# Box Fort Battle

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 27 Oct 2025, 18 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/68178785/at438_boxfortbattle_mixdown.mp3

Three friends find a big box and let their imaginations run wild. 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: Yo, 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.
[0:22] Speaker 1: There are new tales to enjoy every Monday and Wednesday,
[0:26] Speaker 1: with a third premium only story every Friday. If you're
[0:31] Speaker 1: enjoying Animal Tales, please take the time to leave us
[0:34] Speaker 1: a review. Reviews help us get noticed amongst all the
[0:37] Speaker 1: other podcasts out there. Audrey is from Sydney in Australia
[0:43] Speaker 1: and she is asked for a story featuring a phoenix,
[0:46] Speaker 1: a wolf, and an owl. You can learn more about
[0:50] Speaker 1: these creatures in the animal facts after the story. Okay,
[0:55] Speaker 1: are you ready? That's good, then I'll begin box forught battle.
[1:03] Speaker 1: Audrey and her friends were laying on her lawn, where
[1:07] Speaker 1: they'd been for the last ten minutes. Penny, a phoenix,
[1:11] Speaker 1: was watching a lady bird climb up a flower, while Flynn,
[1:16] Speaker 1: a young wolf, was napping in the shade beside them.
[1:21] Speaker 1: Audrey groaned as she shielded her eyes from the sun.
[1:26] Speaker 1: The little barn owl had grown bored, wanting something, anything
[1:30] Speaker 1: to do. The friends had already finished a jigsaw puzzle,
[1:35] Speaker 1: watched TV, played a board game, and read some comics,
[1:40] Speaker 1: and it was only just past lunch time. What were
[1:43] Speaker 1: they going to do all afternoon? I'm bored, said Penny,
[1:49] Speaker 1: echoing Audrey's thoughts. There must be something else we could do.
[1:56] Speaker 1: I've got an old football, the barn owl replied, but
[2:00] Speaker 1: it's lost most of its air. Have you got any ideas?
[2:03] Speaker 1: Flynn the gray Wolf snored, causing Penny to give him
[2:08] Speaker 1: a sharp poke. Oi, you lazy wolf, wake up, the
[2:13] Speaker 1: phoenix said, help us think of something to do. Flynn
[2:19] Speaker 1: jolted awake, and immediately froze. Ears pricked. Can you hear that?
[2:25] Speaker 1: He asked? The girls listened, but neither had hearing as
[2:30] Speaker 1: good as the young wolf. This way, Flynn urged. Audrey
[2:36] Speaker 1: and Penny went after him, Curious to see what had
[2:40] Speaker 1: captured his attention. They followed him all the way to
[2:43] Speaker 1: the end of the road, where they found Angus, a
[2:47] Speaker 1: Highland cow. He was outside his house putting together something
[2:52] Speaker 1: made of metal. Hey, kids, Angus said, please to see them.
[2:58] Speaker 1: He was a little older than they were. Flynn, though,
[3:01] Speaker 1: was focused on whatever it was that Angus was putting together.
[3:06] Speaker 1: What's that? He asked, tail wagging. It's a drum kit,
[3:11] Speaker 1: Angus said, proudly. My band's doing really well, so I
[3:16] Speaker 1: thought i'd treat myself. He gave one of the drums
[3:20] Speaker 1: a light tap with a stick. It sounds cool, said Penny.
[3:25] Speaker 1: Do it again. More than happy to show off his skills,
[3:30] Speaker 1: Angus began a very complicated, very loud drum solo. The
[3:35] Speaker 1: three younger animals watched in awe, applauding him when he
[3:39] Speaker 1: was done. While he'd been playing, Audrey had noticed the
[3:45] Speaker 1: large brown box that the drums had arrived in. Are
[3:49] Speaker 1: you using that? She asked that nah Angus replied, I
[3:56] Speaker 1: don't need it now the drums are unpacked. Can we
[4:00] Speaker 1: have it? Audrey asked, sure? Why not? Angers said with
[4:05] Speaker 1: a shrug, it's all yours. The barn owl thanked him,
[4:11] Speaker 1: dragging the large box back towards her house. Flynn gave
[4:15] Speaker 1: the drum kit one last longing look before following, joining
[4:20] Speaker 1: Penny in grabbing one of the other corners. Between the
[4:24] Speaker 1: three of them, they managed to get the box back
[4:27] Speaker 1: to Audrey's garden without it getting too scuffed. Why do
[4:32] Speaker 1: you need a boring box, Penny asked, It's empty, that's
[4:38] Speaker 1: the point, Audrey said, gleefully. Don't you see this is
[4:43] Speaker 1: the perfect size for a box fort. Oh good idea.
