Speaker 1: Yo, Hello, My name's Josephine and this is the Animal
Tales podcast where you suggest the animals featured in our stories.
There are new tales to enjoy every Monday and Wednesday,
with a third premium only story every Friday. If you
know someone that might enjoy Animal Tales, please do mention
us to them. Lunar and Banksy are from Melbourne, Australia
and they would like a story with a fruit bat,
a flamingo, and a red back spider. 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 the not
scary fruit Bat. It was breakfast time and Luna was
very hungry. It was time to eat. Finding a nice
flat rock, the fruit bat laid out her favorite breakfast treats,
a papaya, some figs, a couple of plums, and a
nice juicy red apple. Just looking at the spread made
Luna's mouth water. She was halfway through the papaya juice,
dribbling down her chin when she heard a chuckle. Well
that's something you don't see every day, said an amused flamingo.
Would you like to share? Luna asked, offering him a ripe,
shiny plum. No, I do not, the flamingo replied firmly,
And you shouldn't either. Bats shouldn't be eating fruit. They
should be eating bugs or drinking blood. Oh no, not me,
said Luna, understanding the flamingo's confusion. I don't eat that
sort of thing. I'm a fruit bat. I like fruit.
That may be so, said the flamingo. But eating fruit
is not very scary scary, Luna repeated, feeling uncomfortable. Why
would I need to be scary because you're a bat?
The flamingo said, bats are scary, you know Halloween vampires
flying around at night. I could be scary, Luna said, defensively.
I am quite big and I have sharp teeth. Pah,
the flamingo snorted, it's not just how you look. You
have to act scary and you're not. Having had his say,
the flamingo left, head held high, leaving poor Luna alone.
Was the flamingo right? Was she really supposed to be scary? Well?
I think he was being awfully unfair, said Luna's apple.
At least she thought it was her apple until she
noticed a small green caterpillar poking out of it. In
my opinion that Flamingo doesn't know what he's talking about.
Oh why, Luna asked, Just because you don't look scary
doesn't mean you can't be. The caterpillar said, there are
other ways to be scary. I don't feel very scary.
Luna admitted, you should talk to Banksy. The caterpillar suggested
she lives by the old bottle tree. Okay, I'll do that,
said Luna, cheering up slightly. The old bottle tree was
brittle and leafless, with many cracks across its gray, lifeless trunk.
Just the sight of it gave Luna the shivers as
she flew towards it. Hullo, she called out, is Banksy here?
A small black spider with a red line on its
abdomen crawled out. Who's asking, wondered the spider suspiciously. I'm Luna,
said the fruit bat, looking surprised. I was told you
might be able to help me be scarier. You look disappointed,
said the spider. I'm sorry, said Luna. It's just that
I thought you'd be a bit bigger. Size isn't everything,
said Banksy. I'll have you know I'm a red back spider,
one of the most venomous creatures in all the forest.
Most animals are terrified of me. I see, said Luna.
If such a tiny spider were so scary, then surely
a big bat like her could be. Could you teach
me how to be scary? Banksy's eight little eyes narrowed
as she considered this. Perhaps, she said, if you follow
my rule. I'm good at following rules, said Luna, proudly,
glad to hear it, said the spider. That rule is
that you don't have to look scary to be scary.
It's more about how you behave, how you present yourself
to others, and the stories they hear about you. I
like stories, said Luna, but I'm not sure I fully understand.
Can you show me what to do? The red back
spider tapped her foot, king most animals avoid me, said Banksy.
It would be nice to have someone to talk to
for a while. Okay, I'll help you. We'll start with
how you behave. Come on, follow me, Banksy led Luna
a short distance away from the old bottle tree to
where a fallen log lay across the forest floor. I
want you to hide behind here and wait for an
animal to pass, said the red back spider, then jump
out and give them a fright. It's a really easy
way to scare someone. Luna nodded she could do that.
Jumping out and surprising someone didn't sound too hard. Someone's coming,
Banksy whispered. Ready, Luna nodded. It was a wombat, calmly
going about his business. As he passed the log, Luna pounced. Wooo,
she said, waving her wings above her head. The woe
bat stumbled sideways in surprise, stubbing his toe on a root. Ouch.
He cried, rubbing his injured toe. Oh no, Luna wailed,
rushing over to help him. Are you all right? No, no, no,
said Banksy, scuttling up onto the log. You don't help
the animals you're trying to scare. But he hurt himself,
Luna said, giving the wombat a comforting hug. Is that better? Yes,
thank you, said the wombat bravely. Banksy was not impressed.
Did she at least scare you, the spider asked the wombat. Well,
to be honest, I was more surprised than scared, he admitted,
But I did like the ghost sound she made. That
was good, Banksy sighed. Next time, Luna try, saying boo.
Now come back here, we'll have to try that again.
