# Farmyard Hornet

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 12 May 2026, 17 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71838758/at495_farmyardhornet_mixdown.mp3

When a hornet discovers his first ever farm, he's keen to learn more. If only the animals would co-operate. 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: 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 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 their advert
[0:40] Speaker 1: free Grace. Kitty, z Jaden and Archie are from England
[0:48] Speaker 1: and they would like a story with a Welsh cob,
[0:50] Speaker 1: a sheep, Polish frizzled chickens and a hornet. You can
[0:55] Speaker 1: learn more about some of these creatures in the Animal
[0:58] Speaker 1: Facts after the story. Now settle back, relax, and I'll
[1:03] Speaker 1: begin farm Yard Hornet. The trees and flowers whizzed past
[1:12] Speaker 1: a blur of green, yellow, and blue. Z ducked and dived,
[1:17] Speaker 1: dodging branches and sailing past leaves, his wings beating furiously
[1:22] Speaker 1: as he zipped through the air. The young hornet was
[1:26] Speaker 1: excited to be flying fast and free. Z took a
[1:31] Speaker 1: moment to rest, landing on a bramble leaf on the
[1:34] Speaker 1: edge of the woods. He'd never flown this far before.
[1:38] Speaker 1: The strange land beyond the trees was all new to him.
[1:43] Speaker 1: Deep in the woods, Z lived in a colony with
[1:46] Speaker 1: other hornets. Some had spoken of this place and of
[1:50] Speaker 1: the bizarre animals that could be found there, filling Z's
[1:54] Speaker 1: head with wonder, it was something he now wanted to
[1:57] Speaker 1: experience for himself. He took off again, buzzing across a
[2:03] Speaker 1: hillside made of a wide rectangle of grass. There wasn't
[2:07] Speaker 1: a single tree growing upon it. The hill curled downwards
[2:12] Speaker 1: to several large buildings, objects that Z had never seen before.
[2:18] Speaker 1: Hey there, called out Z to a passing butterfly. What's
[2:22] Speaker 1: that down there? That's a farm, of course, said the
[2:27] Speaker 1: butterfly lazily. What does a farm do exactly? Z asked.
[2:34] Speaker 1: It's where farm animals live, answered the butterfly. Everyone knows that,
[2:41] Speaker 1: Z though hadn't known that, so he decided to take
[2:45] Speaker 1: a closer look. Flying low, Z crossed a fence and
[2:50] Speaker 1: soon spotted his first farm animals. It was a pair
[2:54] Speaker 1: of birds, one brown and one white, scratching at the
[2:58] Speaker 1: dirt as they searched for things to eat. Z had
[3:02] Speaker 1: never seen birds like these before. They had lots of
[3:05] Speaker 1: fluffy feathers and a big halo around their head covering
[3:09] Speaker 1: their eyes. Hello, he said, hovering near by. I'm Z.
[3:17] Speaker 1: The chickens raised their heads, but their fluffy feathers made
[3:20] Speaker 1: it difficult to see. Who said that, said the brown bird.
[3:26] Speaker 1: Show yourself, said the white one. I'm er right here,
[3:31] Speaker 1: Z said, buzzing closer to their faces. What are you,
[3:36] Speaker 1: said the brown bird. Are you a bird? Asked the
[3:40] Speaker 1: white one. No, no, here, let me help, said Z.
[3:46] Speaker 1: He flew closer, still flapping his wings really hard to
[3:50] Speaker 1: blow the feathers out of their eyes. It's a wasp,
[3:55] Speaker 1: cried the brown bird, in fright. I'm not a wasp.
[3:59] Speaker 1: Z tried to explain, but it was no use. The
[4:03] Speaker 1: birds didn't fly away, but ran in circles, sending up
[4:07] Speaker 1: a cloud of dust and feathers. It was such a
[4:11] Speaker 1: commotion that Z took fright, backing away rapidly, shaking slightly.
