# Dara The Capybara Goes Faster

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 26 May 2026, 18 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72032137/at499_darathecapybaragoesfast_mixdown.mp3

Dara the capybara finds himself in a big yellow sports car. 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: Yea. 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 now
[0:28] Speaker 1: over one hundred extra stories on the Animal Tales premium service.
[0:33] 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
[0:40] Speaker 1: advert free. James is from San Francisco in the USA,
[0:46] Speaker 1: and he would like a story with a cheetah, a
[0:48] Speaker 1: cappy barer, and a baby sloth. You can learn more
[0:52] Speaker 1: about these creatures in the Animal Facts after the story.
[0:57] Speaker 1: Now settle back, relax, and are Darra. The cappy bara
[1:03] Speaker 1: goes faster. Janie Flouf was very particular about the street
[1:09] Speaker 1: where she lived. She didn't like dropped litter, and quite
[1:14] Speaker 1: rightly so, but she also didn't like other things that
[1:17] Speaker 1: she considered unsightly. Her neighbors to the left had once
[1:22] Speaker 1: put a red hatted garden gnome on their lawn. Within
[1:26] Speaker 1: five minutes, Janie Flouf had stormed over to tell them
[1:30] Speaker 1: just how ghastly it looked. Janis made them feel so
[1:34] Speaker 1: bad about their new purchase that the gnome was quickly removed,
[1:39] Speaker 1: never to be seen again. Shortly after that incident, the
[1:44] Speaker 1: neighbors on the other side of Janis painted their front
[1:47] Speaker 1: door salmon pink. Janie Fluff almost fainted when she saw it,
[1:53] Speaker 1: a fact she made sure to tell those neighbors very
[1:56] Speaker 1: firmly and very loudly. The door were swiftly repainted. Then,
[2:03] Speaker 1: when the neighbors opposite let their hedge become untidy, Janice
[2:08] Speaker 1: took action in fairness. The neighbor had planned to trim
[2:12] Speaker 1: the hedge that very weakend, but Janis had made so
[2:16] Speaker 1: much noise shouting about what an eye saw they created
[2:20] Speaker 1: that the hedge was cut that very day. But all
[2:24] Speaker 1: that was nothing compared to how Janice Fluf felt when
[2:28] Speaker 1: she looked out of her living room window and saw
[2:31] Speaker 1: a bright yellow sports car being offloaded from the back
[2:35] Speaker 1: of a truck right in front of her house. Oh no,
[2:40] Speaker 1: you don't, she said, through gritted teeth. You're not leaving
[2:45] Speaker 1: that there. But to her frustration, she got outside just
[2:50] Speaker 1: as the truck was pulling away. She glared angrily at
[2:55] Speaker 1: the car, only to realize that through the tinted windows,
[2:59] Speaker 1: there appeared to be some one inside it wrapping on
[3:03] Speaker 1: the driver's window with her finger nails. Janis rather snooterly said,
[3:09] Speaker 1: you cannot park that ghastly vehicle outside my house. There
[3:14] Speaker 1: was a brief hesitation, then the window whirred down to
[3:19] Speaker 1: reveal some sort of animal. Janie stepped backwards in fright, saying,
[3:25] Speaker 1: I do hope you're not going to set your dog
[3:27] Speaker 1: upon me. I'm not a dog, said the animal. I'm Dara,
[3:33] Speaker 1: a cappy barra. If Janis was surprised to be spoken
[3:37] Speaker 1: to by a cappy barer, she didn't show it clearly.
[3:42] Speaker 1: She was far more concerned at getting the yellow monstrosity moved. Kindly,
[3:48] Speaker 1: move your custard colored motor vehicle this very instant, She
[3:52] Speaker 1: snapped crossly. It's not my motor vehicle, said Dara, the
[3:57] Speaker 1: cappy barra. Then who's is it? Janice demanded, I can't remember,
[4:04] Speaker 1: shrugged Dara. I needed a fast car, so I had
[4:08] Speaker 1: one delivered to my house, snapped Janis. Well, I had
[4:15] Speaker 1: to get it delivered somewhere, pointed out Dara. And here
[4:19] Speaker 1: seemed as good a place as any. But I don't
[4:23] Speaker 1: want it here, Janis said, her volume rising. I suggest
[4:28] Speaker 1: you make haste and drive it elsewhere. You're making the
[4:32] Speaker 1: entire street look quite hideous. Oh, I can't drive it anywhere,
[4:38] Speaker 1: said Dara. Not yet anyway? Why ever not, Janis asked forcefully,
[4:46] Speaker 1: Because I don't know how to drive yet, stated Dara,
[4:50] Speaker 1: as he fiddled with something on the dashboard, accidentally flashing
[4:54] Speaker 1: the emergency lights. You don't know how to drive, shrieked
[5:00] Speaker 1: Janice in astonishment. You had this distasteful, offensive vehicle delivered
[5:06] Speaker 1: outside my house and you're not even qualified to drive
[5:10] Speaker 1: it away. Driving a car can't be that difficult, said Dara.