[4:49] Speaker 1: Why didn't I think of that, agreed Flynn. This is
[4:53] Speaker 1: just what we needed. We can draw on windows and
[4:58] Speaker 1: cut out a door, Penny suggested, and defend our home
[5:03] Speaker 1: from enemies. Excitedly, Audrey ran inside to fetch her crayons.
[5:10] Speaker 1: This was going to be so much fun. Let's make
[5:14] Speaker 1: a castle, she announced as she returned. It can have
[5:18] Speaker 1: turrets and a drawbridge, and we can be the knights
[5:21] Speaker 1: defending it from the monsters. She already had a crayon
[5:26] Speaker 1: ready to begin drawing on the side of the box
[5:29] Speaker 1: when Penny stopped her hang on, said the phoenix. I
[5:34] Speaker 1: wanted to make it into a spaceship. We could draw
[5:37] Speaker 1: fire coming out of the bottom. Then we could be
[5:41] Speaker 1: astronauts flying through space, visiting other planets and fighting evil aliens.
[5:49] Speaker 1: Audrey wasn't impressed propping her wings on her hips. But
[5:54] Speaker 1: a castle so much better, she insisted. The box is
[5:59] Speaker 1: already castle shaped. Spaceships are longer. We would need another box.
[6:06] Speaker 1: Space ships can be any shape, Penny argued. Anyway, castles
[6:12] Speaker 1: are boring. You can't visit the moon in a castle.
[6:17] Speaker 1: It was my idea to do a box fort, so
[6:20] Speaker 1: I get to decide what we make, Audrey said firmly,
[6:24] Speaker 1: and I want to make a castle. Well, that doesn't
[6:29] Speaker 1: seem fair, Penny replied, I think we should put it
[6:33] Speaker 1: to the vote, which means we have to go with
[6:36] Speaker 1: whichever idea Flynn likes best. The two birds turned towards
[6:42] Speaker 1: the wolf, looking for an answer. I don't get it,
[6:47] Speaker 1: he said, I thought we were making a box fort.
[6:51] Speaker 1: That means we need a lookout tower and a gate,
[6:55] Speaker 1: and we need to be soldiers and guarded against bandits.
[7:00] Speaker 1: Audrey couldn't believe this. Why did nobody want to play
[7:05] Speaker 1: castles and nights with her? It should be a castle,
[7:09] Speaker 1: she insisted, No, a spaceship. Penny argued, I really think
[7:17] Speaker 1: it should be a proper soldier's fort. Flynn repeated. Nobody,
[7:23] Speaker 1: it seemed, was willing to change their mind. Fine, Audrey said,
[7:29] Speaker 1: at last, use the box to make what you like.
[7:33] Speaker 1: I'm going to find myself an even bigger, even better
[7:36] Speaker 1: box to make the greatest castle ever seen. Well, I
[7:42] Speaker 1: don't want it, Penny said, because I'm going to find
[7:45] Speaker 1: my own box too. I'm going to make the world's
[7:49] Speaker 1: best spaceship. The two birds went their separate ways, leaving
[7:55] Speaker 1: Flynn behind. I guess I'll have the box, then, Wolf
[8:00] Speaker 1: said to nobody in particular, it's the perfect size for
[8:04] Speaker 1: a fort. He picked up one of Audrey's dropped crayons
[8:09] Speaker 1: and got to work. Later that afternoon, Audrey's lawn had
[8:15] Speaker 1: been transformed. On one side, Penny had built her spaceship.
[8:21] Speaker 1: She'd managed to find several old boxes at her grandma's house,
[8:25] Speaker 1: meaning her spaceship stood tall and proud. She'd cut out
[8:30] Speaker 1: a round window and even made red and orange flames
[8:34] Speaker 1: coming out of the back, and a handful of paper
[8:37] Speaker 1: astronauts to be her crew. As a finishing touch, the
[8:42] Speaker 1: phoenix had a box on her head as a space helmet.
[8:47] Speaker 1: On the opposite side of the garden stood Flynn's fort.