[4:17] Speaker 1: He settled on a fence post just as a new
[4:20] Speaker 1: creature arrived. This one had a creamy white covering and
[4:25] Speaker 1: reminded Ze of a cloud with legs. Jadon, what's all
[4:30] Speaker 1: this noise about, asked the cloud creature. Oh, kitty, you're
[4:35] Speaker 1: not going to believe it, answered Jadon. The brown bird
[4:40] Speaker 1: Archie and I have had such a scare. We were
[4:43] Speaker 1: attacked by a huge bug, wailed Archie. The white bird
[4:49] Speaker 1: a bug, repeated the animal called Kitty, clearly unimpressed. Why
[4:55] Speaker 1: is it always some sort of nonsense with you two
[4:58] Speaker 1: frizzle chickens, Hey, objected Jadon. That time you caught us
[5:04] Speaker 1: in the feed bins. We really were chasing a ghost, yeah,
[5:10] Speaker 1: nodded Archie, making his feathery fringe flop about. And I
[5:14] Speaker 1: still say it's worth standing in the rain to see
[5:17] Speaker 1: if any fish fall out of the sky. Kitty tutted,
[5:22] Speaker 1: And what precisely did this huge bug look like? She asked.
[5:27] Speaker 1: It was a wasp, said Jadon, and a big one,
[5:32] Speaker 1: at least double the size, added Archie, with red eyes
[5:37] Speaker 1: instead of black. Kitty shook her head, not believing them.
[5:43] Speaker 1: They couldn't see past their own feathers half the time. Well,
[5:47] Speaker 1: whatever you think you saw, it's gone. Now. Just keep
[5:50] Speaker 1: the noise down, okay. From the fence post, Zee watched
[5:55] Speaker 1: Kitty the cloud creature trot away, leaving the two frizzled
[6:00] Speaker 1: chickens to give a shake and begin pecking at the
[6:02] Speaker 1: ground again. He felt bad for giving them such a fright.
[6:07] Speaker 1: He certainly hadn't meant to, so he thought it would
[6:10] Speaker 1: be good manners to apologize. Taking a deep breath, Ze
[6:16] Speaker 1: buzzed over. Hello again, He called out about earlier wasp.
[6:23] Speaker 1: There it is, Jadon cried, defend yourself, Archie. The chickens
[6:29] Speaker 1: jumped into fighting stances, legs apart and wingtips held ready
[6:34] Speaker 1: to strike. Unfortunately they couldn't see properly, so we're both
[6:39] Speaker 1: facing the wrong way. Leave us alone, Archie cried, and
[6:45] Speaker 1: take all your wasp friends with you. I'm not a wasp.
[6:50] Speaker 1: Ze tried to explain. I've just come to see your farm.
[6:54] Speaker 1: I've never seen such a thing. Sting did he say?
[6:58] Speaker 1: Sting screeked Jaden. Look out, screamed Archie, and the pair
[7:05] Speaker 1: of chickens began running in circles again. Ze felt he
[7:10] Speaker 1: had no choice but to retreat again, rising above them,
[7:15] Speaker 1: what's all this racket? Boomed Kitty, the cloud creature arriving
[7:20] Speaker 1: with urgency. It's the giant wasp. Archie yelped, it's back.
[7:27] Speaker 1: Kitty looked about her boys. There's no giant wasp, she said.
[7:34] Speaker 1: I'm not a wasp, said Ze. Kitty looked up to
[7:38] Speaker 1: see a large red eyed insect hovering over her wasp,
[7:44] Speaker 1: she screamed, suddenly, all in a panic. This set the
[7:48] Speaker 1: chickens off again, filling the yard with a flurry of
[7:52] Speaker 1: feathers and wool. As the three creatures dashed about madly.
[7:57] Speaker 1: Retreating to a nearby roof, was unsure of how to proceed.
[8:03] Speaker 1: His visit to the farm wasn't going very well at all. Then,
[8:08] Speaker 1: directly beneath him, an even bigger animal than the cloud
[8:12] Speaker 1: creature emerged from the building. It had a long face
[8:16] Speaker 1: and just one large, hard toe on each foot. What
[8:21] Speaker 1: on earth are you three doing, asked the giant. Oh, Grace,
[8:27] Speaker 1: it's terrible, whined Jaden. We've all been attacked by a
[8:32] Speaker 1: giant wasp. It was horrible, Archie added. I'm used to
[8:39] Speaker 1: you frizzle chickens creating a fuss, said Grace, but I
[8:43] Speaker 1: expect more from a sheep. What exactly is going on, Kitty?
[8:49] Speaker 1: The sheep suddenly felt quite embarrassed. It's true, Grace, Kitty said.
