# Woolly And Warm

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 7 Jan 2026, 17 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/69249319/at459_woollyandwarm_mixdown.mp3

Having broken down on the side of the road, Jack discovers a house with two out-of-place inhabitants. Written especially for this podcast by Simon. 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
[0:20] 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: Jack is from Australia and he would like a story
[0:45] Speaker 1: with a wooly rhinoceros and a wooly mammoth. You can
[0:49] Speaker 1: learn more about these creatures in the animal facts after
[0:52] Speaker 1: the story. Now, settle back, relax, and I'll begin. Wooly
[0:59] Speaker 1: and warm. Jack was having car trouble. His job involved
[1:06] Speaker 1: him traveling across Australia from farm to farm, offering his
[1:10] Speaker 1: services to morrow morning, bright and early. He'd be starting
[1:15] Speaker 1: work at a new farm, but only if he got
[1:18] Speaker 1: there on time to day, and that wasn't looking likely.
[1:22] Speaker 1: His car spluttered and jolted, until finally it wheezed to
[1:27] Speaker 1: a halt on the side of the road. Oh man,
[1:31] Speaker 1: now what am I supposed to do? Jack said to
[1:34] Speaker 1: himself in frustration. The road was set amongst wide green fields,
[1:40] Speaker 1: and apart from trees and a few bushes, that was
[1:43] Speaker 1: all he could see. The last farm was far behind him,
[1:48] Speaker 1: and the one he was heading towards was a long
[1:50] Speaker 1: way ahead. What's more, this was a quiet road. His
[1:56] Speaker 1: chances of waving some one down were slim. I'm going
[2:00] Speaker 1: to be late, he sighed. Jack was always reliable and
[2:06] Speaker 1: never ever late, but this time he would be, even
[2:10] Speaker 1: though it was the car's fault and not his. He
[2:14] Speaker 1: checked his phone, but there was no phone signal this
[2:18] Speaker 1: far out into the countryside. He wouldn't be able to
[2:21] Speaker 1: call for help. Oddly, though he was able to see
[2:25] Speaker 1: somebody's WiFi. Surely that was impossible. Wi Fi only worked
[2:31] Speaker 1: over very short distances, which meant he shouldn't be seeing
[2:35] Speaker 1: a Wi Fi signal here in the middle of nowhere, unless,
[2:40] Speaker 1: of course, he was in the middle of somewhere somewhere
[2:45] Speaker 1: very close. There must be a house. It couldn't be far.
[2:50] Speaker 1: Sir Jack climbed out of his car and went to
[2:52] Speaker 1: look for it. He quickly spotted a dusty track hidden
[2:57] Speaker 1: by a twin line of bushes that ran down into
[3:00] Speaker 1: a gully between the fields towards a clump of trees.
[3:04] Speaker 1: It was the only sensible place to go. Jack's heart
[3:09] Speaker 1: was filled with relief when he saw the tin roofed
[3:12] Speaker 1: shack tucked in amongst the trees. It was an old
[3:16] Speaker 1: place with a wide wooden porch, although unusually the doors
[3:21] Speaker 1: and porch roof were higher than he was used to seeing,
[3:25] Speaker 1: not that he paid that much attention. What mattered was
[3:29] Speaker 1: that this house appeared to have Wi Fi, and if
[3:32] Speaker 1: it had Wi Fi, then someone lived here. He could
[3:36] Speaker 1: get some help and get his car running again. He
[3:40] Speaker 1: was just ten paces away from the porch steps when
[3:44] Speaker 1: the front door opened and outwalked the most bizarre sight
[3:48] Speaker 1: Jack had ever laid eyes upon, a wooly rhinoceros. It
[3:54] Speaker 1: thumped over to a rocking chair and slumped down into it.
[3:59] Speaker 1: The hairy rhino was immediately followed by the bizarre site
[4:03] Speaker 1: of a wooly mammoth cuddling a jug of iced water
[4:06] Speaker 1: with her trunk. Phew, it's hot, said the wooly mammoth,
[4:13] Speaker 1: flapping her small ears to create a breeze. I just
[4:18] Speaker 1: can't get comfortable, fidgeted the wooly rhinoceros as he plucked
[4:23] Speaker 1: up an old magazine to fan his face inside. It's
[4:27] Speaker 1: hot outside. It's hot. Everywhere we go is hot. The
[4:34] Speaker 1: wooly mammoth plunged the tip of her trunk into the
[4:37] Speaker 1: jug and sighed. The day is hot, the night is hot.
