# Xmas Extra: A Sabre-Toothed Celebration

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 23 Dec 2025, 15 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/69042511/atextra004_asabre_toothedchristmas_mixdown.mp3

Especially for Christmas, here's a repeat of one of our earlier Christmas stories. 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 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 https://www.spreaker.com/show/animal-tales-the-kids-story-podcast 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: Yao. Hello, it's Josephine here at the Animal Tales podcast.
[0:19] Speaker 1: We don't normally repeat stories, but as it's nearly Christmas,
[0:23] Speaker 1: we thought you might like to hear some of our
[0:25] Speaker 1: earlier Christmas stories again. So if you're sitting comfortably, I'll
[0:30] Speaker 1: begin a sabertoothed celebration. A long time ago, there lived
[0:38] Speaker 1: a smilodon named Archie. He was a type of sabertoothed tiger,
[0:43] Speaker 1: about the size of a modern day lion, and he
[0:46] Speaker 1: had two large, pointed teeth that stuck out from his mouth.
[0:51] Speaker 1: Archie had been away from home for a very long time.
[0:55] Speaker 1: He'd gone traveling, wanting to visit far away places and
[0:59] Speaker 1: meet you and interesting animals. But now he was ready
[1:03] Speaker 1: to return home and see his old friends. It was
[1:07] Speaker 1: getting late by the time Archie returned to the hills
[1:10] Speaker 1: he called home, and all he wanted to do first
[1:13] Speaker 1: was collapse in his own bed and sleep until dawn. However,
[1:18] Speaker 1: when he entered his cave, he was surprised to find
[1:21] Speaker 1: a rather large pine tree propped up in the back,
[1:25] Speaker 1: and quite a few pine needles littering the stone floor.
[1:29] Speaker 1: What on Earth's this, Archie said, Confused, he certainly hadn't
[1:35] Speaker 1: left the tree there, and it clearly hadn't just grown
[1:38] Speaker 1: there while he was away. Luckily, he didn't have to
[1:42] Speaker 1: wonder for long. A large shape lumbered out of the
[1:46] Speaker 1: shadows of the cave, and Archie was happy to see Seth,
[1:51] Speaker 1: a cave bear and one of his oldest friends. Seth,
[1:56] Speaker 1: Archie said, what are you doing here? The cave bear
[2:01] Speaker 1: looked at him in surprise. Then, delight, Archie, you're home,
[2:07] Speaker 1: he cried. It's so good to see you. I've been
[2:10] Speaker 1: looking after the cave while you've been gone, making sure
[2:14] Speaker 1: no one else moves in. Don't worry, I'll be out
[2:17] Speaker 1: of your hair by morning. Archie grinned. It was good
[2:22] Speaker 1: to see his friend again. Thanks for that, he said,
[2:27] Speaker 1: but h, what's with the tree. Seth looked round at
[2:32] Speaker 1: the pine tree and blushed. All right, sorry about that,
[2:37] Speaker 1: he said. It's Wendy's favorite tree, and it got blown
[2:41] Speaker 1: down a few days ago. I said I'd find a
[2:45] Speaker 1: home for it, and I was just keeping it here
[2:47] Speaker 1: until I found a pot big enough. Archie nodded, with understanding.
[2:53] Speaker 1: Wendy was another friend of his, a wooly mammoth, and
[2:57] Speaker 1: she loved her plants. She must have been devastated when
[3:01] Speaker 1: her favorite tree fell. I suppose it can stay for
[3:05] Speaker 1: a while, he said, until you find a pot, and
[3:09] Speaker 1: you can stay too if you like. It'll be nice
[3:12] Speaker 1: to have the company. Seth beamed wonderful. He said, it's
[3:18] Speaker 1: good to have you home, Archie. Now the big question,
[3:24] Speaker 1: what did you bring me? Why? I don't know what
[3:27] Speaker 1: you're talking about, Archie said, innocently. I didn't bring anything
[3:33] Speaker 1: back for you from my travels. As he said this,
[3:37] Speaker 1: he carefully pushed a bag behind a nearby rock. Luckily,
[3:41] Speaker 1: Seth didn't seem to have noticed it. Hmm, said the
[3:46] Speaker 1: cave bear, raising one bushy eyebrow. All right, well, it's
[3:51] Speaker 1: getting late. Let's sleep now, and you can tell me
[3:55] Speaker 1: all about your travels in the morning. Archie agreed and
[4:00] Speaker 1: settled down in his own bed for the first time
[4:02] Speaker 1: in quite a while. He drifted off quickly, with the
[4:06] Speaker 1: smell of pine needles filling his nose. The following day,
[4:12] Speaker 1: Seth went out to find a large pot for the
[4:14] Speaker 1: pine tree, leaving Archie on his own. The saber toothed
[4:19] Speaker 1: tiger wasted no time collecting the bag of gifts from
[4:22] Speaker 1: behind the rock and laying them out before him. Archie
[4:27] Speaker 1: had managed to find gifts for all of his friends,
[4:30] Speaker 1: and he couldn't wait to give them out. However, he
[4:34] Speaker 1: also wanted it to be a surprise, and with Seth's
[4:37] Speaker 1: big nose, he knew the cave Bear would sniff them
[4:40] Speaker 1: out sooner or later, I know, Archie said, I'll wrap
[4:46] Speaker 1: them in leaves. That way, even if Seth finds them,
[4:50] Speaker 1: he won't be able to tell what they all are.
