# The Teeny, Tiny Dragon

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 21 Jul 2026, 18 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73012138/at516_theteenytinydragon_mixdown.mp3

A large blue dragon that enjoys terrorising others is given a taste of his own medicine. Written especially for this podcast by Alice. If you enjoyed this story, please do leave us a review. And, if you'd like to suggest an animal for a future Animal Tales story, you can do so by emailing podcast@animaltales.uk. We would love to hear from you. Animal Tales Books! Collections of Animal Tales children’s stories are available to buy exclusively at Amazon. Simply search for Animal Tales Short Stories or follow this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CLJQZ9C9?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_sirpi Become a PREMIUM Subscriber You can now enjoy Animal Tales by becoming a Premium Subscriber. This gets you: • All episodes in our catalogue advert-free • Bonus Premium-only episodes (one per week) which will never be used on the main podcast • We guarantee to use one of your animal suggestions in a story You can sign up through Apple Podcasts or through Supercast and there are both monthly and yearly plans available. Discover a brand new story every Monday, Wednesday and Friday – just for you! You can find more Animal Tales at www.animaltales.uk A Note About The Adverts In order to allow us to make these stories we offer a premium subscription and run adverts. The adverts are not chosen by us, but played automatically depending on the platform you listen through (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc) and the country you live in. The adverts may even be different if you listen to the story twice. We have had a handful of instances where an advert has played that is not suitable for a family audience, despite the podcast clearly being labelled for children. If you’re concerned about an advert you hear, please contact the platform you are listening to directly. Spotify, in particular, has proven problematic in the past, for both inappropriate adverts and the volume at which the adverts play. If you find this happening, please let Spotify know via their Facebook customer care page. 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 advert free.

## Transcript

[0:12] Speaker 1: He yo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the Animal Tales podcast,
[0:18] Speaker 1: where you suggest the animal for us to write a
[0:20] Speaker 1: story about. My name's Josephine and I've got a brand
[0:24] Speaker 1: new animal story here just for you. Animal Tales Premium
[0:29] Speaker 1: members get an extra story every Friday. Find out how
[0:34] Speaker 1: to listen to them by visiting Animaltales dot uk and remember,
[0:39] Speaker 1: for a tiny fee, all our stories are advert free.
[0:44] Speaker 1: Alicia is from England and she would like a story
[0:47] Speaker 1: with a unicorn, a dragon, a clownfish and an axe lottle.
[0:53] Speaker 1: You can learn more about some of these creatures in
[0:55] Speaker 1: the animal facts after the story. Now settle back, relax,
[1:00] Speaker 1: and I'll begin The teeny tiny Dragon. The great blue
[1:08] Speaker 1: Dragon stomped and roared, bearing his long, sharp teeth. Afraid
[1:14] Speaker 1: of his mighty claws, the animals on the beach fled,
[1:20] Speaker 1: crushing a palm tree beneath his foot. The dragon laughed. Oh,
[1:25] Speaker 1: how he enjoyed being the biggest, scariest animal in the
[1:29] Speaker 1: whole land. Nobody was as powerful as him, nobody as
[1:34] Speaker 1: large or as terrifying. He could create hurricanes with his wings,
[1:40] Speaker 1: sliced through mountains with his claws, burn entire forests with
[1:45] Speaker 1: his fiery breath. Every animal in the world feared him.
