# Space Race

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 4 Feb 2026, 18 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/69644251/at467_space_race_mixdown.mp3

A sunbear, an emperor penguin and a highland cow try to beat each other to the moon! 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: Yale. 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. There are over
[0:28] Speaker 1: four hundred and fifty animal tales now and all are
[0:31] Speaker 1: available on our premium service alongside over eighty premium only
[0:36] Speaker 1: stories for a tiny fee. They are all advert free.
[0:42] Speaker 1: Helphi is from the UK and he would like a
[0:45] Speaker 1: story with a sun bear, a penguin and a Highland cow.
[0:50] Speaker 1: You can learn more about these creatures in the animal
[0:53] Speaker 1: facts after the story. Now, settle back, relax, and I'll
[0:58] Speaker 1: begin space race. Elfie was a very excited sun bear.
[1:07] Speaker 1: His school was having a science fare and it was
[1:10] Speaker 1: all he and any one else for that matter, could
[1:13] Speaker 1: talk about. Each student had one week to create a
[1:17] Speaker 1: machine or experiment, which they would then display in the
[1:21] Speaker 1: main hall on the Friday afternoon. It could be about
[1:25] Speaker 1: anything they wanted, and the only rule was that they
[1:29] Speaker 1: first had to submit their ideas to their teachers to
[1:32] Speaker 1: ensure that nobody was doing the same as somebody else.
[1:37] Speaker 1: Elphie knew exactly what he wanted to do. The young
[1:41] Speaker 1: Sunbar had two major interests in his life. The first
[1:46] Speaker 1: was building things out of scraps, such as go karts,
[1:49] Speaker 1: little robots, and flying drones. The second was his passion
[1:55] Speaker 1: for space. He was always day dreaming about aliens, far
[2:00] Speaker 1: worlds and distant stars. By combining these two interests, he
[2:06] Speaker 1: had his project. The Sunbear was going to build a
[2:10] Speaker 1: rocket ship. Elfie had it all planned out, the shape,
[2:16] Speaker 1: the size, how much fuel he'd need to get himself
[2:19] Speaker 1: off the ground. There would even be room for him
[2:22] Speaker 1: to sit inside, allowing him to take a picture of
[2:26] Speaker 1: himself looking down at the Earth. With that in his presentation,
[2:31] Speaker 1: he was sure to win first prize. So on Monday,
[2:37] Speaker 1: Elfie the Sunbear submitted his idea to his teacher, a
[2:41] Speaker 1: zebra named missus Hoofton. I'm afraid I can't let you
[2:46] Speaker 1: do this, missus Hoofton said, much to Elfie's astonishment. What
[2:52] Speaker 1: he answered? Why not? You know I can do it.
[2:58] Speaker 1: I don't doubt that, Elfie, missus Hoofton said, thinking of
[3:02] Speaker 1: the many miniature robots the youngster had brought in over
[3:05] Speaker 1: the school year. It's just that I've had not one,
[3:09] Speaker 1: but two other students also tell me they want to
[3:12] Speaker 1: build a rocket. Can't they choose something else instead, Elfi asked,
[3:19] Speaker 1: It doesn't work like that. His teacher said, either you
[3:24] Speaker 1: have to work together as a group, or you have
[3:27] Speaker 1: to agree amongst yourselves which one of you will do
[3:30] Speaker 1: it and which two will change their minds. The outcome
[3:35] Speaker 1: will be down to you all. Elfie didn't want to
[3:39] Speaker 1: work in a group, and he certainly didn't want to
[3:42] Speaker 1: change his mind. He'd just have to convince the others
[3:46] Speaker 1: to let him have the rocket ship idea? All right,
[3:51] Speaker 1: said the sun bear. Who are the other two who
[3:54] Speaker 1: want to do it? Ten minutes later, Elfie was sat
[3:59] Speaker 1: in a class room with Ollie, a highland cow, and May,
[4:03] Speaker 1: an emperor penguin. So all three of us want to
[4:08] Speaker 1: build a rocket, announced Elfie. Which means the three of
[4:12] Speaker 1: us need to make a decision. Only one of us
[4:15] Speaker 1: can make it, so the other two must choose something
[4:18] Speaker 1: else unless we work together. Olli, the highland cow, pointed out.