[4:43] Speaker 1: It's always so hot. Hot hot. Jack hadn't moved a
[4:49] Speaker 1: step since the two animals had emerged from the house.
[4:53] Speaker 1: He was too busy gaping at this most extraordinary sight,
[4:58] Speaker 1: a wooly rhino and a wooly mammoth in Australia. He
[5:03] Speaker 1: didn't know what to say. Goodness, Mildred, we have a visitor,
[5:08] Speaker 1: yelped the wooly rhino as he sat up straight, tossing
[5:12] Speaker 1: the magazine in the air. The mammoth withdrew her trunk
[5:17] Speaker 1: from the jug of iced water, looking embarrassed how unexpected,
[5:23] Speaker 1: she squeaked. I'm I'm dreadfully sorry. I didn't mean to
[5:28] Speaker 1: disturb you, blurted out Jack. No, no, not at all,
[5:34] Speaker 1: hrumped the wooly rhino. We were er just about to
[5:38] Speaker 1: have coffee. Would you like a coffee? I'd much prefer
[5:43] Speaker 1: a cold drink, if you don't mind, said Jack, realizing
[5:47] Speaker 1: just how thirsty he was. Thank goodness for that, said Mildred.
[5:53] Speaker 1: The mammoth coffee's far too hot for a daylight to day.
[5:59] Speaker 1: For a moment, she considered offering the young man a
[6:02] Speaker 1: slurp from her jug, but as he'd already seen her
[6:05] Speaker 1: poking her nose into it, she thought better of it.
[6:09] Speaker 1: I'll get us all fresh ones, she said. Come take
[6:14] Speaker 1: a seat, said the wooly rhino, gesturing to the empty
[6:18] Speaker 1: chairs beside him. The name's Elfred, and you are Jack,
[6:24] Speaker 1: said Jack as he sat down. Look I don't mean
[6:29] Speaker 1: to be a bother, but I've broken down up on
[6:31] Speaker 1: the road and I was wondering if there was a
[6:34] Speaker 1: way I could call for help from here. Break down,
[6:39] Speaker 1: muttered Elfred. How unfortunate. I'm afraid we don't have a phone,
[6:44] Speaker 1: so you won't be able to call any one. But
[6:48] Speaker 1: you have WiFi, said Jack hopefully. Of course, drilled Mildred
[6:55] Speaker 1: as she burst back onto the porch carrying a tray
[6:58] Speaker 1: of fresh iced water three glasses. We just love the internet.
[7:04] Speaker 1: We do all our shopping that way here, said Elfred.
[7:09] Speaker 1: Kindly allow me to connect you. He took Jack's phone
[7:14] Speaker 1: and entered the password. Jack was then able to place
[7:19] Speaker 1: a call to a repair garage thirty miles away, who
[7:23] Speaker 1: promised to be out right away. Despite being focused on
[7:28] Speaker 1: getting help, Jack could not ignore the fact that he
[7:31] Speaker 1: was sat with a wooly rhinoceros and a wooly mammoth.
[7:36] Speaker 1: Throughout his conversation with the garage, Jack paid attention to
[7:40] Speaker 1: his very hairy hosts, both of which were sliding downwards
[7:44] Speaker 1: in their seats by the time his call was done.
[7:48] Speaker 1: They were very clearly uncomfortable and struggling. Um hot, isn't it,
[7:55] Speaker 1: said Jack to the pear Is it? Said Elfred, as
[8:00] Speaker 1: he attempted to sit up straighter. I can't say I've
[8:04] Speaker 1: noticed I'm not hot, insisted Mildred, who had by now
[8:11] Speaker 1: absent mindedly sunk her trunk into the jug of iced
[8:14] Speaker 1: water again. If you don't mind me asking, said Jack,
[8:20] Speaker 1: choosing his words carefully. Er aren't you guys sort of
[8:26] Speaker 1: from the ice age? Oh ice, sighed Mildred. Happily. We are,
[8:34] Speaker 1: nodded Elfred, the wooly rhinoceros, or at least we were.
