Speaker 1: Hey, yea 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.
Reviews help get us noticed amongst all the other podcasts
out there, so if you can, please take the time
to leave us a review. Yawn is a Premium member
from Iowa in the USA, and he has asked for
a story featuring an orangutan, a gorilla, a flamingo, and
a pangolin. You can learn more about these creatures in
the animal facts after the story. Okay, are you ready?
That's good, then I'll be the greatest story in the world.
Bjorn had always loved stories. When he was really little,
he enjoyed being read to by his parents, But as
soon as he'd learnt how to read, the young orangutan
had read every single story he could get his hands on,
everything from short stories to fables to huge epic fantasy
stories with sprawling worlds and giant monsters. Bjorn would read
them all. His sister, however, was quite the opposite. Astrid
was a younger orangutan, but old enough, Beyonn thought to
enjoy the stories that he loved. But no matter what
stories he shared with her, Astrid just wasn't interested. A
tale about a girl, a prince and a shoe boring,
said Astrid. A book about a golden ticket and a
chocolate factory meh, said Astrid. A handwritten novel about a long,
perilous journey to return something lost, full of dangerous monsters,
forgotten kings, and bravery found in the most unlikely of places.
That's much too long, Astrid complained. Beyond though, was determined
to find something to excite his sister. Often the stories
would hold her attention to begin with, but after a
few pages Astred would end up board, distracted, or sometimes
even fall asleep. Byorn wasn't one to give up easily,
so he decided to try a different approach. He found
Astrid playing in the dry leaves below their tree house
and asked, what sort of stories do you like? I dunno,
replied the orangutan. I've never really thought about it. Let's
put the question another way, said Bjorn. What is it
that you don't like about stories? Is it when they're
complicated or scary or something else? I'm not really sure,
Astrid replied, lifting up her long orange arms in a shrug.
Maybe it's just that I haven't found the right story yet.
I think you're right, said Bjorn, and I know what
I have to do. I'm going to go out and
find the greatest story in the world. Then I'll bring
it back and read it to you. I'm sure even
you will love a story if it's the greatest story
in the world. Astred considered this for a moment. That
could work. She admitted with a nod, All right, bring
me the greatest story in the world, and I'll do
my best to like it. And so the decision was made.
That afternoon, Bjorn waved goodbye to his Orangutan family and
friends and set out into the big wide world. He
carried some snacks, a bottle of water, and a notepad
and pen to write down the stories he heard. As
he made his way through the trees, he wondered how
long his quest was going to take. Bijorn and his
fellow Orangutans lived on the island of Borneo, so it
wasn't too far or too long until he arrived in India.
Bijorn had high hopes for finding great stories here, as
Asian folklore was always rich with magic, monsters, and morals.
The young orangutan traveled for many miles, asking the animals
he met to tell them their favorite story. Some were
tales he'd heard before, and some were similar, but often
they were completely new. A peacock suggested that if he
wanted a really good story, then he should visit an
ancient pangolin who lived in an old withered tree. The
peacock insisted that the pangolin was over four hundred years
old and had spent his years traveling the continent gathering
stories from monsters and spirits beyond thought. This sounded perfect,
so went to discover the withered tree. It took beyond
many days to find the tree, but he was determined
to do so for his sister's sake. He knocked politely
on the old wood and was pleased to see the
elderly pangolin emerge from the hollow trunk. Are you the
pangolin that's lived for over four hundred years gathering stories
from monsters and spirits? Bjorn asked. The pangolin LAUGHEDMS do
like to exaggerate, don't they? He chuckled, What is true?
Is that I've spent my life wandering around Asia writing
down every story I found here. Let me show you.
The pangolin disappeared for a moment, returning with a book
even bigger than he was. This is my book of
one thousand stories. The pangolin said. That's a big book.
Bjorn replied, clearly impressed. Will it happen to contain the
greatest story in the world? M Let me see, said
the pangolin. Considering the question for a moment, he flicked
through the pages, stopping at a tale about half way through.
This one's my personal favorite, he said. I was told
it by a winged monkey. It's about girl and a
tornado and a magical land with yellow roads and talking scarecrows.
Would you like me to read it to you? Yes? Please,
said Beorn as he settled down to listen, quickly becoming
entranced by the pangolins story telling. And once the tale
was told, Bjorn had to admit it was a very
good story. But was it the greatest story? Bjorn wasn't sure,
so the young orangutan decided to continue on his journey,
just maybe he could find an even better one. He
traveled west across deserts and down into Africa. It was here,
whilst traveling through a dense jungle he heard about a
mysterious story teller who lived high in the tree covered mountains.
She only comes down the mountain side on clear nights
when the moon is high. A young baboon told him.
