# The Snakes And The Beanstalk

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 2 Jun 2026, 18 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72226170/at501_thesnakesandthebeanstalk_mixdown.mp3

A hognose snake accidentally grows a giant beanstalk. Will she find a giant at the top? 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 everyone, and welcome to the Animal Tales podcast,
[0:18] Speaker 1: where you suggest the animal for us to write a
[0:21] Speaker 1: story about. My name's Josephine and I've got a brand
[0:25] Speaker 1: new animal story here just for you. There are now
[0:29] Speaker 1: over one hundred extra stories on the Animal Tale's premium service.
[0:34] Speaker 1: Find out how to join in the text that accompanies
[0:36] Speaker 1: this episode, and remember, for a tiny fee, they're all
[0:41] Speaker 1: advert free. Stella is from Montreal in Canada, and she
[0:46] Speaker 1: would like a story with a hog nosed snake, a griffin,
[0:50] Speaker 1: a puffer fish, and the Lockness Monster. You can learn
[0:54] Speaker 1: more about these creatures in the Animal Facts after the story.
[0:59] Speaker 1: Now relax and I'll begin The Snakes and the bean
[1:05] Speaker 1: stalk Stella Stella jumped at the sound of banging on
[1:11] Speaker 1: her front door. She had been expecting her friend to
[1:15] Speaker 1: call round, but Maggie's urgent knocking had surprised her. Closing
[1:20] Speaker 1: her book, she opened the door to her best friend.
[1:24] Speaker 1: What's up, Maggie, Stella asked when she opened the door,
[1:28] Speaker 1: is something wrong? The two hog nosed snakes had been
[1:33] Speaker 1: inseparable ever since they hatched, spending every Saturday together watching films, baking,
[1:39] Speaker 1: or reading fairy tales. Maggie was shaking with excitement. It worked,
[1:46] Speaker 1: she said, last night the beans grew. Do you mean
[1:52] Speaker 1: the magic beans? Grinned Stella. Maggie nodded. You need to
[1:57] Speaker 1: see them, she urged. The two snakes had bonded over
[2:02] Speaker 1: their love of fairy tales. Stella liked stories about magical
[2:07] Speaker 1: animals and secret places and far away lands. Maggie liked
[2:12] Speaker 1: stories about huge monsters and magic swords and great battles.
[2:18] Speaker 1: But Maggie's favorite of all was Jack and the bean Stalk.
[2:24] Speaker 1: For fun, Stella had given Maggie some magic beans she'd
[2:28] Speaker 1: found at the market. She didn't really think they were magic.
[2:33] Speaker 1: The beans just looked the part, but Maggie had planted
[2:37] Speaker 1: them all the same, watering them every day in the
[2:40] Speaker 1: hopes that they might grow, and now it appeared they had.
[2:46] Speaker 1: Stella wasn't expecting much. They had only pretended that the
[2:50] Speaker 1: beans were magic. And yet, as they rushed to Maggie's house,
[2:55] Speaker 1: Stella could see the enormous beanstalk disappearing into the sky
[2:59] Speaker 1: almost immediately. It's humongous, Stella gulped as they gazed up
[3:05] Speaker 1: at it. The bean stalk had taken root in Maggie's
[3:09] Speaker 1: garden and was so thick that it was pushing her
[3:12] Speaker 1: fence and garden furniture to one side. It's perfect, said
[3:19] Speaker 1: Maggie excitedly. Let's go. Wait, what do you mean? Stella asked,
[3:27] Speaker 1: you're not suggesting what I think you are, are you?
[3:31] Speaker 1: Of course, I didn't just want to grow a bean stalk,
[3:35] Speaker 1: Maggie laughed. I want to climb it, just like the story.
[3:40] Speaker 1: I want to meet a giant. But giants are dangerous,
[3:45] Speaker 1: exclaimed Stella, and also really cool. Maggie said. They're huge
[3:53] Speaker 1: and they live in massive castles in the clouds. Please
[3:56] Speaker 1: come with me, Stella, I don't want to go on
[3:59] Speaker 1: my own. Stella didn't really want to meet a giant.
[4:04] Speaker 1: In stories, they were loud and liked to eat trespassers
[4:09] Speaker 1: between two pieces of bread. But even so, how often
[4:14] Speaker 1: did anyone get a chance to climb a giant bean stalk? Ok?
