# The Otter And The Dragon

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 19 Apr 2026, 18 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71292528/at488_theotterandthedragon_mixdown.mp3

An otter is determined to befriend a very large and imposing dragon. 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: Hell yeah, Hello. My name's Josephine and this is the
[0:17] Speaker 1: Animal Tales podcast, where you suggest the animals featured in
[0:21] Speaker 1: our stories. There are new tales to enjoy every Monday
[0:24] Speaker 1: and Wednesday, with a third premium only story every Friday.
[0:30] Speaker 1: If you've enjoyed an animal Tale story, then please do
[0:33] Speaker 1: let your friends know so they can enjoy it too.
[0:37] Speaker 1: Francesca lives in Sydney, Australia, and she would like a
[0:40] Speaker 1: story featuring an otter and a dragon. You can learn
[0:44] Speaker 1: more about these creatures in the animal facts after the story. Okay,
[0:49] Speaker 1: are you ready? That's good, then I'll begin The Otter
[0:55] Speaker 1: and the Dragon. The water lapped gently over Francheska's paws
[1:01] Speaker 1: as she waded through the river's shallows. Something shiny had
[1:05] Speaker 1: caught the otter's eye, so she bent down to pick
[1:08] Speaker 1: it up. Holding it up to the light, she saw
[1:12] Speaker 1: a pretty blue stone, perfectly round and flecked with white speckles.
[1:18] Speaker 1: Otters love pretty stones. Francesca had quite a collection hidden
[1:22] Speaker 1: away in her burrow. She couldn't wait to add this
[1:26] Speaker 1: one to her growing pile. Satisfied, she slipped the pebble
[1:30] Speaker 1: into her bag alongside a handful of other stones that
[1:34] Speaker 1: she'd found that day. Another ten minutes, Francesca said to
[1:39] Speaker 1: herself as she continued her search, This was a good spot,
[1:45] Speaker 1: But as she stared downwards into the water, everything darkened.
[1:50] Speaker 1: Thinking a cloud had passed in front of the sun,
[1:53] Speaker 1: the little otter looked up just in time to see
[1:56] Speaker 1: a dark shape gliding over Hercheska couldn't believe what she
[2:01] Speaker 1: was seeing. She'd heard stories, but never seen one for
[2:05] Speaker 1: real before. A dragon? But what was it doing and
[2:11] Speaker 1: where was it going? Without giving it a second thought,
[2:15] Speaker 1: Francesca took off after the creature, The stones forgotten. She
[2:20] Speaker 1: left the river behind her, stumbling through the trees as
[2:24] Speaker 1: she struggled to stay in a straight line. The trees
[2:28] Speaker 1: ended at a rocky hillside, and there, lounging on the
[2:32] Speaker 1: rocks was an enormous green dragon. Francesca bit back a
[2:37] Speaker 1: squeal of excitement. She'd begun to think she'd imagined it,
[2:42] Speaker 1: but there it was. She'd always loved the idea of dragons,
[2:46] Speaker 1: with their giant wings, powerful claws, and breath of fire.
[2:51] Speaker 1: She'd read so many stories about them, even pretending to
[2:55] Speaker 1: be one when she was a young otter pup, spending
[2:58] Speaker 1: many an afternoon, pretending to fly along the river side,
[3:03] Speaker 1: and now here was a real one, only a short
[3:07] Speaker 1: distance away. He was magnificent, a body as big as
[3:12] Speaker 1: an elephant, with a long tail and emerald scales that
[3:15] Speaker 1: shimmered in the sunlight. Most animals would have run at
[3:20] Speaker 1: the sight of such a huge predator, but any fear
[3:24] Speaker 1: Francesca had was nothing compared to her excitement. Hello, Francesca
[3:31] Speaker 1: called out, stepping out from the trees. Good morning. The
[3:36] Speaker 1: dragon's head whipped around, but relaxed immediately at the sight
[3:41] Speaker 1: of the little otter. It was barely bigger than one
[3:44] Speaker 1: of his sharp teeth. What do you want, mammal asked
[3:49] Speaker 1: the dragon. I just wanted to say hi. Francesca replied,
[3:55] Speaker 1: I've always wanted to meet a dragon. This is so cool.
