Speaker 1: Yea. Hello. My name's Josephine and this is the five
hundredth story on the Animal Tales podcast. Thank you to
all of you for listening and supporting Animal Tales. It
couldn't happen without you. If you know some one that
might enjoy Animal Tales, please do mention us to them.
We asked our premium listeners to suggest an unusual animal
for our five hundredth story, and it was AMORALI from
Alabama U s A who suggested a great one and
I I. You can learn more about these creatures in
the animal facts after the story. Okay, are you ready?
That's good? Then I'll begin. I I spy. There are
many voices in Lima town that day. Strange news had
brought all the lemurs together, and now Moe, the town's mare,
and a ringtailed leamer was calling for order. Quickly, a
hush fell over the babbling crowd. I know the news
sounds unbelievable, but I assure you it is true. The
ringtailed Lema said, the Fossors want to make peace with us,
but the Fosss hate all Lemurs called out at sefarkar Lema.
I don't think they can be trusted I agree, said
a tiny mouse Lemer. They've always been so mean to us, Lemas,
Why do they suddenly want to be nice? Murmurs of
agreement rippled through the crowd. Moe could see their point
of view. Life on Madagascar has been a struggle with
the Fosss for as long as we all can remember.
We've always squabbled. They do worse than squabble, said the
Suffacha crossly. Those Fossors are downright mean. I know, I know,
said Moe gently. But the Fossors are suggesting peace. Isn't
that something we want to There are some nods from
the crowd, although many still seemed unsure. So how will
this piece work? Asked an injury lemur. That's easy to answer,
continued Moe. As an apology for years of strife. Tomorrow,
the Fosss will throw us a party. There will be games, music,
and cake. Many of the lemurs looked impressed. After all,
who could say no to cake? So it was decided
they would agree to peace between Lemurs Andosss and celebrate
it at tomorrow's grand party. Mo, though remained nervous as
he watched everyone leave. He was old and knew the
Fosss only too well. He could only hope they meant
what they were saying. Thinking the meeting hall empty, MO
went to turn off the lights, only to realize he
wasn't alone. My apologies, Amarali, I didn't realize you were
still here, said the mayor, looking at the figure in
the shadows. It was an ae I, one of the
most secretive of all the lemurs on Madagascar. It is
good news, Amarali said softly. Peace between Lemas and Foss's
would be good for every one. You and I both
know this is suspicious, said the Mayor, speaking honestly. At last,
you think it's a trick, the aye I asked. I'm
not sure, said the ring tailed mare, But for the
sake of all lemurs, I have to give it a chance.
And what if the Fosss are up to no good,
AMORALI asked, that's where you come in, Mo replied, I
need a secret agent to check this out to night.
If the Fosss are up to something, I want to
know about it before it's too late. The eye I
nodded in understanding, then left, slipping away into the night.
The Mayor sighed, if spying on the Fosss was what
was needed, he couldn't have picked a better Lema for
the job. The main Fossor town was some distance away,
high in a cluster of bao bob trees. One of
the largest buildings belonged to the leader of the Fosss,
and tonight he was holding a gathering of those he
trusted most. There was a table around which the assembled
Fosss either stood or sat, and on the tabletop was
a large sheet of paper which everyone was studying. Outside
the window, his dark fur helping him hide in the darkness,
watched Amarali. There were too many Fosss in his way
to allow him to see the paper, but his giant
bat like ears allowed him to catch at least some
of the conversation. They were discussing the party, the lemurs,
and the cake. But even Amorali's ii ears couldn't hear
everything that was being said. He'd have to try something else.
Creeping stealthily, Amorali located a quieter part of the house
without any lights on. He tried the first door he
came to, finding it unlocked. Slipping inside, he found himself
in a very messy kitchen, piled high with mixing bowls,
empty bags of flour, and sugar and cartons of eggs.
Someone's been baking cakes, Amarani noted, being careful not to
disturb anything. Amarali tiptoed through the kitchen to arrive in
a dark hallway. Somewhere over his head was the meeting
room full of Fosss. He'd need to stay alert if
he wasn't going to get caught. Almost immediately he heard
voices approaching. As the hallway lights flickered on, Amarali had
to dart through a nearby door, just managing to close
it behind him in time. Yeah, it docks to morrow morning,
said one of the fosss. It's huge, But will it
be big enough? Asked another voice. I hope so, the
first Fossor cackled, Otherwise it'll be a tight fit. Amarali's
eyes narrowed. It sounded as if the Fosss were getting
a boat, and a big one at that. But what for?
An unusually loud snore made the eye eye freeze. Somehow
he'd managed to sneak into a foss's bedroom. He couldn't
stay here, but now it sounded as if more Fosss
were approaching, and they weren't trying to be quiet either.
Fearing the sleeping Fossor would be disturbed. Amarali moved into
the darkest part of the room. Fortunately, his night vision
was excellent. This end of the room was like an office,
with a cluttered desk and a whiteboard on the wall.
Written on the whiteboard in bold pen with the words
one drop per hour of sleep. In such a large house,
it seems range for an office to include a bed
or a bedroom to include an office. Amorani noted a
cup beside the bed, and when he investigated it, he
noticed a dribble of blue liquid at the bottom. Was
this fossor part of some sort of experiment? Had this
cup contained whatever gave an hour of sleep per drop?