[4:19] Speaker 1: She smiled, Let's go. Stella tried very hard not to
[4:25] Speaker 1: look down as they slithered up amongst the tendrils. Already
[4:30] Speaker 1: Maggie's home looked like a doll's house. In truth, it
[4:35] Speaker 1: was a relief when they reached the clouds and the
[4:37] Speaker 1: white fluffiness hid the world from sight. The giant's castle
[4:42] Speaker 1: must be on top of this cloud, Maggie said with excitement.
[4:48] Speaker 1: But when the two hog nosed snakes emerged above the cloud,
[4:52] Speaker 1: there was no castle there, nor a huge giant waiting
[4:56] Speaker 1: for them. It's empty, said Maggie disappointment. At that moment,
[5:03] Speaker 1: a dark shape swept overhead, landing on the cloud top
[5:07] Speaker 1: a short distance away. It was a strange creature, with
[5:12] Speaker 1: the body of a lion and the head and wings
[5:15] Speaker 1: of an eagle. It's a griffin, Stella cried. Snakes in
[5:22] Speaker 1: the sky, said the griffin. How bizarre seeing you up here.
[5:28] Speaker 1: We're trying to find a giant, Maggie said, as the
[5:32] Speaker 1: pair of them dared to climb onto the cloud. Are
[5:35] Speaker 1: there any around here? Not this far down, said the griffin.
[5:41] Speaker 1: Giants like to live much higher. But your beanstalk looks tall,
[5:46] Speaker 1: so you might get lucky. Do you live up here,
[5:50] Speaker 1: Stella asked, No, I'm just meeting some friends, the griffin said,
[5:57] Speaker 1: a hippogriff, a pegasus, and a wig join me up
[6:01] Speaker 1: here once a week for a picnic. Would you like
[6:04] Speaker 1: to join us? A picnic with magical flying animals, grinned Stella.
[6:11] Speaker 1: That's a dream come true. But what about looking for
[6:15] Speaker 1: the giant, asked Maggie. Oh okay, you're right, agreed Stella,
[6:22] Speaker 1: before addressing the griffin, thank you for the invite, but
[6:26] Speaker 1: we're going to keep climbing. The griffin waved a wing
[6:31] Speaker 1: in goodbye. As the two hog nosed snakes returned to
[6:35] Speaker 1: the bean stalk. I can't believe we met a griffin,
[6:39] Speaker 1: Stella said. How cool was that? But a giant will
[6:44] Speaker 1: be even cooler, Maggie replied. As they slithered up between
[6:48] Speaker 1: the vines. It was hard work, and at one point
[6:52] Speaker 1: they rested on an enormous bean leaf. Stella could see
[6:57] Speaker 1: even further now, including the village and the river beyond.
[7:02] Speaker 1: They looked like tiny toy houses down there. We've reached
[7:07] Speaker 1: another cloud, Maggie called down shortly after they began climbing again.
[7:13] Speaker 1: Maybe this'll be the one. This time, the top of
[7:17] Speaker 1: the cloud was very different. They were in a cloud
[7:21] Speaker 1: top garden. Pretty trees sculpted from wisps of cloud carried
[7:27] Speaker 1: fluffy leaves overhead, while flowers that looked like snowflakes dotted
[7:32] Speaker 1: the ground in the center of it all. Was a
[7:36] Speaker 1: wide pond shimmering like starlight. They both wanted to get
[7:41] Speaker 1: a closer look, but as they peered over the pond's edge,
[7:46] Speaker 1: they were surprised to see a pair of eyes gazing
[7:49] Speaker 1: back at them. It was a yellow puffer fish. Friends,
[7:54] Speaker 1: smiled the puffer fish happily. How wonderful do puff fish
[8:00] Speaker 1: usually live up in the sky? Stella asked, Oh, that
[8:06] Speaker 1: it's a rather embarrassing story. I'm afraid, said the puffer fish.
[8:11] Speaker 1: Once I wished upon a star to be able to fly,
[8:15] Speaker 1: and I did. I grew wings and soared through the
[8:19] Speaker 1: air like a bird. But my wish ran out at midnight,
[8:23] Speaker 1: and my wings disappeared. Luckily, I fell into this pond.
[8:28] Speaker 1: But now I'm stuck here. Oh, dear, said Stella, that's
[8:34] Speaker 1: quite a conundrum. It can be lonely, the puffer fish admitted, Oh,
[8:40] Speaker 1: though the birds visit me sometimes. Oh, I wish I
[8:44] Speaker 1: could fly again, so I could return to the ocean.
[8:48] Speaker 1: But at least I got to see some amazing things,
[8:51] Speaker 1: like rainbows and cloud mountains and a castle in the sky.
