# REWIND WEDNESDAY: Up and Away! 🦊 🐿️ An episode of [Short Stories for Kids: Bedtime ~ Car Time ~ Downtime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1557898989), 28 Oct 2026, 13 min. Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/s.gum.fm/s-624f621807754001d038e4b6/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/76052966/up_and_away.mp3 Written by Simon Chadwick Come and follow more adventures on our animated TV show on Youtube! πŸ“ΊπŸ€© SUBSCRIBE HERE: youtube.com/@shortstoriesforkidspodcast If you would like a special birthday shout out, order one here! πŸŽ‚ https://www.shortstoriesforkidspodcast.com/ Looking for Ad Free Episodes? Just join our 🌟PREMIUM CHANNEL 🌟 Join up to our Premium channel through your Apple player or here at Supercast: https://shortstoriesforkids.supercast.com/ And become a Super Fan of Short Stories for Kids! Here you will receive a Friday Bonus Episode every week! Plus our entire back catalogue of stories ad free! Also Premium Only Shout Outs just for you guys! 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And what episode you heard it on and I will immediately contact Spreaker to block the ad. I take this very seriously and I really appreciate your support and co-operation. As creators, we want your child’s experience to be a pleasurable one. Running adverts is necessary to allow us to operate, but please do consider the premium subscription service as an alternative – it’s ad free. ## Transcript [0:00] Speaker 1: Welcome back, friends, to Short Stories for Kids. Up and away. [0:19] Speaker 2: High in the mountains of Europe lived Anna, a marmot. [0:23] Speaker 2: Marmots are big, furry ground squirrels living in burrows dug [0:28] Speaker 2: into the thin soil of the mountainside. It was a [0:31] Speaker 2: quiet life that offered stunning views across the snow-covered peaks [0:36] Speaker 2: and flower-covered meadows. All the marmots loved it, not least Enna. [0:43] Speaker 2: Besides finding enough to eat, marmots have two things to [0:46] Speaker 2: worry about. Foxes hunting them upon the ground and eagles [0:51] Speaker 2: hunting them from the air. If either are ever spotted [0:55] Speaker 2: by a marmot, they shout a warning to the others, [0:58] Speaker 2: allowing them to dive into their burrows for safety. When [1:02] Speaker 2: it was Anna's turn to keep watch, she was always [1:05] Speaker 2: frustrated by how difficult the job was. It would be [1:09] Speaker 2: better to climb up higher amongst the rocks to give [1:13] Speaker 2: her a good view across the meadow. But if she [1:16] Speaker 2: did that, she'd be too far from the burrow if [1:19] Speaker 2: she needed to hide herself. [1:21] Speaker 1: There's got to. [1:22] Speaker 2: Be an easier way, she muttered to herself. Then, one day, [1:27] Speaker 2: she saw a Lamergeier circle overhead. These gigantic, bearded vultures [1:33] Speaker 2: like to eat bones, so she wasn't in any danger, [1:37] Speaker 2: despite its size. Instead, she had the time to watch [1:41] Speaker 2: it swooping and circling. [1:43] Speaker 1: Across the meadow. [1:44] Speaker 2: That Lamergeier must be able to see everything from up there, [1:49] Speaker 2: she thought. If I could be that high, then I [1:52] Speaker 2: could see every fox and eagle for miles around. The [1:56] Speaker 2: problem was, how was she going to get up there? [2:00] Speaker 2: She thought about making herself some wings, but didn't know [2:04] Speaker 2: where to start. There had to be an answer somewhere. Then, [2:09] Speaker 2: one day, a man came to the meadow. People rarely [2:13] Speaker 2: came this high up the mountain, but this man came [2:16] Speaker 2: often enough that Anna knew he wasn't any danger. He [2:20] Speaker 2: would set down his bag, pull out some binoculars, and [2:24] Speaker 2: watch the ibex higher up the slope. Maybe, thought Anna, [2:29] Speaker 