[8:51] Speaker 1: He'd added to it by using pizza and cereal boxes
[8:55] Speaker 1: to build his watch tower, using the scraps to make
[8:58] Speaker 1: lots of cardboards soldiers. He'd even had enough to make
[9:02] Speaker 1: a soldier's cap for his head. Then at the bottom
[9:07] Speaker 1: of the garden, Audrey had erected her castle. She'd found
[9:12] Speaker 1: some good sized boxes once used to help move house,
[9:16] Speaker 1: and now her castle had a tower, some windows, and
[9:20] Speaker 1: a drawbridge. This last feature had been made to go
[9:24] Speaker 1: up and down when she pulled on some string. She
[9:27] Speaker 1: also wore a cardboard box on her head with a visor,
[9:32] Speaker 1: just like a knight's helmet. It had taken a lot
[9:36] Speaker 1: of time and effort, but the three box forts were complete,
[9:41] Speaker 1: a castle, a spaceship, and a soldier's fort. Oddly, though
[9:47] Speaker 1: they were each playing quietly within their own boxes alone,
[9:52] Speaker 1: nobody was talking to anyone else. The silence was broken
[9:58] Speaker 1: when Flynn let out a horror howl. My soldiers, the
[10:03] Speaker 1: wolf cried, some of my soldiers are missing. He'd spent
[10:09] Speaker 1: ages carefully cutting them out and coloring them in. His
[10:13] Speaker 1: sharp eyes saw their familiar shape lying on the grass
[10:17] Speaker 1: just behind Penny's spaceship. You you stole my soldiers, Flynn
[10:24] Speaker 1: accused the phoenix. It wasn't me, Penny replied, it was
[10:30] Speaker 1: the aliens. If it was aliens, you've been helping them,
[10:35] Speaker 1: Flynn said, Soldiers attack. He'd been stockpiling a stack of
[10:41] Speaker 1: scrunched up balls of paper inside his fort, which he
[10:45] Speaker 1: now began to hurl over the heads of his remaining
[10:48] Speaker 1: cardboard men. We're under attack, Penny cried. Astronauts to your stations.
[10:57] Speaker 1: Penny had her own stockpile hidden away red and green
[11:01] Speaker 1: paper straws with the aim of looking like laser bolts.
[11:06] Speaker 1: She started throwing them towards Flynn's fort. Paper balls and
[11:11] Speaker 1: straws went back and forth, knocking astronauts and soldiers aside,
[11:17] Speaker 1: until Penny held up one wing in warning halt. She cried,
[11:23] Speaker 1: every one, hold on, We're going through a time warp.
[11:29] Speaker 1: She started shaking her spaceship, while Flynn, catching on, spun
[11:34] Speaker 1: around in circles until he collapsed on the ground with dizziness.
[11:39] Speaker 1: Wh Where are we, he asked the aliens They've dragged
[11:45] Speaker 1: us all into the distant past. Penny replied, they must
[11:49] Speaker 1: have taken the soldiers to their leader. It was then
[11:53] Speaker 1: that Audrey let out a loud, maniacal laugh from somewhere
[11:57] Speaker 1: within the castle. You're correct, it was I that ordered
[12:02] Speaker 1: the soldiers be abducted. The barn owl hooted, I need
[12:07] Speaker 1: them to feed my pet, fear her. At this, the
[12:12] Speaker 1: drawbridge of Audrey's castle descended. Penny and Flynn held their
[12:18] Speaker 1: breaths transfixed. Something was crawling out through the open doorway.
[12:26] Speaker 1: From the depths of the castle box fort emerged Audrey,
[12:30] Speaker 1: dressed as a cardboard dragon, feed me, she bellowed, stomping
[12:36] Speaker 1: towards them. Penny shrieked, while Flynn started firing his paper
[12:42] Speaker 1: balls once again, but they had little effect, bouncing harmlessly
[12:47] Speaker 1: off of Audrey's cardboard dragon body. My remaining soldiers don't
[12:53] Speaker 1: stand a chance against a dragon, Flynn wailed. Then we
[12:58] Speaker 1: need to team up, Henny declared, as Audrey stomped closer.
