Speaker 1: Yes, hello everyone, and welcome to the Animal Tales podcast,
where you suggest the animal for us to write a
story about. My name's Josephine, and I've got a brand
new animal story here just for you. There are over
four hundred and fifty animal tales now and all are
available on our premium service, alongside over eighty premium only
stories for a tiny fee. They are all advert free.
Summer is from the UK and she would like a
story about an otter. You can learn more about these
creatures in the animal facts after the story. Now, settle back, relax,
and I'll begin the fable of the Otter. There once
was a young otter called Summer, and she was as
bright and cheerful as the season she was named after.
Summer had reached an age where she was now old
enough to leave home and find a river of her own.
After days of searching, swimming up and down smaller rivers
that fed into the one she'd known all her life,
Summer found herself surrounded on both sides by a beautiful
pinewood forest. The tall pines and thick ferns around her
reminded her of the river she'd grown up in. Maybe
this could be her new home. But was it safe here?
At that moment, a duck appeared from the long stems
that grew on the river bank and let out a
surprised quack. Will a be he cried, A swimming weasel.
I'm not a weasel, Summer laughed, swimming closer, I'm an otter.
The duck looked her up and down, then chuckled. Of course,
the duck laughed, my apologies, so you are. It's been
a long time since I've seen an otter. This was
good news. If no otters lived here already, then Summer
could make it her home. Perhaps I should stay, Summer suggested.
I do like it here. I think you'd be most welcome,
said the duck. But I must warn you there are
humans in these woods, such curious creatures. You must not
trust them. I've heard of humans, nodded Summer, grateful for
the warning. They wore animal skins for clothing and carried
sharp pointed sticks. I'll make sure I stay well away.
Summer set about exploring her new home. It truly was
a remarkable place. The river was wide and deep and
full of life. The forest around it was thick and
noisy and full of wild life. It was exactly what
the otter had been hoping for. She even located a
hole in the mud of the river bank, hidden amongst
the reeds. Nobody lived there, and it was a perfectly
sized burrow for an otter. Happy with her find, she
left the hole, but instead of dropping into the water,
she thought she ought to explore the river bank above
her new home. Lost in her happy thoughts, Summer wasn't
paying attention to danger, and so walked straight out in
front of three humans. They were a little dirty in
the firs, their long hair pulled back out of their faces.
In their arms, they carried spears and bows, and one
held a basket full of fish. And they'd noticed Summer.
That's a strange looking stoat, said the first human. It's
not a stoat, it's a weasel, insisted the second. Careful,
don't get too close, said the third, with the basket
of fish. There are strange creatures in these woods, Somemmer
remembered the duck, saying not to trust them. With the
humans hesitating, she took the opportunity to escape, leaping from
the bank and into the water. The sudden action caused
the humans to cry out in surprise, clearly, not expecting
the animal to plunge into the river. Summer reappeared on
the far bank, turning to look at the humans, who
all looked on in astonishment. It swims like a fish.
The first human gasped, it was faster than a fox.
The second agreed, we must tell the others of this creature,
whispered the third. Summer watched them go. In future, she
would need to be much more careful. The day wore
on and Summer continued to explore pleasingly. She discovered a
fallen tree lying partly over the water and decided it
would be fun to climb on to it and look around.
This time, she made sure to look around carefully before
climbing the bank. The fallen tree looked solid and safe,
so she climbed up to enjoy the view. The river
looked beautiful from this height, and the warm sun on
her fur was pleasing. Summer was aware of a strong smell,
not one she recognized, but she couldn't see anything that
worried her, so she lay down upon the rough bark
and within moments closed her eyes. This was careless of
the otter, because she failed to notice two humans approached
the river until they bent down to drink. She may
even have gone unnoticed if not for her squeak of
alarm at seeing them so close. It's a small wet dog,
one of the humans said, or a large wet rat,
suggested the other. We should catch it, The first one suggested,
his voice dropping to a whisper. If we're quick, the
other replied. The humans lunged at her, forcing Summer to
leap into the thicket of leaves on the other side
of the fallen tree. She expected thorny stems and poking sticks,
but much to her surprise, she landed upon something soft
and warm. The sleeping bear was awoken, instantly rising up
through the thicket to defend itself from this unexpected intrusion.
In doing so, Summer tumbled to the ground, unnoticed. As
the bear came face to face with the humans across
the log. It has turned into a bear, one of
the humans cried, already breaking into a run. The second
was right at his heels. The bleary eyed bear, not
willing nor awake enough to give chase, watched them go.
It was only then that he noticed the trembling otter
not far from his feet. My apologies for disturbing you,
Summer squeaked. Don't mention it, replied the bear. I'm always
happy to give a human a scare. Are you an otter?
Summer nodded her reply. Don't seem an otters around here,
he said thoughtfully. A word of advice, Steer clear of
those humans. They create stories around the things they don't understand.
