# Hide Me

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 2 Mar 2026, 17 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70212356/at474_hideme_mixdown.mp3

How do you hide a Brachiosaurus? 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. 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. Bethany and Eli are from christ
[0:39] Speaker 1: Church in New Zealand and they would like a story
[0:42] Speaker 1: featuring a tuatara and a prachiosaur us. You can learn
[0:46] Speaker 1: more about these creatures in the animal facts after the story. Okay,
[0:51] Speaker 1: are you ready? That's good, then I'll begin hide me
[0:59] Speaker 1: the two are Tara is a very unusual animal. It
[1:03] Speaker 1: hasn't always been that way to you and I. The
[1:07] Speaker 1: tuatara looks like a lizard, but it's not. It's a similar,
[1:12] Speaker 1: but much more ancient kind of reptile called a rinco
[1:16] Speaker 1: cephalian that was alive at the time of the dinosaurs.
[1:21] Speaker 1: Back then, there were many different kinds of rinco cephalians,
[1:24] Speaker 1: but today there is just one, the two atara, found
[1:29] Speaker 1: only in New Zealand and nowhere else. Of course, to
[1:34] Speaker 1: all the other creatures that knew her, Bethany wasn't unusual
[1:38] Speaker 1: at all. As a to Atara, she was just another
[1:41] Speaker 1: of the familiar faces that lived in her quiet, tiny
[1:44] Speaker 1: village tucked away in a dense forest. Not that the
[1:49] Speaker 1: village was very quiet at the moment. All the animals
[1:54] Speaker 1: that lived there had gathered in the village square to
[1:57] Speaker 1: hear Kai, a cacapo and leader of the village council speak.
[2:02] Speaker 1: Thank you for coming, everybody, said the large ground parrot. Seriously,
[2:08] Speaker 1: as you all know, we live a peaceful life here
[2:11] Speaker 1: in the forest, well away from the humans, and I
[2:15] Speaker 1: want it to stay that way. But that means living
[2:18] Speaker 1: quietly and not drawing attention to ourselves. Unfortunately, as of late,
[2:25] Speaker 1: many of you are risking getting us discovered. Bethany began
[2:30] Speaker 1: to shift nervously. Where she stood. Was the ca capo
[2:34] Speaker 1: talking about her take. Manu, continued Kai, gesturing to the
[2:40] Speaker 1: little blue penguin at the front of the small crowd. Manu,
[2:45] Speaker 1: deciding you're going to learn to play the drums isn't
[2:48] Speaker 1: helping one bit. The thumperty thump boom is echoing for miles.
[2:54] Speaker 1: You're really going to have to give it up, sorry, Kai,
[2:58] Speaker 1: said the blushing little blue penguin. He's going to say me. Next,
[3:04] Speaker 1: fretted Bethany and CoA went on the cacapo, indicating a Kiwi,
[3:11] Speaker 1: what were you thinking by surrounding your house with so
[3:14] Speaker 1: many colored lights? It looks like a nightclub. I thought
[3:19] Speaker 1: it looked pretty, mumbled the kiwi. It's too bright, Kai
[3:25] Speaker 1: pointed out. Look, everyone, if we want to live peaceful
[3:30] Speaker 1: lives untouched by humans, we need to go unnoticed. Please
[3:36] Speaker 1: make every effort for all our sakes. The animals of
[3:41] Speaker 1: the village nodded, promising to do their best. The meeting
[3:45] Speaker 1: broke up, and the animals moved off, some feeling guilty
[3:49] Speaker 1: of the problems they had caused, but perhaps nobody felt
[3:53] Speaker 1: quite as guilty as Bethany. The Tuatara's house was on
[3:58] Speaker 1: the very edge of the village, which just before the
[4:01] Speaker 1: forest dropped off into a deep gully. She dashed indoors,
[4:06] Speaker 1: then straight out the back door, across her small neat
[4:09] Speaker 1: garden and to the edge of the steep drop to
[4:12] Speaker 1: the gully below. Prist Eli, are you there, she hissed,
[4:18] Speaker 1: as loudly as she dared. For a moment, there was
[4:22] Speaker 1: nothing but the usual sounds of the forest and the
[4:25] Speaker 1: shadows of the overhanging branches and leaves. But then a
[4:30] Speaker 1: gentle rustling suggested that something was approaching, something big. Despite
[4:37] Speaker 1: standing on the gully's floor, The creature that emerged was
[4:41] Speaker 1: so tall that its neck and head towered over the
[4:44] Speaker 1: to Atara. Hi, Bethany, what's going on? Said the brachiosaurus
[4:50] Speaker 1: as it smiled broadly. Sh not so loud, shushed the
[4:56] Speaker 1: tuatara as she flapped her hands. We've got a problem. Ooh,
[5:02] Speaker 1: a problem, said Eli. What sort of problem? The villagers
[5:08] Speaker 1: have been asked to make sure that they don't do
[5:10] Speaker 1: anything that draws attention to where we live, so that
[5:13] Speaker 1: the humans don't bother us, explained Bethany. Good idea, said Eli.