[4:25] Speaker 1: That's not going to work, said May the penguin. I've
[4:30] Speaker 1: already started my rocket. It's halfway finished. I don't want
[4:35] Speaker 1: you to joining in and messing it up. But I've
[4:39] Speaker 1: got such a good idea, Elfie blurted out, it's got
[4:44] Speaker 1: to be me that gets to build the rocket. Well,
[4:48] Speaker 1: I don't want to do anything else either, Olly said,
[4:51] Speaker 1: in something of a huff. I've watched like a million
[4:55] Speaker 1: space movies to prepare for this. None of the three
[5:01] Speaker 1: animals wanted to back down. How about we put our
[5:06] Speaker 1: names in a hat, and whoever's name gets picked out
[5:09] Speaker 1: gets to do it. Elfie suggested, that's boring, said May
[5:16] Speaker 1: as she leaned forward with a glint in her eye.
[5:20] Speaker 1: Let's make it a race. Whoever finishes their rocket first
[5:24] Speaker 1: gets to enter the science fair with it. You just
[5:29] Speaker 1: said you are halfway there, Ollie pointed out, causing the
[5:33] Speaker 1: penguin's white cheeks to turn red. Ollie's right, that's not fair,
[5:40] Speaker 1: said Elfie. But I know something that is. We should
[5:44] Speaker 1: do an actual race, a space race to the moon.
[5:50] Speaker 1: You mean we all build our rockets, then we all
[5:54] Speaker 1: fly them to the moon, Ollie asked exactly. Elfie beamed
[6:01] Speaker 1: first one to land there, winds you're on, said the
[6:07] Speaker 1: penguin confidently. When shall we do it Thursday? Elfie suggested.
[6:14] Speaker 1: It gives us enough time to build our rockets and
[6:17] Speaker 1: fly there and back before the fair begins. On Friday, agreed,
[6:23] Speaker 1: nodded the Highland Cow. The three animals shook pow, hoof
[6:28] Speaker 1: and flipper. The race was on for three days. Elfie
[6:34] Speaker 1: worked tirelessly on his rocket ship. It was a lot
[6:38] Speaker 1: of work, requiring many trips to the junk yard, but
[6:43] Speaker 1: it all went about as well as he could have hoped.
[6:47] Speaker 1: By the time Thursday morning rolled around, the Sunbaar was
[6:51] Speaker 1: tired but ready. His rocket ship was rectangular with a
[6:56] Speaker 1: pointed front, glimmering in shiny silver, with a big window
[7:01] Speaker 1: so that he could see where he was going. He
[7:04] Speaker 1: was stood in the school field, already dressed in his
[7:07] Speaker 1: astronaut's spacesuit, taking a moment to look at his competitors.
[7:13] Speaker 1: May the Penguin had definitely focused on style. Her rocket
[7:18] Speaker 1: was sleek and finished off with red spray paint. It
[7:22] Speaker 1: was the smallest rocket, as May herself was the smallest.
[7:27] Speaker 1: Elfie wondered if that meant it would be faster. The
[7:32] Speaker 1: Highland Cow meanwhile, had the biggest ship. It didn't look
[7:36] Speaker 1: as good a higgordy piggery patchwork of random pieces, and
[7:41] Speaker 1: it hadn't been painted at all, but it did look sturdy,
[7:46] Speaker 1: and it needed to be to carry a young cow.
[7:50] Speaker 1: Elfie caught May looking at his own rocket ship. Looks good,
[7:55] Speaker 1: she sniffed. Thanks, Elfie replied, yours too. Shall we go
[8:01] Speaker 1: over the rules? Suggested Olli. Let's keep it simple, suggested
[8:07] Speaker 1: the Sunbaar. Fly to the moon land and plant your
[8:12] Speaker 1: flag first. One to do so, winds. He handed them
[8:17] Speaker 1: each a colorful flag, onto which he'd drawn a picture
[8:21] Speaker 1: of their face. Great, said Olly, confidently. May the best
[8:27] Speaker 1: astro animal win. They each stood before their creations. Ready,
[8:34] Speaker 1: asked Elfie, as May narrowed her eyes, looking determined, steady,
[8:40] Speaker 1: the Sunbaar continued. Olly let out a shaky breath. Go.
[8:48] Speaker 1: Elfie leaped forward and yanked open his rocket door to
[8:51] Speaker 1: climb inside. He was trying not to think about the others.
