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Speaker 1: He yo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the Animal Tales podcast,

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where you suggest the animal for us to write a

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story about. My name's Josephine and I've got a brand

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new animal story here just for you. Animal Tales Premium

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members get an extra story every Friday. Find out how

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to listen to them by visiting Animaltales dot uk and remember,

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for a tiny fee, all our stories are advert free.

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Alicia is from England and she would like a story

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with a unicorn, a dragon, a clownfish and an axe lottle.

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You can learn more about some of these creatures in

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the animal facts after the story. Now settle back, relax,

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and I'll begin The teeny tiny Dragon. The great blue

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Dragon stomped and roared, bearing his long, sharp teeth. Afraid

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of his mighty claws, the animals on the beach fled,

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crushing a palm tree beneath his foot. The dragon laughed. Oh,

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how he enjoyed being the biggest, scariest animal in the

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whole land. Nobody was as powerful as him, nobody as

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large or as terrifying. He could create hurricanes with his wings,

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sliced through mountains with his claws, burn entire forests with

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his fiery breath. Every animal in the world feared him.

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And yet while the animals ran from the beach in terror,

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one creature simply stood and watched. It was a unicorn,

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and it had grown tired of the dragon's havoc, and

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the dragon had noticed it. You, the dragon roared at

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the unicorn. Are you not afraid? Run before I gobble

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you up or stomp you flat. The unicorn looked up

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at the beast and replied, I've been waiting for our

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paths to cross. Is that so? Sneered the dragon, his

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eyes narrowing, You must be very foolish to wish to

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meet me. It is you who is foolish. The unicorn answered,

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you care for no one but yourself. You believe that

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you are so strong and mighty that nobody could ever

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challenge you. Well that ends today. It's time you were

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taught a lesson. The dragon wasn't going to stand for this,

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so he roared, lunging towards the union. But before the

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beast's jaws could close around her, the unicorn's horn lit

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up with magic, and the dragon disappeared in a puff

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of smoke. While this was happening, somewhere out to sea,

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the fish of the coral reef were hiding. There was

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complete silence, not a movement nor a sound, until a

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little limpet cried out, it's safe to come out. Immediately

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the reef erupted into noise and motion. Now that the

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danger had passed, Colorful fish, crustaceans, and mollusks swam out

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to continue with their day. From one hiding place emerged

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two friends, Alicia, an axe alottle and Rosy, a clownfish.

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That's the third time this week that we've had to hide,

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Alicia said, Well, keep an eye on the open water,

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just in case it comes back. Rosy replied. They were

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close to the reef's edge. It was quieter here, with

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the bright coral on one side and the vast sands

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of the ocean floor on the other. I can't see anything,

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the axe Loottle said, but I can hear something. Hear what,

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Rosy replied. It's coming from that clam shell, Alicia answered,

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swimming away from the reef for a closer look. It

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was half a shell, creating a curved lump in the sand.

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There's definitely something under there, nodded Rosy. Whatever it is,

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it can't be very big. Some one must be trapped underneath,

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Alicia said, pushing her axe lottle fingers under the edge

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of the shell. As she lifted the clown fish, pushed

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upwards with her nose, and out crawled a very small

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blue dragon. He wasn't even as big as Rosy, with

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tiny wings, tiny claws, and even tinier teeth. Finally, the

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dragon snapped crossly. Couldn't you hear me shouting? It took

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you long enough? Um, You're welcome, said Rosy. Were you

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hiding from the danger too? Hiding? What nonsense? Snarled the dragon.

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I don't hide from anyone. And what were you doing

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beneath the shell, asked Alicia. The dragon huffed, thinking of

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his encounter with the unicorn. I've no wish to talk

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about it, thank you. Now, how do I get back

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to land? It's that way, Alicia said, pointing across the

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ocean floor. But it's a dangerous journey for a little

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seahorse like you. I'm not a little sea horse, the

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dragon cried. I'm a mighty dragon, devourer of beasts, destroyer

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of mountains, and terror of the skies. Of course you are,

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said Rosy, not believing a word. Nice to meet you, Rosy,

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don't tease, Alicia said, trying to hide her own grin.

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Stand aside. The dragon demanded, I'm leaving, But before he

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could swim away, Alicia and Rosy grabbed him by the tail.

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Unhand me, you bother some sea life, the dragon squeaked.

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But you can't swim out into open water, Alicia insisted,

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you'll be eaten by the the the barra cooder, Rosy

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finished in a whisper. The what the dragon asked, never

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having heard of such a thing. The barracuda, Alicia repeated.

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He's a large, hungry fish who eats any one who

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gets in his way. He was right here on the

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reef just a short time ago. Well I'm not bothered

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about that, said the dragon, tugging his tail free. I

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have to get home. I've got a unicorn I need

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to gobble up. And with that he swam away from

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the reef across the empty sea bed. That poor little

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dragon is going to get eaten, for sure, Alicia said,

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as they watched him leave. And there's more out there

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than just the barracuda, Rosy added quietly. The dragon wasn't

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used to being small, and was carrying on as if

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he were still the colossal creature from before his encounter

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with the unicorn. He was completely focused on finding that

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rotten horned horse to make her turn him back, and

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when she did, he'd eat her up in one bite.

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So distracted was he that he fell to notice a

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claw poking from the sand. As he swam past, the

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claw snapped down onto his leg. Unhand me, the dragon

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snarled as he wriggled and tugged the claw's owner. A

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large crab emerged from the sand, looking pleased with himself.

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Not likely, chuckled the crab. You may be small, but

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you'll make a lovely snack. I'm not small, screeched the

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dragon as he fought to be free, But it was

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no use. The crab had him, and the tiny dragon

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wasn't strong enough to get away. For the very first

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time in his life, the dragon felt a twinge of fear.