[5:20] Speaker 1: The brachiosaur us. Those humans sound like trouble. I don't
[5:25] Speaker 1: think I ever want to meet one. So why is
[5:28] Speaker 1: that a problem. Why is that a problem, repeated Bethany.
[5:34] Speaker 1: Because of you, you're the problem. I'm hiding a dinosaur
[5:39] Speaker 1: behind my house. There can't be a bigger problem than
[5:43] Speaker 1: trying to hide a brachia saw us. Oh I see,
[5:48] Speaker 1: said Eli, understanding the problem at last. You're not going
[5:53] Speaker 1: to send me away, are you? Of course not, said
[5:57] Speaker 1: Bethany as she began to pace up and down. You're
[6:01] Speaker 1: far safer here than wandering around the South Island where
[6:04] Speaker 1: anyone could spot you. We just need to think of
[6:07] Speaker 1: a way to hide you better. I could wear a hat,
[6:12] Speaker 1: suggested Eli. How's that going to help, snorted Bethany. Maybe
[6:19] Speaker 1: I could dig a burrow, Eli offered, I've seen other
[6:23] Speaker 1: animals do it. I think that the mountain of soil
[6:27] Speaker 1: you'd have to dig out would be as obvious as
[6:30] Speaker 1: you are. The tuatara replied, What about if I climbed
[6:35] Speaker 1: a tree, wondered Eli. Even if you could, answered Bethany,
[6:42] Speaker 1: your neck would stick out the top like a tower.
[6:45] Speaker 1: You'd be seen for miles around. And what are we
[6:50] Speaker 1: going to do? Sniffed the brachiosaurus. I don't want you
[6:55] Speaker 1: to get into any trouble. Hey, don't get upset, said Bethany.
[7:01] Speaker 1: It's not your fault. You're stuck here. The dinosaur's long
[7:05] Speaker 1: neck sagged gloomily, revealing the strange zigzag scar that carried
[7:10] Speaker 1: down its length. At some point in the distant past,
[7:15] Speaker 1: during the Jurassic Period, Eli had been caught in a
[7:18] Speaker 1: dreadful storm and struck by a bolt of lightning. Somehow,
[7:24] Speaker 1: it had transported him forward in time to the forest
[7:27] Speaker 1: where Bethany had found him. I don't want to be
[7:32] Speaker 1: responsible for your village being found, said Eli sadly. Maybe
[7:37] Speaker 1: it's just best if I head off and let the
[7:40] Speaker 1: humans find me. What's the worst that could happen? Are
[7:45] Speaker 1: you serious, said Bethany as she threw her hands into
[7:49] Speaker 1: the air. You're the only living dinosaur on the planet.
[7:53] Speaker 1: They'd go nuts. You'd be poked and prodded and tested
[7:58] Speaker 1: and put on display. You'd never get a moment's piece
[8:01] Speaker 1: for the rest of your life. You'd certainly never get
[8:04] Speaker 1: the chance to enjoy the beauty of this forest again.
[8:08] Speaker 1: They'd have you caged up somewhere and let people pay
[8:11] Speaker 1: to come and stare at you. I don't want to
[8:15] Speaker 1: be stared at, said Eli with a shake of his head,
[8:19] Speaker 1: or be in a cage. No, we're just going to
[8:23] Speaker 1: have to be more careful, said Bethany with determination. Bethany, Bethany,
[8:30] Speaker 1: are you home? Came a voice from inside the to
[8:33] Speaker 1: Atara's house. Eek, it's Manu. What's he doing in my house?
