# The Pirate's Parrot

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 5 Apr 2026, 18 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71044837/at484_thepiratesparrot_mixdown.mp3

A parrot and her pirate find an unusual kind of gold. 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
[0:17] 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. Please continue
[0:31] Speaker 1: to share Animal Tales with your friends and leave us
[0:34] Speaker 1: reviews where you can. Ava and Lorna are from the
[0:38] Speaker 1: UK and they would like a story featuring a parrot
[0:41] Speaker 1: and a goldfish. You can learn more about these creatures
[0:45] Speaker 1: in the animal facts after the story. Okay, are you ready?
[0:50] Speaker 1: That's good, then I'll begin The Pirate's Parrot Land ho
[0:59] Speaker 1: At the sound of the call, it was all hands
[1:02] Speaker 1: on deck. Crewmates started pulling ropes, angling sails, and preparing
[1:07] Speaker 1: the rowboats. Captain Graybeard stood at the front of his ship,
[1:12] Speaker 1: watching the tiny island grow closer. Upon his shoulder sat
[1:17] Speaker 1: his trusted red parrot Ava. Are you ready, Ava, Captain
[1:23] Speaker 1: Graybeard asked. Ready. The parrot squawked. Captain Graybeard smiled and
[1:31] Speaker 1: threw a peanut in the air. Ava launched from his shoulder,
[1:36] Speaker 1: catching it mid air before swooping away towards the island.
[1:41] Speaker 1: Like all members of the pirate crew, Ava worked hard
[1:44] Speaker 1: for her place on the ship. It was her job
[1:47] Speaker 1: to scout ahead when they came across new Lands, to
[1:51] Speaker 1: look for any dangers that might be waiting for them. Pleasingly,
[1:56] Speaker 1: this island appeared to be harmless. A tropical storm had
[2:00] Speaker 1: hit it not long ago, meaning there was much damage
[2:04] Speaker 1: in the form of fallen trees. Other than that, there
[2:08] Speaker 1: didn't seem to be much more worth investigating until Ava's
[2:13] Speaker 1: eyes settled on a small house at the edge of
[2:15] Speaker 1: the beach. A tree had fallen through the roof and
[2:19] Speaker 1: the wooden porch had been torn to shreds by high winds.
[2:23] Speaker 1: There was no sign of anyone living inside. The parrot
[2:28] Speaker 1: returned to the captain's shoulder, who at that point was
[2:32] Speaker 1: approaching the beach in a rowboat with some of the crew.
[2:36] Speaker 1: Anything interesting, asked Captain Graybeard. As the rowboat struck the
[2:41] Speaker 1: sand this way, Ava squawked, taking to the air again.
[2:48] Speaker 1: Captain Graybeard and the crew members pushed aside fallen branches
[2:53] Speaker 1: in order to get near the damaged house. If there
[2:56] Speaker 1: was someone living here, they're not here now, Braybeard said,
[3:00] Speaker 1: as he entered. Grab whatever's worth taking, he ordered. The
[3:06] Speaker 1: pirates collected cutlery clothes, chairs, and wooden chests, hauling it
[3:12] Speaker 1: away to the shoreline. It was only then that Ava
[3:16] Speaker 1: noticed something glinting beneath the branches that had crashed through
[3:20] Speaker 1: the roof. Treasure, she announced excitedly. Captain Graybeard drew his
[3:27] Speaker 1: sword and hacked at the fallen wood. Good girl, he
[3:32] Speaker 1: said happily. Finding treasure was always the best part. But
[3:38] Speaker 1: it was not but a glass bowl full of water.
[3:42] Speaker 1: My word, said Captain Graybeard. That's a goldfish. It was,
[3:48] Speaker 1: smiling at them as it swam in circles carefully. Captain
[3:54] Speaker 1: Graybeard picked up the fish bowl. We can't leave you here,
[3:58] Speaker 1: he said gently. You'd best come with us, Ava, it
[4:03] Speaker 1: would appear would no longer be the only animal aboard
[4:07] Speaker 1: the ship. Back in his cabin, Captain Graybie had cleaned
[4:12] Speaker 1: and refilled the bowl so that the goldfish had fresh water.
[4:16] Speaker 1: She was very pretty, with long flowing fins and sparkling
[4:21] Speaker 1: orange gold scales. I shall name you Lorna, he said happily.