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I wonder what bit of you I shall nibble first,

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grinned the crab, just as something bounced off the top

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of his shell. Oy, what's that? What's going on? Bits

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of shell and small pebbles rained down on the crab,

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making it twitch and flinch. It didn't like it. One

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bit so scuttled away to safety, letting go of its

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prize in the process. The dragon sank to the sea floor,

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only to realize who had been hurling the missiles. Are

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you okay, Alicia asked, You helped me, said the dragon,

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looking quite puzzled. Of course we did, The axe Alottle

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replied us. Smaller creatures need to stick together, otherwise crab

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claws like those would make our lives a misery. The

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dragon glanced at his own sharp claws. He'd always enjoyed

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scaring other animals with them, but after his encounter with

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the crab, he was getting to see the other side

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of it. Just so we all know, the dragon said,

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as he began to swim away again. I didn't ask

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for any help, even so, said Rosy. Maybe we should

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keep you company. It's dangerous down here for a little

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creature like you. The dragon was about to object to

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being described that way when he finally admitted to himself

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that it was true. He was little, so reluctantly he

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swam on with the axe Loottel and the clownfish right

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behind him. It was just sand as far as the

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eye could see, with not even a rock in sight.

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Watch out, said Alicia. Suddenly, something's coming. She feared it

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was the barracuda, but the dark shape broke up to

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reveal a large shoal of swimming mackerel. Most of the

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mackerel didn't even notice them, they were so tiny, until

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one of them shouted, hey, get a load of the

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little pip squeaks down there. The dragon bristled, come down

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here and say that, he roared, to which the mackerel

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just laughed. They were much bigger than the three travelers.

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The dragon pouted angrily, feeling helpless, Just ignore them, Rosy said, kindly.

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Bullies don't deserve your attention. They like to stir things up.

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The dragon sniffed, it was true. When he was big,

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he'd always enjoyed making smaller creatures run or hide. Quite abruptly,

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the mackerel turned sharply in a flurry of fins and hails.

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None of them were laughing or teasing now, as they

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swam on at speed. Something had spooked them. Oh no,

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Rosy whispered, it's a bigger bully. A large, lone fish

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zigzagged through the water at speed. It was long and thin,

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and several sharp teeth were poking out of its mouth.

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The barracuda has it seen us, fretted Alicia. There's nowhere

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to hide. Rosy hissed, looking around for coral or even

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a small rock. Quickly urged Alicia, bury yourself in the sand.

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The three animals slipped under the fine grains, hoping they

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had been fast enough. Ooh, where did they go? Mocked

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the voice of the barracuda. It's like they just disappeared.

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Alicia and Rosy trembled at the thought of the big

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fish right above their heads, with no little morsels to eat,

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I'll just have to eat sand instead. The barracuda chuckled,

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great big mouthfuls of sand scooped up right about here.

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Don't yelped Rosy, bursting out of the sand. Please let

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us go, pleaded Alicia, as she too emerged. No chance,

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said the barracuda, as it swam a little closer. Not now,

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I've got you. The clownfish and the axe Loottle thought

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it was the end of them, until quite unexpectedly, the

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barracuda pulled a very strange face. What's that, he asked,

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something's on my back. It was at that moment that

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the dragon bit the large fish. He may be little,

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but he could still bite. Yow, screamed the barracuda as

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he thrashed about. But the dragon just held on with

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his claws and bit and bit again. Get off, Get off.

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If you think that's bad, wait until you get a

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load of this, said the dragon. It wasn't so much

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fiery breath as superheated water, but it was enough to

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give one of the barracuda's fins a nasty singe. The

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barracuder screamed and bolted, jetting away as fast as it

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could swim, leaving the dragon spinning in the water. The

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barracuder it's gone, cheered Rosy. And I'm not so sure

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he'll be coming back, added Alicia. Rosy turned to the

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dragon with a look of admiration on her face. You've

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saved us, she said. Of course I did, answered the

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little blue dragon. US. Smaller creatures need to stick together,

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otherwise big creatures would make our lives a misery. And

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he meant it too. It wasn't much further to the beach,

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and soon the clown fish, the axe a lottle, and

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the dragon were in the shallow water. Now that you've

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found the land, what will you do now, Alicia asked,

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I have some one to find, said the dragon, a unicorn.

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Although I no longer think I'm going to do what

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I thought I was going to do. I think that

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if I want to ever be a big dragon again,

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I need to show that I've changed my ways. So

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you really are a big, mighty dragon, Rosy asked, until

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recently smiled the dragon. But finding the unicorn isn't going

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to be easy at this size. It may take me

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some time, and this time we can't come with you,

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pointed out Alicia. That's okay, nodded the dragon. You've done

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more than enough already. Because now I know to stick

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together with the smaller creatures. I'll work it out. That's

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the spirit, smiled Rosy. You may not have a mighty

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body at the moment, but you have the mightiest of hearts.

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Then the tiny dragon walked out of the sea and

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onto the beach and went in search of a unicorn.

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Animal fact. As our story contains unicorns and dragons, we

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thought it would be okay to continue the fantasy by

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having an axe a lot or live on a coral reef.

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In reality, axelottles don't live in sea water in the wild.

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They are only found in one freshwater lake in Mexico. Clownfish, though,

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do live on reefs. They have developed a relationship with

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sea anenemies, where the clownfish gets shelter and somewhere to

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hide in return for protecting and cleaning the annemy. We

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call this kind of relationship between two different types of

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animals symbiotic. Thank you for your suggestions, Alicia. We hope

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that you all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're listening in

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the world, discover our Animal Tales books at animaltales dot uk.

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Great bedtime reading, especially if you've discovered the joy of

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reading for yourself. Make sure you join us next time

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for another great animal tale. Goodbye,