[8:39] Speaker 1: Shrieked Bethany. What do we do? Gulped the brachiosaurus. It
[8:45] Speaker 1: was too late. The little Blue penguin had seen the
[8:49] Speaker 1: tuatara through the kitchen door and was striding out humans.
[8:55] Speaker 1: Said Manu urgently near by. We've got to The penguin's
[9:00] Speaker 1: voice trailed off as his eyes made sense of the
[9:04] Speaker 1: enormous dinosaur's neck before him. Um, Manu, look this is
[9:11] Speaker 1: began Bethany, desperately, a brachiosaurus finished the little blue penguin,
[9:18] Speaker 1: quite overcome with awe. But how it's a long story,
[9:24] Speaker 1: said Bethany quickly. But what's important is that nobody must know.
[9:31] Speaker 1: This is both awesome and terrible at the same time,
[9:35] Speaker 1: said Manu, his head still pointing upwards. What does he mean,
[9:41] Speaker 1: asked Eli worriedly. I mean, said Manu, remembering why he
[9:47] Speaker 1: was there at last, that we need to hide the
[9:50] Speaker 1: village so that the humans don't see it. But if
[9:53] Speaker 1: they see you, or even think that you're near by,
[9:57] Speaker 1: they'll be coming back here for years. Oh boy, oh boy,
[10:03] Speaker 1: wailed Eli. What are we going to do? Whatever it is,
[10:08] Speaker 1: We've got to be quick, said the penguin, or it
[10:11] Speaker 1: will be too late. There's only one thing for it, then,
[10:16] Speaker 1: said Bethany. We're going to have to come clean a
[10:22] Speaker 1: very short time later, most of the village was stood
[10:25] Speaker 1: in the Tuatara's little back garden, looking up at the
[10:29] Speaker 1: uncomfortable brachiosaurus. I don't believe it, said Kai the Cacapo.
[10:36] Speaker 1: How is this even possible. That's not what's important, said Bethany.
[10:43] Speaker 1: Right now, it's what we do about the approaching humans.
[10:48] Speaker 1: This is bad, bad news, groaned the ca Caupo as
[10:52] Speaker 1: he shook his head. There's no time to hide the
[10:56] Speaker 1: village and an enormous dinosaur. Bethany, your foolishness has doomed us. All. Hey,
[11:04] Speaker 1: that's not fair, complained the Tuatara. Eli needed help. Are
[11:10] Speaker 1: you suggesting I should have ignored him? If I'd left
[11:13] Speaker 1: him to fend for himself, then how long would it
[11:16] Speaker 1: have been before the humans found him? And then how
[11:20] Speaker 1: long until they came poking around here looking for more dinosaurs? Well?
[11:26] Speaker 1: I guess you may be right, sighed Kai, But that
[11:30] Speaker 1: doesn't change the fact that it puts us in the
[11:32] Speaker 1: most dreadful situation right now. Excuse me, but how exactly
[11:38] Speaker 1: do you hide a village, asked Eli. Well it's not
[11:44] Speaker 1: that hard, said Bethany. Compared to humans, the village is
[11:48] Speaker 1: quite small. We just cut some branches and well disguise
[11:53] Speaker 1: it until they've walked past. I see, said Eli. Then
[11:59] Speaker 1: that might still work, but we'd all have to work
[12:02] Speaker 1: together to make it happen. The humans, it turned out,
[12:08] Speaker 1: were a group of six hikers enjoying a walk through
[12:12] Speaker 1: the New Zealand forest. Their noisy conversation had tipped off
[12:16] Speaker 1: the village to their approach, and they were no quieter
[12:20] Speaker 1: now that they were almost upon it. They're almost here,
[12:25] Speaker 1: whispered Eli. Hold still, everyone stop fidgeting, urged Bethany to
[12:32] Speaker 1: Manu just below her. This branch is heavy, complained the penguin.
[12:38] Speaker 1: I've only got flippers to hold on to it, you know,
[12:42] Speaker 1: quiet hissed the Cacpo. They're here. The six humans, all
[12:48] Speaker 1: in brightly colored clothing and still talking loudly, were marching
[12:53] Speaker 1: straight towards the village. I'm so nervous, Manu said quietly.
[12:59] Speaker 1: As the hikers approached. Under normal circumstances, the village would
[13:05] Speaker 1: now be on full view to them, But to day,
[13:09] Speaker 1: four tall trees grew in the way, blocking the view entirely.
