# The Greatest Story in The World

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 24 Nov 2025, 18 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/68580447/at446_the_greateststoryintheworld_mixdown.mp3

An orangutan heads out into the world to find his sister the greatest story ever. 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: Hey, yea 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
[0:25] Speaker 1: and Wednesday, with a third premium only story every Friday.
[0:31] Speaker 1: Reviews help get us noticed amongst all the other podcasts
[0:34] Speaker 1: out there, so if you can, please take the time
[0:37] Speaker 1: to leave us a review. Yawn is a Premium member
[0:42] Speaker 1: from Iowa in the USA, and he has asked for
[0:45] Speaker 1: a story featuring an orangutan, a gorilla, a flamingo, and
[0:50] Speaker 1: a pangolin. You can learn more about these creatures in
[0:53] Speaker 1: the animal facts after the story. Okay, are you ready?
[0:58] Speaker 1: That's good, then I'll be the greatest story in the world.
[1:06] Speaker 1: Bjorn had always loved stories. When he was really little,
[1:11] Speaker 1: he enjoyed being read to by his parents, But as
[1:14] Speaker 1: soon as he'd learnt how to read, the young orangutan
[1:17] Speaker 1: had read every single story he could get his hands on,
[1:21] Speaker 1: everything from short stories to fables to huge epic fantasy
[1:26] Speaker 1: stories with sprawling worlds and giant monsters. Bjorn would read
[1:32] Speaker 1: them all. His sister, however, was quite the opposite. Astrid
[1:38] Speaker 1: was a younger orangutan, but old enough, Beyonn thought to
[1:42] Speaker 1: enjoy the stories that he loved. But no matter what
[1:46] Speaker 1: stories he shared with her, Astrid just wasn't interested. A
[1:51] Speaker 1: tale about a girl, a prince and a shoe boring,
[1:56] Speaker 1: said Astrid. A book about a golden ticket and a
[2:01] Speaker 1: chocolate factory meh, said Astrid. A handwritten novel about a long,
[2:08] Speaker 1: perilous journey to return something lost, full of dangerous monsters,
[2:13] Speaker 1: forgotten kings, and bravery found in the most unlikely of places.
[2:19] Speaker 1: That's much too long, Astrid complained. Beyond though, was determined
[2:25] Speaker 1: to find something to excite his sister. Often the stories
[2:30] Speaker 1: would hold her attention to begin with, but after a
[2:33] Speaker 1: few pages Astred would end up board, distracted, or sometimes
[2:38] Speaker 1: even fall asleep. Byorn wasn't one to give up easily,
[2:43] Speaker 1: so he decided to try a different approach. He found
[2:47] Speaker 1: Astrid playing in the dry leaves below their tree house
[2:50] Speaker 1: and asked, what sort of stories do you like? I dunno,
[2:56] Speaker 1: replied the orangutan. I've never really thought about it. Let's
[3:02] Speaker 1: put the question another way, said Bjorn. What is it
[3:06] Speaker 1: that you don't like about stories? Is it when they're
[3:09] Speaker 1: complicated or scary or something else? I'm not really sure,
[3:16] Speaker 1: Astrid replied, lifting up her long orange arms in a shrug.
[3:22] Speaker 1: Maybe it's just that I haven't found the right story yet.
[3:26] Speaker 1: I think you're right, said Bjorn, and I know what
[3:30] Speaker 1: I have to do. I'm going to go out and
[3:33] Speaker 1: find the greatest story in the world. Then I'll bring
[3:38] Speaker 1: it back and read it to you. I'm sure even
[3:41] Speaker 1: you will love a story if it's the greatest story
[3:44] Speaker 1: in the world. Astred considered this for a moment. That
[3:50] Speaker 1: could work. She admitted with a nod, All right, bring
[3:54] Speaker 1: me the greatest story in the world, and I'll do
[3:57] Speaker 1: my best to like it. And so the decision was made.
[4:04] Speaker 1: That afternoon, Bjorn waved goodbye to his Orangutan family and
[4:09] Speaker 1: friends and set out into the big wide world. He
[4:13] Speaker 1: carried some snacks, a bottle of water, and a notepad
[4:17] Speaker 1: and pen to write down the stories he heard. As
[4:21] Speaker 1: he made his way through the trees, he wondered how
[4:25] Speaker 1: long his quest was going to take. Bijorn and his
[4:29] Speaker 1: fellow Orangutans lived on the island of Borneo, so it
[4:33] Speaker 1: wasn't too far or too long until he arrived in India.