[1:51] Speaker 1: And yet while the animals ran from the beach in terror,
[1:56] Speaker 1: one creature simply stood and watched. It was a unicorn,
[2:01] Speaker 1: and it had grown tired of the dragon's havoc, and
[2:04] Speaker 1: the dragon had noticed it. You, the dragon roared at
[2:10] Speaker 1: the unicorn. Are you not afraid? Run before I gobble
[2:14] Speaker 1: you up or stomp you flat. The unicorn looked up
[2:19] Speaker 1: at the beast and replied, I've been waiting for our
[2:23] Speaker 1: paths to cross. Is that so? Sneered the dragon, his
[2:29] Speaker 1: eyes narrowing, You must be very foolish to wish to
[2:33] Speaker 1: meet me. It is you who is foolish. The unicorn answered,
[2:39] Speaker 1: you care for no one but yourself. You believe that
[2:43] Speaker 1: you are so strong and mighty that nobody could ever
[2:46] Speaker 1: challenge you. Well that ends today. It's time you were
[2:51] Speaker 1: taught a lesson. The dragon wasn't going to stand for this,
[2:56] Speaker 1: so he roared, lunging towards the union. But before the
[3:02] Speaker 1: beast's jaws could close around her, the unicorn's horn lit
[3:06] Speaker 1: up with magic, and the dragon disappeared in a puff
[3:11] Speaker 1: of smoke. While this was happening, somewhere out to sea,
[3:17] Speaker 1: the fish of the coral reef were hiding. There was
[3:21] Speaker 1: complete silence, not a movement nor a sound, until a
[3:26] Speaker 1: little limpet cried out, it's safe to come out. Immediately
[3:31] Speaker 1: the reef erupted into noise and motion. Now that the
[3:35] Speaker 1: danger had passed, Colorful fish, crustaceans, and mollusks swam out
[3:41] Speaker 1: to continue with their day. From one hiding place emerged
[3:47] Speaker 1: two friends, Alicia, an axe alottle and Rosy, a clownfish.
[3:54] Speaker 1: That's the third time this week that we've had to hide,
[3:58] Speaker 1: Alicia said, Well, keep an eye on the open water,
[4:03] Speaker 1: just in case it comes back. Rosy replied. They were
[4:07] Speaker 1: close to the reef's edge. It was quieter here, with
[4:11] Speaker 1: the bright coral on one side and the vast sands
[4:15] Speaker 1: of the ocean floor on the other. I can't see anything,
[4:20] Speaker 1: the axe Loottle said, but I can hear something. Hear what,
[4:26] Speaker 1: Rosy replied. It's coming from that clam shell, Alicia answered,
[4:32] Speaker 1: swimming away from the reef for a closer look. It
[4:36] Speaker 1: was half a shell, creating a curved lump in the sand.
[4:41] Speaker 1: There's definitely something under there, nodded Rosy. Whatever it is,
[4:46] Speaker 1: it can't be very big. Some one must be trapped underneath,
[4:51] Speaker 1: Alicia said, pushing her axe lottle fingers under the edge
[4:55] Speaker 1: of the shell. As she lifted the clown fish, pushed
[5:00] Speaker 1: upwards with her nose, and out crawled a very small
[5:04] Speaker 1: blue dragon. He wasn't even as big as Rosy, with
[5:09] Speaker 1: tiny wings, tiny claws, and even tinier teeth. Finally, the
[5:16] Speaker 1: dragon snapped crossly. Couldn't you hear me shouting? It took
[5:21] Speaker 1: you long enough? Um, You're welcome, said Rosy. Were you
[5:27] Speaker 1: hiding from the danger too? Hiding? What nonsense? Snarled the dragon.
[5:34] Speaker 1: I don't hide from anyone. And what were you doing
[5:38] Speaker 1: beneath the shell, asked Alicia. The dragon huffed, thinking of
[5:43] Speaker 1: his encounter with the unicorn. I've no wish to talk
[5:47] Speaker 1: about it, thank you. Now, how do I get back
[5:50] Speaker 1: to land? It's that way, Alicia said, pointing across the
[5:56] Speaker 1: ocean floor. But it's a dangerous journey for a little
[6:00] Speaker 1: seahorse like you. I'm not a little sea horse, the
[6:05] Speaker 1: dragon cried. I'm a mighty dragon, devourer of beasts, destroyer
[6:11] Speaker 1: of mountains, and terror of the skies. Of course you are,
[6:17] Speaker 1: said Rosy, not believing a word. Nice to meet you, Rosy,
[6:23] Speaker 1: don't tease, Alicia said, trying to hide her own grin.