[5:17] Speaker 1: I just need to work out how to start it.
[5:20] Speaker 1: As he said this, the windscreen wipers flicked on, splashing
[5:24] Speaker 1: screen wash droplets over Janis's face. Will you please be
[5:30] Speaker 1: more careful, she hollered angrily. Well, it is quite hard
[5:36] Speaker 1: to concentrate when you're making so much noise, complained Dara.
[5:41] Speaker 1: Don't you know there's a baby asleep in here? You
[5:45] Speaker 1: have a baby in that infernal machine, scawked Janice, clearly appalled.
[5:52] Speaker 1: Dara lifted up a small, hairy bundle that was curled
[5:55] Speaker 1: up in his lap. That's a sloth, gasped Janice. Fluff
[6:02] Speaker 1: a baby sloth, corrected Dara. This dreadful vehicle is full
[6:08] Speaker 1: of wild animals, blustered Janie. It's not full of animals,
[6:14] Speaker 1: stated Dara. Just three, you mean there's another creature in there,
[6:21] Speaker 1: screeched Janie. She had to crouch down to see in
[6:25] Speaker 1: and was stunned to see a cheetah in the passenger seat.
[6:30] Speaker 1: You really should be a bit quieter, the cheetah said softly.
[6:35] Speaker 1: You are rather loud. Outrageous, shrieked Janice, clutching her knitted
[6:42] Speaker 1: cardigan tightly at her chest. I have never been spoken
[6:47] Speaker 1: to you so rudely in all my life, and outside
[6:51] Speaker 1: my very own home. I think you'd best let me
[6:55] Speaker 1: handle this, James, said Dara, handing over the baby slot
[7:00] Speaker 1: to the spotty cat. Now look, lady, said Dara. All
[7:06] Speaker 1: I want to do is learn how to drive this
[7:08] Speaker 1: car as quickly as possible. The sooner I can drive
[7:12] Speaker 1: it at top speed, the better. So if you'd please
[7:16] Speaker 1: return to your home, I can get practicing. He tried
[7:21] Speaker 1: another button, and the headlights popped up and then disappeared again.
[7:27] Speaker 1: Now look here, you are, cappy, Bara, hissed Janie. You
[7:33] Speaker 1: cannot drive a vehicle without a driving license if you
[7:37] Speaker 1: don't know how to drive. Then you're not going anywhere.
[7:43] Speaker 1: Do make up your mind, groaned Dara. One minute you
[7:47] Speaker 1: want me to drive away, the next you're saying, don't
[7:51] Speaker 1: drive anywhere. It's the law, said Janice, puffing herself up.
[7:58] Speaker 1: In this street. We do things properly by the book,
[8:02] Speaker 1: and that includes the driving of motor vehicles. Dara blew
[8:08] Speaker 1: out his cheeks and sighed, do you have a driving license, James?
[8:14] Speaker 1: He asked the cheetah. No, said James, with a shake
[8:19] Speaker 1: of his whiskers. I'm a large cat that lives in
[8:22] Speaker 1: a zoo. Why would I have a driving license? Well,
[8:28] Speaker 1: this is proving to be a disaster, said Dara. The
[8:32] Speaker 1: only thing that's gone right was finding that purse. What purse,
[8:39] Speaker 1: asked Janie suspiciously, This one, said Dara, holding one up
[8:45] Speaker 1: made from black leather. But that's my purse, howled Janice Flof.
[8:53] Speaker 1: Up until that moment, she wasn't even aware that she'd
[8:56] Speaker 1: lost it. Now hold your horses, lady, said Dara. You
[9:03] Speaker 1: might say it's yours, but you could be trying to
[9:06] Speaker 1: steal it from me. You could be a crook. Janice
[9:11] Speaker 1: Fluff had gone pink with rage. I've never been called
[9:16] Speaker 1: a crook in all my born days, she growled. But
[9:21] Speaker 1: if you must have proof, my identification is inside the purse.