[4:53] Speaker 1: So Archie got to work wrapping all the gifts in big, green, brown,
[4:58] Speaker 1: and orange leaves and tying grass around them to keep
[5:02] Speaker 1: them all together. But before he could get them back
[5:05] Speaker 1: behind the rock, he heard Seth returning in a panic.
[5:11] Speaker 1: Archie quickly hid the gifts behind the pine tree. Hey, Archie,
[5:16] Speaker 1: Seth called from the caves opening, can you give me
[5:20] Speaker 1: a hand? Curious, Archie headed outside to see what Seth
[5:25] Speaker 1: needed help with. He was surprised to find the cave
[5:28] Speaker 1: Bear surrounded by plates and boxes of various foods. I
[5:33] Speaker 1: found a pot and news traveled fast that you'd come home,
[5:37] Speaker 1: Seth said, sheepishly. Everyone kept giving me food to bring
[5:42] Speaker 1: back to you, sort of a welcome home package. Archie
[5:47] Speaker 1: stared at all the food wide eyed. There were potatoes
[5:51] Speaker 1: and vegetables, meats and desserts. He felt as if he
[5:55] Speaker 1: would never finish it all. This is too much, he said, However,
[6:00] Speaker 1: are we going to eat it all? I guess we'd
[6:04] Speaker 1: better get started. Then, Seth laughed. I'll tell you what
[6:09] Speaker 1: you give me the pot I'll get the tree sorted,
[6:12] Speaker 1: said Archie. You bring in the food and get it
[6:15] Speaker 1: all ready. This would stop Seth from finding the gifts
[6:19] Speaker 1: while he was so busy. By mid afternoon, they were stuffed.
[6:25] Speaker 1: Archie had eaten turkey and ham, rolls and carrots, even
[6:30] Speaker 1: a large slice of cake. But there was still so
[6:33] Speaker 1: much food left. We'll get back to it later, Seth groaned,
[6:39] Speaker 1: patting his fat belly. Now, why don't you tell me
[6:44] Speaker 1: some of your traveling stories. For the rest of the afternoon,
[6:49] Speaker 1: Archie recounted his adventures. He told Seth about his trek
[6:53] Speaker 1: through the mountains and swimming across the Great Lakes. He
[6:58] Speaker 1: talked about meeting weird and wonderful animals he'd never seen before,
[7:02] Speaker 1: and the shenanigans they'd got up to. And he talked
[7:06] Speaker 1: about the strange cave people he'd met and how odd
[7:09] Speaker 1: they were. The only fur they had was on top
[7:13] Speaker 1: of their heads, he explained, and they wore the fur
[7:17] Speaker 1: of other animals to keep warm. Oh, and they only
[7:21] Speaker 1: walked on two legs. How peculiar, Seth said, puzzled. I
[7:28] Speaker 1: hope I never meet one. Just then they heard a
[7:33] Speaker 1: crack of thunder outside. They'd been talking for so long
[7:37] Speaker 1: and so intently that they hadn't realized that it had
[7:40] Speaker 1: started pouring with rain. Oh, dear, Seth said, this rain
[7:47] Speaker 1: looks terrible. Good thing. We're nice and dry inside here.
[7:52] Speaker 1: The saber toothed tiger nodded in agreement. I'd hate to
[7:57] Speaker 1: be caught out in that. However, they soon came to
[8:01] Speaker 1: learn that not everyone was as lucky as them. There
[8:04] Speaker 1: were some animals who were unfortunate enough to be outside
[8:08] Speaker 1: when the rain started, resulting in many of Archie's friends
[8:12] Speaker 1: running to his door in order to try to get dry.
[8:16] Speaker 1: Wendy the Mammoth and Ronnie the wooly Rhino were the
[8:20] Speaker 1: first to arrive. They were soaked to the bone, dripping wet,
[8:26] Speaker 1: but jumped for joy when they saw Archie. You're a home,
[8:30] Speaker 1: Wendy cried, giving him a big wet hug with her
[8:34] Speaker 1: soggy trunk. We're so glad you were gone too long.
[8:41] Speaker 1: I thought you'd have wanted me to be gone longer,
[8:44] Speaker 1: Archie teased, After all, you're leaving all your things here.
[8:49] Speaker 1: Wendy looked horrified. Oh is my tree in the way,
[8:54] Speaker 1: She said, I'll move it. I'm sorry. She went to
[8:58] Speaker 1: lift up the pine tree. Archie stopped her. No, no,
[9:02] Speaker 1: it's fine, he laughed, I was joking. Besides, I like
[9:07] Speaker 1: the smell. Wendy relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.