[6:29] Speaker 1: Stand aside. The dragon demanded, I'm leaving, But before he
[6:35] Speaker 1: could swim away, Alicia and Rosy grabbed him by the tail.
[6:41] Speaker 1: Unhand me, you bother some sea life, the dragon squeaked.
[6:47] Speaker 1: But you can't swim out into open water, Alicia insisted,
[6:52] Speaker 1: you'll be eaten by the the the barra cooder, Rosy
[6:57] Speaker 1: finished in a whisper. The what the dragon asked, never
[7:03] Speaker 1: having heard of such a thing. The barracuda, Alicia repeated.
[7:09] Speaker 1: He's a large, hungry fish who eats any one who
[7:13] Speaker 1: gets in his way. He was right here on the
[7:16] Speaker 1: reef just a short time ago. Well I'm not bothered
[7:20] Speaker 1: about that, said the dragon, tugging his tail free. I
[7:25] Speaker 1: have to get home. I've got a unicorn I need
[7:29] Speaker 1: to gobble up. And with that he swam away from
[7:33] Speaker 1: the reef across the empty sea bed. That poor little
[7:38] Speaker 1: dragon is going to get eaten, for sure, Alicia said,
[7:42] Speaker 1: as they watched him leave. And there's more out there
[7:46] Speaker 1: than just the barracuda, Rosy added quietly. The dragon wasn't
[7:52] Speaker 1: used to being small, and was carrying on as if
[7:55] Speaker 1: he were still the colossal creature from before his encounter
[7:58] Speaker 1: with the unicorn. He was completely focused on finding that
[8:03] Speaker 1: rotten horned horse to make her turn him back, and
[8:08] Speaker 1: when she did, he'd eat her up in one bite.
[8:12] Speaker 1: So distracted was he that he fell to notice a
[8:16] Speaker 1: claw poking from the sand. As he swam past, the
[8:20] Speaker 1: claw snapped down onto his leg. Unhand me, the dragon
[8:26] Speaker 1: snarled as he wriggled and tugged the claw's owner. A
[8:31] Speaker 1: large crab emerged from the sand, looking pleased with himself.
[8:37] Speaker 1: Not likely, chuckled the crab. You may be small, but
[8:42] Speaker 1: you'll make a lovely snack. I'm not small, screeched the
[8:47] Speaker 1: dragon as he fought to be free, But it was
[8:50] Speaker 1: no use. The crab had him, and the tiny dragon
[8:55] Speaker 1: wasn't strong enough to get away. For the very first
[8:58] Speaker 1: time in his life, the dragon felt a twinge of fear.
[9:04] Speaker 1: I wonder what bit of you I shall nibble first,
[9:07] Speaker 1: grinned the crab, just as something bounced off the top
[9:11] Speaker 1: of his shell. Oy, what's that? What's going on? Bits
[9:16] Speaker 1: of shell and small pebbles rained down on the crab,
[9:20] Speaker 1: making it twitch and flinch. It didn't like it. One
[9:23] Speaker 1: bit so scuttled away to safety, letting go of its
[9:27] Speaker 1: prize in the process. The dragon sank to the sea floor,
[9:33] Speaker 1: only to realize who had been hurling the missiles. Are
[9:37] Speaker 1: you okay, Alicia asked, You helped me, said the dragon,
[9:44] Speaker 1: looking quite puzzled. Of course we did, The axe Alottle
[9:48] Speaker 1: replied us. Smaller creatures need to stick together, otherwise crab
[9:54] Speaker 1: claws like those would make our lives a misery. The
[9:59] Speaker 1: dragon glanced at his own sharp claws. He'd always enjoyed
[10:04] Speaker 1: scaring other animals with them, but after his encounter with
[10:08] Speaker 1: the crab, he was getting to see the other side
[10:11] Speaker 1: of it. Just so we all know, the dragon said,
[10:15] Speaker 1: as he began to swim away again. I didn't ask
[10:19] Speaker 1: for any help, even so, said Rosy. Maybe we should
[10:25] Speaker 1: keep you company. It's dangerous down here for a little
[10:28] Speaker 1: creature like you. The dragon was about to object to
[10:33] Speaker 1: being described that way when he finally admitted to himself
[10:37] Speaker 1: that it was true. He was little, so reluctantly he
[10:43] Speaker 1: swam on with the axe Loottel and the clownfish right
[10:47] Speaker 1: behind him. It was just sand as far as the
[10:51] Speaker 1: eye could see, with not even a rock in sight.
