Speaker 1: Yo, 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. You can listen
to all Animal Tales stories advert free via our premium service,
where you'll also get over ninety premium only stories. Find
out more in the text that accompanies this episode, and
remember for a tiny fee, they're advert free. Laylor and
Evan are from Toronto in Canada and they would like
a story with a lion, a kawate, a boa constrictor,
and a thorny devil. You can learn more about these
creatures in the Animal Facts off to the story. Now,
settle back, relax, and I'll begin meal time Muddel. It
was a busy evening at the Grazing Spot restaurant, and
Layla and Evan had just arrived to begin their shifts.
The two cappy bar of friends had been working at
the restaurant for a few weeks. They were both enjoying
it and were getting used to taking orders, wiping tables,
and carrying trays of food. It was a nice place
to work, even if their manager, Larry, who was a
Hyaena was rather strict. It's busy tonight, so I expect
everyone to be giving one hundred and ten percent, Larry
said when they arrived. Work hard, work fast, and above all,
keep the customers happy. Layla and ev nodded and got
to work. So far, the two of them had made
a good team during the busy period. I'll wipe down
those tables while you start taking orders, Evan suggested. Sounds
good to me, Laylah replied. She grabbed her apron and
notepad before heading over to the seating area. Larry had
been right. It was busy that night. Animals of all
shapes and sizes were taking up almost every chair. Most
of the tables had already been seen to by some
of the other waiters, but Layelah spotted two animals waiting
patiently in the back left hand corner by the window.
One was a lioness and the other a large bower constrictor.
Good evening, I'm Laylah and i'll be your server to day,
she said, with a smile. Can I start you off
with some drinks and starters? Sounds great, the lioness replied,
I'll take a lemonade and the soup of the day,
and I'll have an apple porjuice and the prawns, the
borough constrictor added. Laylah wrote this down, great, those will
be with you shortly, she said. She then dropped the
order off at the kitchen and delivered the drinks. She
was just returning to collect the starters when Larry the
Hyaena appeared at her side. Come with me, he ordered, Sharply,
a tray of drinks has been spilt. I need you
to clean it up. Layelah wanted to protest. She didn't
want to keep her table waiting, but Larry was in charge.
She had to do what he asked. Evan, she called
out as she saw her fellow Cappi Bara approaching. Can
you take the soup and prawn starters to my table
for me? There sat in the back corner a reptile
and a mammal. Sure thing, Evan replied, happy to help
Laylah out. Adjusting his apron Evan grabbed the two plates
from the kitchen hatch and turned to the restaurant floor.
His eyes quickly fell on a reptile and a mammal
in the back corner by the fireplace. It was a
kowati and a thorny devil lizard that must be who
Layelah meant? Good evening, said Evan, happily. I have a
soup of the day and some prawns. Oh that was quick,
said the Kuwati, who had only just sat down and
not yet ordered. I'm not sure we want those, though,
they're not to my taste, sniffed the thorny devil. I
want to order something else er, of course, said Evan.
How strange to order something and then change your mind
when the food arrives. Um, what can I get you instead?
I'll have the garlic bread, the thorny devil replied, and
the salad for me, please, the quartie added. Evan nodded,
taking the original plates away. He didn't know why they'd
changed their minds. Maybe they hadn't liked the look of
them when they saw them. He returned the plates to
the kitchen hatch and passed on the new order. A
short distance away, a family of otters were leaving, so
he went over to clear their table. Seconds later, Layelah
returned from cleaning up the spilled drinks. Here's the replacement
starters for your table, said the chef, a crocodile, and
he pushed forward the new plates, Laylah frowned. Replacement, she asked,
but the crocodile was already busy with something else. Shrugging
her shoulders, Layelah took the new plates to the table
by the window. You're starters, she said, placing down the
garlic bread and the salad. That's not what we wanted,
the lioness said. We asked for the soup and the prawns,
added the borough Constrictor, but began Layelah, but decided not
to argue very well, I'll have those with you. Shortly,
she returned to the kitchen hatch and sat down the
plates right next to the soup and the prawns where
even had left them. Picking up the order, she rushed
back to the table by the window. Just as Evan returned.
There was the garlic, bread and salad, so he scooped
them up and delivered them to the table by the fireplace.
Sorry about the weight, he said to the thorny devil
and the Kouati. Layelah made herself busy before returning to
the table by the window. What would you like for
a main meal? She asked. Meanwhile, on the other side
of the busy restaurant, Evan had seen that Laylah was
too busy to deal with her mammal and reptile table
by the fireplace. I'll take care of it, he said helpfully,
and went to get their order for their main meal.
Both Cabi barers passed the orders to the kitchen, wiped
more tables, and fetched more drinks. It was Evan who
returned to the kitchen hatch first, finding two trays with
covers over them to keep the food hot. Which is mine,
he called to the crocodile. The one on the left,
replied the chef. The other one is Laila's. Unfortunately, the
crocodile meant the one on his left, which from the
opposite side of the hatch, was the tray on Evan's right.
Evan took the left tray just as Laylah arrived. That
one's yours, he said, nodding to the other tray at
the thorny Devil and Cowati's table. He lifted the cover
and set down the plates. That's not right, said the Kuwati.
