Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to a special taster of our new
premium only story. We hope you like it. Hello, YAlO, Hello,
I'm Josephine and this is the Animal Tales podcast, home
to over four hundred and fifty stories written just for you.
Our Friday story is especially for our Premium subscribers only.
Orgie is a Premium member from San Diego, U s A.
And he would like a story with a peregrine falcon,
a poisoned dart frog, a jumping spider, and an arapeimer.
Don't forget to listen to the animal facts after the
story to learn more about some of these creatures. For now,
it's time to sit back and get comfy, because it's
time to begin the most dangerous journey. The deep dark
woods were only inhabited by the scariest, most dangerous of animals.
It was said that you couldn't walk ten paces without
some menacing creature trying to gobble you up. The trees
grew tall and thick, making it difficult to see, and
the ground was so twisted with roots and rocks that
every step could trip you. As a consequence, only the
bravest or most foolish of animals ever dared to enter.
Orgie was a little jumping spider, and he lived right
beside these deep, dark woods in an old pine cone.
He would sometimes see strange shadows moving amongst the trees,
and there are odd noises all through the night. You
won't catch me going in those woods, Orgie would say
to himself. But not all the animals were as careful Orgie,
Come on, Orgie. Taaron the tarantula teased, we're going to
play by the woods. You've got to run in and
touch the hollow tree. Gina the grass snake urged, We've
all done it, now it's your turn. He'll never do it,
sneered Suki, a sand lizard. He's far too little, not
like us. In truth, they weren't particularly big or brave themselves.
As soon as they heard a twig snap or a
leaf rustle, they would come sprinting from beneath the trees
in fright. But right now, all they were interested in
was making themselves feel bigger than the little jumping spider.
It wasn't Orgie's fault that he was so small, that's
just what jumping spiders looked like. But he knew that
the woods were no place for a little critter like him.
He had no intention of ever setting foot past those trees.
Then one day Orgie felt his pine cone move and shake.
He poked out from between the cone's scales, and his
heart skipped a beat. He was in the air, high
above the trees. His pine cone home was in the
talons of a crow. Orgie almost screaked in fear, but
he didn't want the bird to know he was there.
What was he going to do? A sudden flurry of
black wings announced the arrival of another crow, cowing and pecking.
The first crow shrieked, Orgie gasped, and the pine cone fell.
Orgie felt his home tumble through the air, so he
held on tightly with his many tiny legs. The cone
bounced from a branch, struck another, then hit the ground
before rolling to a stop. Dazed and stunned, and Orge
stumbled out. He could only hope he had landed outside
of the deep, dark woods, but what he saw suggested otherwise.
The trees around him were tall and overbearing. Twisted roots
erupted from the ground, thorny vines entangled the trunks, and
the shadows seemed to move and swirl. I am inside
the deep dark woods, He whispered to himself in fright,
and I don't know which way is out. He recalled
the stories of dangerous animals lurking around every tree trunk,
waiting to gobble him up. What was he going to do?
A dark shape on a nearby branch moved unexpectedly, making
Orge squeak with fright. Are you supposed to be here?
It asked ORGI was surprised to find himself staring into
the eyes of a peregrine falcon, the fastest animal in
the whole world. If you'd like to hear more, please
join our premium service. You can find out how in
the description. The premium service means. You can listen to
all animal tales stories advert free, get bonus stories, and
we guarantee to turn your animal suggestion into a future tale.
I look forward to seeing you there.