# Griffin Watching

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 12 Jan 2026, 17 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/69372298/at460_griffinwatching_mixdown.mp3

Do griffins really exist? A hedgehog and a skunk aim to find out. 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: Yea, hello. My name's Josephine and this is the Animal
[0:18] Speaker 1: Tales podcast, where you suggest the animals featured in our stories.
[0:23] Speaker 1: There are new tales to enjoy every Monday and Wednesday,
[0:26] Speaker 1: with a third premium only story every Friday. Please continue
[0:31] Speaker 1: to share Animal Tales with your friends and leave us
[0:34] Speaker 1: reviews where you can. I do love to read them.
[0:39] Speaker 1: Milo is from Winnipeg in Canada, and she is asked
[0:42] Speaker 1: for a story featuring a griffin, a skunk, a hedgehog,
[0:46] Speaker 1: and a rock high rax. You can learn more about
[0:50] Speaker 1: these creatures in the animal facts after the story. Okay,
[0:54] Speaker 1: are you ready? That's good, then I'll begin griffin watching.
[1:02] Speaker 1: Milo and Ali were carefully making their way down the
[1:05] Speaker 1: mountain side. It had been a long morning of watching
[1:09] Speaker 1: the sky, and both were disappointed, not that the hedgehog
[1:13] Speaker 1: or the skunk were admitting to it. They had climbed
[1:17] Speaker 1: the mountain with hopes of spotting an animal that was
[1:20] Speaker 1: said to live there, a griffin, half lion, half eagle.
[1:25] Speaker 1: The animal was a creature of legend, therefore may not
[1:29] Speaker 1: even exist. Nevertheless, rumor had spread that a flock of
[1:35] Speaker 1: griffins were living amongst the peaks hidden by the rocks
[1:38] Speaker 1: and clouds. Curious to see if this was true, Milo
[1:43] Speaker 1: and Ali were spending a few days trying to catch
[1:46] Speaker 1: a glimpse of the griffins for themselves. Unfortunately, they'd had
[1:52] Speaker 1: no luck whatsoever, and now the two small mammals were
[1:56] Speaker 1: heading back to their campsite in the foothills. I guess
[2:00] Speaker 1: the rumors weren't true after all, Milo the hedgehog said.
[2:04] Speaker 1: At long last. Her friend Allie shrugged her black furry shoulders.
[2:12] Speaker 1: I guess you can't believe everything that you hear, the
[2:15] Speaker 1: skunk said. But it still doesn't mean that they don't exist.
[2:19] Speaker 1: All we've learned to day is that they don't live here.
[2:24] Speaker 1: I suppose, so, Milo sighed. They'd climbed down far enough
[2:29] Speaker 1: to reach the highest grasses and small shrubs amongst the
[2:32] Speaker 1: jagged stones. I'm hungry, Milo said, as her belly grumbled.
[2:39] Speaker 1: Let's look around for some food. There must be something
[2:42] Speaker 1: we can eat up here. Allie agreed, disappearing amongst the
[2:48] Speaker 1: stunted bushes while Milo snuffled amongst the grass sprouting between
[2:52] Speaker 1: the rocks. There wasn't much to see beyond the stones
[2:56] Speaker 1: and plants, certainly, nothing to stop her hungry. A clatter
[3:02] Speaker 1: of shifting stones made Milo look up, thinking it was
[3:06] Speaker 1: her skunk friend. Allie, is that you, Milo called, but
[3:11] Speaker 1: there was no reply. She was about to return to
[3:15] Speaker 1: her foraging when a shape erupted towards her from the
[3:18] Speaker 1: gap between two boulders. Milo shrieked, instinctively, rolling into a
[3:25] Speaker 1: spiky ball to protect herself. She felt clawed feet batting
[3:30] Speaker 1: at her, shying away from her sharp spines Curled up
[3:35] Speaker 1: as she was, she had no way of knowing who
[3:37] Speaker 1: her attacker was. Leave her alone, yelled Allie from a
[3:43] Speaker 1: short distance away. The attacker froze for a moment, then
[3:48] Speaker 1: scrambled away between the rocks, uncurling. Milo was relieved to
[3:54] Speaker 1: see her friend arrive at her side. What was that?
[3:58] Speaker 1: Asked Milo, as the skunk helped her to her feet.
