Speaker 1: Yeah, Hello, and welcome to a special Animal Tales podcast
story for Christmas. Louise is from Australia and she'd like
a story with a Quaker. Remember that you can learn
more about these animals in the facts after the story.
For now, it's time to sit back and get comfy,
because it's time to begin the Quaker's Christmas quest. Louise
hung the last bauble on the tree and flicked on
the lights. She felt quite proud of herself for decorating
it all on her own. It was only a week
until Christmas, and the Little Quaker was excited. She was
looking forward to Christmas morning, where she would wake up early,
open her presents with her family, and then head down
to the beach for a delicious Christmas dinner barbecue. Louise
was just packing up the last of the boxes when
she heard the postman drop something through her letter box.
It was a single red envelope with a stamp in
the corner. It had the words card only scrawled across
the bottom corner. Yes, she said, with glee, my first
Christmas card. Tearing open the envelope, the Little Quaker pulled
out the card showing a Christmas tree next to a
roaring fire on a table, sat a steaming pudding, and
outside the window it was snowing. Louise stared at the
picture in wonder. The scene was nothing like her room.
She lived in Australia, where Christmas happened during the summer.
It was far too hot to be lighting a fire,
and then Louise had never even seen real snow. She
couldn't help but wonder how wonderful it would be to
be surrounded by snow. While opening her presence inside, Louise
saw that the card was from her friend Carla A Koala,
who had moved to England earlier in the year. Carla
had added a message which read, Christmas in England is
so similar yet so different. It's much colder and wetter,
and they don't even visit the beach. Hope you have
a lovely Christmas, Love Carla. Returning to the picture on
the front, Louise realized that she quite liked how warm,
snugly and pretty the scene looked. The fireplace, the pudding,
and the snow looked so special. I'm going to experience
a Christmas like that, she decided. With the decision made,
the Quaker hopped over to her computer to book a
seat on a plane. She'd never done such a thing
before and wasn't really sure what she was doing. Her
eye noticed a flight to somewhere called Nigeria. I wonder
if Nigeria is near England, she thought. Caught up in
the excitement, she didn't even bother to check. She just
bought her ticket, packed her bag, and set out for
the airport. Nigeria, it turned out, was a country in
central Africa. After a long flight and a taxi ride,
Louise eventually found herself in a small Nigerian town. The
houses and buildings were decorated for Christmas with lights, tinsel
and palm fronds, and the streets were bustling with happy animals.
Excuse me, said an ardvark politely as she struggled to
get past Louise. The ardvark was carrying several heavy shopping bags.
Please let me help you, the quaker insisted, taking half
the load. The ardvark looked relieved, and the pair quickly
fell into happy chatter as they walked along. It's very
busy here, Louise said. Is this all for Christmas? Of course,
laughed the ardvark. Christmas is all about family. Here, every
one returns home to the villages and towns therefrom to
celebrate with family and friends and plenty of good food.
How wonderful, said Louise. That sounds like Christmases back home.
They arrived at the Ardvark's home, allowing them both to
set the bags down. Once done, Louise pulled out the
Christmas card that Carla had sent her and asked, does
your Christmas look like this? A little? The Ardvark replied,
but we don't need a big fire, and there's certainly
no snow. Our Christmas involves lots of singing and lots
of food. We wear our best clothes, we set off
lots of fireworks, and then we eat some more. Louise laughed.
It sounds like you have a proper party. Then stay
and join us, insisted the Ardvark. The Quaker considered this seriously,
but then shook her head. Maybe next year, she said,
tapping the picture on the card. This year, I'd really
like to experience something like this. The Ardvark insisted that
she at least stay the night, so Louise spent the
time booking another flight. There was still time before Christmas
to find what she was looking for she found a
country called the Netherlands. Perhaps this was close to England,
so the following day Louise caught another plane that flew
across Africa and into Europe. Touching down in the Netherlands,
Louise was immediately shocked by the cold. There were no
chilling winds like this back home in Australia. Here in
the Netherlands, the air made her shiver. Outside the airport,
she found a Christmas market and decided it would be
wise to buy herself a warm scarf to protect from
the cold. The market was extremely beautiful. Little stalls bustled
with animals, Pretty lights hung everywhere, and the smell of
hot food filled the air. It didn't take long to
find a stall selling knitted clothes. She was just admiring
the scarves when the owner of the stall, a tawny owl,
spotted her. You look a little chilly, said the owl.
Oh I am, Louise joked. I didn't think about how
cold it would be on my travels. Where are you from,
asked the owl. Australia, explained the quaker. My Christmas back
home is always hot, so this year I thought i'd
experience something different. I'm sure, you'll experience a very different Christmas.
In the Netherlands, chuckled the tawny owl. A couple of
weeks ago, we were visited by ciner class who brought
gifts and food, and we had a huge feast. Soon
at Christmas we will celebrate with more gifts, family and food. Oh,
I like that, grinned Louise. That's like having two Christmases.
She fished the Christmas card out from her pocket and
showed it to the owl. Will your Christmas look like this?
Something like that? Yes, that looks very close, the owl said,
although I'm not sure what that food is on the table.