[4:01] Speaker 1: The dragon wasn't used to being approached. Are you not
[4:04] Speaker 1: scared of me, he asked, Most animals are. Oh no, well,
[4:12] Speaker 1: maybe a little, the otter admitted, But I've always thought
[4:16] Speaker 1: how wonderful it would be to be friends with a dragon.
[4:21] Speaker 1: The dragon let out a low, rumbling laugh. Dragons don't
[4:26] Speaker 1: make friends with non dragons, he said, You're far too small,
[4:31] Speaker 1: and you could never keep up with me. Besides, we
[4:35] Speaker 1: have nothing in common. Oh I'm sure we would if
[4:40] Speaker 1: we got to know each other, Francesca said eagerly. I
[4:44] Speaker 1: know lots about dragons. You see. If I were a dragon,
[4:49] Speaker 1: i'd be a really good one. You, the dragon laughed.
[4:54] Speaker 1: Dragons are powerful, strong, and brave. You're just a li otter.
[5:02] Speaker 1: I can be powerful, strong and brave, insisted Francesca. If
[5:07] Speaker 1: I could show you, could we be friends? Maybe? The
[5:13] Speaker 1: dragon replied, looking amused. But I don't see how you're
[5:17] Speaker 1: going to manage it. Francesca smiled. Don't go anywhere, she said,
[5:25] Speaker 1: I'll be right back. She turned tail, running back into
[5:30] Speaker 1: the trees, leaving the amused dragon to return to his nap.
[5:36] Speaker 1: Francesca ran all the way home, only stopping to gather
[5:40] Speaker 1: up some items she needed along the way. She dumped
[5:44] Speaker 1: her fines upon the table, then held out her little
[5:47] Speaker 1: fuzzy arms to give them a couple of flaps. If
[5:51] Speaker 1: I could fly, then i'd be much more like a dragon,
[5:55] Speaker 1: she smiled. But she didn't have flaps of skin like
[6:00] Speaker 1: a dragon or a bat, and she didn't have feathers
[6:03] Speaker 1: like a bird. Luckily, Francesca was a very creative otter,
[6:09] Speaker 1: so she got to work, cutting, sewing, and gluing. Look,
[6:14] Speaker 1: she cried out to the dragon as she reappeared on
[6:17] Speaker 1: the rocky hill side. I have wings now too, I'm
[6:22] Speaker 1: just like a dragon. The otter had made herself a
[6:26] Speaker 1: pair of wings out of leaves, vines, and random feathers.
[6:31] Speaker 1: They were strapped to her arms and were large enough
[6:34] Speaker 1: to drag along the ground behind her. The dragon snorted,
[6:38] Speaker 1: although he was secretly impressed. Interesting, he said, but do
[6:45] Speaker 1: they work? Of course, Francesca replied a little nervously. I'll
[6:52] Speaker 1: show you. With great effort. She clambered up on to
[6:57] Speaker 1: one of the larger rocks, looking over their edge. Francesca
[7:01] Speaker 1: gulped go on, then prompted the dragon fly. Francesca took
[7:09] Speaker 1: a deep breath and began flapping her home made wings.
[7:14] Speaker 1: Her arms began to ache almost at once. She was
[7:18] Speaker 1: going to have to get this over with and quickly,
[7:21] Speaker 1: so she jumped for a second or two. The otter
[7:25] Speaker 1: hung in the air, flapping furiously. Then she dropped like
[7:30] Speaker 1: a stone. She'd have surely hurt herself if not for
[7:34] Speaker 1: a clawed hand catching her before she hit the ground.
[7:40] Speaker 1: Nice try, said the dragon, placing Francesca carefully on the grass.
[7:47] Speaker 1: Any friend of mine has to be able to fly
[7:49] Speaker 1: with me. If you can't do that, you can't be
[7:53] Speaker 1: my friend. Francesca sighed as her leafy wings fell from
[7:58] Speaker 1: her arms. All right, she said, let me try something else.
[8:04] Speaker 1: Don't go anywhere. The dragon shrugged as the otter disappeared
[8:10] Speaker 1: once again, leaving her broken wings behind her. Francesca was
[8:16] Speaker 1: saddened that the wings hadn't worked. She'd been so proud
[8:20] Speaker 1: of them. But there had to be something else she
[8:23] Speaker 1: could do to be more dragon like. The answer, it
[8:27] Speaker 1: turned out, was just a short distance away. Overhearing voices,
[8:33] Speaker 1: the otter peeked around a tree to find a group
[8:36] Speaker 1: of humans camping in the woods. Two were tending to
[8:40] Speaker 1: their horses, another was looking for something in a bag,
[8:44] Speaker 1: But it was the fourth that caught Francesca's attention. This
[8:49] Speaker 1: human was striking two stones together, two pieces of flint.