[4:28] Speaker 1: The pirate crew were rather taken with her too. She
[4:32] Speaker 1: really did look like floating treasure, and what pirate doesn't
[4:36] Speaker 1: like treasure? They laughed when she blew bubbles and swam
[4:40] Speaker 1: in loops in her bowl. She was the best thing
[4:43] Speaker 1: they'd found in months. Lorna was really enjoying the attention
[4:49] Speaker 1: for an animal who'd spent her whole life in a
[4:51] Speaker 1: fish bowl, This was all so exciting. She particularly loved
[4:56] Speaker 1: hearing the stories about their pirate adventures. Ava, meanwhile, was
[5:02] Speaker 1: rather less pleased. In truth, she was a little bit jealous.
[5:08] Speaker 1: It wasn't that she didn't like Lorna. It was nice
[5:11] Speaker 1: having another animal on board, but since arriving, the pirates
[5:16] Speaker 1: didn't give her as much attention anymore. These days, they
[5:20] Speaker 1: were too busy admiring the goldfish to even throw her
[5:23] Speaker 1: a peanut. It wasn't all bad, though. When they reached
[5:28] Speaker 1: a new island, Ava was still needed to scout the way.
[5:32] Speaker 1: Lorna would be left behind in the captain's cabin, meaning
[5:36] Speaker 1: Ava had the pirates all to herself. The parrot found
[5:40] Speaker 1: herself looking forward to these moments. Then one day, Captain
[5:46] Speaker 1: Graybeard found a map to the Lonely Lagoon. They'd raided
[5:51] Speaker 1: the map from another pirate ship, not knowing at first
[5:54] Speaker 1: what it was, But as soon as the captain realized
[5:58] Speaker 1: what he had, it came all he could think about
[6:03] Speaker 1: the Lonely Lagoon is special, he announced to the gathered crew.
[6:08] Speaker 1: Tis said to be where Dirk the Dreadful hid all
[6:11] Speaker 1: of his treasure before he disappeared. Dirk the Dreadful was
[6:16] Speaker 1: a despicable but very rich pirate. If it was true
[6:21] Speaker 1: and this led to his fortune, they'd all be extremely rich.
[6:27] Speaker 1: The treasure is said to be almost impossible to find,
[6:31] Speaker 1: Captain Graybeard explained. The entrance to the hiding place is
[6:35] Speaker 1: only revealed when the tide is at its lowest. Even then,
[6:40] Speaker 1: any pirate lucky enough to find their way in would
[6:43] Speaker 1: likely get lost within the maze of tunnels within the cliffs.
[6:48] Speaker 1: It sounds extremely dangerous, whimpered one of the big burly crewmates. Maybe,
[6:56] Speaker 1: Captain Graybeard replied, but finding the treasure would be worth
[7:00] Speaker 1: the effort. It's all Dirk's treasure from a lifetime of pirrating,
[7:06] Speaker 1: and besides, we have an advantage something that other pirates
[7:11] Speaker 1: do not. Ava felt her chest swell with pride. Her
[7:16] Speaker 1: captain believed in her. She wasn't going to let him down.
[7:22] Speaker 1: They set sail, following the map for three days and
[7:25] Speaker 1: three nights, entering deep water with strange shadows that passed
[7:30] Speaker 1: beneath the boat. Then, on the morning of the fourth day,
[7:35] Speaker 1: a shout came down from the crow's nest land ho
[7:42] Speaker 1: a large island was before them, with tall, towering cliffs
[7:47] Speaker 1: topped with thick jungle. We're in luck, announced Captain Graybeard.
[7:53] Speaker 1: The tide is low. Keep your eyes open for any
[7:57] Speaker 1: likely caves at the water line. Ava was poised, ready
[8:02] Speaker 1: to take to the air and search. The moment the
[8:05] Speaker 1: captain flicked a peanut into the air, cave, shouted the
[8:11] Speaker 1: pirate in the Crow's nest. It was almost right before them.
[8:16] Speaker 1: The crew gathered round, awaiting the captain's next move. There's
[8:21] Speaker 1: not much time until the tide rises again, but we
[8:24] Speaker 1: have to be patient, explained Captain Graybeard. We'll let her
[8:29] Speaker 1: scouter head first and search the correct route to the lagoon.
[8:34] Speaker 1: Then we'll go in the next time the tide is low.