2: he would have something in his bag that could help her. [2:33] Speaker 2: Creeping amongst the rocks and grass ridges, Anna was able [2:37] Speaker 2: to get right behind where the man was sitting. He [2:40] Speaker 2: was so busy looking through his binoculars and scratching his [2:43] Speaker 2: beard that he completely failed to notice she was there. [2:48] Speaker 2: As quietly as she dared, she poked her nose into [2:51] Speaker 2: his bag and began to rummage, pulling out his phone. [2:56] Speaker 2: You would think that a marmot would have no idea [2:58] Speaker 2: what a phone was, but for some reason, Anna seemed [3:02] Speaker 2: to make sense of it right away. She quickly worked [3:06] Speaker 2: out how to find the internet, and quite suddenly, a [3:09] Speaker 2: whole world of possibilities was opened to her. By the [3:14] Speaker 2: time the man put his binoculars down … Anna had [3:17] Speaker 2: returned to the burrow, having ordered something very special. It [3:22] Speaker 2: arrived the next day in an incredibly large cardboard box. [3:26] Speaker 2: The delivery driver wasn't happy about having to carry it [3:30] Speaker 2: up a mountain, but now he was here, he certainly [3:33] Speaker 2: wasn't going to carry it back down again. He put [3:36] Speaker 2: the box down not far from where the bearded man [3:39] Speaker 2: had been the day before, rested for a moment, then [3:42] Speaker 2: returned to the valley below. [3:45] Speaker 1: This doesn't look like. [3:46] Speaker 2: What I ordered, complained the marmot as she stared up [3:50] Speaker 2: at the colossal box. It took Anna a while to [3:53] Speaker 2: work out that what she wanted was hidden inside it. [3:57] Speaker 2: But once she discovered this, she was very happy. There [4:01] Speaker 2: were instructions, so she got to work unpacking all the [4:04] Speaker 2: contents and putting it all together. The other marmots watched [4:09] Speaker 2: in fascination as she worked. They had never seen such [4:13] Speaker 2: a thing in their lives. [4:14] Speaker 1: It just got. [4:15] Speaker 2: Bigger and bigger and bigger. Quickly now, she called to [4:22] Speaker 2: the other marmots. [4:24] Speaker 1: I need your help. [4:25] Speaker 2: Here, you five hold this rope like that, and you [4:28] Speaker 2: five hold this one. [4:30] Speaker 1: But what is it? [4:33] Speaker 2: Asked a bewildered elderly marmot. [4:35] Speaker 1: It's a hot air. [4:36] Speaker 2: Balloon, said Anna proudly, and it's going to change the [4:40] Speaker 2: way we protect our colony. All our families and friends [4:44] Speaker 2: will be much safer because of it. [4:47] Speaker 1: But how does it work? [4:49] Speaker 2: Asked another marmot. Easy, replied Anna. I sit in the [4:53] Speaker 2: basket and heat the air in the balloon with the burner. [4:57] Speaker 2: It rises up into the sky where I can watch [5:00] Speaker 2: for eagles and foxes. But what's to stop you from [5:05] Speaker 2: flying away and never being seen again? Asked the elderly marmot. [5:11] Speaker 1: That's where you come in. [5:12] Speaker 2: Smiled Anna. [5:14] Speaker 1: With you all holding the ropes, I can't go anywhere. [5:17] Speaker 2: It all seemed like a good idea, so Anna climbed [5:21] Speaker 2: into the basket and began blasting heat into the balloon. [5:25] Speaker 2: It was a bright yellow balloon, and soon she was [5:29] Speaker 2: rising into the sky like the morning sun. [5:33] Speaker 1: Hold the ropes tightly. [5:35] Speaker 2: Anna shouted down from above. We've got you, a marmot [5:39] Speaker 2: called back. Soon, Anna was higher than she'd ever been before. [5:44] Speaker 2: Still not as high as the icy glacier at the [5:47] Speaker 2: mountain's peak, but very high indeed. She stopped warming the [5:52] Speaker 2: balloon's air and began searching the meadow and sky for [5:55] Speaker 2: signs