# Let's Have A Beach Party

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 3 May 2026, 15 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71653903/at492_letshaveabeachparty_mixdown.mp3

A hummingbird, a horse and a dolphin try to put together a party, but it's harder than it looks. 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: Yeah. Hello, My name's Josephine and this is the Animal
[0:18] 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. If you've
[0:30] Speaker 1: particularly enjoyed an Animal Tales story, then please do let
[0:34] Speaker 1: your friends know so they can enjoy it too. Abby
[0:38] Speaker 1: is from Ontario, Canada, and she would like a story
[0:41] Speaker 1: featuring a humming bird, a horse, and a dolphin. You
[0:46] Speaker 1: can learn more about these creatures in the Animal Facts
[0:49] Speaker 1: after the story. Okay, are you ready? That's good, then
[0:54] Speaker 1: I'll begin. Let's have a beach party. There's so much
[1:00] Speaker 1: to do. There's so much to do, said Nick, a
[1:04] Speaker 1: chestnut horse. He was marching up and down the sand
[1:08] Speaker 1: on shore of what to do first? Calm down, Nick,
[1:12] Speaker 1: said Abby, a humming bird, as she flitted above and
[1:15] Speaker 1: around his ears. We've got plenty of time, and there's
[1:19] Speaker 1: three of us to take care of it all. Yea, Nick,
[1:23] Speaker 1: relax giggled a dolphin from the water. Her name was Jennifer,
[1:28] Speaker 1: and she was as close to the beach in the
[1:30] Speaker 1: shallow water as she could get. The three animals were
[1:34] Speaker 1: unlikely friends, being creatures of the land, the sea, and
[1:38] Speaker 1: the air, but they got on incredibly well. At the
[1:42] Speaker 1: same time, the best, if not only, place they could
[1:46] Speaker 1: meet was on the beach, and so they would do
[1:48] Speaker 1: this often. To day, however, Abby had suggested an amazing idea.
[1:55] Speaker 1: We should have a beach party, the humming bird, had
[1:58] Speaker 1: said Nat. The other two thought this was brilliant. They
[2:03] Speaker 1: all knew such different animals that it would be great
[2:06] Speaker 1: to bring them all together so that they could meet
[2:08] Speaker 1: one another. But Nick had never organized a party before,
[2:13] Speaker 1: and the poor horse was growing anxious with worry. Let's
[2:18] Speaker 1: just concern ourselves with one task at a time, suggested Abby,
[2:22] Speaker 1: as she zipped back and forth. Then you'll see that
[2:26] Speaker 1: organizing a party isn't all that difficult at all. The
[2:30] Speaker 1: first task I'd suggest would be to send the invitations,
[2:35] Speaker 1: but we don't have any paper or pens. Wind Nick,
[2:40] Speaker 1: leave that to me, said Abby, and she raced off
[2:43] Speaker 1: up the beach to disappear amongst the trees. Moments later,
[2:48] Speaker 1: she was back, clutching several pens in her feet and beak.
[2:53] Speaker 1: These she dropped onto the sand before disappearing again. When
[2:58] Speaker 1: she came back the next time, she was weighed down
[3:00] Speaker 1: by a thick pile of paper. Phew, she said as
[3:05] Speaker 1: she set it down. That was heavy. Oh oh, I
[3:10] Speaker 1: know who I'm going to invite, announced Nick excitedly. Me too,
[3:16] Speaker 1: Me too, laughed Jennifer, picking up a few sheets this time,
[3:21] Speaker 1: Abby took them over to the dolphin, along with a pen.