[8:57] Speaker 1: A castle in the sky, Maggie heated, Where was this
[9:01] Speaker 1: castle exactly higher than here? The puffer fish said, it
[9:07] Speaker 1: was so high that I could see the stars. That's
[9:11] Speaker 1: where we need to go, Maggie beamed, Are you ready, Stella.
[9:17] Speaker 1: Stella would have preferred to stay awhile. She'd read so
[9:21] Speaker 1: many stories about secret gardens and now here she was
[9:26] Speaker 1: standing in one, But Maggie still wanted to find her giant,
[9:31] Speaker 1: and that's what they had set out to do. After all.
[9:35] Speaker 1: I hope you find a way to get home soon,
[9:37] Speaker 1: Stella said to the puffer fish. Thanks for stopping by.
[9:42] Speaker 1: The fish called after them as they returned to the beanstalk.
[9:47] Speaker 1: That secret garden was beautiful, Stella puffed. Even after that
[9:53] Speaker 1: short rest, climbing was tiring work, and hearing about wishing
[9:58] Speaker 1: upon a star and it coming true was pretty amazing,
[10:04] Speaker 1: it was, agreed Maggie. But I'm still determined to find
[10:09] Speaker 1: a giant. We must be close by now. After a while,
[10:15] Speaker 1: Stella risked another looked down. She could see distant forests
[10:20] Speaker 1: and far off hills. It was so far down that
[10:23] Speaker 1: it made her stomach churn. We're at another cloud, Maggie called,
[10:29] Speaker 1: as they disappeared into fluffiness. Emerging at the top, the
[10:35] Speaker 1: two hog nosed snakes found themselves before the door step
[10:39] Speaker 1: to a large log cabin. Surely this can't be a
[10:43] Speaker 1: giant's castle, said Maggie, doubtfully, castle called a voice, No,
[10:51] Speaker 1: this is my holiday home. A large reptile like head
[10:56] Speaker 1: on a long neck was looking around the cabin's corner.
[11:00] Speaker 1: The two snakes slithered round to find the owner of
[11:03] Speaker 1: the head, sat in an impressive hot tub. So you
[11:08] Speaker 1: don't live here all the time, asked Maggie. Oh no,
[11:13] Speaker 1: laughed the creature. Just when I need a break from
[11:16] Speaker 1: lock ness. You're NeSSI, the lock Ness Monster, laughed Stella delightedly.
[11:24] Speaker 1: I would never have dreamed that we'd meet you all
[11:27] Speaker 1: the way up here. You're welcome to stay, insisted NeSSI.
[11:33] Speaker 1: There's room in this hot tub for two skinny snakes
[11:36] Speaker 1: like you. Shall we Maggie asked Stella, But what about
[11:42] Speaker 1: my giant and the castle in the sky, replied Maggie.
[11:47] Speaker 1: I think there's a castle on the next cloud up,
[11:50] Speaker 1: said NeSSI. You're almost there. Yeay, cheered Maggie, turning for
[11:57] Speaker 1: the bean stalk. Stella, though really wanted to stay. It
[12:02] Speaker 1: was the lock Ness Monster after all, But Maggie had
[12:06] Speaker 1: got them climbing this bean stalk for a reason. Thank
[12:10] Speaker 1: you for the offer, she said to NeSSI, but we'd
[12:13] Speaker 1: better get going. More climbing to do, and off she went.
[12:19] Speaker 1: The bean stalk was much thinner now, suggesting that they
[12:22] Speaker 1: were near the top. Stella could feel it swaying and
[12:27] Speaker 1: tried desperately not to look down. There's another cloud, Maggie cried, Suddenly,
[12:34] Speaker 1: it's darker than the others this time. When the hog
[12:38] Speaker 1: nosed snakes climbed out on top, they were greeted by
[12:42] Speaker 1: the sight of a ginormous stone castle looming over them.
[12:47] Speaker 1: It's just what I imagined, Maggie said, happily, wasting no time
[12:53] Speaker 1: in slithering towards the great stone steps. Stella followed nervously,
[12:59] Speaker 1: following Maggie through the gap beneath the door. The castle
[13:03] Speaker 1: truly was massive. The ceilings arched high overhead, the furniture
[13:10] Speaker 1: was as tall as trees, and some of the rooms
[13:13] Speaker 1: they saw appeared to stretch on forever. But where's the giant,
[13:19] Speaker 1: asked Maggie in frustration. They passed doorways and staircases, saw
[13:25] Speaker 1: a library and a kitchen, and a great hall, but
[13:29] Speaker 1: the giant was nowhere to be seen. There's nobody, Maggie sighed,
[13:36] Speaker 1: full of disappointment. It was beginning to look as if
[13:40] Speaker 1: they'd climbed all that way for nothing, until a thunderous
[13:45] Speaker 1: voice boomed, Fee five foe fake, I smelled a blood
[13:51] Speaker 1: of two hog nose snakes. The voice echoed through the castle,
[13:57] Speaker 1: appearing to come from the top of a mountain. A staircase.