[8:53] Speaker 1: She thought. Each strike created sparks, which showered on to
[8:58] Speaker 1: a small pile of twigs and dry moss. As the
[9:02] Speaker 1: otter watched, the kindling flared brightly as the human began
[9:07] Speaker 1: to place small sticks on top. In no time, he'd
[9:11] Speaker 1: built a small, blazing fire. Francesca stared at the flames
[9:17] Speaker 1: dancing before her eyes. This, she realized, could work. What
[9:23] Speaker 1: are you doing, the dragon asked patiently. A short while later,
[9:29] Speaker 1: Francesca was building a small pile of twigs and dry grass,
[9:34] Speaker 1: the one thing that only dragons and I suppose humans
[9:39] Speaker 1: can do. Francesca declared, I give you fire. She produced
[9:46] Speaker 1: two pieces of flint from her bag, striking them together.
[9:51] Speaker 1: A single spark fell, but the kindling didn't catch light.
[9:56] Speaker 1: I'll try again, said Francesca, wriggling sir. She struck the
[10:02] Speaker 1: stones together again. I give you fire again. The tiny
[10:09] Speaker 1: pile refused to ignite. Francesca struck a third, fourth, and
[10:15] Speaker 1: fifth time, growing more and more frustrated. I don't think
[10:21] Speaker 1: it's going to work, the dragon said, somewhat amused. But
[10:26] Speaker 1: the otter shook her head, refusing to give up. It
[10:31] Speaker 1: will work, she insisted, I'll make fire, just like you do.
[10:37] Speaker 1: The dragon rolled his eyes, then blew a tiny flicker
[10:41] Speaker 1: of flame. The kindling caught immediately, burning hot and red.
[10:48] Speaker 1: Dragons don't need sticks or stones to create fire, he said,
[10:54] Speaker 1: It burns within us. There is no faking it. If
[10:58] Speaker 1: you can't produce fire whenever you need it, then you
[11:02] Speaker 1: can't be my friend, Francesca sighed, dropping the flint to
[11:07] Speaker 1: the ground. Fine, she said, admitting defeat. But I've not
[11:14] Speaker 1: given up yet. The dragon chuckled as the otter raced
[11:19] Speaker 1: back into the woods. She may not have fire, but
[11:23] Speaker 1: she had passion, he had to admit. Francesca wasn't sure
[11:29] Speaker 1: what else to try. Wings hadn't worked, and neither had fire.
[11:35] Speaker 1: Surely there was something to make her more dragon like.
[11:39] Speaker 1: Her hurried footsteps took her back towards home. Coming out
[11:43] Speaker 1: from under the trees beside the river, she was surprised
[11:47] Speaker 1: to see a stranger here, but no ordinary stranger. He
[11:51] Speaker 1: wore shining armor, had a sword hanging from his hip,
[11:56] Speaker 1: and was stood beside a large, powerful looking horse that
[11:59] Speaker 1: was bending to drink from the water. A knight, declared Francesca,
[12:06] Speaker 1: a dragon's sworn enemy. Dragons were always defeating knights. If
[12:12] Speaker 1: she could scare this night away from her river, then
[12:16] Speaker 1: surely that would be enough to impress the dragon. Emboldened,
[12:21] Speaker 1: Francesca slipped quietly into the river, swimming quietly towards the
[12:26] Speaker 1: unsuspecting night. She lurked in the shadowy depths like a crocodile,
[12:32] Speaker 1: before racing upwards and bursting from the water, bellowing the
[12:37] Speaker 1: loudest cry she could muster. That's a funny noise for
[12:42] Speaker 1: an otter to make, said the unterrified knight, even his
[12:46] Speaker 1: horse had barely twitched. I'm not just any otter, snapped Francesca.
[12:54] Speaker 1: I'm the fiercest, bravest, most dangerous otter you'll ever meet.