[4:03] Speaker 1: See for yourself, said Allie quietly, gesturing for the hedgehog
[4:08] Speaker 1: to turn around. Sat on top of a rock was
[4:12] Speaker 1: a griffin, its wings neatly folded. It was unmistakable a
[4:18] Speaker 1: lion at the back and an eagle at the front. Uh.
[4:23] Speaker 1: He's quite small, isn't he? Said Milo? So small in fact,
[4:29] Speaker 1: that the griffin wasn't much larger than the pair of them.
[4:33] Speaker 1: We were right, Alli whispered, We were Milo agreed, But
[4:41] Speaker 1: why is he sniffling? He's upset or something? Ali agreed.
[4:48] Speaker 1: Do you think he got prickled by your spines? Oh my,
[4:53] Speaker 1: he's only a baby, Milo said, noticing the fluffy feathers
[4:58] Speaker 1: and large back paw. I think we've scared him a baby,
[5:05] Speaker 1: said the skunk nervously. Where are his parents? I'd suggest
[5:11] Speaker 1: we find them, but we've not been having much luck
[5:14] Speaker 1: searching for gryffins up to now. Milo said, But we
[5:18] Speaker 1: can't leave him here. You're not suggesting we take him
[5:23] Speaker 1: back up there? Are you? Gulped? Ali? It's where we
[5:27] Speaker 1: think the gryffins live, pointed out Milo, as the gryffin
[5:32] Speaker 1: slid down the boulder to land with a thump between
[5:35] Speaker 1: them both. Are you serious, Ali squeaked. We can't be
[5:41] Speaker 1: in charge of a baby, and a big baby at that.
[5:45] Speaker 1: How will we get it to follow us? Milo frowned, unsure,
[5:51] Speaker 1: then noticed that the gryffin was studying the shiny compass
[5:54] Speaker 1: dangling from Ali's backpack. Look, she said, with a smile.
[6:00] Speaker 1: Some birds like shiny things, and it appears our little
[6:04] Speaker 1: gryffin does too. Ali swayed from side to side, sending
[6:10] Speaker 1: the compass swinging. The Gryffin's eyes followed its movements. Great,
[6:16] Speaker 1: said Milo, This might just work. The skunk and the
[6:22] Speaker 1: hedgehog began to retrace their steps, climbing the mountain once again.
[6:28] Speaker 1: Ali went first, the griffin followed, and Milo brought up
[6:33] Speaker 1: the rear. It was fun observing the gryffin's fascination with
[6:38] Speaker 1: the shiny silver case of the compass as it shimmered
[6:41] Speaker 1: in the sunlight. Even so, it was slow going, especially
[6:46] Speaker 1: when the gryffin became distracted and had to be encouraged
[6:50] Speaker 1: to notice the compass again. You know, this would be
[6:55] Speaker 1: much easier if he would just fly, Ali panted. After
[6:59] Speaker 1: a while. Maybe he's too little, Milo said, looking at
[7:04] Speaker 1: the youngster's folded wings. He may not have learned yet.
[7:10] Speaker 1: Ali stopped and turned around. Can you fly, she asked
[7:15] Speaker 1: the griffin. Like this, she flapped her arms as she
[7:19] Speaker 1: jogged in a tight circle. The griffin stared blankly at first,
[7:24] Speaker 1: then tried to chase her. No, no fly, Ali insisted.
[7:31] Speaker 1: With your wings, She reached out and patted the wing feathers.
[7:37] Speaker 1: The gryffin seemed to catch on, spreading them wide. They
[7:41] Speaker 1: were larger than they thought they would be. He began
[7:44] Speaker 1: to flap, sending up a small cloud of dust. For
[7:49] Speaker 1: a moment, Milo held her breath, but the griffin barely
[7:53] Speaker 1: lifted from the ground. Exhausted, he slumped to the floor.
[8:00] Speaker 1: Never mind, Milo said, giving him a comforting pat on
[8:04] Speaker 1: the head. You tried your best. Looks like we've no
[8:08] Speaker 1: choice but to walk. They continued on, still making slow progress,
[8:15] Speaker 1: until they discovered the spot they'd climbed up to earlier.
[8:20] Speaker 1: Can you see any gryffins, the hedgehog asked, looking about her.