[8:41] Speaker 1: So how did you end up here? Asked Jack. We
[8:46] Speaker 1: fancied a change, confessed Mildred. The ice age was all
[8:51] Speaker 1: well and good, but a bit of sunshine and warmth
[8:54] Speaker 1: is always welcome too. So Alfred and I set off
[8:58] Speaker 1: to find some and ended up here in Australia. We've
[9:03] Speaker 1: been here ever since. Wow, all that cold to all
[9:08] Speaker 1: this heat, said Jack. That's quite a difference. Oh we
[9:14] Speaker 1: barely notice it, lied Elfred. Isn't that right, Mildred, in
[9:21] Speaker 1: an effort to cool down, the mammoth was blowing air
[9:24] Speaker 1: into her armpits with her trunk. The heat doesn't bother
[9:29] Speaker 1: me at all, she said. Jack took a sip of
[9:33] Speaker 1: his water and studied the two ice age giants. Something
[9:38] Speaker 1: wasn't right here, he could tell, but the wooly mammoth
[9:42] Speaker 1: and the wooly rhino weren't prepared to say what it was.
[9:47] Speaker 1: Perhaps there was a way he could help. I must say,
[9:51] Speaker 1: you both have such lovely fur coats, said Jack, admiring
[9:56] Speaker 1: their long, thick hair. You think so, asked Mildred. I've
[10:02] Speaker 1: always thought so. I bet they kept the cold from
[10:06] Speaker 1: biting during the ice age. Jack added, Oh it did,
[10:11] Speaker 1: it did, said Elfred proudly. A fine layer of short,
[10:16] Speaker 1: dense fur underneath, covered by a thick mat of long
[10:21] Speaker 1: hair over the top, perfect for trapping in the warmth
[10:25] Speaker 1: during the freezing weather. Sounds perfect, said Jack. Oh, it was,
[10:33] Speaker 1: nodded Mildred. You can wait out a blizzard when you
[10:36] Speaker 1: fur coat's like ours. Jack smiled. Surely you must feel
[10:43] Speaker 1: a tiny bit too warm now that you're in Australia.
[10:46] Speaker 1: I mean I'm warm and I don't have any fur
[10:50] Speaker 1: at all. Well, like you say, perhaps just a tiny
[10:55] Speaker 1: bit warm, said Elfred. Quite a bit if I'm on,
[11:00] Speaker 1: said Mildred. Very warm, really, continued Elfred. Oh my goodness,
[11:09] Speaker 1: I am so hot, trumpeted the mammoth loudly. I can't
[11:15] Speaker 1: stand it any longer. I'm cooking here. I'm being boiled alive.
[11:21] Speaker 1: We've made a mistake, such a silly mistake, sobbed Elfred. Suddenly,
[11:27] Speaker 1: we're not made for Australian heat. We're made for the
[11:31] Speaker 1: frozen north. What were we thinking then? Why did you stay?
[11:38] Speaker 1: Asked Jack with sympathy. Because we like it here, said Mildred.
[11:44] Speaker 1: At last, we've made a home here. It's peaceful, the
[11:49] Speaker 1: people are nice, and since we got the internet, all
[11:53] Speaker 1: our needs are taken care of. It's just the heat
[11:57] Speaker 1: that spoils it all, said Alfred. Sadly, I see, said Jack,
[12:04] Speaker 1: as he set down his empty glass. You know there
[12:08] Speaker 1: might be something I could do to help with that.
[12:12] Speaker 1: There might, said Mildred in surprise. But first of all,
[12:17] Speaker 1: I just need to pop to my car, Jack explained.
[12:23] Speaker 1: Ten minutes later, Jack was back on the porch with
[12:26] Speaker 1: a large bag. Are you a traveling salesman, asked Mildred
[12:32] Speaker 1: as Jack set the bag down. I travel, said Jack,
[12:37] Speaker 1: but I don't sell things. He reached into the bag
[12:41] Speaker 1: and pulled out what looked like a large electric razor.
[12:45] Speaker 1: I shear sheep, shear sheep, repeated Elfred. Whatever do you
[12:52] Speaker 1: mean it's like giving them a hair cut, Jack explained.