[8:39] Speaker 1: Ava thought this was a good plan. It would be
[8:42] Speaker 1: her most daring mission yet. She'd never flown through caves before,
[8:47] Speaker 1: much less one's in danger of flooding, but she was
[8:51] Speaker 1: determined to do her captain proud. All she needed was
[8:55] Speaker 1: a pea nut to be flicked into the air and
[8:58] Speaker 1: she'd be away. But instead of a peanut being produced.
[9:03] Speaker 1: The first mate arrived carrying Lorna's fish bowl. What's all this,
[9:09] Speaker 1: Ava asked the captain. We're sending Lorna to scout ahead.
[9:15] Speaker 1: Captain Graybeard replied, she's going to swim through the caves
[9:19] Speaker 1: and find the lost lagoon. Ava felt her feathers bristle.
[9:25] Speaker 1: But I'm the scout, she said, with disappointment. I get
[9:30] Speaker 1: to go first and report back to you. But Ava,
[9:35] Speaker 1: this is dangerous. The captain said soothingly, It's far safer
[9:40] Speaker 1: for a fish to swim through flooded caves than for
[9:43] Speaker 1: you to fly in the dark. I've flown in the
[9:47] Speaker 1: dark before, Ava insisted. Lorna's never even scouted before. We
[9:54] Speaker 1: don't even know that we can trust her. The captain frowned.
[10:00] Speaker 1: Very well, he said, you both go together, keep an
[10:04] Speaker 1: eye on one another, and ensure that both of you
[10:07] Speaker 1: get out safely. Ava still wasn't entirely happy, but at
[10:13] Speaker 1: least she was getting to go. Lorna didn't even appear
[10:16] Speaker 1: to be listening, instead swimming excitedly in circles. The captain
[10:22] Speaker 1: launched a peanut into the air, and Ava was off
[10:26] Speaker 1: as the first mate released Lorna into the ocean. Be safe, girls,
[10:32] Speaker 1: Captain Graybeard said, and go find me that treasure in
[10:37] Speaker 1: the water. Lorna swam furiously to the cliffs. She'd never
[10:43] Speaker 1: had this sort of freedom before. Above the surface, she
[10:47] Speaker 1: could see Ava beating her wings. It was hard to
[10:51] Speaker 1: keep up with the red parrot, but she was determined
[10:54] Speaker 1: to do so. At the cave entrance, Ava settled on
[10:59] Speaker 1: an outcrop to address the goldfish. Follow my lead, Ava said,
[11:05] Speaker 1: I've done this a hundred times before. Okay. The goldfish agreed, happily.
[11:12] Speaker 1: Eager to please, the parrot led the way into the darkness.
[11:17] Speaker 1: The water was deep and the cave ceiling low. The
[11:21] Speaker 1: rowboats were just about squeezed through. It was hard to see,
[11:26] Speaker 1: and to make matters worse, the cave split in two.
[11:31] Speaker 1: They both look the same, Ava said, Squinting in the dark.
[11:37] Speaker 1: Lorna bobbed her head above the water. There are lots
[11:40] Speaker 1: of sharp rocks just beneath the water to the left,
[11:44] Speaker 1: dangerous for rowboats. AVA couldn't have known that. Okay, she nodded.
[11:52] Speaker 1: Then we go right. It was almost impossible to see
[11:56] Speaker 1: by now, and they quickly reached another split. I can't
[12:01] Speaker 1: see any difference. The goldfish reported, I think I can,
[12:06] Speaker 1: said Ava. The ceiling's far too low to the right.
[12:11] Speaker 1: No row boat is fitting through there. Then it must
[12:15] Speaker 1: be the left, grinned Lorna. Working together, the two animals
[12:21] Speaker 1: navigated through the tunnels, and yet despite their team work,
[12:26] Speaker 1: neither of them could see in the dark. They'd done
[12:29] Speaker 1: well to get this far, but now they couldn't even
[12:32] Speaker 1: see each other. Ava called the goldfish. There was no reply.
[12:40] Speaker 1: Somehow the pair of them had become separated in the blackness.
[12:44] Speaker 1: Lorna began to panic until she realized that she wasn't
[12:48] Speaker 1: in as much danger as the parrot. The tide would
[12:52] Speaker 1: be rising by now, and Ava couldn't breathe under water
[12:56] Speaker 1: like she could. She needed to think for a moment.
[13:00] Speaker 1: In that moment of calmness, she noticed something she had
[13:04] Speaker 1: not felt up until then, the movement of the water
[13:08] Speaker 1: pushing past her. She allowed herself to be guided by it.