[8:56] Speaker 1: To check on their progress would only slow him down.
[9:01] Speaker 1: Sliding into his seat, Elfie fired up the engine. It
[9:06] Speaker 1: roared to life, shaking and rumbling. Out of the corner
[9:11] Speaker 1: of his eye, Elfie realized Ollie's rocket was already leaving
[9:15] Speaker 1: the ground, but he tried to ignore it. He thumped
[9:19] Speaker 1: a big red button and his rocket gave chase. The
[9:24] Speaker 1: engines roared as he was thrust up into the sky.
[9:28] Speaker 1: Elfie couldn't help but let out a triumphant whoop as
[9:32] Speaker 1: his rocket climbed higher. He'd done it. He'd made a
[9:36] Speaker 1: working rocket. But there was still much to do and
[9:41] Speaker 1: a long way to travel if he was to win
[9:43] Speaker 1: this space race. As Elfie went higher, the earth below
[9:49] Speaker 1: him grew smaller. Houses, trees, hills, and mountains shrank away
[9:55] Speaker 1: to splodges of green and blue. When he looked up,
[10:00] Speaker 1: he saw that he was surrounded by stars. He angled
[10:04] Speaker 1: the ship's pointed nose towards the bright surface of the Moon.
[10:09] Speaker 1: He was neck and neck with Ollie, whose large rocket
[10:12] Speaker 1: appeared to be a fraction slower than his own. Unfortunately,
[10:17] Speaker 1: May had caught up too. Whatever the result, the race
[10:22] Speaker 1: was going to be close. The moon grew larger and larger,
[10:27] Speaker 1: turning from a distant circle to filling his entire window.
[10:32] Speaker 1: He'd need to get ready to land, and that meant
[10:35] Speaker 1: turning the ship's angle. Otherwise he'd just crashed straight into
[10:40] Speaker 1: the surface. Tapping some buttons, Elfie rotated the ship so
[10:46] Speaker 1: that it would land feet first. The landing gear was
[10:50] Speaker 1: down and ready as he dropped rapidly down, slowing the
[10:54] Speaker 1: final distance with blasts from his jets. The rocket's feet
[10:59] Speaker 1: touched down amongst the moon rocks, and at that moment
[11:03] Speaker 1: he was certain he was ahead. He unbuckled himself from
[11:07] Speaker 1: the seat and bounded to the door, but for some
[11:10] Speaker 1: reason it would not budge. Oh no, he yelled, pulling
[11:17] Speaker 1: with his sun bare strength. He was so close, He
[11:21] Speaker 1: was so close to planting the flag, but the door
[11:25] Speaker 1: just wouldn't open. Through the window, he could see Ollie's
[11:31] Speaker 1: and May's ship's land. At almost the same time, the
[11:36] Speaker 1: Highland cow leaped out first, flag in hand, and Elfie's
[11:41] Speaker 1: heart sank. He was beaten. But before Olie could plant
[11:47] Speaker 1: the flag into the lunar landscape, May tackled him, sending
[11:51] Speaker 1: the pair bouncing and tumbling across the Moon's surface. With
[11:56] Speaker 1: lighter gravity. The pair looked quite silly. Elfie gave his
[12:02] Speaker 1: door one final heave, wrenching it from the hinges. Bellowing
[12:07] Speaker 1: in triumph, he cast it aside and jumped out, flag
[12:12] Speaker 1: in hand. He done it. He'd done it well. He
[12:17] Speaker 1: would have done if his attention hadn't been grabbed by
[12:20] Speaker 1: the glorious sight on the horizon. The earth hung there,
[12:26] Speaker 1: brilliant and round, a swirl of white greens and blues.
[12:32] Speaker 1: He could just about make out Africa through the swirls
[12:35] Speaker 1: of cloud. It was so beautiful, so mesmerizing, and for
[12:41] Speaker 1: the first time the Sunbaar realized just how far he
[12:45] Speaker 1: had come. I win, May shrieked, cutting through his trance.
[12:53] Speaker 1: I win, I get to present my rocket. She danced
[12:58] Speaker 1: around her flag, wedged between several rocks, while Ollie looked
[13:03] Speaker 1: over at her in defeat. But Elfie didn't feel defeated
[13:09] Speaker 1: at all. We're on the moon, he said, grinning broadly
[13:14] Speaker 1: through his space helmet. Yeah, nodded Ollie as he looked up.
