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free Grace. Kitty, z Jaden and Archie are from England
and they would like a story with a Welsh cob,
a sheep, Polish frizzled chickens and a hornet. You can
learn more about some of these creatures in the Animal
Facts after the story. Now settle back, relax, and I'll
begin farm Yard Hornet. The trees and flowers whizzed past
a blur of green, yellow, and blue. Z ducked and dived,
dodging branches and sailing past leaves, his wings beating furiously
as he zipped through the air. The young hornet was
excited to be flying fast and free. Z took a
moment to rest, landing on a bramble leaf on the
edge of the woods. He'd never flown this far before.
The strange land beyond the trees was all new to him.
Deep in the woods, Z lived in a colony with
other hornets. Some had spoken of this place and of
the bizarre animals that could be found there, filling Z's
head with wonder, it was something he now wanted to
experience for himself. He took off again, buzzing across a
hillside made of a wide rectangle of grass. There wasn't
a single tree growing upon it. The hill curled downwards
to several large buildings, objects that Z had never seen before.
Hey there, called out Z to a passing butterfly. What's
that down there? That's a farm, of course, said the
butterfly lazily. What does a farm do exactly? Z asked.
It's where farm animals live, answered the butterfly. Everyone knows that,
Z though hadn't known that, so he decided to take
a closer look. Flying low, Z crossed a fence and
soon spotted his first farm animals. It was a pair
of birds, one brown and one white, scratching at the
dirt as they searched for things to eat. Z had
never seen birds like these before. They had lots of
fluffy feathers and a big halo around their head covering
their eyes. Hello, he said, hovering near by. I'm Z.
The chickens raised their heads, but their fluffy feathers made
it difficult to see. Who said that, said the brown bird.
Show yourself, said the white one. I'm er right here,
Z said, buzzing closer to their faces. What are you,
said the brown bird. Are you a bird? Asked the
white one. No, no, here, let me help, said Z.
He flew closer, still flapping his wings really hard to
blow the feathers out of their eyes. It's a wasp,
cried the brown bird, in fright. I'm not a wasp.
Z tried to explain, but it was no use. The
birds didn't fly away, but ran in circles, sending up
a cloud of dust and feathers. It was such a
commotion that Z took fright, backing away rapidly, shaking slightly.
He settled on a fence post just as a new
creature arrived. This one had a creamy white covering and
reminded Ze of a cloud with legs. Jadon, what's all
this noise about, asked the cloud creature. Oh, kitty, you're
not going to believe it, answered Jadon. The brown bird
Archie and I have had such a scare. We were
attacked by a huge bug, wailed Archie. The white bird
a bug, repeated the animal called Kitty, clearly unimpressed. Why
is it always some sort of nonsense with you two
frizzle chickens, Hey, objected Jadon. That time you caught us
in the feed bins. We really were chasing a ghost, yeah,
nodded Archie, making his feathery fringe flop about. And I
still say it's worth standing in the rain to see
if any fish fall out of the sky. Kitty tutted,
And what precisely did this huge bug look like? She asked.
It was a wasp, said Jadon, and a big one,
at least double the size, added Archie, with red eyes
instead of black. Kitty shook her head, not believing them.
They couldn't see past their own feathers half the time. Well,
whatever you think you saw, it's gone. Now. Just keep
the noise down, okay. From the fence post, Zee watched
Kitty the cloud creature trot away, leaving the two frizzled
chickens to give a shake and begin pecking at the
ground again. He felt bad for giving them such a fright.
He certainly hadn't meant to, so he thought it would
be good manners to apologize. Taking a deep breath, Ze
buzzed over. Hello again, He called out about earlier wasp.
There it is, Jadon cried, defend yourself, Archie. The chickens
jumped into fighting stances, legs apart and wingtips held ready
to strike. Unfortunately they couldn't see properly, so we're both
facing the wrong way. Leave us alone, Archie cried, and
take all your wasp friends with you. I'm not a wasp.
Ze tried to explain. I've just come to see your farm.
I've never seen such a thing. Sting did he say?
Sting screeked Jaden. Look out, screamed Archie, and the pair
of chickens began running in circles again. Ze felt he
had no choice but to retreat again, rising above them,
what's all this racket? Boomed Kitty, the cloud creature arriving
with urgency. It's the giant wasp. Archie yelped, it's back.
Kitty looked about her boys. There's no giant wasp, she said.
I'm not a wasp, said Ze. Kitty looked up to
see a large red eyed insect hovering over her wasp,
she screamed, suddenly, all in a panic. This set the
chickens off again, filling the yard with a flurry of
feathers and wool. As the three creatures dashed about madly.
Retreating to a nearby roof, was unsure of how to proceed.
His visit to the farm wasn't going very well at all. Then,
directly beneath him, an even bigger animal than the cloud
creature emerged from the building. It had a long face
and just one large, hard toe on each foot. What
on earth are you three doing, asked the giant. Oh, Grace,
it's terrible, whined Jaden. We've all been attacked by a
giant wasp. It was horrible, Archie added. I'm used to
you frizzle chickens creating a fuss, said Grace, but I
expect more from a sheep. What exactly is going on, Kitty?