[8:25] Speaker 1: No more than we found the first time we climbed
[8:28] Speaker 1: up here, grumbled Ali, as she guided the griffin away
[8:32] Speaker 1: from a ledge. I think the griffins must live right
[8:35] Speaker 1: at the very top. We'll have to keep going, I
[8:40] Speaker 1: guess we will, agreed Milo reluctantly. But they didn't get
[8:45] Speaker 1: much further at all. The path simply disappeared, falling away
[8:51] Speaker 1: over the edge of the mountain. Now what are we
[8:54] Speaker 1: going to do? Asked Ali. The gryffin shrieked, suddenly diving
[9:00] Speaker 1: towards a gap in the rocks. Get off of me
[9:04] Speaker 1: yelped a voice from within. Together, Milo and Ali pulled
[9:10] Speaker 1: the gryffin away by his tail, revealing a furry face
[9:14] Speaker 1: peering out from the hole. It was a rock hiraxe,
[9:18] Speaker 1: and he was looking grumpy. Can't you control your gryffin?
[9:24] Speaker 1: The hier axe complained, don't you know us? Rock hier
[9:28] Speaker 1: axes are their favorite snack er? Sorry about that, Milo said,
[9:35] Speaker 1: He's only a baby. And you see he's not our griffin.
[9:40] Speaker 1: We found him, added Ali. The griffin, encouraged by the
[9:46] Speaker 1: rock hier axe emerging, let out another shriek and lunged again.
[9:52] Speaker 1: It was all the hedgehog and Skunk could do to
[9:54] Speaker 1: hold him back. Ah see, there it goes again. Screw
[10:00] Speaker 1: the rock Hiraxe, taking several steps backwards. I'll be a goner.
[10:05] Speaker 1: Just you wait and see. I don't think he wants
[10:09] Speaker 1: to eat you, said Milo. He did the same to me.
[10:13] Speaker 1: He's just playing. The rock hi Axe didn't seem all
[10:18] Speaker 1: that sure of this. Look, we're trying to take him
[10:22] Speaker 1: to the mountain top to his family. Milo continued, do
[10:26] Speaker 1: you know a way up? I don't see why I
[10:30] Speaker 1: should help, hurrumphed the rock Hiraxe. How about because it
[10:35] Speaker 1: will get him further away from you, Alice suggested. Or
[10:40] Speaker 1: we could just leave him here all right, all right,
[10:45] Speaker 1: said the rock Hiraxe, Realizing he had no choice, you'd
[10:49] Speaker 1: best follow me. He turned around and marched back into
[10:54] Speaker 1: the gap in the rocks. The Griffin took some persuading
[10:58] Speaker 1: to enter the tunnel, but after much trying, they followed
[11:02] Speaker 1: the high Racks along dark, twisting paths. Have the Gryffins
[11:07] Speaker 1: lived up here long? Milo asked the high ras frustratingly,
[11:13] Speaker 1: for many years, he replied. Personally, I prefer to keep
[11:18] Speaker 1: our distance. Milo chuckled at that the one animal that
[11:24] Speaker 1: knew for certain that gryffins existed, and he wanted nothing
[11:28] Speaker 1: to do with them. It was brighter ahead, but the
[11:32] Speaker 1: rock high Racks stopped well before it. I'm not going
[11:36] Speaker 1: any further, he said. We're close to the nests. Walk
[11:41] Speaker 1: through the cave, then go right, not left. Right. Thank you,
[11:48] Speaker 1: Milo replied, as they headed out into the cave. Hopefully
[11:53] Speaker 1: we'll see you again on the way back. It was
[11:57] Speaker 1: great to be able to see daylight again, but Milo's
[12:00] Speaker 1: thoughts were on meeting an adult gryffin. She didn't want
[12:04] Speaker 1: to end up on the menu like a rock hih axe.