[13:03] Speaker 1: My smartest scientists have been developing a new technology, and
[13:08] Speaker 1: I think it can help us. Through the hole in
[13:12] Speaker 1: her cardboard dragon head, Audrey watched her friend's sprint towards
[13:17] Speaker 1: the house. Ha ha, I've won. I've scared them away,
[13:22] Speaker 1: she roared. The moment of triumph was short lived, for
[13:27] Speaker 1: the pair soon returned clutching water blasters. Take this dragon,
[13:34] Speaker 1: Penny cried. She squirted Audrey with water, forcing the barn
[13:39] Speaker 1: owl backwards, where she stumbled into Flynn's fort. Flynn yelped,
[13:45] Speaker 1: I'll get you for that, you dirty dragon. He shouted,
[13:49] Speaker 1: and squirted his blaster. It was far more powerful than
[13:54] Speaker 1: he'd realized, arking over Audrey to soak her castle. The
[14:00] Speaker 1: three friends ran in circles, two blasting water and one
[14:05] Speaker 1: crashing into the forts. One moment saw Audrey roaring chasing
[14:11] Speaker 1: her friends. Then the next they chase her back again
[14:15] Speaker 1: with wild squirting. In all the excitement, Penny the Phoenix
[14:20] Speaker 1: got carried away and accidentally set part of her spaceship
[14:24] Speaker 1: on fire. Fortunately she was able to put out the
[14:28] Speaker 1: flames with her water gun. While Audrey went to attack
[14:33] Speaker 1: his soldiers, Flynn noticed that she had left her castle
[14:37] Speaker 1: undefended attack. He cried. Audrey tried to stop him, but
[14:44] Speaker 1: Penny caught her cardboard tail and the three friends went
[14:48] Speaker 1: tumbling across the grass in a tangled heap of tails, feathers,
[14:53] Speaker 1: and cardboard. All that was stopping them was Audrey's castle,
[14:58] Speaker 1: which they managed to squash. Flat, panting and a little
[15:04] Speaker 1: sore from the fall, the three friends sat up. All
[15:08] Speaker 1: of them were laughing, which was just as well. Flynn's
[15:12] Speaker 1: fort had been drenched, leaving it a soggy pile of mush.
[15:17] Speaker 1: Penny's spaceship was in pieces, with a blackened smoking corner
[15:22] Speaker 1: from its brush with flames, and then there was Audrey's castle,
[15:27] Speaker 1: both flattened and badly ripped. That was fun, Audrey giggled,
[15:34] Speaker 1: Although it's a shame about your spaceship, Penny I feel
[15:39] Speaker 1: sorry for Flynn's fort, the Phoenix said, it's a complete mess.
[15:44] Speaker 1: Now it served me well, Flynn said, pretending to be sad.
[15:52] Speaker 1: I was impressed by Audrey's drawbridge. That was excellent, and
[15:56] Speaker 1: the dragon costume was best of all. I don't think
[16:00] Speaker 1: I can get out of it, Audrey said, her voice
[16:04] Speaker 1: muffled by the cardboard head. Her friends giggled as they
[16:09] Speaker 1: helped tear it free. We have made quite a mess, though,
[16:14] Speaker 1: Audrey laughed. Good job, there's three of us to tidy up,
[16:18] Speaker 1: smiled Penny. But before they could start, Angus arrived carrying
[16:24] Speaker 1: another enormous box. Wow, he said, noticing the cardboard carnage.
[16:32] Speaker 1: I just came to see if you wanted another box.
[16:35] Speaker 1: My new speaker's just arrived, Audrey, Flynn, and Penny looked
[16:41] Speaker 1: at one another and grinned round two. Audrey asked her friends.
[16:48] Speaker 1: The phoenix and the wolf laughed out loud. You're on,
[16:53] Speaker 1: they said, animals fat. The phoenix is a mythological animal
[17:02] Speaker 1: said to be the size of an eagle. It's often
[17:05] Speaker 1: shown as having feathers of fire, but in the Egyptian story,
[17:10] Speaker 1: its feathers are gold and red. It's long lived and
[17:15] Speaker 1: when it eventually dies, it is reborn in a fire
[17:18] Speaker 1: to live its life again. The average life of a
[17:22] Speaker 1: wolf is between six and eight years, although they do
[17:26] Speaker 1: sometimes reach the grand old age of thirteen. In captivity,
[17:31] Speaker 1: they've been known to get to sixteen. The owl in
[17:34] Speaker 1: our story is a barn owl. They live to around
[17:38] Speaker 1: four years in the wild and can reach over twenty
[17:41] Speaker 1: in captivity. Thank you for your suggestions, Audrey. We hope
[17:46] Speaker 1: you enjoyed the story, and thank you to all of
[17:49] Speaker 1: you from across the world for listening to it. If
[17:53] Speaker 1: you prefer your story's advert free, then please consider our
[17:57] Speaker 1: premium service through Apple or Supercar. Find out how in
[18:01] Speaker 1: the text that accompanies this episode. For a tiny fee,
[18:06] Speaker 1: it's advert free. Join us next time for another great
[18:10] Speaker 1: animal tale. Good Bye,

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