[13:21] Speaker 1: It is pretty cool. I think I see my house,
[13:26] Speaker 1: May joked as she pointed a flipper. They all stood
[13:30] Speaker 1: for a moment, taking it in congratulations. May. Elfie said,
[13:37] Speaker 1: yeah about that, replied the penguin awkwardly. I've got a problem.
[13:44] Speaker 1: I think I pushed my engine too hard. It's uh
[13:48] Speaker 1: kind of broken. I don't think I can get home.
[13:53] Speaker 1: Oh no, Ollie wailed. I'm out of fuel. I hadn't
[13:58] Speaker 1: realized my big ship would use so much, and I
[14:03] Speaker 1: pulled my door off, groaned Elfie. I did quite a
[14:07] Speaker 1: bit of damage doing that. Ollie twirled his flag between
[14:12] Speaker 1: his gloved hoofs Er, does this mean we're stuck? He
[14:18] Speaker 1: asked nervously. When Friday arrived, missus Hoofton the Zebra was
[14:25] Speaker 1: pleased to see the science fair coming together nicely. There
[14:29] Speaker 1: was just one problem. Three of her students were missing.
[14:35] Speaker 1: She was just considering whether or not to call their
[14:37] Speaker 1: homes when the school building began to shake. The entire
[14:42] Speaker 1: school poured outside with their necks craned upwards. Something was
[14:47] Speaker 1: coming into land on the school field. Missus Hoofton could
[14:52] Speaker 1: see it was a rocket ship. In places it was silver,
[14:56] Speaker 1: in others it was red, and everywhere else was an
[15:00] Speaker 1: unpainted patchwork. The students watched in wonder as the door
[15:05] Speaker 1: swung open and three astronauts climbed out. Good afternoon, everyone,
[15:13] Speaker 1: Elfie said, waving at the crowd. We'd like to present
[15:17] Speaker 1: our science project. It's a group effort. May added, as
[15:23] Speaker 1: she opened the visor on her helmet. We worked together,
[15:29] Speaker 1: and we have film and photos and rock samples, Ollie finished,
[15:35] Speaker 1: holding up cameras and a container. Their classmates and teachers
[15:40] Speaker 1: spilled around the spacecraft, marveling at what they'd created. But
[15:46] Speaker 1: for missus Hoofton, the most pleasing part was the photo
[15:50] Speaker 1: Elfie passed to her. It showed her three students stood
[15:54] Speaker 1: together on the Moon's surface, the Earth suspended above them.
[16:00] Speaker 1: Beside them, three flags were planted alongside each other with
[16:04] Speaker 1: hand drawn faces of a highland cow, a penguin, and
[16:08] Speaker 1: a sun bear. Missus Hoofton gazed upwards, picturing the three
[16:14] Speaker 1: flags there now forever smiling upon the surface of the Moon.
[16:24] Speaker 1: Animal fat sun bears are found across Southeast Asia. They
[16:30] Speaker 1: are the smallest of all the bears and get their
[16:32] Speaker 1: name because of the creamy pattern on their chests. Sun
[16:36] Speaker 1: Bears may be the smallest, but when it comes to penguins,
[16:40] Speaker 1: emperor penguins are the largest. They are found on Antarctica,
[16:45] Speaker 1: raising their young amongst the freezing ice and snow. To feed,
[16:50] Speaker 1: they must walk to the ocean, where they can hold
[16:53] Speaker 1: their breath for up to twenty minutes while fishing. Highland
[16:58] Speaker 1: cows are classed as roomance ruminants ferment their food in
[17:03] Speaker 1: special stomachs to extract extra nutrients. They will often bring
[17:08] Speaker 1: partly digested food back into their mouths for an extra
[17:12] Speaker 1: shue to help break it down. Thank you for your suggestions, Elfie.
[17:18] Speaker 1: We hope that you all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're
[17:21] Speaker 1: listening in the world, don't forget to look at our
[17:25] Speaker 1: Animal Tales books over on Amazon Great bedtime reading, especially
[17:30] Speaker 1: if you've discovered the joy of reading for yourself. Make
[17:35] Speaker 1: sure you join us next time for another great animal tale.
[17:38] Speaker 1: Good Bye,

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.