[10:55] Speaker 1: Watch out, said Alicia. Suddenly, something's coming. She feared it
[11:02] Speaker 1: was the barracuda, but the dark shape broke up to
[11:05] Speaker 1: reveal a large shoal of swimming mackerel. Most of the
[11:09] Speaker 1: mackerel didn't even notice them, they were so tiny, until
[11:13] Speaker 1: one of them shouted, hey, get a load of the
[11:16] Speaker 1: little pip squeaks down there. The dragon bristled, come down
[11:22] Speaker 1: here and say that, he roared, to which the mackerel
[11:26] Speaker 1: just laughed. They were much bigger than the three travelers.
[11:31] Speaker 1: The dragon pouted angrily, feeling helpless, Just ignore them, Rosy said, kindly.
[11:39] Speaker 1: Bullies don't deserve your attention. They like to stir things up.
[11:45] Speaker 1: The dragon sniffed, it was true. When he was big,
[11:49] Speaker 1: he'd always enjoyed making smaller creatures run or hide. Quite abruptly,
[11:56] Speaker 1: the mackerel turned sharply in a flurry of fins and hails.
[12:01] Speaker 1: None of them were laughing or teasing now, as they
[12:04] Speaker 1: swam on at speed. Something had spooked them. Oh no,
[12:10] Speaker 1: Rosy whispered, it's a bigger bully. A large, lone fish
[12:17] Speaker 1: zigzagged through the water at speed. It was long and thin,
[12:21] Speaker 1: and several sharp teeth were poking out of its mouth.
[12:25] Speaker 1: The barracuda has it seen us, fretted Alicia. There's nowhere
[12:31] Speaker 1: to hide. Rosy hissed, looking around for coral or even
[12:36] Speaker 1: a small rock. Quickly urged Alicia, bury yourself in the sand.
[12:44] Speaker 1: The three animals slipped under the fine grains, hoping they
[12:48] Speaker 1: had been fast enough. Ooh, where did they go? Mocked
[12:54] Speaker 1: the voice of the barracuda. It's like they just disappeared.
[13:01] Speaker 1: Alicia and Rosy trembled at the thought of the big
[13:04] Speaker 1: fish right above their heads, with no little morsels to eat,
[13:10] Speaker 1: I'll just have to eat sand instead. The barracuda chuckled,
[13:16] Speaker 1: great big mouthfuls of sand scooped up right about here.
[13:23] Speaker 1: Don't yelped Rosy, bursting out of the sand. Please let
[13:28] Speaker 1: us go, pleaded Alicia, as she too emerged. No chance,
[13:35] Speaker 1: said the barracuda, as it swam a little closer. Not now,
[13:40] Speaker 1: I've got you. The clownfish and the axe Loottle thought
[13:44] Speaker 1: it was the end of them, until quite unexpectedly, the
[13:48] Speaker 1: barracuda pulled a very strange face. What's that, he asked,
[13:54] Speaker 1: something's on my back. It was at that moment that
[13:58] Speaker 1: the dragon bit the large fish. He may be little,
[14:03] Speaker 1: but he could still bite. Yow, screamed the barracuda as
[14:08] Speaker 1: he thrashed about. But the dragon just held on with
[14:12] Speaker 1: his claws and bit and bit again. Get off, Get off.
