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Speaker 1: Hey, yea hello. My name's Josephine and this is the

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Animal Tales podcast, where you suggest the animals featured in

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our stories. There are new tales to enjoy every Monday

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and Wednesday, with a third premium only story every Friday.

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Reviews help get us noticed amongst all the other podcasts

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out there, so if you can, please take the time

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to leave us a review. Yawn is a Premium member

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from Iowa in the USA, and he has asked for

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a story featuring an orangutan, a gorilla, a flamingo, and

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a pangolin. You can learn more about these creatures in

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the animal facts after the story. Okay, are you ready?

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That's good, then I'll be the greatest story in the world.

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Bjorn had always loved stories. When he was really little,

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he enjoyed being read to by his parents, But as

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soon as he'd learnt how to read, the young orangutan

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had read every single story he could get his hands on,

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everything from short stories to fables to huge epic fantasy

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stories with sprawling worlds and giant monsters. Bjorn would read

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them all. His sister, however, was quite the opposite. Astrid

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was a younger orangutan, but old enough, Beyonn thought to

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enjoy the stories that he loved. But no matter what

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stories he shared with her, Astrid just wasn't interested. A

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tale about a girl, a prince and a shoe boring,

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said Astrid. A book about a golden ticket and a

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chocolate factory meh, said Astrid. A handwritten novel about a long,

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perilous journey to return something lost, full of dangerous monsters,

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forgotten kings, and bravery found in the most unlikely of places.

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That's much too long, Astrid complained. Beyond though, was determined

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to find something to excite his sister. Often the stories

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would hold her attention to begin with, but after a

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few pages Astred would end up board, distracted, or sometimes

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even fall asleep. Byorn wasn't one to give up easily,

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so he decided to try a different approach. He found

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Astrid playing in the dry leaves below their tree house

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and asked, what sort of stories do you like? I dunno,

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replied the orangutan. I've never really thought about it. Let's

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put the question another way, said Bjorn. What is it

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that you don't like about stories? Is it when they're

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complicated or scary or something else? I'm not really sure,

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Astrid replied, lifting up her long orange arms in a shrug.

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Maybe it's just that I haven't found the right story yet.

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I think you're right, said Bjorn, and I know what

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I have to do. I'm going to go out and

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find the greatest story in the world. Then I'll bring

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it back and read it to you. I'm sure even

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you will love a story if it's the greatest story

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in the world. Astred considered this for a moment. That

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could work. She admitted with a nod, All right, bring

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me the greatest story in the world, and I'll do

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my best to like it. And so the decision was made.

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That afternoon, Bjorn waved goodbye to his Orangutan family and

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friends and set out into the big wide world. He

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carried some snacks, a bottle of water, and a notepad

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and pen to write down the stories he heard. As

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he made his way through the trees, he wondered how

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long his quest was going to take. Bijorn and his

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fellow Orangutans lived on the island of Borneo, so it

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wasn't too far or too long until he arrived in India.

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Bijorn had high hopes for finding great stories here, as

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Asian folklore was always rich with magic, monsters, and morals.

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The young orangutan traveled for many miles, asking the animals

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he met to tell them their favorite story. Some were

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tales he'd heard before, and some were similar, but often

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they were completely new. A peacock suggested that if he

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wanted a really good story, then he should visit an

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ancient pangolin who lived in an old withered tree. The

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peacock insisted that the pangolin was over four hundred years

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old and had spent his years traveling the continent gathering

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stories from monsters and spirits beyond thought. This sounded perfect,

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so went to discover the withered tree. It took beyond

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many days to find the tree, but he was determined

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to do so for his sister's sake. He knocked politely

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on the old wood and was pleased to see the

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elderly pangolin emerge from the hollow trunk. Are you the

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pangolin that's lived for over four hundred years gathering stories

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from monsters and spirits? Bjorn asked. The pangolin LAUGHEDMS do

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like to exaggerate, don't they? He chuckled, What is true?

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Is that I've spent my life wandering around Asia writing

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down every story I found here. Let me show you.

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The pangolin disappeared for a moment, returning with a book

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even bigger than he was. This is my book of

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one thousand stories. The pangolin said. That's a big book.

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Bjorn replied, clearly impressed. Will it happen to contain the

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greatest story in the world? M Let me see, said

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the pangolin. Considering the question for a moment, he flicked

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through the pages, stopping at a tale about half way through.

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This one's my personal favorite, he said. I was told

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it by a winged monkey. It's about girl and a

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tornado and a magical land with yellow roads and talking scarecrows.

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Would you like me to read it to you? Yes? Please,

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said Beorn as he settled down to listen, quickly becoming

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entranced by the pangolins story telling. And once the tale

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was told, Bjorn had to admit it was a very

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good story. But was it the greatest story? Bjorn wasn't sure,

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so the young orangutan decided to continue on his journey,

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just maybe he could find an even better one. He

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traveled west across deserts and down into Africa. It was here,

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whilst traveling through a dense jungle he heard about a

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mysterious story teller who lived high in the tree covered mountains.

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She only comes down the mountain side on clear nights

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when the moon is high. A young baboon told him.