[3:25] Speaker 1: While Nick got to work on his first invitation, the
[3:29] Speaker 1: humming bird swooped down to a sheet of her own
[3:31] Speaker 1: and began writing there, she said. A short time later,
[3:37] Speaker 1: beside her was a pile of neatly written sheets. I'm
[3:41] Speaker 1: all done. How are you two doing? Not so good,
[3:46] Speaker 1: complained Jennifer. The paper keeps falling apart where it's all soggy, Oh,
[3:53] Speaker 1: said Abby. We should have known that water and paper
[3:56] Speaker 1: don't mix. How are you getting on, Nick? I haven't
[4:01] Speaker 1: even done one yet, grumbled the horse. It's hard to
[4:05] Speaker 1: hold a pen when you have hoofs. I'll tell you what,
[4:09] Speaker 1: Why don't you both tell me who you want to
[4:11] Speaker 1: invite and I will write the invitations for you. Great idea,
[4:17] Speaker 1: smiled Jennifer, floating amongst a pile of paper mush. Once done,
[4:23] Speaker 1: they had a neat stack of invites, weighted down by
[4:26] Speaker 1: a large shell that Abby had found in the sand.
[4:30] Speaker 1: We can deliver these later, she said. What's the next task,
[4:35] Speaker 1: Abby asked Nick, Well, decorations, I guess, replied the humming bird.
[4:42] Speaker 1: We should all look for some nice objects to make
[4:44] Speaker 1: the beach look pretty. I'm going to start looking right away,
[4:49] Speaker 1: cried Jennifer as she flipped beneath the waves. And I
[4:53] Speaker 1: know just the thing, whinnied Nick as he cantered across
[4:57] Speaker 1: the beach. Abbe I was pleased to see them both
[5:01] Speaker 1: looking so excited by it all. She zoomed towards the
[5:05] Speaker 1: trees to where beautiful flowers bloomed in yellows, pinks, and white.
[5:10] Speaker 1: She got to work, plucking them, then threading them together
[5:13] Speaker 1: on a garland like a gigantic daisy chain. By the
[5:18] Speaker 1: time she was done, she had a gloriously long length
[5:21] Speaker 1: of colorful blooms. The only problem was that she was
[5:25] Speaker 1: too small to pick it up. I'm going to need
[5:28] Speaker 1: Nick's help with this, she thought, so whizzed back to
[5:32] Speaker 1: the beach. What she saw when she got there was
[5:35] Speaker 1: not what she expected. The trees at the back of
[5:39] Speaker 1: the beach were covered in long lengths of dripping seaweed.
[5:43] Speaker 1: It looked as if a giant wave had swept up
[5:46] Speaker 1: the beach and dumped them there. What do you think,
[5:50] Speaker 1: called Jennifer from the water. Did you do this? Asked
[5:55] Speaker 1: Abby in disbelief. Not just me, said the dolphin. I
[6:00] Speaker 1: gathered them up, but I needed Nick's help to decorate
[6:03] Speaker 1: the trees. We found more seaweed washed up on the sand.
[6:08] Speaker 1: Doesn't it look great? Grinned the horse, but began Abby,
[6:14] Speaker 1: not wanting to upset her friends. Can't you smell it? Oh?
[6:20] Speaker 1: Is that what that funny smell is, said Jennifer. It's
[6:25] Speaker 1: the seaweed you picked up from the beach, pointed out Abby.
[6:29] Speaker 1: When it gets old, it smells like rotten eggs, h
[6:34] Speaker 1: said the horse, as he stuck his tongue out. I
[6:38] Speaker 1: just had that stuff in my mouth. Never mind, said Abby.
[6:44] Speaker 1: We can sort that in a moment. Did you find
[6:46] Speaker 1: the decorations that you were looking for? Nick? Oh? I did,
[6:51] Speaker 1: smiled the horse. And doesn't it look great? Abby looked
[6:56] Speaker 1: about her, buzzing to and fro as she searched for
[7:00] Speaker 1: whatever it was that Nick had brought. I give up,
[7:04] Speaker 1: she said, at last, what exactly did you bring? The
[7:08] Speaker 1: horse was grinning broadly clearly proud of his contribution, he
[7:14] Speaker 1: nodded towards his foot, which in turn was pointing at
[7:17] Speaker 1: a stone. Nick, did you bring a rock to decorate
[7:22] Speaker 1: the beach, Abby asked, I most certainly did, beamed the
[7:28] Speaker 1: horse my favorite rock. Isn't it a beauty? In all honesty,
[7:35] Speaker 1: it wasn't much more than a pebble, but Nick was
[7:38] Speaker 1: clearly pleased with it. Ah, well done, Nick said Abby.