Can't we try something else? Luna asked, I don't really
want to hurt anyone again. Very well, groaned the red
back spider. If that's what you want. Happy that the
wombat was okay, Luna allowed Banksy to guide her deeper
into the forest. Next, we'll concentrate on how you present
yourself to others, said Banksy. What does that mean, asked Luna. Well,
I may be small, but animals are scared by my
creepy crawliness and the fact that I hide in small,
dark spaces. You're a large bat, so we need to
work with that. They arrived at a wide grassy clearing
where a group of wallabies were grazing. Bats have distinctive wings,
so use those and show those teeth, Banksy instructed, make
sure those wallabies see what you've got, and you'll soon
cause a wallaby stampede. Okay, nodded Luna. I can do that.
She launched into the air, flying over the wallabi's heads
with her wings spread wide and teeth bared. You all
right there, asked one of the wallabies. Why the funny face,
asked another, are you feeling poorly. Ah, she's not going
to be sick, is she asked another. After a few
moments of this, Luna returned to Banksy. One of them
was scared, I think, suggested Lue, only because he thought
you might be sick, pointed out the spider. Couldn't you
have tried to act a little more, I don't know dangerous.
I did my best, Luna said, and she had. She
just didn't have it in her to act scarily. All right,
Banksy said, If you can't act scary, we'll try something else.
The final way of being scary is by having others
already believe that you are. Lots of animals have never
met me, but they know how dangerous I am through
the stories they've heard. If we can convinced just one
animal that you're scary, then we can just wait for
the rumor to spread. I can see that working, Luna said,
So what do we need to do to work? They
needed just the right animal to talk to, and it
didn't take long to find one. Beside a pond, Banksy
spider platypus. Wait here, she said to the fruit bat
before scuttling away. The platypus was shocked to see a
fearsome red back spider heading towards him, but reminded himself
that it couldn't reach him in the middle of his pond.
Um Can I help you, he asked nervously. You bet
you can, said the spider, pretending to be afraid. There's
a big, bad animal in these woods with sharp teeth
and leathery wings. I'm so scared that I'm having to
run away. You've not seen it near here, have you.
The platypus gulped. There was an animal out there that
a red back spider was afraid of. What sort of
nightmare creature could this be? N No, no, trembled the platypus,
and I don't want to see it either. It travels
at night, swooping through the darkness, continued Banksy. What type
of animal is it, muttered the shaking platypus, A gray
headed flying fox, Banksy said, imagine that a fox that
flies quite suddenly. The platypus wasn't looking afraid at all.
That's just another name for a fruit bat, the platypus said,
are you talking about Luna? At the sound of her name,
Luna lifted her head from her hiding place. Hey, Gordon,
She said, The platypus laughed. Oh you really had me
going there. He said to the spider, I almost believed you.
Every One knows that Luna wouldn't hurt a fly, they do,
asked Banksy, Sure, said Gordon, Luna's one of the nicest
animals I know. The last thing Luna is is scary.
Banksy gave up, returning to Luna. Well, that didn't work either,
and by the sounds of it, was never going to work. Sorry,
Luna sighed, this is silly. I don't really know why
I even tried. See why exactly did you try, Banksy asked.
You're clearly not naturally a scary animal, so what made
you come to me and ask for my help. Someone
told me that bats are supposed to be scary, she replied,
so I thought I ought to try. Listen, Luna, said
the red backspider. You should try to be what others
say you should be. You should be who you want
to be, and if that's the thoughtful, kind and friendly
fruit bat that you are, then well there's nothing wrong
with that. Thank you, grinned Luna. You're right. Look, you've
been so good to me. Please let me give you
a lift home. Thank you very much, said Banksy, scurrying
on to Luna's back. But before Luna could take to
the air, something large and pink landed in Gordon's pond.
Oh no, not you, again, grumbled the flamingo, off to
eat some more fruit. Are you actually? I was? Began
Luna before the flamingo cut her off. You're a disgrace
to all bats, said the flamingo rudely as he marched
up to her. In fact, you're a disgrace to all
flying things. This brought the flamingo close enough to notice
movement on the fruit bat's shoulder. His eyes went as
wide as dinner plates. Don't move, the flamingo hissed. There's
a highly venomous spider on you, I know, said Luna,
not sounding the least bit bothered. Put But what if
it bites you, said the flamingo, recoiling in fright. Aren't
you afraid it will bite you? Oh? I'm not scared
about that, said Luna, who truly believed that Banksy would
never do such a thing to her. Come a bit
closer and say hello. No, I will not, screamed the
flamingo as he turned and ran, shedding pink feathers everywhere. Well,
you look at that, said the spider. Luna. The fruit
bat scared someone at last. To be fair, we both did,
said Luna, and on this occasion, I don't feel bad
about it at all. Animal fat. Gray headed flying foxes
or fruit bats, are the largest bats in Australia, with
a wingspan of up to one meter that's just over
three feet. Despite the name fruit bat, they also eat
nectar and pollen. Flamingo's wingspans are almost double that of
the gray headed flying foxes. Their diet consists of brine, shrimp, insects, mollusks,
and plankton. The red backed spider is also called the
Australian black widow, with females being much larger than males.
They'll tackle most creatures that get caught up in their web,
which will mostly be insects, but can include other spiders, lizards,
and even mice. Thank you for your suggestions, Luna and Banksy.
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 stories for our premium
members only, available through Apple or Supercast, and for a
tiny fee. All the stories are advert free. Join us
next time for another great animal tale. Good Bye,