Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to a special taster of our new
premium only story. We hope you like it. Hey yo, Hello,
I'm Josephine and this is the Animal Tales podcast. There
are over one hundred extra stories on our premium service,
with a new one released every Friday, and this is
another one. Isabel is a premium member from England and
she would like a story with a cat, a unicorn
and a mermaid. Don't forget to listen to the animal
facts after the story to learn more about these creatures.
If you'd like to suggest an animal for a story,
then please do let us know at podcast at Animaltales
dot UK. As premium listeners, we guarantee to write one
for you. For now, it's time to sit back and
get comfy, because it's time to begin the Sleeping Kingdom.
Once upon a time, Princess Isabel woke up to a
very quiet castle. This was extremely odd. Usually mornings in
the castle would be loud and busy, but all Isabel
could hear was the faint whistle of the wind. She
couldn't hear any people bustling about in the hallways or
calling to each other in the courtyard. There were no
pattering feet. There was no humming or singing, nor the
sounds of carts trundling by. Everything was strangely, worryingly quiet.
Stranger still, her window was covered in leafy vines, blocking
the view. Pulling on her favorite dress, Princess Isabel decided
to leave her room to investigate. She soon found more
of the vines, looping through windows and curling around pillars
and door frames. Green tendril snaked down and around stairways,
across hallways, and over ceilings. Wherever the vine sat in
the shade, pink blooms flowered. But where were the people
creeping through the castle? Princess Isabel grew more and more concerned.
There wasn't a soul anywhere where had everyone gone? Stepping
over a particularly thick vine, Isabel entered the Great Hall
and was relieved to hear snoring That meant that someone
was here. It was one of the palace guards, Sir Gregor,
snoring softly beside the throne. He was surrounded by the
vines and their pink flowers. Sir Gregory, Princess Isabel said, gently,
rocking the guard's shoulder, but Sir Gregory only snored louder
At this point she was the closest she'd been to
the pink petals. Curious, she leaned closer to the nearest flower,
detecting a sickly sweet smell. The flower seemed to open further,
with pollen sparkling in the air as she bent over
to sniff the beautiful bloom. Don't do that, shouted a
warning voice. So surprised was Isabel that she jolted backwards,
her head clearing almost immediately. She hadn't realized quite how
sleepy she'd been feeling just the moment before. The voice,
she realized had come from Gracie, her black and white cat.
Whatever you do, don't sniff the flowers, warned Gracie firmly.
You didn't sniff them, did you, almost admitted Princess Isabel. Well,
it looks as if you didn't breathe too much in,
Gracee said, looking satisfied. I arrived just in time. What's
going on, Isabel asked? Where is every one sleeping? The
cat stated, They all sniffed the flowers then boom straight
to dreamland. But can't we wake them up? Isabel asked,
I've tried. The cat replied, nothing works. Clearly the vine
is the problem, suggested Isabel. Maybe we can learn more
by finding out where it's come from. That's a good idea,
said Gracie. We should go together. If you'd like to
hear more, please join our premium service. You can find
out how in the description. The premium service means you
can listen to all animal tales stories advert free, get
bonus stories, and we guarantee to turn your animal suggestion
into a future tale. I look forward to seeing you there.