[7:43] Speaker 1: Would you mind helping me with my decorations please? Abby
[7:47] Speaker 1: was able to loop her long garland of flowers around
[7:50] Speaker 1: the horse's neck and across his back. For such a
[7:54] Speaker 1: strong horse, its weight was almost nothing, so he carried
[7:58] Speaker 1: it with ease back to the beach. The humming bird
[8:02] Speaker 1: took a moment to tidy up the dangling seaweed and
[8:05] Speaker 1: dispose of the smelly bits before she strung her creation
[8:09] Speaker 1: across the branches. It looks so beautiful, cheered Jennifer, doing
[8:15] Speaker 1: a quick backflip with joy. It really does, admitted Nick.
[8:21] Speaker 1: So what's next? Food? Stated Abby. You can't have a
[8:27] Speaker 1: good beech party without good food. Leave it to me,
[8:32] Speaker 1: said the dolphin, as she raced away. I'll be right back,
[8:37] Speaker 1: declared Nick, as he trotted off, Abby, though didn't go
[8:41] Speaker 1: anywhere cleverly. Her favorite food was the nectarar contained in
[8:47] Speaker 1: the flowers she'd strung into a garland. All she had
[8:51] Speaker 1: to do was poke her long beak into the flower,
[8:54] Speaker 1: and then an even longer tongue would slurp at the nectar.
[8:59] Speaker 1: It was a decoration and a tasty buffet all in one.
[9:05] Speaker 1: Nick arrived back first, dropping a mouthful of long green
[9:09] Speaker 1: grass upon the sand. Delicious, he announced enthusiastically. Who wouldn't
[9:16] Speaker 1: want to eat something as yummy as this? Well er me,
[9:22] Speaker 1: said Abby. I don't eat grass, don't you, asked Nick?
[9:28] Speaker 1: Are you sure it's lovely stuff? It's not for me,
[9:32] Speaker 1: I'm afraid, Abby answered, I prefer those, she said, pointing
[9:38] Speaker 1: towards the flowers on the garland. Have you ever tried
[9:41] Speaker 1: them before? No, confessed Nick. But I'm willing to give
[9:47] Speaker 1: them a try. He leant forward and bit straight through
[9:51] Speaker 1: the garland, chewing the flowers to pieces. You're not supposed
[9:56] Speaker 1: to eat the flowers, shrieked Abby. Just drink the nectar, roops,
[10:02] Speaker 1: said the horse. But they are tasty. Though. They repaired
[10:07] Speaker 1: the garland together, stringing up one that was now slightly shorter.
[10:13] Speaker 1: Oh look Jennifer's back, grinned the horse as he trotted
[10:17] Speaker 1: across the beach to greet her. Hey, Jennifer, can I
[10:21] Speaker 1: try your food too? He asked, Sure, you can, nodded
[10:26] Speaker 1: the dolphin. There was something pale and squidgy hanging from
[10:30] Speaker 1: her mouth. What is that, asked Abby as she buzzed
[10:36] Speaker 1: in for a closer look. What are all those dangly
[10:40] Speaker 1: parts tentacles, replied Jennifer. It's a jellyfish, my favorite. Oh yuck,
[10:50] Speaker 1: said Nick. This is going to be a problem, said Abby.
[10:55] Speaker 1: So many animals eat different things. Us three know what
[10:59] Speaker 1: we like, so we'll be fine. But we've got invites
[11:03] Speaker 1: here for all kinds of creatures. I'm not even sure
[11:06] Speaker 1: I know what a penguin, a pangolin, or a koala eats.
[11:12] Speaker 1: But you said you can't have a good beach party
[11:14] Speaker 1: without good food, wailed the horse. The party's going to
[11:19] Speaker 1: be a disaster if we can't get this sorted. Don't panic, Nick,
[11:25] Speaker 1: said Abby, her mind racing as fast as her wing beats.