[13:14] Speaker 1: The hikers, seeing an easier route down past this dense clump,
[13:19] Speaker 1: naturally headed for that passing very close to where the
[13:23] Speaker 1: disguised Brachiosaurus stood. Oh blast, said one of the hikers.
[13:29] Speaker 1: My bootlaces come undone again. I keep telling you to
[13:33] Speaker 1: double not it, scolded the second hiker, stopping beside her
[13:38] Speaker 1: friend as he bent down to tie the lace. This
[13:42] Speaker 1: put him incredibly close to Eli's foot. At a distance,
[13:47] Speaker 1: the dinosaur's leg looked like a tree trunk, especially with
[13:51] Speaker 1: all the villagers higher up his body clutching branches to
[13:55] Speaker 1: complete the disguise. But where Eli's foot touched the ground,
[14:00] Speaker 1: his toes looked less like roots and very much like
[14:04] Speaker 1: a brachiosaus's foot. From her vantage point high up on
[14:09] Speaker 1: Eli's neck, Bethany had a bird's eye view of the
[14:12] Speaker 1: unfolding drama. We need a distraction, she whispered quickly. If
[14:19] Speaker 1: either of them glanced sideways, they're going to realize it's
[14:23] Speaker 1: not a tree there stood next to We had done
[14:27] Speaker 1: for whind MANU do something quick, said Eli in a
[14:32] Speaker 1: hushed voice. It was at that moment that Kai the
[14:36] Speaker 1: Cacapo made a deep booming noise, making both the humans
[14:41] Speaker 1: look up. Did you hear that? Said the woman, looking
[14:46] Speaker 1: up into the branches that were being held so tightly
[14:49] Speaker 1: by the hidden villagers. Isn't that the sound of a cacupo?
[14:54] Speaker 1: Don't be dafted, said the man dismissively. The ca capo
[14:58] Speaker 1: is a ground parrot. What would one be doing all
[15:01] Speaker 1: the way up a tree? Oh yea, said the woman,
[15:05] Speaker 1: as her companion finished his boot lace. Come on, the
[15:09] Speaker 1: others are getting ahead with that, said They hurried on. Phew,
[15:16] Speaker 1: sighed Bethany. Heavily they've gone. Branches began to tumble to
[15:22] Speaker 1: the ground as the animals of the village let them
[15:25] Speaker 1: drop so they could climb down the dinosaur disaster averted,
[15:32] Speaker 1: said Kai the cacapoe seriously for now, but there's still
[15:37] Speaker 1: the question of what we do with this gigantic prehistoric beast. Well,
[15:43] Speaker 1: I think it's obvious, said Bethany. He's proved he's worth.
[15:48] Speaker 1: Eli gets to stay. The other villagers nodded their agreement. Really,
[15:55] Speaker 1: can I live here with you? Asked Eli, clearly delighted.
[16:00] Speaker 1: I promise you'll barely notice I'm here. Surprisingly, as it
[16:05] Speaker 1: turned out, he was right. Animal fact, as the story mentions,
[16:16] Speaker 1: two ataras may look like lizards, but they're not. One
[16:20] Speaker 1: of the strangest things about them is that they hatch
[16:23] Speaker 1: with a third eye up on their foreheads by six
[16:28] Speaker 1: months old. It can't be seen clearly, but it's still
[16:31] Speaker 1: there and is thought to help their bodies react to
[16:34] Speaker 1: the daily and seasonal changes. Brachiosaurus was a kind of
[16:39] Speaker 1: dinosaur called a sauropod, the name we give to those
[16:43] Speaker 1: with long necks and tails. Its long neck allowed it
[16:47] Speaker 1: to eat vegetation that other dinosaurs couldn't reach nine meters
[16:52] Speaker 1: that's thirty feet above the ground. Thank you for your suggestions,
[16:57] Speaker 1: Bethany and Eli. We hope you enjoyed the story, and
[17:01] Speaker 1: thank you to all of you across the world for
[17:04] Speaker 1: listening to it. Remember, if you prefer your stories advert free,
[17:09] Speaker 1: then please consider our premium service through Apple or supercarst
[17:14] Speaker 1: for a tiny fee, The stories are advert free. Join
[17:19] Speaker 1: us next time for another great animal tale. Good Bye,

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