[13:00] Speaker 1: You'd better leave my river before I er before I
[13:04] Speaker 1: eat you. The horse snickered with amusement. The dangerous otter,
[13:11] Speaker 1: you say, repeated the knight, as he drew his sword.
[13:16] Speaker 1: Well I'm not the greatest knight there's ever been, but
[13:20] Speaker 1: even I can defeat an otter, even if it is fierce,
[13:24] Speaker 1: brave and dangerous. Francesca gulped with fright, stumbling backwards. What
[13:32] Speaker 1: had she been thinking? What was she going to do? Now?
[13:37] Speaker 1: Before I chop you into pieces? Said the knight. Let's
[13:41] Speaker 1: hear that scary roar of yours again. Francesca could barely
[13:47] Speaker 1: gather enough breath to speak, but she did her best.
[13:51] Speaker 1: This time. The roar was so great that the trees
[13:55] Speaker 1: rustled and the ground itself shook. The night squeaked like
[14:00] Speaker 1: a mouse, jumped on his horse and galloped away as
[14:05] Speaker 1: fast as he could. Only then did the dragon show himself.
[14:12] Speaker 1: I was doing just fine, Francesca protested, I was going
[14:16] Speaker 1: to scare him off, just like you would have done.
[14:20] Speaker 1: The dragon glared down at her. I rather think I
[14:24] Speaker 1: just did, and you're lucky that I did. That was
[14:28] Speaker 1: extremely dangerous, said the dragon. Now enough is enough. This
[14:34] Speaker 1: has to stop. Dragons and otters are nothing alike. We
[14:39] Speaker 1: could never be friends. We don't have a single thing
[14:43] Speaker 1: in common. Francesca hung her head and sighed, I suppose
[14:50] Speaker 1: I'll just go back to collecting my rocks. What was that,
[14:55] Speaker 1: asked the dragon, suddenly alert. Did you say you collect rocks? Yes,
[15:03] Speaker 1: I have loads, said Francesca, and she tipped the contents
[15:07] Speaker 1: of her bag onto the grass. Today I found some
[15:11] Speaker 1: smooth ones and bumpy ones, and patterned ones and colorful ones.
[15:18] Speaker 1: The dragon stared down at the stones in wonder. You
[15:23] Speaker 1: have a horde of rocks, he exclaimed, I suppose so, yes,
[15:29] Speaker 1: the otter replied. The dragon grinned at her broadly. But
[15:36] Speaker 1: so do I, he said. I have rocks of gold,
[15:41] Speaker 1: and rocks of silver, said the dragon, and emeralds and
[15:46] Speaker 1: rubies and sapphires. Do you have many, Francesca asked, hundreds,
[15:55] Speaker 1: laughed the dragon, thousands even, But I have nothing that
[16:00] Speaker 1: looks like the treasure you've found today. Would you like
[16:04] Speaker 1: to swap some, suggested Francesca as she scooped her fines
[16:09] Speaker 1: back into her bag. I most certainly would, agreed. The
[16:14] Speaker 1: dragon hop on my back and I'll take you to
[16:18] Speaker 1: my hoarde, and just like that, the otter and the
[16:22] Speaker 1: dragon became the best of friends. Animals fat otters live
[16:32] Speaker 1: in burrows built into the river bank called holts. They
[16:36] Speaker 1: have multiple ways in and out, but one is always
[16:40] Speaker 1: above the water level to allow them to escape in
[16:43] Speaker 1: case of flooding. Their territory will include up to thirty
[16:48] Speaker 1: kilometers that's about eighteen miles of river, and they'll have
[16:52] Speaker 1: several holts along that length. They will also rest amongst
[16:57] Speaker 1: thick vegetation called a couch. Dragons are often shown in
[17:02] Speaker 1: stories with hordes of gold and precious gems. This possibly
[17:07] Speaker 1: comes from ancient myths and legends where gods would use
[17:11] Speaker 1: a dragon as a guardian to protect something precious. Thank
[17:15] Speaker 1: you for your suggestions, Francesca. We hope you enjoyed the story,
[17:20] Speaker 1: and thank you to all of you across the world
[17:22] Speaker 1: for listening to it. Remember if you prefer your stories
[17:27] Speaker 1: advert free, then please consider our premium service through Apple
[17:31] Speaker 1: or Supercast for a tiny fee. The stories are advert free.
[17:37] Speaker 1: Join us next time for another great animal tale. Good Bye,

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