[9:26] Speaker 1: You shall see a photograph of me with my name
[9:30] Speaker 1: Janice Fluff beneath it. Dara pulled out a card, looking
[9:36] Speaker 1: from it to Janice and then back again at the card. No,
[9:41] Speaker 1: this photo doesn't look like you, decided Dara, with a
[9:45] Speaker 1: shake of his head. Your face is much much redder
[9:50] Speaker 1: than the one in this photograph. Of course, I'm read
[9:55] Speaker 1: in the face, shouted Janice, snatching her purse, and I
[10:00] Speaker 1: d f and the cappy. Bara. I've just learned that
[10:03] Speaker 1: animals in a sports car outside my house have my purse,
[10:10] Speaker 1: sh hushed James. The cheetah. You've woken the baby. The
[10:16] Speaker 1: tiny sloth was raising its long arms as it yawned. Janie,
[10:21] Speaker 1: though wasn't interested. I want this car moved, and I
[10:27] Speaker 1: want it moved now, she commanded. I have been trying,
[10:34] Speaker 1: Dara said, wearily, mistakingly, making his seat go back and forth.
[10:39] Speaker 1: But you said I couldn't drive the car, but now
[10:43] Speaker 1: you're saying I can move it. You really are quite confusing.
[10:50] Speaker 1: There's nothing confusing about it, spluttered Janice. You have no
[10:56] Speaker 1: driver's license. So contact whom you got to deliver this
[11:01] Speaker 1: vile yellow machine and get them to take it away again.
[11:06] Speaker 1: But surely that's your job, not mine, said Dara. My job,
[11:13] Speaker 1: wailed Janice. Why on earth would it be my job?
[11:19] Speaker 1: Because it, said Janice Fluff on the credit card I
[11:23] Speaker 1: used to get it delivered, explained Dara. You did what,
[11:30] Speaker 1: screamed Janie. Don't sound so surprised, said Dara. If you
[11:36] Speaker 1: didn't want anyone to use the credit card, you shouldn't
[11:39] Speaker 1: have thrown it away. I didn't throw my purse away,
[11:45] Speaker 1: Janice protested, I dropped it. Well, that's naughty of you,
[11:52] Speaker 1: said Dara. That's littering. That is, at least I put
[11:56] Speaker 1: the contents to good use, said the cappy Barra, stroking
[12:00] Speaker 1: the sports car's door. I mean, you can't expect me
[12:05] Speaker 1: to have paid for it. I haven't got any money,
[12:08] Speaker 1: no pockets, you see. He patted his furry thighs as
[12:13] Speaker 1: he said this. Janice Fluff was lost for words. She
[12:18] Speaker 1: tried being stern, she tried being serious, and she tried
[12:24] Speaker 1: being cross, but somehow the situation just kept getting worse.
[12:30] Speaker 1: What would her neighbors think when they saw this bright
[12:33] Speaker 1: horrible car parked in the street outside her home, and
[12:38] Speaker 1: how would they react when they found out that she
[12:41] Speaker 1: was responsible for it. Unexpectedly, the sportscar's roof lifted up
[12:48] Speaker 1: and began folding itself away into the rear of the car.
[12:53] Speaker 1: That wasn't the right button either, said Darra, scratching his chin.
[12:59] Speaker 1: Who'd have thought that driving would involve so many buttons? Please,
[13:05] Speaker 1: mister cappy Bara, said Janis, sounding tired. Can't we just
[13:11] Speaker 1: do this a little faster? Believe me, I'm trying, said Dara.
[13:18] Speaker 1: Going faster is what this is all about. I really
[13:23] Speaker 1: don't understand a word that comes out of your mouth,
[13:27] Speaker 1: Janice whimpered. It's quite simple, said Dara. I found that
[13:33] Speaker 1: purse you'd thrown away, so I used some of the
[13:36] Speaker 1: money in it to visit the zoo. Strange place, I
[13:40] Speaker 1: have to say. Anyway, I saw this little sloth in there,
[13:45] Speaker 1: and it said on a sign that she'd grow up
[13:47] Speaker 1: to be one of the slowest animals on the planet.