[4:38] Speaker 1: Bijorn had high hopes for finding great stories here, as
[4:42] Speaker 1: Asian folklore was always rich with magic, monsters, and morals.
[4:48] Speaker 1: The young orangutan traveled for many miles, asking the animals
[4:52] Speaker 1: he met to tell them their favorite story. Some were
[4:57] Speaker 1: tales he'd heard before, and some were similar, but often
[5:01] Speaker 1: they were completely new. A peacock suggested that if he
[5:05] Speaker 1: wanted a really good story, then he should visit an
[5:09] Speaker 1: ancient pangolin who lived in an old withered tree. The
[5:13] Speaker 1: peacock insisted that the pangolin was over four hundred years
[5:17] Speaker 1: old and had spent his years traveling the continent gathering
[5:21] Speaker 1: stories from monsters and spirits beyond thought. This sounded perfect,
[5:28] Speaker 1: so went to discover the withered tree. It took beyond
[5:32] Speaker 1: many days to find the tree, but he was determined
[5:36] Speaker 1: to do so for his sister's sake. He knocked politely
[5:40] Speaker 1: on the old wood and was pleased to see the
[5:43] Speaker 1: elderly pangolin emerge from the hollow trunk. Are you the
[5:48] Speaker 1: pangolin that's lived for over four hundred years gathering stories
[5:52] Speaker 1: from monsters and spirits? Bjorn asked. The pangolin LAUGHEDMS do
[6:00] Speaker 1: like to exaggerate, don't they? He chuckled, What is true?
[6:05] Speaker 1: Is that I've spent my life wandering around Asia writing
[6:09] Speaker 1: down every story I found here. Let me show you.
[6:15] Speaker 1: The pangolin disappeared for a moment, returning with a book
[6:19] Speaker 1: even bigger than he was. This is my book of
[6:23] Speaker 1: one thousand stories. The pangolin said. That's a big book.
[6:30] Speaker 1: Bjorn replied, clearly impressed. Will it happen to contain the
[6:35] Speaker 1: greatest story in the world? M Let me see, said
[6:41] Speaker 1: the pangolin. Considering the question for a moment, he flicked
[6:46] Speaker 1: through the pages, stopping at a tale about half way through.
[6:51] Speaker 1: This one's my personal favorite, he said. I was told
[6:56] Speaker 1: it by a winged monkey. It's about girl and a
[7:01] Speaker 1: tornado and a magical land with yellow roads and talking scarecrows.
[7:08] Speaker 1: Would you like me to read it to you? Yes? Please,
[7:13] Speaker 1: said Beorn as he settled down to listen, quickly becoming
[7:17] Speaker 1: entranced by the pangolins story telling. And once the tale
[7:22] Speaker 1: was told, Bjorn had to admit it was a very
[7:26] Speaker 1: good story. But was it the greatest story? Bjorn wasn't sure,
[7:33] Speaker 1: so the young orangutan decided to continue on his journey,
[7:38] Speaker 1: just maybe he could find an even better one. He
[7:43] Speaker 1: traveled west across deserts and down into Africa. It was here,
[7:49] Speaker 1: whilst traveling through a dense jungle he heard about a
[7:52] Speaker 1: mysterious story teller who lived high in the tree covered mountains.
[7:58] Speaker 1: She only comes down the mountain side on clear nights
[8:01] Speaker 1: when the moon is high. A young baboon told him.
[8:06] Speaker 1: She recites us poetry and asks riddles and tells us
[8:10] Speaker 1: stories we've never heard before. This sounded exactly what Bjorn
[8:16] Speaker 1: was looking for, but it'd have to wait for when
[8:19] Speaker 1: the night was clear and the moon was high. For
[8:23] Speaker 1: three days and three dark, dreary nights, Beyorn waited, hoping
[8:28] Speaker 1: for the weather to improve. Then on the fourth night,
[8:33] Speaker 1: the moon was full and there wasn't a cloud in
[8:36] Speaker 1: the sky. A small crowd of animals joined him at
[8:40] Speaker 1: the base of the mountain, waiting for the story teller
[8:44] Speaker 1: to emerge. The bushes rustled, and from the undergrowth stepped
[8:49] Speaker 1: a large gorilla. Good evening, everyone, said the gorilla, taking
[8:55] Speaker 1: a seat upon the moonlit ground. I have dreamy poem hums,
[9:00] Speaker 1: stories about dragons and tales of danger and triumph for you,
[9:07] Speaker 1: and I can see a new face amongst you, said
[9:10] Speaker 1: the gorilla, gesturing to the orangutan, welcome. What kind of
[9:16] Speaker 1: story would you like to hear? Yorn wasted no time
[9:21] Speaker 1: in answering, Can you tell us the greatest story ever?