of danger. Nothing was going to get past her [5:59] Speaker 2: keen eyes from this high up. Movement near the stream [6:03] Speaker 2: that trickled down from the glacier caught her eye. A fox! [6:08] Speaker 2: And she'd seen it so early that it wouldn't stand [6:11] Speaker 2: a chance of catching. [6:12] Speaker 1: A marmot today. [6:14] Speaker 2: Fee! Fee! [6:15] Speaker 1: Fee! [6:16] Speaker 2: Anna shouted, using the special call marmots used for foxes. [6:21] Speaker 2: Anna has seen a fox, screamed the elderly marmot. Run [6:25] Speaker 2: for the burrow! From her basket, Anna was delighted to [6:29] Speaker 2: see her plan working so well. The marmots were safe, [6:33] Speaker 2: the fox would go hungry, and she herself was safe. [6:37] Speaker 2: out of reach, up here in the balloon's basket. That's strange, [6:42] Speaker 2: thought Anna, looking at the balloon's shadow below her. I [6:46] Speaker 2: seem to be moving. Beneath her, she could also see [6:51] Speaker 2: two empty ropes. Oh no, there's nobody holding me in place, [6:56] Speaker 2: she cried. She was drifting across the meadow, rising higher [7:01] Speaker 2: as she went. [7:02] Speaker 1: I'm flying away, never to be seen again. [7:06] Speaker 2: Then, on the slope below her, she saw a small [7:09] Speaker 2: group of chamois. These cousins of the goats, with their [7:13] Speaker 2: short pointy horns and white faces, watched with disbelieving eyes [7:18] Speaker 2: as the hot air balloon swept over their heads. From [7:22] Speaker 2: the basket, Anna shouted, Help me, chamois! [7:25] Speaker 1: Help me! I'm flying away, never to be seen again! [7:30] Speaker 2: But the chamois just saw the bizarre shape of the [7:33] Speaker 2: bright yellow balloon, so replied, You're strange, and we don't [7:38] Speaker 2: know what you are. It might be best for us [7:41] Speaker 2: if you did fly away and were never seen again. [7:44] Speaker 1: It's me, Anna the Marmot, she screeched. [7:48] Speaker 2: But by then, the trailing ropes were past the chamois [7:51] Speaker 2: and dragging up the slope towards the glacier. Anna, shouted [7:57] Speaker 2: the chamois as they finally understood and began to give chase. [8:02] Speaker 2: On a grass-filled plateau beneath the glacier were a herd [8:05] Speaker 2: of ibex. These wild goats, with their long, curving horns, [8:10] Speaker 2: were minding their own business as usual. Very few animals [8:15] Speaker 2: ever bothered them this far up the mountain. So you [8:19] Speaker 2: can imagine their shock at seeing the big yellow balloon [8:23] Speaker 2: racing towards them from below. From the basket, Anna shouted. [8:28] Speaker 1: Help me, Ibex! Help me! I'm flying away, never to [8:32] Speaker 1: be seen again! [8:34] Speaker 2: But the Ibex just saw the surreal shape of the [8:37] Speaker 2: bright yellow balloon, so replied, You're odd, and we don't [8:42] Speaker 2: know what you are. It might be best for us [8:45] Speaker 2: if you did fly away and were never seen again. [8:48] Speaker 1: But it's me, Anna the Marmot! [8:51] Speaker 2: She yelled. But by then, the trailing ropes were past [8:55] Speaker 2: the Ibex and almost at the glacier itself. Anna! shouted [9:00] Speaker 2: the Ibex as they finally understood and began to give chase. [9:05] Speaker 2: It was so cold at the mountain's peak that ice [9:09] Speaker 2: collected there, forming the glacier. Up ahead was the very [9:13] Speaker 2: top of the mountain. Once Anna was past that, There [9:17] Speaker 2: was nothing to stop her flying away and never being [9:21] Speaker 2: seen again. Behind her, the ibex and the chamoy raced [9:26] Speaker 2: to grab the ropes. If just one of them could [9:29] Speaker 2: get there in time, it just might be enough to [9:32] Speaker 2: save her. [9:33] Speaker 1: Hurry, she shouted. Please hurry. [9:37] Speaker 2: But they weren't