[13:51] Speaker 1: That's not right, I thought, Can't someone show her how
[13:55] Speaker 1: to move faster? Janis did several slow blinks as she
[14:00] Speaker 1: tried to follow what the cappy bara was saying. So
[14:05] Speaker 1: continued Dara, I went and found a fast animal to
[14:10] Speaker 1: be her teacher. That's me, said James the cheetah helpfully.
[14:16] Speaker 1: But but why the car, asked Janis. Well, clearly the
[14:24] Speaker 1: sloth is still a baby, said Dara. She's not ready
[14:28] Speaker 1: to go running around just yet. But what I could
[14:32] Speaker 1: do was get her used to speed by driving her
[14:35] Speaker 1: incredibly fast in a sports car. It's obvious when you
[14:39] Speaker 1: think about it, but you don't know how to drive,
[14:44] Speaker 1: implored Janice. A minor technicality, said Dara, dismissively. One of
[14:52] Speaker 1: these buttons must get the engine started. He tried another,
[14:57] Speaker 1: but only managed to turn on the radio new We're
[15:01] Speaker 1: receiving reports regarding the disappearance of two animals from the zoo,
[15:06] Speaker 1: said the news reader. We understand that thieves have stolen
[15:10] Speaker 1: a cheetah and a baby sloth, although we understand the
[15:14] Speaker 1: police are moving quickly to return the animals. Oh my,
[15:20] Speaker 1: oh dear, oh goodness gracious, fretted Janice Fluff as she
[15:25] Speaker 1: fanned her face with her hand. The stolen animals are
[15:29] Speaker 1: in my street, outside my house, in a car that
[15:35] Speaker 1: I appeared to have paid for. What will the neighbors say?
[15:41] Speaker 1: What nonsense? Said Dara as he opened the car door
[15:45] Speaker 1: and got out. They're not stolen. I just burrowed them.
[15:50] Speaker 1: Isn't that right, James. I'm just glad of the day out,
[15:54] Speaker 1: said the cheetah cheerfully. Wait are you going? Asked Janis
[16:00] Speaker 1: in disbelief, just as the first police sirens could be
[16:04] Speaker 1: heard in the distance. Well there's no point in me staying,
[16:09] Speaker 1: is there, snorted Dara. This car clearly won't start. That's
[16:16] Speaker 1: because you don't know how to drive, boomed Janice. No,
[16:22] Speaker 1: I'm quite sure it's broken. You'd best tell them as
[16:26] Speaker 1: much when you send it back, said the cappy Barra
[16:29] Speaker 1: as he slammed the door, triggering the car alarm. A horrible,
[16:34] Speaker 1: high pitched squawking filled the street with noise as the
[16:38] Speaker 1: car's lights flashed like a disco. In the surrounding houses,
[16:44] Speaker 1: people were appearing at their windows. The neighbors, wailed Janice
[16:50] Speaker 1: fluf as flashing blue lights arrived at the end of
[16:53] Speaker 1: the street the police. Oh what do I do? She sobbed,
[17:02] Speaker 1: But there was no reply from the cappy Barra. He
[17:05] Speaker 1: had gone. He may not be as fast as a cheaterah,
[17:10] Speaker 1: but he was certainly no sloth. Animals fact, cheaters are
[17:19] Speaker 1: the fastest of all land animals, reaching speeds of around
[17:23] Speaker 1: one hundred and ten kilometers an hour that's seventy miles
[17:27] Speaker 1: per hour. At full speed. The gap between their steps
[17:31] Speaker 1: can be as much as seven meters that's twenty one feet.
[17:36] Speaker 1: Sloths are far slower, but they don't need to be quick.
[17:41] Speaker 1: They feed on leaves and twigs, which take a long
[17:44] Speaker 1: time to digest, something best done while snoozing. Cappy barras
[17:50] Speaker 1: can be quick when they need to. In the wild,
[17:54] Speaker 1: they're hunted by anacondas, cayman and jaguars, so it pays
[17:59] Speaker 1: to be able to run away. They're good swimmers, too,
[18:03] Speaker 1: so they can escape danger by jumping into or running
[18:07] Speaker 1: out of the water. Thank you for your suggestions, James.
[18:11] Speaker 1: We hope that you all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're
[18:14] Speaker 1: listening in the world, make sure you join us next
[18:18] Speaker 1: time for another great animal tale. Good Bye,

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