[12:09] Speaker 1: Which way were we supposed to go when we left
[12:11] Speaker 1: the cave, asked Ali, Left or right? The griffin made
[12:17] Speaker 1: the decision for them, bounding to the left. Wait, Milo cried,
[12:23] Speaker 1: I'm quite sure it was right, but the little griffin
[12:27] Speaker 1: wasn't paying them any attention. The hedgehog and the skunk
[12:32] Speaker 1: sprinted after him, struggling to keep up. The sides up
[12:36] Speaker 1: here were steep and the drop horrendous. Then an awkward
[12:42] Speaker 1: leap sent the griffin sliding sideways. Ali let out a cry,
[12:47] Speaker 1: reaching for the long tail as the ground crumbled beneath
[12:51] Speaker 1: her feet. Desperately, Milo grabbed for Ali. Now she was
[12:57] Speaker 1: toppling too. They were over the edge. Milo closed her eyes,
[13:03] Speaker 1: but the sense of falling never came. They were just
[13:07] Speaker 1: hanging there. Milo was clutching Alley's black and white tail,
[13:12] Speaker 1: while the skunk was holding on to the griffins and
[13:16] Speaker 1: his wide wings were beating fast, straining to keep them upright.
[13:22] Speaker 1: He's getting tired, wailed Ali as she tried not to
[13:27] Speaker 1: look down. If only I could reach the cliff edge,
[13:31] Speaker 1: Milo cried, stretching out her foot. An ear splitting shriek
[13:37] Speaker 1: cut through the air at that moment, and quite suddenly
[13:40] Speaker 1: all three of them were dragged upwards. They were held
[13:44] Speaker 1: tightly in the talons of a much larger griffin. The
[13:49] Speaker 1: mysterious creature looped around the mountain's peak, dropping down the
[13:53] Speaker 1: other side to where a large cluster of dry sticks
[13:57] Speaker 1: and branches formed a nest. Very gently, they were all
[14:02] Speaker 1: set down. Thank you, Milo spluttered as the large griffin
[14:08] Speaker 1: settled before them. What were you doing with my child,
[14:13] Speaker 1: the gryffin demanded firmly. We found him, Ali, blurted out,
[14:20] Speaker 1: half way down the mountain. We've been trying to bring
[14:23] Speaker 1: him back. The griffin's glare softened. I thought he was lost,
[14:30] Speaker 1: she said, sounding emotional. I've been worried sick. The baby
[14:36] Speaker 1: gryffin let out a chirp before flopping onto the nest's floor. Exhausted.
[14:43] Speaker 1: I thank you from the bottom of my heart, said
[14:46] Speaker 1: the adult griffin. There must be some way I can
[14:49] Speaker 1: repay your kindness. Sat amongst the branches was a long,
[14:55] Speaker 1: golden gryffin feather. May we keep this, asked picking it
[15:01] Speaker 1: up to remind us of you. That seems such a
[15:06] Speaker 1: little price for such a grand deed, said the mother, griffin,
[15:11] Speaker 1: you could er maybe leave the rock hih axes alone,
[15:15] Speaker 1: suggested Ali, give them their space. If you see what
[15:19] Speaker 1: I mean, we could look into that, agreed the griffin.
[15:25] Speaker 1: But that helps the rock hihraxes. What would help you, ah,
[15:32] Speaker 1: I know, smiled Milo. And so it was that the
[15:37] Speaker 1: journey back down the mountain was much quicker, much more exciting,
[15:43] Speaker 1: and certainly much more memorable as a hedgehog, a skunk,
[15:49] Speaker 1: and a tired baby soared upon the back of a
[15:53] Speaker 1: very real and majestic gryffin animals fact, gryffins are creatures
[16:04] Speaker 1: of myths and legends. In the oldest stories, gryffins hoarded
[16:09] Speaker 1: gold and kept it well hidden from a one eyed
[16:13] Speaker 1: group of people who aimed to steal it. Skunks, hedgehogs,
[16:19] Speaker 1: and rock high axes are all mammals. Skunks are well
[16:24] Speaker 1: known for their ability to spray a foul smelling liquid
[16:27] Speaker 1: when threatened. Hedgehogs protect themselves by using their spines on
[16:32] Speaker 1: their backs. Rock high axes have no such abilities, so
[16:37] Speaker 1: they must hide from danger amongst the rocks where they live.
[16:42] Speaker 1: For such a small and defenseless animal, it is weird
[16:45] Speaker 1: to think that their nearest living relative is the Elephant.
[16:50] Speaker 1: Thank you for your suggestions, Milo, We hope you enjoyed it,
[16:54] Speaker 1: and thank you to all of you across the world
[16:57] Speaker 1: for listening to it. If you prefer for your stories
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[17:05] Speaker 1: or supercarst find out how in the text that accompanies
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[17:15] Speaker 1: us next time for another great animal tale. Goodbye,

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