That's a Christmas pudding. It's like a hot fruit cake,
Louise explained. Have you never tried one? No, the owl replied,
In the Netherlands we have a different treat made from chocolate,
almonds and puff pastry. Now that does sound delicious. The
quaker admitted, I think I'll have to come back another
year and try some. But this Christmas I have something
else in mind. She bought a scarf and waved goodbye
to the friendly owl. Still feeling chilly, she ducked into
a warm coffee shop and bought herself a deeming hot chocolate.
As she sat there, she studied the Christmas card again.
She really did want to experience all of the things
she could see in the picture, so she pulled out
her phone and looked for another flight ah England, she said, excitedly,
that's where I want to go, and luckily for the
little Quaker it was very close. Indeed, Louise arrived in
a very wet, very gray England soon afterwards. Disappointingly, it
was nothing like the scene on the card at all.
She realized that she hadn't planned on what to do
once she'd arrived, so did the only thing she could
think of. She went to find Carla Louise. Carla cried
as she opened the door to the soggy Quaker. Come
in before you catch a cold. Despite being completmpletely unexpected,
the Coala made her friend instantly welcome. She led Louise
into the living room, where a Christmas tree twinkled and
a fire roared. It was just what the Quaker needed.
What are you doing here, Louise, Carla asked, as she
passed over a hot drink. It was your card, Louise confessed,
pulling it out. I loved it so much that I
wanted to experience a Christmas like it for myself. The
Cooala laughed with delight. How adventurous of you, Carla giggled. Well,
I have the tree and the fireplace, and I even
have the Christmas pudding. But I'm afraid it's not likely
to snow, not with all this rain about. Louise's heart sank.
That's a shame. I've never seen snow, the Quaker said.
I think it's the part of the picture I liked
the most cold outside, yet warm and cozy inside. It's close,
Carla said, But if it means that much to you,
you'll have to go further north, then I will, said
a determined Louise. I've still got time. So the very
next day, Louise went to where no Quaker had ever
been before, the North Pole. She was glad she'd bought
a scarf, because it was very cold, but very pretty
with its covering of snow. Unfortunately, there wasn't much else.
She couldn't see a single animal or home wherever she looked.
It grew dark early, and the cold began to bite
at her nose and sting her cheeks. Then from out
of the darkness, she saw a light. Snow began to
fall as she followed it to find a lantern hanging
beside a thick wooden door, poking from a large mound
of snow. Curious, Louise knocked. Come in, boomed a friendly voice.
As the door swung open to reveal a brightly lit room.
Louise hurried inside, closing the door behind her. It was
like magic. Louise was in a living room with a fireplace,
a Christmas tree, and a window through which the snow
fell silently. You've come an awfully long way, the voice said.
Louise turned to see a man stood in a doorway.
He had a white beard and black boots, and he
was wearing a red suit and hat. Sit and warm
yourself by the fire, said Father Christmas. I'll get you
some Christmas pudding. Louise did as he said, taking a
seat in a large arm chair. Father Christmas returned a
moment later carrying two bowls of steaming Christmas pudding. Now,
little Quaker, Father Christmas said, once Louise had eaten, what
brings you to my workshop? I wanted a Christmas that
looked like this, Louise explained, showing him Carla's card, and
here it is. Father Christmas studied the card, then let
out a jolly laugh. It does look magical, he said.
He reached up to the mantel piece and lifted down
one of the Christmas cards on display. This is my
favorite card, he said softly. The drawing on the front
showed Father Christmas on a surfboard wearing sunglasses alongside a
surfing kangaroo. That's Australia, Louise laughed. I've always intended to
take a holiday there, Father Christmas sighed, but never got
around to it. Do you enjoy Christmas there? Oh? I
love it, Louise said, especially being with my family. Won't
you miss them being on the other side of the world.
Father Christmas asked, I think I will, admitted the Quaker
as she gazed around the cozy room. It was a
lovely place to be, but she realized what made Christmas
really special was who you spent it with. I'll tell
you what, Father Christmas smiled. It's Christmas Eve, so I'll
be leaving soon and Australia's one of my first stops.
Would you care to join me? I'd love to, Louise grinned,
and so it was that the little Quaker spent Christmas
Day in the warmth of the Australian sun. All her
family were there, as were plenty of presents, mountains of food,
and a fabulous Christmas barbecue on the beach. Louise sat
upon the sand with a full belly and once more
took out Carla's card. She was glad she'd taken her
trip and seen all the different ways people celebrated Christmas,
but it was still nice to be here back home,
and as she stared happily at the card, she failed
to notice the lone surfer out on the waves with
a long white beard. Animals fat Quakers are related to
kangaroos and wallabies and move around by hopping. Females also
have a pouch in which to carry their developing baby,
known as a joey. Their tails serve as a way
to store fat, like a camel's hump, and they can
live off this fat store when food and water is
hard to find. Kangaroos are territorial, which means they don't
like kangaroos they don't know invading their space. Quackers, though,
are much more relaxed on the islands where they live.
They're even happy to hop up to people. They're also
sometimes called the happiest animal in the world due to
the way that they look like they're smiling. Who knows,
maybe they are. Thank you for your suggestion, Louise. We
hope you enjoyed the tale, and thank you to all
of you across the world for listening to it. If
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time for another great animal tale, and have a very
merry Christmas.