[14:02] Speaker 1: A humongous shadow appeared on the stairs, accompanied by thudding footsteps.
[14:08] Speaker 1: I've changed my mind, squeaked Maggie. I don't want to
[14:13] Speaker 1: meet a giant. The two snakes slithered faster than they'd
[14:17] Speaker 1: ever slithered, before squeezing back under the door and racing
[14:22] Speaker 1: for the bean stalk. Down they slid, swirling through the tendrils,
[14:28] Speaker 1: and never once looking back. They passed the lock Ness
[14:32] Speaker 1: monster in her hot tub, the puffer fish in his pond,
[14:36] Speaker 1: And it was only when they reached the gryffin, now
[14:39] Speaker 1: enjoying the picnic with his friends, that they paused for breath.
[14:44] Speaker 1: Everything all right, asked the griffin. Can't stop panted, Stella,
[14:50] Speaker 1: But if you'd be so kind, there's a pufferfish stuck
[14:54] Speaker 1: on the cloud above you. Is there any chance you
[14:57] Speaker 1: could give him a lift back to the ocean, is there, really,
[15:02] Speaker 1: said the startled griffin, I'd been most happy to help. Satisfied,
[15:08] Speaker 1: Stella and Maggie set off again, and this time they
[15:12] Speaker 1: didn't stop until they reached the grass in Maggie's garden.
[15:16] Speaker 1: They lay there for a moment, breathing heavily as they
[15:20] Speaker 1: enjoyed the feel of the ground beneath them. Beside her.
[15:24] Speaker 1: Stella could hear Maggie sniffling. Are you crying? Asked Stella,
[15:30] Speaker 1: worried that their encounter with the giant had ended in disaster.
[15:35] Speaker 1: We didn't hang around long enough to even see the giant.
[15:39] Speaker 1: But Maggie wasn't crying at all. She was laughing. But
[15:45] Speaker 1: wasn't it amazing? Maggie said, We got chaste, just like
[15:51] Speaker 1: in the story. And what a gigantic castle that was.
[15:56] Speaker 1: I've never seen a place so big, Stella smiled. As
[16:01] Speaker 1: Maggie jabbered on and on about their bean stalk adventure. Well,
[16:07] Speaker 1: one thing's for sure, smiled Stella. I wasn't expecting that
[16:11] Speaker 1: i'd meet a griffin when I woke up this morning,
[16:15] Speaker 1: or a puffer fish in the sky, said Maggie, or
[16:20] Speaker 1: the lock Ness monster in a hot tub, added Stella,
[16:24] Speaker 1: do you know what we should write this all down?
[16:28] Speaker 1: Nobody's going to believe us unless we do. And so
[16:33] Speaker 1: they did, and now you're the first to hear it.
[16:42] Speaker 1: Animals fat. There are many different species of hog noose snake,
[16:48] Speaker 1: all named after their upturned snouts that somewhat resemble a pig's.
[16:53] Speaker 1: As they don't have limbs, they use their strangely shaped
[16:57] Speaker 1: noses for burrowing. Pufferfish are able to suck in sea
[17:02] Speaker 1: water to enlarge their bodies. They are also known as balloonfish, blowfish, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish,
[17:13] Speaker 1: and sea squabs, amongst many other names. There is no
[17:18] Speaker 1: evidence that griffins or the Lockness monster have ever existed
[17:22] Speaker 1: anywhere but in stories. Lockness has been studied and searched
[17:27] Speaker 1: for decades, but sadly, no monster has ever been found, unless,
[17:33] Speaker 1: of course, it was taking a break elsewhere in a
[17:36] Speaker 1: hot tub. Thank you for your suggestion, Stella. We hope
[17:41] Speaker 1: that you all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're listening in
[17:43] Speaker 1: the world, don't forget to look at our Animal Tails
[17:47] Speaker 1: books over on Amazon. Great bedtime reading, especially if you've
[17:52] Speaker 1: discovered the joy of reading for yourself, make sure you
[17:56] Speaker 1: join us next time for another great animal tail. Goodbye,

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