fast enough. The balloon sailed over the peak, [9:41] Speaker 2: taking the ropes with it. [9:43] Speaker 1: Anna was now. [9:44] Speaker 2: Sailing higher than the mountain itself. I'm doomed, she sobbed [9:50] Speaker 2: as she slumped down in the basket. I'll never see [9:54] Speaker 2: my family and friends again. Something landed heavily on the [9:59] Speaker 2: basket's rim, rocking it gently. Looking up, Anna saw the [10:04] Speaker 2: piercing eyes of the Lammergeier.' Hello, Marmot,' it said.' What [10:10] Speaker 2: are you doing up here?'' I admired how you were [10:14] Speaker 2: able to see so much as you sailed over the meadow. [10:17] Speaker 1: I thought I could do that too. [10:19] Speaker 2: But it's all gone wrong, and now I'm flying away, [10:23] Speaker 2: never to be seen again. That's a shame, said the Lamergeier. [10:28] Speaker 2: Maybe marmots aren't supposed to fly in the air. [10:32] Speaker 1: Couldn't you help me? [10:34] Speaker 2: Asked Anna. Perhaps, said the Lamergeier. This is a fine [10:40] Speaker 2: basket you are set in. If you'll give it to me, [10:43] Speaker 2: I shall take you home. Anything, promised Anna. [10:48] Speaker 1: Very well. [10:49] Speaker 2: Said the Lamergeier, and it dropped out of sight. Beneath [10:53] Speaker 2: the basket, it snatched up one of the trailing ropes [10:56] Speaker 2: with its talons and began to pull the balloon back [10:59] Speaker 2: to the mountain. Anna tried to help, eventually working out [11:04] Speaker 2: how to release air from the balloon to help it [11:06] Speaker 2: sink lower. They passed the peak, the glacier, the ibex, [11:12] Speaker 2: and the chamoy to drift towards a steep rocky wall [11:16] Speaker 2: on the meadow's far side. The Lamergeier appeared suddenly on [11:20] Speaker 2: the basket's lip once again. [11:22] Speaker 1: Hurry, Marmot! [11:23] Speaker 2: On my back! Anna wasted no time in doing as [11:27] Speaker 2: she was asked. As the pair of them sailed away, [11:30] Speaker 2: the balloon crashed onto a ledge, tearing free its fabric [11:34] Speaker 2: and jolting the basket onto its side. Fee! sounded the [11:40] Speaker 2: Marmot alarm as the Lamergeier drew close. This was the [11:43] Speaker 2: warning sign for an eagle. but the marmots were in [11:46] Speaker 2: no danger from the bearded vulture. It landed softly, allowing [11:51] Speaker 2: Anna to climb down. Thank you, she said. I am [11:56] Speaker 2: so grateful to you for saving me. Think nothing of it, [12:01] Speaker 2: smiled the lemmergeier. I now have your basket. It will [12:05] Speaker 2: make an ideal nest for my young up on that ledge. [12:09] Speaker 2: This said, the lemmergeier took off once more, going to [12:12] Speaker 2: inspect what it had earned. For Anna, though, she was [12:16] Speaker 2: soon surrounded by cheering marmots, pleased to have her home [12:20] Speaker 2: safe and sound. They all agreed it had been a [12:24] Speaker 2: great idea, but perhaps hot air balloons and marmots shouldn't mix. [12:30] Speaker 2: There the story could have ended, if not for the [12:33] Speaker 2: return of the man with the beard the next day. [12:37] Speaker 2: While searching for ibex through his binoculars, he was surprised [12:41] Speaker 2: to see a mass of yellow fabric lying in. [12:43] Speaker 1: The middle of the meadow. [12:45] Speaker 2: He didn't know where it came from, but it reminded [12:48] Speaker 2: him of a hot air balloon he seemed to have [12:51] Speaker 2: accidentally ordered, but that had failed to turn up. And [12:55] Speaker 2: while he puzzled all this out, a certain marmot had [12:59] Speaker 2: quietly removed his phone from his bag again and was [13:02] Speaker 2: in the process of placing her next order. The drone [13:06] Speaker 2: she'd selected would be delivered in the morning. The End Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.