[13:14] Speaker 1: Something began thrashing violently in the water ahead, startling the goldfish,
[13:19] Speaker 1: until she realized who it was. Ava, is that you,
[13:24] Speaker 1: she asked. The parrot had collided with the rock wall
[13:29] Speaker 1: and was now at risk of drowning. Lorna did her
[13:33] Speaker 1: best to support Ava, but all the splashing mints, she
[13:36] Speaker 1: could no longer feel the gentle current. Thank you, spluttered
[13:42] Speaker 1: the parrot. You make a good pirate. Pirate crews look
[13:46] Speaker 1: out for each other. It won't do us any good
[13:50] Speaker 1: if we're stuck here, replied the Goldfish. I can feel
[13:54] Speaker 1: a draft on my face, announced Ava. Can you swim
[13:59] Speaker 1: us forward? With Ava guiding and Lorna pushing, they reached
[14:05] Speaker 1: a point where the tunnel became lighter and brighter around them,
[14:09] Speaker 1: they could see again. They arrived at an enormous hollow
[14:13] Speaker 1: in the rock, lit by sunlight from above, where trees
[14:17] Speaker 1: and creepers crowded the rim. It was the Lost Lagoon.
[14:23] Speaker 1: Lorna pushed Ava to a sandy bank so she could
[14:26] Speaker 1: shake her feathers dry, look gasped the dripping parrot on
[14:33] Speaker 1: a rocky ledge. Above them was a wall of treasure chests,
[14:37] Speaker 1: works of art, furniture, and so much more. We found it,
[14:43] Speaker 1: grinned Lorna. The captain will be really pleased, said Ava,
[14:48] Speaker 1: as she tidied herself up. But we couldn't have done
[14:52] Speaker 1: it alone. We did it together, beamed the Goldfish. I
[14:59] Speaker 1: was a little bit jealous. Of you at first, admitted Ava.
[15:03] Speaker 1: But when the captain said he was sending you to
[15:05] Speaker 1: find the lagoon, I thought he was replacing me. I
[15:10] Speaker 1: could never replace an animal as wonderful as you, Lorna said,
[15:15] Speaker 1: I've spent my life in a fish bowl. I'm just
[15:18] Speaker 1: happy to be included. Ava smiled at that she'd misjudged
[15:24] Speaker 1: this friendly fish. With her feathers dry, she flew over
[15:29] Speaker 1: to the treasure chests and selected one single gold coin.
[15:34] Speaker 1: Let's get this back to the crew, she said. Naturally.
[15:39] Speaker 1: Captain Graybeard was delighted. You're a marvel, he told his
[15:45] Speaker 1: parrot proudly. You can show us the way at the
[15:48] Speaker 1: next low tide, not just me, corrected Ava, I'll need
[15:54] Speaker 1: Lorna to find the lost lagoon again. They may have
[15:59] Speaker 1: found the greatest pirate treasure in the world, but as
[16:03] Speaker 1: far as Ava was concerned, she'd also found something even
[16:07] Speaker 1: more precious, a new best friend. Animal. Fact. The red
[16:17] Speaker 1: parrot in our story is a scarlet macaw. They're also
[16:22] Speaker 1: known as the red and yellow macaw, the red and
[16:25] Speaker 1: blue macaw, or the red breasted macaw. This might give
[16:30] Speaker 1: you some idea of how bright and colorful they are.
[16:34] Speaker 1: They are extremely intelligent birds, capable of copying human speech.
[16:39] Speaker 1: Their tongues, beaks, and feet allow them to manipulate objects
[16:44] Speaker 1: and even use simple tools. Goldfish are members of the
[16:49] Speaker 1: carp family and were bred for their unique color by
[16:53] Speaker 1: the Chinese over a thousand years ago. It's sometimes said
[16:57] Speaker 1: that goldfish have a very short memory, but this isn't
[17:01] Speaker 1: actually true. Those were fun suggestions, Ava and Lorna. We
[17:06] Speaker 1: hope you enjoyed the story, and thank you to all
[17:09] Speaker 1: of you across the world for listening. Remember, if you
[17:13] Speaker 1: prefer your stories advert free, then please consider our premium
[17:17] Speaker 1: service through Apple or Supercast for a tiny fee. The
[17:22] Speaker 1: stories are advert free. Join us next time for another
[17:27] Speaker 1: great animal tale. Good Bye,

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