[14:18] Speaker 1: If you think that's bad, wait until you get a
[14:21] Speaker 1: load of this, said the dragon. It wasn't so much
[14:26] Speaker 1: fiery breath as superheated water, but it was enough to
[14:30] Speaker 1: give one of the barracuda's fins a nasty singe. The
[14:35] Speaker 1: barracuder screamed and bolted, jetting away as fast as it
[14:39] Speaker 1: could swim, leaving the dragon spinning in the water. The
[14:45] Speaker 1: barracuder it's gone, cheered Rosy. And I'm not so sure
[14:50] Speaker 1: he'll be coming back, added Alicia. Rosy turned to the
[14:55] Speaker 1: dragon with a look of admiration on her face. You've
[14:58] Speaker 1: saved us, she said. Of course I did, answered the
[15:04] Speaker 1: little blue dragon. US. Smaller creatures need to stick together,
[15:09] Speaker 1: otherwise big creatures would make our lives a misery. And
[15:14] Speaker 1: he meant it too. It wasn't much further to the beach,
[15:19] Speaker 1: and soon the clown fish, the axe a lottle, and
[15:22] Speaker 1: the dragon were in the shallow water. Now that you've
[15:26] Speaker 1: found the land, what will you do now, Alicia asked,
[15:31] Speaker 1: I have some one to find, said the dragon, a unicorn.
[15:36] Speaker 1: Although I no longer think I'm going to do what
[15:39] Speaker 1: I thought I was going to do. I think that
[15:42] Speaker 1: if I want to ever be a big dragon again,
[15:45] Speaker 1: I need to show that I've changed my ways. So
[15:50] Speaker 1: you really are a big, mighty dragon, Rosy asked, until
[15:55] Speaker 1: recently smiled the dragon. But finding the unicorn isn't going
[16:00] Speaker 1: to be easy at this size. It may take me
[16:03] Speaker 1: some time, and this time we can't come with you,
[16:08] Speaker 1: pointed out Alicia. That's okay, nodded the dragon. You've done
[16:14] Speaker 1: more than enough already. Because now I know to stick
[16:18] Speaker 1: together with the smaller creatures. I'll work it out. That's
[16:23] Speaker 1: the spirit, smiled Rosy. You may not have a mighty
[16:28] Speaker 1: body at the moment, but you have the mightiest of hearts.
[16:33] Speaker 1: Then the tiny dragon walked out of the sea and
[16:36] Speaker 1: onto the beach and went in search of a unicorn.
[16:45] Speaker 1: Animal fact. As our story contains unicorns and dragons, we
[16:52] Speaker 1: thought it would be okay to continue the fantasy by
[16:55] Speaker 1: having an axe a lot or live on a coral reef.
[16:58] Speaker 1: In reality, axelottles don't live in sea water in the wild.
[17:04] Speaker 1: They are only found in one freshwater lake in Mexico. Clownfish, though,
[17:10] Speaker 1: do live on reefs. They have developed a relationship with
[17:14] Speaker 1: sea anenemies, where the clownfish gets shelter and somewhere to
[17:18] Speaker 1: hide in return for protecting and cleaning the annemy. We
[17:23] Speaker 1: call this kind of relationship between two different types of
[17:26] Speaker 1: animals symbiotic. Thank you for your suggestions, Alicia. We hope
[17:32] Speaker 1: that you all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're listening in
[17:35] Speaker 1: the world, discover our Animal Tales books at animaltales dot uk.
[17:42] Speaker 1: Great bedtime reading, especially if you've discovered the joy of
[17:46] Speaker 1: reading for yourself. Make sure you join us next time
[17:50] Speaker 1: for another great animal tale. Goodbye,

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