[9:27] Speaker 1: The gorilla fidgeted as she pondered the request. It would
[9:32] Speaker 1: be hard to choose, she said to her fellow ape,
[9:36] Speaker 1: But I do have a favorite, a tale passed down
[9:40] Speaker 1: through my family over the years. It's about a boy
[9:45] Speaker 1: taken in by a family of gorillas and the man
[9:48] Speaker 1: he grew up to be. The crowd of animals murmured excitedly.
[9:54] Speaker 1: They had not heard this one before. Beyorn listened, captivated
[9:59] Speaker 1: by every until the first rays of light brightened the horizon,
[10:05] Speaker 1: and once the tale was told, Bjorn had to admit
[10:08] Speaker 1: that it was a very good story. With at least
[10:13] Speaker 1: two excellent stories in his note book and a whole
[10:17] Speaker 1: bunch of great ones, Beyonn decided he could search for
[10:21] Speaker 1: a little longer for his sister's sake. His journey continued,
[10:27] Speaker 1: taking him across the Atlantic to South America. It was
[10:32] Speaker 1: the furthest he'd ever been from home, and he was
[10:35] Speaker 1: feeling homesick as he arrived in the rainforests of Argentina.
[10:40] Speaker 1: Perhaps here he could find the greatest story ever. Then,
[10:46] Speaker 1: one day, while sitting on a raft floating down a river,
[10:50] Speaker 1: Beyonn found himself surrounded by pink he'd sailed right into
[10:55] Speaker 1: the middle of a flamingo flock. I'm terrible, sorry, Biorn said,
[11:02] Speaker 1: as he bumped into one of the birds. I don't
[11:05] Speaker 1: have much control of this raft. That's quite all right,
[11:10] Speaker 1: the flamingo laughed. It will make a funny story to
[11:14] Speaker 1: tell later, later, said Bjorn. Do you like telling stories? Oh,
[11:22] Speaker 1: that's all we flamingoes do. The pink bird laughed. You see,
[11:27] Speaker 1: when your family is as big as ours and you
[11:30] Speaker 1: spend as much time flying with them, everybody knows all
[11:34] Speaker 1: the news that there is to know. So instead we
[11:38] Speaker 1: tell stories. Sometimes we make them up, and sometimes we
[11:42] Speaker 1: listen to the frogs and the fish and the cappy
[11:46] Speaker 1: barrs we meet, and then we share them with one another.
[11:51] Speaker 1: How lovely, said Bjorn. Is there any chance that one
[11:55] Speaker 1: of those tales you speak of could be the greatest
[11:58] Speaker 1: story ever? Oh, that would be hard to choose, the
[12:04] Speaker 1: famingo said. One moment, let me see what every one
[12:08] Speaker 1: else thinks. The flamingo honked the question and received a
[12:14] Speaker 1: chorus of honks and upraised wings in return. This went
[12:18] Speaker 1: on for a while until at last she turned back
[12:21] Speaker 1: to the orangutan, looking content. We've settled on one, she said,
[12:28] Speaker 1: And I have to say this story is one of
[12:31] Speaker 1: my favorites. It's about a girl who gets whisked away
[12:35] Speaker 1: to a world with talking cats, mad hatters, and evil
[12:40] Speaker 1: red queens. Could you tell it to me, asked Beorn politely.