She recites us poetry and asks riddles and tells us
stories we've never heard before. This sounded exactly what Bjorn
was looking for, but it'd have to wait for when
the night was clear and the moon was high. For
three days and three dark, dreary nights, Beyorn waited, hoping
for the weather to improve. Then on the fourth night,
the moon was full and there wasn't a cloud in
the sky. A small crowd of animals joined him at
the base of the mountain, waiting for the story teller
to emerge. The bushes rustled, and from the undergrowth stepped
a large gorilla. Good evening, everyone, said the gorilla, taking
a seat upon the moonlit ground. I have dreamy poem hums,
stories about dragons and tales of danger and triumph for you,
and I can see a new face amongst you, said
the gorilla, gesturing to the orangutan, welcome. What kind of
story would you like to hear? Yorn wasted no time
in answering, Can you tell us the greatest story ever?
The gorilla fidgeted as she pondered the request. It would
be hard to choose, she said to her fellow ape,
But I do have a favorite, a tale passed down
through my family over the years. It's about a boy
taken in by a family of gorillas and the man
he grew up to be. The crowd of animals murmured excitedly.
They had not heard this one before. Beyorn listened, captivated
by every until the first rays of light brightened the horizon,
and once the tale was told, Bjorn had to admit
that it was a very good story. With at least
two excellent stories in his note book and a whole
bunch of great ones, Beyonn decided he could search for
a little longer for his sister's sake. His journey continued,
taking him across the Atlantic to South America. It was
the furthest he'd ever been from home, and he was
feeling homesick as he arrived in the rainforests of Argentina.
Perhaps here he could find the greatest story ever. Then,
one day, while sitting on a raft floating down a river,
Beyonn found himself surrounded by pink he'd sailed right into
the middle of a flamingo flock. I'm terrible, sorry, Biorn said,
as he bumped into one of the birds. I don't
have much control of this raft. That's quite all right,
the flamingo laughed. It will make a funny story to
tell later, later, said Bjorn. Do you like telling stories? Oh,
that's all we flamingoes do. The pink bird laughed. You see,
when your family is as big as ours and you
spend as much time flying with them, everybody knows all
the news that there is to know. So instead we
tell stories. Sometimes we make them up, and sometimes we
listen to the frogs and the fish and the cappy
barrs we meet, and then we share them with one another.
How lovely, said Bjorn. Is there any chance that one
of those tales you speak of could be the greatest
story ever? Oh, that would be hard to choose, the
famingo said. One moment, let me see what every one
else thinks. The flamingo honked the question and received a
chorus of honks and upraised wings in return. This went
on for a while until at last she turned back
to the orangutan, looking content. We've settled on one, she said,
And I have to say this story is one of
my favorites. It's about a girl who gets whisked away
to a world with talking cats, mad hatters, and evil
red queens. Could you tell it to me, asked Beorn politely.
The flamingo nodded, pleased to have the opportunity. Surrounded by
a sea of pink feathers, Beyorn listened in awe and
once the tale was told, Beorn had to admit that
it was a very good story. Now, with three fantastic
stories and a whole host of others in his pocket,
Byorn decided it was time to head home. It would
be a long journey, but it would give him time
to decide which story was the greatest. After many miles
and weeks of traveling, Byorn made it home to his
tree house and was instantly wrapped in an orangutan hug.
By astrid, your home, she cried, I missed you so much,
and I missed you too, Bjorn said, it's been hard
being away from home for so long. Well was it
worth it, Astrid asked, I met so many interesting animals
with so many interesting stories to tell. He said, I
heard countless stories about so many things, and I heard
three absolutely excellent stories, handpicked by some of the world's
best story tellers. But did you find the greatest story
in all the world, Astrid asked, I don't know, Bjorn admitted,
I'm not sure that there is one story that is
the greatest. Why ever not, his sister asked, because I
think every story is important. They are each fun and
entertaining for different reasons. Biorn said, everyone has a different favorite,
but being someone's favorite doesn't mean it's the greatest. It
just means it meant something special to that animal. Oh,
Astrid sighed, I was really hoping to hear the greatest story.
Bjorn could see that his sister was disappointed, but he
was also pleased because for the first time she'd been
looking forward to hearing a story. What if I told
you my story, he suggested, the tale of where I went,
what I saw, and about the animals that I met,
And then I could tell you some of the stories
they told me too. Astrod nodded happily as she sat
cross legged in front of her brother. Can we start now,
the little orangutan asked, I already loved the main character.
Bjorn grinned, happy to see her so eager. All right,
he said, getting comfortable himself. This is a story about
an orangutan, a pangolin, a gorilla, and a flamingo. It's
a story of how, even though they lived very, very
far apart, they were all brought together by a love
of stories. And although he hadn't told it yet, Beyond
knew it was going to be a very good story.
Animal fact, Orangutans and gorillas are part of the family
known as great apes, which includes you and me. This
family also includes chimpanzees and bonobos, but doesn't include gibbons
and monkeys. Pangolins are a kind of mammal, although their
covering of scales makes them look like a lizard. The
scales overlap, making a tough protective armor, and they're made
from keratin, the same stuff that your finger nails are
made from. There are six species of flamingo in the world,
four of which are found in South America. The flamingo
in our story could have been a poona flamingo, or
an Andean flamingo, as they're both found in Argentina. Thank
you for your suggestions, Bjorn. We hope you enjoyed the tale,
and thank you to all of you from across the
world for listening to it. If you prefer your stories
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us next time for another great animal tale. Good Bye,