the impending marriage of his daughter to the Grovelhog . He is imprisoned as a result , but pardoned on the wedding day . The Storyteller serves as a waiter but continues to narrate the story from within , providing exposition and commentary while washing dishes or lounging in the aftermath . In " A Story Short , " the Storyteller tells a tale focused entirely on himself , though even here , the line between fairytale and reality is sharply blurred . In his own story , the Storyteller claims to have met and married a wife , who subsequently left him for a beggar . Since within the story the same beggar turns our narrator into a flea and a hare , it ' s uncertain whether the Storyteller has , in fact , loved and lost a spouse . Jim Henson ' s The StoryTeller : Greek Myths . In the 4 - part mini - series " " , The Storyteller was portrayed by Michael Gambon . The actor played the role without prosthetics , creating a visual contrast to Hurt ' s Storyteller . The character also possesses more of a melancholic bent , as befits the tragedies he relates , in contrast to the whimsical humor of his predecessor . In contrast to the vaguely 16th century European narrator of the previous series , this storyteller lives during Ancient Greece . Although aired as the fourth episode , " Theseus and the Minotaur " explains the character ' s back story . A native Athenian , the Storyteller and Dog travel to Crete . After robbing the dead , or as he puts it , merely exchanging their coins " for smaller valuables , " the storyteller and Dog wind up on the run , until they tumble into the Labyrinth of Knossos , approximately 1 , 000 years after the reign of the Minotaur . Now trapped within the labyrinth , the pair wander , searching for a way out . During their travels , the Storyteller finds sculptures and artifacts which reminds him of stories ; these finds include a bust of Daedalus , architect of the labyrinth , and the lyre of Orpheus . They eventually escape the Labyrinth when a ceiling collapses .