The sheep suddenly felt quite embarrassed. It's true, Grace, Kitty said.
It was a giant wasp with big wings, red eyes,
and a huge stinger. Not you too, Kitty, Grace sighed,
I'm sure it wasn't that bad. It was the sheep insisted,
we're not exaggerating. Grace shook her large head. I think
that's quite enough, she said. All your noise is disturbing
the other animals. Let that be the end of it.
Up on the roof, Ze was feeling very disappointed. This
is no good, He said to himself, I still have
no idea what this farm is. Maybe I'm just talking
to the wrong animals. This lot behaved very strangely every
time I try to talk to them. Perhaps there's a
different creature I could talk to. With a flicker of wings,
he was airborne again, leaving the frizzle chickens, the sheep,
and the big giant behind. He zigged and zag up
the farmyard, hovering over nooks and crannies as he searched
for someone to talk to. This search took him in
a big loop, bringing him back to where he'd started.
There was no sign of the animals from earlier, although
there was the doorway that the giant had emerged from.
He decided to take a look inside. The only animals
he could see were huddled amongst some straw, two frizzle
chickens and one sheep, with the giant stood beside them.
I wonder what they're doing now, said Se to himself
as he dared to get a little closer. The giant
appeared to be talking. You can't hide in here forever,
she was saying, We can, insisted Archie, at least until
we know it's safe. But it is safe, Grace insisted.
There are no such things as giant wasps. That's right,
said Z, trying to be helpful. See I'm not a wasp.
This time it was Grace who screamed, her ears laid backwards,
and her hoofs pounding the ground. For the third time
that day, Z was surrounded by panicking, shouting, running animals.
They tore up the straw, neighed and bleated, and squawked
and crowed as they filled the air with dust and noise.
It was pandemonium and all too much for Z, who
was used to the peace and quiet of the woods. Stop,
he shouted at the top of his voice. Please, will
you all stop? Why is that so you can sting us,
winnied the trembling giant. Ah, so now she believes us,
said Jadon. Not such a brave Welsh cob pony, now is,
she added Archie. Look, I'm not going to sting anybody,
insisted Ze. But you're a giant wasp, said Kitty the Sheep,
that's what wasps do Ze sighed with frustration. But I
keep telling you I'm not a wasp, he said, Then
what are you? Scoffed Grace. I'm a hornet, Ze replied patiently.
All I wanted to do was look around your farm.
I'm not buying it, said Jaden. He looks like a
wasp to me. What are you talking about, laughed Grace.
You can't see a thing through that fringe look, said
Kitty the Sheep. Maybe you do look a little different
to a wasp, but you need to understand that we
just don't like them. They buzz around your head, Archie said,
and and on your food, added Jadon. And they can
sting you, said Kitty. And getting stung hurts, pointed out Grace.
And you may not be a wasp, but you have
an even bigger stinger. I do, admitted Se, but I've
never used it. Have any of you actually been stung
by a wasp? Well er No, said the Welsh cob pony,
But we could have been. I don't go around looking
to sting animals, said Se. And I'm quite sure, wasps
are the same. If you treat them nicely, they'll treat
you nicely. That's how I see things anyway. But you
could sting us, said Kitty if you wanted to. And
I'm sure any of you could hurt me too, See
replied You're much bigger than me, and you've got claws
and beaks and hoofs. You could squish me easily. I
should be just as worried about you as you are
of me. But I wouldn't squish anybody, Grace said, I
could never be so mean, said Kitty. You're a lot
braver than we've been, said Jadon. Yea, considering you're so small,
added Archie. We haven't made a very good first impression,
have we, stated the pony. I think I understand why now,
said c But I'd still like to learn more about
your farm. If you're willing to show me, I think
we owe it to you, said Kitty, with a smile.
We may have overreacted just a little. Oh, let's take
the little guy to see the cows, said Jadon. Suddenly,
and the ducks. Archie suggested, z couldn't have been more pleased.
What followed was one of the most unusual but very
special farm tours ever seen. Two frizzled chickens, the sheep
and the Welsh cob Pony made sure to introduce C calmly,
making sure the animals understood that they were in no
danger and that, yes, he looked like a wasp, but
he wasn't one. Once they were done and Z had
met every one his new friends, asked what he thought
of their home. It's very interesting, admitted Z, and very
different to where I live. I can't say I really
understand what a farm is for, but I've enjoyed meeting
every single one of you, and we've all enjoyed getting
to know U, Z, said Kitty the Sheep. You've not
been what we expected at all, said Grace the pony.
I think that next time we come across a situation
like this, we'll try a little patience and understanding first.
I'm glad to hear it, said Sea, as a vehicle
poured into the far end of the farmyard and a
man and a dog climbed out. What sort of farm
animals are those two, asked the hornet. I'll tell you what,
grinned Grace. Come back tomorrow and you can find out
animal fat. In England, where our story is set, the
native hornet is not aggressive. They feed on other insects,
including wasps, so are helpful to have around. Polish frizzled
chickens have a large, fluffy crest of feathers atop their heads.
We know they've been around for a long time, as
they appear in paintings from five hundred years ago. Thank
you for your suggestions, Grace, Kitty, Zee, Jaden, and Archie.
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.