[11:29] Speaker 1: We've still got all the invitations here. I'll just have
[11:32] Speaker 1: to make a note across the bottom of each of them.
[11:36] Speaker 1: What kind of note? Asked the dolphin. Bring some food
[11:41] Speaker 1: of your choice, replied the hummingbird, as she got to
[11:44] Speaker 1: work on the first sheet of paper. Once done, she
[11:49] Speaker 1: was beginning to feel quite worn out. It had been
[11:52] Speaker 1: a busy day of racing around and concentrating hard. She
[11:56] Speaker 1: could really do with a rest. Are there any more
[12:00] Speaker 1: tasks that need doing, asked Nick. Probably the most important one,
[12:06] Speaker 1: Abby answered, as she prepared herself for more work. We've
[12:11] Speaker 1: got to get these invitations delivered. A few hours later,
[12:17] Speaker 1: the first of the animals began to arrive. From the ocean,
[12:21] Speaker 1: came a walruss carrying a large clam. From amongst the
[12:25] Speaker 1: trees came an orangutan clutching a spiky fruit called a durian,
[12:31] Speaker 1: And from the air came a blackbird with a beak
[12:34] Speaker 1: full of wriggling worms. Sure enough, many of the animals
[12:39] Speaker 1: had never had the chance to meet before. Abby had
[12:43] Speaker 1: never met a sea turtle, Nick had never come across
[12:46] Speaker 1: a secretary bird, and Jennifer had never before said hello
[12:51] Speaker 1: to a rhinoceros. And even though not all the food
[12:55] Speaker 1: was to everyone's tastes, there was so much choice on
[12:59] Speaker 1: offer that if you wanted to try something new, chances
[13:03] Speaker 1: were that you'd discover a food that you liked. It
[13:07] Speaker 1: was a fabulous beach party, and well worth all the
[13:10] Speaker 1: trouble of putting it together. It was only as the
[13:14] Speaker 1: sun was setting that Nick realized that he had not
[13:17] Speaker 1: seen Abby for a while. He squeezed past a water
[13:21] Speaker 1: buffalo and a heron, deciding she must be enjoying some
[13:24] Speaker 1: nectar at the Garland of Flowers, and that's exactly where
[13:29] Speaker 1: he found her, not drinking but fast asleep. The humming
[13:34] Speaker 1: bird had worked so hard all day that she'd worn
[13:38] Speaker 1: herself out. Smiling, he looked back towards the party before whispering, sleep, well,
[13:46] Speaker 1: i'll wake you up shortly. After all, he couldn't have
[13:50] Speaker 1: Abby missing all the fun. Animal fact, there are over
[14:00] Speaker 1: three hundred and sixty different species of hummingbird. The largest
[14:05] Speaker 1: is the patagona, weighing about the same as a double
[14:08] Speaker 1: a battery. The smallest is the bee humming bird, which
[14:12] Speaker 1: weighs about as much as two paper clips. The largest
[14:16] Speaker 1: horse ever recorded lived in England nearly two hundred years ago.
[14:21] Speaker 1: It weighed about as much as a modern day car.
[14:25] Speaker 1: The smallest horse was born in two thousand and one
[14:28] Speaker 1: and weighed as much as a medium sized dog, such
[14:31] Speaker 1: as a Dalmatian. The largest of the dolphin species might
[14:36] Speaker 1: surprise you. It's the killer whale, also known as the orca,
[14:41] Speaker 1: so not actually a whale at all. The smallest dolphin
[14:45] Speaker 1: species is Hector's dolphin. They weigh as much as a
[14:49] Speaker 1: large dog, something like a Siberian husky. Thank you for
[14:53] Speaker 1: your suggestions, Abby. We hope you enjoyed the story, and
[14:57] Speaker 1: thank you to all of you across the world for
[14:59] Speaker 1: listen litening to it. Remember, if you prefer your stories
[15:04] Speaker 1: advert free, then please consider our premium service through Apple
[15:09] Speaker 1: or supercarst for a tiny fee, the stories are advert free.
[15:15] Speaker 1: Join us next time for another great animal tale. Good Bye,

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