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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to a special taster of our new

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premium only story. We hope you like it. Hey yo, Hello,

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I'm Josephine and this is the Animal Tales podcast. There

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are over one hundred extra stories on our premium service,

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with a new one released every Friday, and this is

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another one. Leo is a premium member from Florida in

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the USA, and he would like a story with a microraptor,

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a titana boa, and well a lot of snakes and lizards.

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Don't forget to listen to the animal facts after the

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story to learn more about some of these creatures. If

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you'd like to suggest an animal for a story, then

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please do let us know at podcasts at Animaltales dot UK.

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As premium listeners, we guarantee to write one for you.

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For now, it's time to sit back and get comfy,

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because it's time to begin Reptile Island. Millions of years

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after the end of the dinosaurs, planet Earth was a

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very different place. New creatures had risen to take the

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place of the likes of t Rex and triceratops, leaving

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those mighty creatures all but forgotten. But there was one

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place where dinosaurs still held on on a tiny island

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surrounded by a shallow sea. This was the secret home

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to many families of microraptors, a small feathered dinosaur that

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not only had wings where you'd expect wings to be,

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but a second pair upon its legs. Despite these double wings,

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microraptor wasn't that great at flying. They could manage short

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distances and get about happily from tree to tree, but

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longer distances were unlikely. But that didn't stop Leo from dreaming.

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Leo was a young microraptor who spent far too much

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time on the edge of the island, gazing westwards, for there,

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some distance away, another island could be seen. I think

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I could make it, Leo would say, to any one

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that would listen, don't be so daft. The other microraptors

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would say, that's far too far for your puny wings.

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You'll never make it. You'll plunge into the ocean and

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be eaten up by the first big fish that swims past.

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But Leo wasn't so sure. He knew he was a

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good flier, and he was certain that he could keep

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going for long enough. After all, he was young, fit

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and strong. I'm going to do it. To day, he

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announced to a nearby microraptor, I'm going to fly all

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the way to the neighboring island. And before the other

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microraptor could comment, Leo launched himself into the air and

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began to fly. He had the wind behind him and

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determination on his side, allowing the breeze to help lift

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his outstretched wings, and then just like that, he was

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across the ocean gap and landing on a drooping branch.

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He'd made it to a totally new island. As he

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caught his breath, a frilled lizard appeared on the ground

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below him, looking up in astonishment by my scaly tail.

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What sort of bizarre creature are you, hello, said Leo,

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happy to have met a resident of the new island.

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I'm Leo. I've just flown all the way. You can't

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do that, complained the frilled lizard. That's what all my

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friends said, laughed Leo. But I did no. No, objected

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the frilled lizard. I mean you're not allowed here, not

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without permission from the king. What's a king, asked Leo innocently.

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The king rules this island and he controls everyone and everything,

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stated the frilled lizard. Firmly. Well, that doesn't seem very fair,

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said Leo. We don't have a king on the island

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where I come from. But you're not on that island anymore,

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huffed the frilled lizard. You're on this one, so you'd

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best come with me. Leo reluctantly agreed, gliding to the

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ground to follow the lizard through the undergrowth. They will

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towards the island's center, where an enormous tree grew with

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spreading branches that twisted and tangled like knots. If you'd

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like to hear more, please join our premium service. You

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can find out how in the description. The premium service means.

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You can listen to all animal tales stories advert free,

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get bonus stories, and we guarantee to turn your animal

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suggestion into a future tale. I look forward to seeing

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you there