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She recites us poetry and asks riddles and tells us

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stories we've never heard before. This sounded exactly what Bjorn

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was looking for, but it'd have to wait for when

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the night was clear and the moon was high. For

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three days and three dark, dreary nights, Beyorn waited, hoping

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for the weather to improve. Then on the fourth night,

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the moon was full and there wasn't a cloud in

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the sky. A small crowd of animals joined him at

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the base of the mountain, waiting for the story teller

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to emerge. The bushes rustled, and from the undergrowth stepped

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a large gorilla. Good evening, everyone, said the gorilla, taking

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a seat upon the moonlit ground. I have dreamy poem hums,

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stories about dragons and tales of danger and triumph for you,

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and I can see a new face amongst you, said

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the gorilla, gesturing to the orangutan, welcome. What kind of

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story would you like to hear? Yorn wasted no time

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in answering, Can you tell us the greatest story ever?

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The gorilla fidgeted as she pondered the request. It would

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be hard to choose, she said to her fellow ape,

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But I do have a favorite, a tale passed down

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through my family over the years. It's about a boy

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taken in by a family of gorillas and the man

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he grew up to be. The crowd of animals murmured excitedly.

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They had not heard this one before. Beyorn listened, captivated

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by every until the first rays of light brightened the horizon,

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and once the tale was told, Bjorn had to admit

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that it was a very good story. With at least

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two excellent stories in his note book and a whole

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bunch of great ones, Beyonn decided he could search for

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a little longer for his sister's sake. His journey continued,

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taking him across the Atlantic to South America. It was

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the furthest he'd ever been from home, and he was

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feeling homesick as he arrived in the rainforests of Argentina.

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Perhaps here he could find the greatest story ever. Then,

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one day, while sitting on a raft floating down a river,

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Beyonn found himself surrounded by pink he'd sailed right into

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the middle of a flamingo flock. I'm terrible, sorry, Biorn said,

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as he bumped into one of the birds. I don't

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have much control of this raft. That's quite all right,

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the flamingo laughed. It will make a funny story to

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tell later, later, said Bjorn. Do you like telling stories? Oh,

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that's all we flamingoes do. The pink bird laughed. You see,

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when your family is as big as ours and you

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spend as much time flying with them, everybody knows all

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the news that there is to know. So instead we

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tell stories. Sometimes we make them up, and sometimes we

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listen to the frogs and the fish and the cappy

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barrs we meet, and then we share them with one another.

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How lovely, said Bjorn. Is there any chance that one

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of those tales you speak of could be the greatest

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story ever? Oh, that would be hard to choose, the

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famingo said. One moment, let me see what every one

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else thinks. The flamingo honked the question and received a

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chorus of honks and upraised wings in return. This went

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on for a while until at last she turned back

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to the orangutan, looking content. We've settled on one, she said,

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And I have to say this story is one of

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my favorites. It's about a girl who gets whisked away

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to a world with talking cats, mad hatters, and evil

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red queens. Could you tell it to me, asked Beorn politely.

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The flamingo nodded, pleased to have the opportunity. Surrounded by

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a sea of pink feathers, Beyorn listened in awe and

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once the tale was told, Beorn had to admit that

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it was a very good story. Now, with three fantastic

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stories and a whole host of others in his pocket,

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Byorn decided it was time to head home. It would

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be a long journey, but it would give him time

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to decide which story was the greatest. After many miles

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and weeks of traveling, Byorn made it home to his

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tree house and was instantly wrapped in an orangutan hug.

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By astrid, your home, she cried, I missed you so much,

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and I missed you too, Bjorn said, it's been hard

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being away from home for so long. Well was it

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worth it, Astrid asked, I met so many interesting animals

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with so many interesting stories to tell. He said, I

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heard countless stories about so many things, and I heard

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three absolutely excellent stories, handpicked by some of the world's

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best story tellers. But did you find the greatest story

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in all the world, Astrid asked, I don't know, Bjorn admitted,

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I'm not sure that there is one story that is

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the greatest. Why ever not, his sister asked, because I

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think every story is important. They are each fun and

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entertaining for different reasons. Biorn said, everyone has a different favorite,

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but being someone's favorite doesn't mean it's the greatest. It

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just means it meant something special to that animal. Oh,

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Astrid sighed, I was really hoping to hear the greatest story.

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Bjorn could see that his sister was disappointed, but he

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was also pleased because for the first time she'd been

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looking forward to hearing a story. What if I told

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you my story, he suggested, the tale of where I went,

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what I saw, and about the animals that I met,

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And then I could tell you some of the stories

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they told me too. Astrod nodded happily as she sat

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cross legged in front of her brother. Can we start now,

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the little orangutan asked, I already loved the main character.

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Bjorn grinned, happy to see her so eager. All right,

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he said, getting comfortable himself. This is a story about

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an orangutan, a pangolin, a gorilla, and a flamingo. It's

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a story of how, even though they lived very, very

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far apart, they were all brought together by a love

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of stories. And although he hadn't told it yet, Beyond

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knew it was going to be a very good story.

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Animal fact, Orangutans and gorillas are part of the family

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known as great apes, which includes you and me. This

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family also includes chimpanzees and bonobos, but doesn't include gibbons

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and monkeys. Pangolins are a kind of mammal, although their

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covering of scales makes them look like a lizard. The

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scales overlap, making a tough protective armor, and they're made

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from keratin, the same stuff that your finger nails are

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made from. There are six species of flamingo in the world,

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four of which are found in South America. The flamingo

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in our story could have been a poona flamingo, or

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an Andean flamingo, as they're both found in Argentina. Thank

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you for your suggestions, Bjorn. We hope you enjoyed the tale,

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and thank you to all of you from across the

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world for listening to it. If you prefer your stories

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advert free, then please consider our premium service through Apple

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or Supercaste. Find out how in the text that accompanies

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this episode for a tiny fee, it's advert free. Join

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us next time for another great animal tale. Good Bye,