[8:55] Speaker 1: It was a giant wasp with big wings, red eyes,
[8:59] Speaker 1: and a huge stinger. Not you too, Kitty, Grace sighed,
[9:06] Speaker 1: I'm sure it wasn't that bad. It was the sheep insisted,
[9:12] Speaker 1: we're not exaggerating. Grace shook her large head. I think
[9:18] Speaker 1: that's quite enough, she said. All your noise is disturbing
[9:22] Speaker 1: the other animals. Let that be the end of it.
[9:27] Speaker 1: Up on the roof, Ze was feeling very disappointed. This
[9:31] Speaker 1: is no good, He said to himself, I still have
[9:35] Speaker 1: no idea what this farm is. Maybe I'm just talking
[9:39] Speaker 1: to the wrong animals. This lot behaved very strangely every
[9:43] Speaker 1: time I try to talk to them. Perhaps there's a
[9:46] Speaker 1: different creature I could talk to. With a flicker of wings,
[9:51] Speaker 1: he was airborne again, leaving the frizzle chickens, the sheep,
[9:56] Speaker 1: and the big giant behind. He zigged and zag up
[10:00] Speaker 1: the farmyard, hovering over nooks and crannies as he searched
[10:05] Speaker 1: for someone to talk to. This search took him in
[10:08] Speaker 1: a big loop, bringing him back to where he'd started.
[10:13] Speaker 1: There was no sign of the animals from earlier, although
[10:16] Speaker 1: there was the doorway that the giant had emerged from.
[10:19] Speaker 1: He decided to take a look inside. The only animals
[10:24] Speaker 1: he could see were huddled amongst some straw, two frizzle
[10:28] Speaker 1: chickens and one sheep, with the giant stood beside them.
[10:33] Speaker 1: I wonder what they're doing now, said Se to himself
[10:37] Speaker 1: as he dared to get a little closer. The giant
[10:41] Speaker 1: appeared to be talking. You can't hide in here forever,
[10:46] Speaker 1: she was saying, We can, insisted Archie, at least until
[10:51] Speaker 1: we know it's safe. But it is safe, Grace insisted.
[10:57] Speaker 1: There are no such things as giant wasps. That's right,
[11:02] Speaker 1: said Z, trying to be helpful. See I'm not a wasp.
[11:07] Speaker 1: This time it was Grace who screamed, her ears laid backwards,
[11:12] Speaker 1: and her hoofs pounding the ground. For the third time
[11:16] Speaker 1: that day, Z was surrounded by panicking, shouting, running animals.
[11:22] Speaker 1: They tore up the straw, neighed and bleated, and squawked
[11:27] Speaker 1: and crowed as they filled the air with dust and noise.
[11:31] Speaker 1: It was pandemonium and all too much for Z, who
[11:35] Speaker 1: was used to the peace and quiet of the woods. Stop,
[11:40] Speaker 1: he shouted at the top of his voice. Please, will
[11:43] Speaker 1: you all stop? Why is that so you can sting us,
[11:48] Speaker 1: winnied the trembling giant. Ah, so now she believes us,
[11:53] Speaker 1: said Jadon. Not such a brave Welsh cob pony, now is,
[11:59] Speaker 1: she added Archie. Look, I'm not going to sting anybody,
[12:04] Speaker 1: insisted Ze. But you're a giant wasp, said Kitty the Sheep,
[12:10] Speaker 1: that's what wasps do Ze sighed with frustration. But I
[12:16] Speaker 1: keep telling you I'm not a wasp, he said, Then
[12:21] Speaker 1: what are you? Scoffed Grace. I'm a hornet, Ze replied patiently.
[12:29] Speaker 1: All I wanted to do was look around your farm.
[12:33] Speaker 1: I'm not buying it, said Jaden. He looks like a
[12:36] Speaker 1: wasp to me. What are you talking about, laughed Grace.
[12:42] Speaker 1: You can't see a thing through that fringe look, said
[12:47] Speaker 1: Kitty the Sheep. Maybe you do look a little different
[12:51] Speaker 1: to a wasp, but you need to understand that we
[12:54] Speaker 1: just don't like them. They buzz around your head, Archie said,
[12:59] Speaker 1: and and on your food, added Jadon. And they can
[13:04] Speaker 1: sting you, said Kitty. And getting stung hurts, pointed out Grace.