Outside the voices had died away, so after a quick
careful listen at the door, the eyeye sneaked out. The
fosss had been heading towards the kitchen, so Amorali headed
for the stairs. Heading up, Amorali counted the doors until
he was certain he'd found the room he'd seen from outside.
He couldn't hear anyone within, but when he tried the
door he found it locked. Luckily, Amorali was prepared. The
eyeye had won finger. Unlike all the others It was
very long and very thin, great for hooking an insect
out of a tree and also ideal for picking locks. Slowly,
he pushed it into the lock, moving his long claw
until he heard a satisfying click. The door swung open
to reveal the meeting room. Amarali immediately headed to the table,
and there was the large sheet of paper that had
held so much interest. It was a map of Madagascar.
A line ran down the middle showing where the island
was split into the Fosser half and the Lema half.
There were lots of large red crosses drawn over both halves,
but they meant nothing to the eye eye. But what
was odd was a sketchy drawing of a roller coaster
with Fosser fun Land written underneath. It was right where
Lema Town currently stood, so thought AMORALI. A Fossor theme
park where a Fossor theme park shouldn't be, some sort
of sleeping experiment going on downstairs, a large boat arriving tomorrow,
and a marathon baking session in the kitchen. But were
they all connected? Amarali's ears twitched. Someone was coming. He
couldn't afford to get caught. Now he needed to get
all this information to the Mare. If the Fosss caught
a spy in their midst, then any chance of peace
was over before it had begun. He had to move
and fast. The door clicked open as a breeze from
the open window ruffled the map. Somebody closed that window,
snapped the foss leader. I said, I wanted this room
left secure. A grumpy Fossor poured it closed, seeing nothing
beyond but darkness. AMORALI was already deep in the shadows,
using the night as cover. The party was to take
place at the border between the two halves of the island.
Lemurs from across their half of Madagascar flocked to find
an elaborate venue of balloons, flowers and flags. They were
greeted warmly by the Fossors, who shared drinks and set
up games. It was as if there had never been
any trouble between the two sides. Mo the Mare stood
off to one side, clearly worried. Come a long smile,
said the foss leader with a grin as he threw
an arm around Moe's shoulder. This is a day of celebration.
Finally the island has become one. The mayor smiled weakly.
I'm glad we could finally make peace, he said. Then
let us seal the deal with cake, announced the leader
of the Foss's, gesturing to where an enormous cart of
cupcakes was being wheeled forward. The Leamurs gasped at this
extraordinary mountain of cake, all adorned with bright blue icing.
And there's enough for every Leamur here, the foss grinned
from us to you, let us eat one together, suggested Moe,
as a sign of friendship. Oh there's no need for that,
deflected the foss leader. The cupcakes are for you, guys.
I know, I know, smiled Moe, suddenly seeming to gain
his confidence. But we think we should share them half each.
Isn't that right, Amorali the eye I appeared at the
Foss's side, holding out a blue frosted cupcake. We insist,
said Amorali. More and more Lemurs were falling silent as
they witnessed this strange exchange. You don't know what you're doing,
snapped the Fossor. By refusing our generous baking, you risk
ruining the peace. Oh we know what we're doing, corrected
the Eye, because we know what's in these cupcakes. The
Fossor suddenly looked very pale. You've dosed them with a
sleeping potion, haven't you, challenged Mo. The lemurs gasped, while
the Fossors began to shift uncomfortably. There were many more
lemurs present than there were Fosss. The Fosss were numbered.
That's we didn't that's absurd, the foss leader spluttered. Then
share a cupcake with Mo, suggested Amarali. Calmly, Look, this
is crazy, the foss said, urgently, trying to take control
of the situation. Why would we want to put you
all to sleep? What would be the point? So you
could load us onto a boat and send us far,
far away. By the time we'd woken up, the whole
island would be yours. Amarali declared. Is this true? Bellowed
the Safarka Lima to the Fosss around him. Well is
it they wanted to get rid of us? I knew it,
shouted the mouse Lema, this was all one big trick. Furious,
the Lemurs turned on the Fossors, many of which were
already making a break for it. In no time, there
wasn't a single Fossa to be seen. Oh well, sighed Mo.
I guess nothing's changed after all. We could still have
a party, suggested Amarali. We've got everything we need here.
I guess we do, agreed, Mo, although we really should
avoid the cupcakes. Leave that to me, said the eye eye.
We owe you a big debt of thanks, Amarali, the
mayor said, And I suspect we'll need you again when
the Fosss try something next, but it's good to know
I'll have my eye spy on stand by. Animal fat
e eyes are one of one hundred and seven species
of lima, all found on the island of Madagascar. With
so many different kinds of lemur, e eyes evolved away
to survive that all the others didn't, They became nighttime specialists.
They have large night vision eyes and enormous bat like
ears that they can rotate to help them pinpoint sounds.
They listened for the movement of insect larvae burrowing beneath
the bark of trees, and when they detect it, they
use their incizeor teeth to chew into the bark and wood.
Once the larvae's tunnel is revealed, they then use their
incredibly long and thin third finger to poke inside and
hook the grub out. If you've never seen a picture
of an eye eye, it's worth taking a look. Thank
you for your suggestion, AMORALI. We hope you enjoyed the story,
and thank you to all of you across the world
for listening to it. In addition to the five hundred
free to listen stories, there are over one hundred extra
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advert free. Join us next time for another great animal tale.
Good Bye,