Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to a special taster of our new
premium only story. We hope you like it. Hey Yale, Hello,
I'm Josephine and this is the Animal Tales podcast, home
to over four hundred and fifty stories written just for you.
Our Friday story is especially for our premium subscribers only.
Eli is a Premium member from Bend in Oregon, U
s A. And he would like a story with a
cheetah and a black emperor scorpion. Don't forget to listen
to the animal facts after the story to learn more
about these creatures. For now, it's time to sit back
and get comfy, because it's time to begin pinches and stings.
A cheetah was once sunbathing upon an old termite mound,
watching a distant herd of wilderbeast and zebra amongst the
long grass. The day was warm, making the cheetah feel sleepy,
and so gradually the cheetah closed her eyes. Good morning,
said a voice, startling the spotted cat. It took her
a moment to locate the source of the greeting, for
the speaker was below her, low to the ground, a
large black emperor scorpion. Are you talking to me, said
the cheetah, sounding surprised. Of course, said the Emperor scorpion cheerfully.
I was just wondering, are there any tasty termites in
that old termite mound you're sitting on. I wouldn't be
sack here if there were, said the cheetah, sniffily. I
wouldn't want to be pinched and stung by the little crite,
now would I. That's a shame, said the scorpion. He
considered the cheetah for a moment, then said, sure, is
high up there. Can you see a long long way?
This wasn't quite true. The old termite mound was only
a little taller than the cheetah. But to a scorpion,
even one as large as an Emperor scorpion who spent
his life low to the ground, the old termite mound
was enormous. The cheetah shrugged. I can see the zebra
and the wilderbeast herds crossing the plain, she said, matter
of factly. It wasn't impressive to her, as it was
a scene she saw often. Wow, said the scorpion, whose
view of the world was just stones, dirt and the
base of plants. That sounds amazing. I've seen a zebra's
foot before, and once I saw a wilderby snows when
it bent down to bite some grass. But I can't
imagine what an entire herd must look like. May I
climb up and join you so I can see for myself?
Certainly not, said the cheater. You're no better than a termite.
Your pincers pinch and your tail stings. So no, I
do not want you to climb up here. Oh, said
the Emperor Scorpion, sadly, I understand. Saddened, he wandered away
and was soon lost amongst the long grass. A little later,
the cheetah decided that she was thirsty, which meant a
short trip to the water hole to get herself a drink.
She enjoyed going there because there were always plenty of
animals to see and friends to catch up with. She
emerged from the long grass to see that to day
there was a marabou stork stood in the shallows, a
group of hyaenas on the water holes far side, and
near by a wart hog taking a long, deep drink.
Hi cecil, said the cheeta. Upon recognizing the wart hog,
are you well? The wart hog lifted his long, lumpy
bumpy head and smiled. I'm marvelous. As a matter of fact,
replied Cecil. I was just saying to my friend Zuri,
the Maraboo stalk, that I've never felt better. The Maraboo
stork turned her bald, pink head and heavy beak and added,
it must be all this wonderful weather we're having. The
Cheetera agreed that this may well be the case, before
bending her head to drink. She lapped at the water
for several seconds before realizing that her head was level
with a large black lump. Hello again, said the Emperor Scorpion.
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