[12:58] Speaker 1: It doesn't hurt and want done. The sheep doesn't feel
[13:01] Speaker 1: as hot until it all grows back again. Of course,
[13:06] Speaker 1: is that where you were going to when you broke down,
[13:10] Speaker 1: asked the mammoth. That's right, nodded Jack. I'm due to
[13:15] Speaker 1: start shearing at seven thirty to morrow morning, which is
[13:18] Speaker 1: why I need to reach the farm to night. Alfred
[13:23] Speaker 1: was leaning forward, studying the clippers in Jack's hand. So
[13:28] Speaker 1: you could give us a hair cut? Is that what
[13:31] Speaker 1: you're suggesting? Only if you want me to, said Jack.
[13:36] Speaker 1: I think you would be more comfortable if you did,
[13:39] Speaker 1: but the choice is yours. The wooly rhino stared down
[13:44] Speaker 1: past his large horn at Jack get clipping. He said,
[13:50] Speaker 1: so Jack did. It's a very different experience shearing a
[13:56] Speaker 1: mammoth and a rhinoceros when compared to a sheep. But
[14:00] Speaker 1: fortunately Jack was very skilled and patient. He had plenty
[14:05] Speaker 1: of time before the truck from the repair garage arrived,
[14:09] Speaker 1: so he didn't need to hurry either. Once finished, they
[14:13] Speaker 1: were all knee deep in hair, and the results were
[14:17] Speaker 1: both striking and more importantly, utterly refreshing. It feels so
[14:24] Speaker 1: much better, said Mildred gleefully as she stroked the short,
[14:29] Speaker 1: soft layer of hair that Jack had left her. I'm
[14:33] Speaker 1: cool at last. This is the best I've felt in
[14:39] Speaker 1: well years, announced Helfred happily. How I wish we had
[14:45] Speaker 1: met you sooner. I'm glad to have helped, smiled Jack,
[14:51] Speaker 1: especially when you were so kind to help me up
[14:55] Speaker 1: on the road. The sound of a horn announced the
[14:58] Speaker 1: repair truck had arrived. I must go, said Jack quickly,
[15:03] Speaker 1: as he stuffed his clippers back into the bag. But Jack, wait,
[15:08] Speaker 1: said Mildred urgently. What happens when our hair grows back?
[15:14] Speaker 1: We'll just be hot an wooly all over again. Then
[15:19] Speaker 1: I'll just have to see you again. Jack said, let's
[15:23] Speaker 1: say every two months. How does that sound. Yes, let's
[15:28] Speaker 1: do that, grinned Elfred as the truck's horn sounded again.
[15:34] Speaker 1: We look forward to seeing you. With a wave. Jack
[15:39] Speaker 1: rushed up the lane towards the road, rushing wooly mammoth
[15:43] Speaker 1: and wooly rhino hair from his clothes as he went.
[15:50] Speaker 1: Animals fact, the ice age saw many large mammals adapt
[15:55] Speaker 1: to the cold environment, two of which were the wooly
[15:58] Speaker 1: rhino and the wooly mammoth. Both creatures were captured in
[16:03] Speaker 1: cave paintings by early humans that lived alongside them. Wooly
[16:08] Speaker 1: mammoths were around the size of an African elephant, although
[16:12] Speaker 1: their tails and ears were much smaller to protect them
[16:15] Speaker 1: from the intense cold. Their long curving tusks were ideal
[16:21] Speaker 1: for shoveling aside snow to get to the plants underneath.
[16:26] Speaker 1: Wooly rhinos were far bigger than the rhinos of Africa,
[16:30] Speaker 1: with very large nasal horns like the mammoth's tusks. These
[16:36] Speaker 1: horns were perfect for plowing snow aside so they could feed.
[16:41] Speaker 1: Thank you for your suggestions, Jack, We hope that you
[16:44] Speaker 1: all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're listening in the world,
[16:48] Speaker 1: don't forget to look at our Animal Tales books over
[16:52] Speaker 1: on Amazon Great bedtime reading, especially if you've discovered the
[16:57] Speaker 1: joy of reading for yourself. You join us next time
[17:01] Speaker 1: for another great animal tale. Goodbye,

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