I say they're not to be trusted, Somemmer nodded again
as the bear went on his way. She didn't understand
his talk of humans and stories, but was grateful to
have come through the encounter unharmed. She decided it would
be best for now to return to the safety of
the river. By now, Summer was feeling hungry. Luckily, the
river was alive with fish, and that meant a tasty
meal was never far away for a skilled otter. She
caught the biggest fish she could see, dragging it into
the shallows to eat it. But before she could start,
another human approached the river from the opposite bank. His
hair was white, and he walked slowly, wading knee deep
into the water. Summer, still clutching her catch, remained perfectly still,
so it took a moment for the man to spot her.
That's a big fish you've got there, little one, the
man observed. The man's hands were empty, carrying neither spear
nor bow, and he was keeping his distance, with the
deeper water between them. Summer felt safe. She watched as
the man leant into the water and lifted a rock
to which several fresh water mussels were attached. He then
produced a flint knife from a pouch at his side
and began to pry the shell fish from the stone.
Summer liked mussels inside their shells. They were soft and delicious,
although difficult to get at. This human, though, was collecting
them with ease. Would you like to trade, the old man, suggested,
your big fish for a handful of my mussels. Summer's
mouth watered. She really did like mussels, which were hard
for her to get but easy for the human. Fish
would be a better meal for the human, but they
were harder for him to catch. It was a good trade,
but she reminded herself of the words from the duck
and the bear, do not trust the humans. And yet
this old man didn't appear to be a threat. Surely
she could be careful. Summer disappeared beneath the surface swimming
fast despite her load. For a moment, the man thought
she had swum away, until he realized she'd appeared a
little further upstream on his side of the water. The
otter placed the fish on a half submerged rock, then
disappeared under water again. The man let out a surprised
laugh as he collected his fish. A promise is a promise,
he said, and deposited a handful of the fresh water
mussels on the rock before returning to his spot. Summer
was then confident enough to reappear and claim her prize.
She plucked up a mussel and began working with her
claws and teeth to get at the meal inside. Thank you,
said the man to the otter as he climbed from
the water. Perhaps we can trade again some time, hm,
thought Summer. Maybe not. All humans were not to be trusted.
A week later, Summer had settled in nicely. She missed
her family, but her new stretch of river was providing
everything that she needed. Occasionally she would see the duck
or the bear and remember their warnings, and she would
try to understand the bear's words about humans and their stories.
Occasionally she would see the old man and just as
carefully she would make another trade. She was much more
alert when it came to the other humans. They were
often drawn to the water, so she made sure to
stay hidden or to swim away unseen. But then one
day they took her completely by surprise, arriving in a
manner that she could never have expected. They were traveling
on the water. There were two of them, a young
boy and girl, each in a bowl shaped boat covered
in animal skin. Summer couldn't know it, but these were coracles.
The children steered the coracles with their hands in the
slow water, moving almost silently, which meant that Summer didn't
notice them until they were almost upon her. There it is,
the boy, whispered to his companion. That's the river Guardian
we've heard tails about. The girl smiled broadly. It can
swim like a fish, but also walk on the land,
she said, with admiration, And it can shape shift, becoming
another animal if it chooses, declared the boy to Summer's
surprised ears. Is it dangerous, asked the girl. Not if
we show respect, warned the boy. Grandfather said that as
long as we respect the river, the Guardian will give
us its blessing. I wish it would catch me the
biggest fish in the river, just like grandfather's grinned the girl.
Summer didn't think the fish she had caught for the
old man had been that big, even so, she sat
up straighter, holding their gaze. The coracles were being pulled
down stream by the river's floe, carrying the children slowly
past the otter, and as they passed, the two humans
bowed their heads in respect. Please, Guardian of the river,
grant us safe passage, the boy said, And grant us
good luck, the girl added quickly, not really sure why
she did it, Summer dipped her head in reply, looking
relig but happy. The two humans sailed away, never taking
their eyes from her until they were out of sight.
So this was what the bear had meant. Humans really
did make up stories in their eyes. She was now
a shape shifting river guardian. I'll fancy that. And it
would seem that, just maybe the duck and the bear
had spoken too hastily when they warned her not to
trust the humans rather than fear them. The humans had
shown her respect, and in return she had done so too.
To Summer, this seemed like a much better way to live,
and so the otter who never truly thought of herself
as a guardian of the river, but was amused by
the title all the same, settled into a comfortable but
respectful routine, and because of a little respect, otter and
human could live happily together. Animal fact, the otter in
our story is a Eurasian otter, although there are another
thirteen different species of otter found throughout the world. They
are amazingly graceful and fast in the water, using their
webbed feet and flexible bodies to steer and chase after
swift swimming fish. They'll also eat frogs, worms, eggs, shell fish,
and even birds and small mammals if they can catch them.
Otters were at great risk of extinction due to the
pollution created by humans, although efforts to clean up our
waterways have seen them bounce back. As long as we
do our part, they should be here to stay. Thank
you for your suggestions, Summer. We hope that you all
enjoyed the story. Wherever you're listening in the world, don't
forget to look at our Animal Tales books over on Amazon.
Great bedtime reading, especially if you've discovered the joy of
reading for yourself. Make sure you join us next time
for another great animal tale. Good Bye,