[13:11] Speaker 1: And you may not be a wasp, but you have
[13:13] Speaker 1: an even bigger stinger. I do, admitted Se, but I've
[13:19] Speaker 1: never used it. Have any of you actually been stung
[13:23] Speaker 1: by a wasp? Well er No, said the Welsh cob pony,
[13:30] Speaker 1: But we could have been. I don't go around looking
[13:34] Speaker 1: to sting animals, said Se. And I'm quite sure, wasps
[13:39] Speaker 1: are the same. If you treat them nicely, they'll treat
[13:43] Speaker 1: you nicely. That's how I see things anyway. But you
[13:48] Speaker 1: could sting us, said Kitty if you wanted to. And
[13:53] Speaker 1: I'm sure any of you could hurt me too, See
[13:56] Speaker 1: replied You're much bigger than me, and you've got claws
[14:01] Speaker 1: and beaks and hoofs. You could squish me easily. I
[14:06] Speaker 1: should be just as worried about you as you are
[14:08] Speaker 1: of me. But I wouldn't squish anybody, Grace said, I
[14:15] Speaker 1: could never be so mean, said Kitty. You're a lot
[14:19] Speaker 1: braver than we've been, said Jadon. Yea, considering you're so small,
[14:25] Speaker 1: added Archie. We haven't made a very good first impression,
[14:30] Speaker 1: have we, stated the pony. I think I understand why now,
[14:36] Speaker 1: said c But I'd still like to learn more about
[14:40] Speaker 1: your farm. If you're willing to show me, I think
[14:44] Speaker 1: we owe it to you, said Kitty, with a smile.
[14:48] Speaker 1: We may have overreacted just a little. Oh, let's take
[14:53] Speaker 1: the little guy to see the cows, said Jadon. Suddenly,
[14:57] Speaker 1: and the ducks. Archie suggested, z couldn't have been more pleased.
[15:04] Speaker 1: What followed was one of the most unusual but very
[15:07] Speaker 1: special farm tours ever seen. Two frizzled chickens, the sheep
[15:13] Speaker 1: and the Welsh cob Pony made sure to introduce C calmly,
[15:18] Speaker 1: making sure the animals understood that they were in no
[15:21] Speaker 1: danger and that, yes, he looked like a wasp, but
[15:25] Speaker 1: he wasn't one. Once they were done and Z had
[15:29] Speaker 1: met every one his new friends, asked what he thought
[15:33] Speaker 1: of their home. It's very interesting, admitted Z, and very
[15:38] Speaker 1: different to where I live. I can't say I really
[15:41] Speaker 1: understand what a farm is for, but I've enjoyed meeting
[15:45] Speaker 1: every single one of you, and we've all enjoyed getting
[15:49] Speaker 1: to know U, Z, said Kitty the Sheep. You've not
[15:54] Speaker 1: been what we expected at all, said Grace the pony.
[15:58] Speaker 1: I think that next time we come across a situation
[16:01] Speaker 1: like this, we'll try a little patience and understanding first.
[16:07] Speaker 1: I'm glad to hear it, said Sea, as a vehicle
[16:10] Speaker 1: poured into the far end of the farmyard and a
[16:13] Speaker 1: man and a dog climbed out. What sort of farm
[16:17] Speaker 1: animals are those two, asked the hornet. I'll tell you what,
[16:22] Speaker 1: grinned Grace. Come back tomorrow and you can find out
[16:31] Speaker 1: animal fat. In England, where our story is set, the
[16:37] Speaker 1: native hornet is not aggressive. They feed on other insects,
[16:42] Speaker 1: including wasps, so are helpful to have around. Polish frizzled
[16:47] Speaker 1: chickens have a large, fluffy crest of feathers atop their heads.
[16:52] Speaker 1: We know they've been around for a long time, as
[16:55] Speaker 1: they appear in paintings from five hundred years ago. Thank
[17:00] Speaker 1: you for your suggestions, Grace, Kitty, Zee, Jaden, and Archie.
[17:05] Speaker 1: We hope that you all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're
[17:08] Speaker 1: listening in the world, don't forget to look at our
[17:11] Speaker 1: Animal Tales books over on Amazon great bedtime reading, especially
[17:16] Speaker 1: if you've discovered the joy of reading for yourself. Make
[17:20] Speaker 1: sure you join us next time for another great animal tale.
[17:24] Speaker 1: Good Bye.

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