[12:47] Speaker 1: The flamingo nodded, pleased to have the opportunity. Surrounded by
[12:52] Speaker 1: a sea of pink feathers, Beyorn listened in awe and
[12:56] Speaker 1: once the tale was told, Beorn had to admit that
[13:00] Speaker 1: it was a very good story. Now, with three fantastic
[13:05] Speaker 1: stories and a whole host of others in his pocket,
[13:09] Speaker 1: Byorn decided it was time to head home. It would
[13:13] Speaker 1: be a long journey, but it would give him time
[13:16] Speaker 1: to decide which story was the greatest. After many miles
[13:22] Speaker 1: and weeks of traveling, Byorn made it home to his
[13:25] Speaker 1: tree house and was instantly wrapped in an orangutan hug.
[13:29] Speaker 1: By astrid, your home, she cried, I missed you so much,
[13:37] Speaker 1: and I missed you too, Bjorn said, it's been hard
[13:41] Speaker 1: being away from home for so long. Well was it
[13:46] Speaker 1: worth it, Astrid asked, I met so many interesting animals
[13:51] Speaker 1: with so many interesting stories to tell. He said, I
[13:56] Speaker 1: heard countless stories about so many things, and I heard
[14:00] Speaker 1: three absolutely excellent stories, handpicked by some of the world's
[14:06] Speaker 1: best story tellers. But did you find the greatest story
[14:11] Speaker 1: in all the world, Astrid asked, I don't know, Bjorn admitted,
[14:18] Speaker 1: I'm not sure that there is one story that is
[14:21] Speaker 1: the greatest. Why ever not, his sister asked, because I
[14:27] Speaker 1: think every story is important. They are each fun and
[14:32] Speaker 1: entertaining for different reasons. Biorn said, everyone has a different favorite,
[14:39] Speaker 1: but being someone's favorite doesn't mean it's the greatest. It
[14:43] Speaker 1: just means it meant something special to that animal. Oh,
[14:49] Speaker 1: Astrid sighed, I was really hoping to hear the greatest story.
[14:56] Speaker 1: Bjorn could see that his sister was disappointed, but he
[14:59] Speaker 1: was also pleased because for the first time she'd been
[15:04] Speaker 1: looking forward to hearing a story. What if I told
[15:09] Speaker 1: you my story, he suggested, the tale of where I went,
[15:14] Speaker 1: what I saw, and about the animals that I met,
[15:18] Speaker 1: And then I could tell you some of the stories
[15:21] Speaker 1: they told me too. Astrod nodded happily as she sat
[15:26] Speaker 1: cross legged in front of her brother. Can we start now,
[15:31] Speaker 1: the little orangutan asked, I already loved the main character.
[15:37] Speaker 1: Bjorn grinned, happy to see her so eager. All right,
[15:42] Speaker 1: he said, getting comfortable himself. This is a story about
[15:47] Speaker 1: an orangutan, a pangolin, a gorilla, and a flamingo. It's
[15:53] Speaker 1: a story of how, even though they lived very, very
[15:56] Speaker 1: far apart, they were all brought together by a love
[16:01] Speaker 1: of stories. And although he hadn't told it yet, Beyond
[16:07] Speaker 1: knew it was going to be a very good story.
[16:15] Speaker 1: Animal fact, Orangutans and gorillas are part of the family
[16:20] Speaker 1: known as great apes, which includes you and me. This
[16:25] Speaker 1: family also includes chimpanzees and bonobos, but doesn't include gibbons
[16:31] Speaker 1: and monkeys. Pangolins are a kind of mammal, although their
[16:36] Speaker 1: covering of scales makes them look like a lizard. The
[16:40] Speaker 1: scales overlap, making a tough protective armor, and they're made
[16:44] Speaker 1: from keratin, the same stuff that your finger nails are
[16:48] Speaker 1: made from. There are six species of flamingo in the world,
[16:53] Speaker 1: four of which are found in South America. The flamingo
[16:57] Speaker 1: in our story could have been a poona flamingo, or
[17:00] Speaker 1: an Andean flamingo, as they're both found in Argentina. Thank
[17:06] Speaker 1: you for your suggestions, Bjorn. We hope you enjoyed the tale,
[17:10] Speaker 1: and thank you to all of you from across the
[17:12] Speaker 1: world for listening to it. If you prefer your stories
[17:17] Speaker 1: advert free, then please consider our premium service through Apple
[17:21] Speaker 1: or Supercaste. Find out how in the text that accompanies
[17:25] Speaker 1: this episode for a tiny fee, it's advert free. Join
[17:30] Speaker 1: us next time for another great animal tale. Good Bye,

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