I ordered fruit and nuts, and this is fish, complained
the thorny Devil. I would never order this. I wanted
the ant surprise. I'm terribly sorry, said Evan, just as
a scream cut across the restaurant floor. By the window,
a borough constrictor was desperately trying to shake off a
multitude of ants. This isn't what I ordered, he cried. Laylah,
feeling quite dreadful at the mix up, rushed to brush
the ants back onto the plate. I am so sorry,
she said. There must have been a mix up in
the kitchen. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment as she
returned to the kitchen. It was there that she came
face to face with a very cross looking Larry. What's
going on? The Hyaena snapped, why was your table shouting?
My table got the wrong food? Layla explained. I was
just about to sort it out with the kitchen. The
Hyaena rubbed his forehead in frustration. You do that, he said,
I'll get them some free drinks. Which table was it?
The back corner, the one with the big snake, Laila replied.
Larry nodded and went to fetch his finest bottle of Bubbly.
While all this was happening, the borough constrictor was convinced
he could still feel an ant down his shirt, so
excusing himself, he went to the bathroom to check, only
to spot his old friend sat near the fireplace. This
meant that when Larry looked for a table in a
corner with a big snake, he saw one with a
kuwati and a thorny devil. Putting on his best server smile,
Larry hurried over to deliver the bottle. As he got close,
he saw the snake leave for the bathroom. No werries,
Larry thought he could still deliver the bubbly. I terribly
sorry about the mix up, he gushed. Please enjoy this
free bottle of expensive Bubbly, he said, placing the bottle
on the table. Oh that's very kind of you, the
Kuwati said, But it really wasn't that bad a mix up.
That's kind of you to say so, But we do
want our guests to be happy, Larry said sweetly. Now,
enjoy your drinks and I'm sure your meals will be
with you in just a moment. On the other side
of the restaurant, Evan had entered the kitchen in order
to understand and what had gone wrong. You told me
it was the tray on the left, Evan said, my left,
my left, not your left. The crocodile replied, Look, let's
not argue. We just need new meals as soon as possible.
Evan sighed. Larry's giving my table free drinks, added Laylah.
That should help smooth things over your table, Evan said,
looking puzzled. But I just saw him take a bottle
to my table. Why would he do that, Layla asked.
I told him it was the back corner, but that's
where my table is, in the back corner, Evan said,
I took it over from you earlier. You didn't take
it over, Layelah insisted, I've been serving them all night,
to the mammal and the reptile. Yeah, that's who I've
been serving, continued Evan. A kowaate and a thorny devil, no,
shrieked Laylah. A lioness and a boa constrictor. Oh no,
said Laylah quietly, as they dashed for the kitchen door.
No running, we've just mopped. The chef called after them,
but it was too late. Laylah and Evan both slipped,
skidding across the floor. Laylah collided with a large pot
of cold soup, while Evan crashed into the salad station.
That was when Larry walked in. What on earth is
going on, he bellowed. Laylah was wiping cold soup from
her eyes, while Evan was plucking lettuce and tomato from
his ear. I don't know what's going on to day,
but we have two disappointed tables out there, Larry growled.
They've been given the wrong food, been made to wait,
and now it looks like we're ignoring them altogether. It's
so late now they're almost the only two tables left.
I want this sorted out, and I want it sorted
out now, Layla and Evan both nodded meekly. They collected
the correct plates from chef and prepared to face their
grumpy customers. But what they found wasn't what they expected.
There weren't two tables waiting for their food. There was
only one, a table of four made up of a lioness,
a borough constrictor, a kui, and a thorny devil. I
really hope you don't mind, said the lioness warmly. But
we realized our friends were here and this bigger table
was available, so we thought we might all sit together.
That be okay, of course, Laylah said with relief, looking
at the two reptiles and the two mammals, dreadfully sorry
about the weight, but we have your meals right here.
I can't believe you ordered ants. The Boa Constrictor laughed
as he saw the thorny devil's meal. The karate was
busy filling glasses from the bottle of bubbly. Hey, isn't
this great? She said, We've got the whole restaurant to ourselves. Well,
if you need anything else, said Evan, just let myself
or Laylah know right away. We'll both be here to
look after you. The two cappy baras left their guests,
chatting and laughing as they tucked into their meals. At last,
everything seemed to be going according to plan. Thank goodness,
that's all over, said feeling relieved. I agree, Layla replied,
maybe it's time that Larry gave all the tables a number.
I don't want to go getting in a muddle like
that again. Me neither, chuckled Evan. Oi, you two, said
the crocodile from the other side of the kitchen hatch.
You're not out of trouble yet. What is it, asked Layla.
What's wrong? Wondered Evan. There's soup and salad all over
the floor in here, and it needs clearing up, said
shef come on, jump to it. We'd better get on
with it, sighed Layla. Yes, chuckled Evan, we wouldn't want
it to attract any more ants. Animal fact our story
features a mix up between mammals and reptiles. Do you
know the difference between the two kinds of creature? Mammals
produce milk to feed their young, have hair, and for
the most part, give birth to live young. Examples of
mammals are gorillas, giraffes, dolphins, and mice. Reptiles tend to
have scaly skins, need to bask in the sun to
warm their bodies, and mostly they lay eggs. Examples include turtles, snakes, lizards,
and alligators. Can you think of more examples of each?
Thank you for your great suggestions, Layla and Evan. 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. Goodbye,