[9:13] Speaker 1: Archie did the same, knowing the gifts were still tucked
[9:16] Speaker 1: away behind it. Hey, Archie, is there anywhere I can
[9:21] Speaker 1: hang my mittens? Ronnie asked. They're soaked and I want
[9:26] Speaker 1: them to dry off. Oh, use the tree, Wendy suggested,
[9:32] Speaker 1: its branches will dry them. Archie did as she said,
[9:37] Speaker 1: hanging Ronnie's purple mittens on one of the pine branches,
[9:42] Speaker 1: and as more and more of his friends began to
[9:44] Speaker 1: show up, all having wet mittens, the pine tree was
[9:48] Speaker 1: soon covered in them and bursting with all sorts of colors. Pretty.
[9:54] Speaker 1: Wendy said, I'm glad the tree was useful. They were
[9:59] Speaker 1: just settling down when the last of the animals arrived.
[10:03] Speaker 1: It was a family of fireflies, and Archie urged them inside.
[10:08] Speaker 1: They were all wet and cold, shivering as they flew in. Hey,
[10:14] Speaker 1: Archie said one of the fireflies, it's good to see you.
[10:18] Speaker 1: We're all a little frozen. Is there anywhere we can
[10:21] Speaker 1: warm up? Archie looked around his gaze, landing once more
[10:26] Speaker 1: on the tree. The branches near the trunk should be warmer,
[10:31] Speaker 1: he said, get cozy, we're all trying to warm up.
[10:36] Speaker 1: The fireflies followed his advice, swarming the pine tree and
[10:41] Speaker 1: settling down within the branches beside the drying mittens. Archie
[10:46] Speaker 1: was so pleased to see all his friends here and
[10:49] Speaker 1: warmly greeted them all. It's so good to see you
[10:53] Speaker 1: all after so long, he said, I've missed you all
[10:56] Speaker 1: so much, and it's nice to be together again. He
[11:00] Speaker 1: noticed some of the animals were still shivering. Seth, is
[11:05] Speaker 1: there anything we can do to warm every one up?
[11:07] Speaker 1: He whispered to the cave bear. Seth looked thoughtful. Oh
[11:13] Speaker 1: I know, he said, and disappeared to the back of
[11:16] Speaker 1: the cave. He soon emerged with plates of food and
[11:20] Speaker 1: a grin on his face. Food and plenty of it,
[11:25] Speaker 1: he cried. Food always gets me warm. Every One dig in.
[11:32] Speaker 1: Soon every one was happily munching on all the food
[11:35] Speaker 1: Archie had been given. He felt relieved that it was
[11:38] Speaker 1: being eaten. He'd never have finished it, and it was
[11:41] Speaker 1: always good to share. Now all his friends had full bellies.
[11:47] Speaker 1: Looking around at every one, Archie felt a surge of warmth.
[11:51] Speaker 1: He'd enjoyed his travels, but it was nice to come
[11:54] Speaker 1: home to those he loved. Standing up, Archie got every
[11:59] Speaker 1: one's attention. And while I have you all here, I
[12:03] Speaker 1: just wanted to say thank you, he said. I loved
[12:07] Speaker 1: traveling around the land, meeting new animals and seeing amazing places.
[12:12] Speaker 1: But it's good to be here now with all of you,
[12:16] Speaker 1: and to show you all how much I care. I
[12:19] Speaker 1: brought each of you back a little something. Murmurs of
[12:24] Speaker 1: interest went around the table as Archie collected the leaf
[12:28] Speaker 1: wrapped gifts from behind the pine tree. As he began
[12:32] Speaker 1: to hand them out, Seth laughed. I knew you'd got
[12:36] Speaker 1: me something, he said, accusingly, before ripping the leaves off.
[12:42] Speaker 1: The animals all shared cries of delight at their gifts.
[12:46] Speaker 1: Pretty shells, colorful paintings, and woven clothing were being shown
[12:51] Speaker 1: around as everyone delighted over their presence, and in that moment,
[12:57] Speaker 1: the saber toothed tiger felt happier than he'd ever done.
[13:01] Speaker 1: He was surrounded by friends who had all loved their gifts.
[13:05] Speaker 1: Their bellies were full of good food, and laughter filled
[13:09] Speaker 1: the cave, and now that the fireflies were warm, their
[13:13] Speaker 1: lights made the pine tree sparkle, especially as they reflected
[13:17] Speaker 1: off of the colorful mittens that decorated it. We'll have
[13:22] Speaker 1: to do this again, Archie thought to himself. Perhaps when
[13:26] Speaker 1: it's cold and wet again next year, it can be
[13:30] Speaker 1: something to look forward to and bring us together. Archie
[13:34] Speaker 1: rejoined his friends at the table as outside the rain
[13:38] Speaker 1: turned to snow. He didn't know what the next year
[13:42] Speaker 1: would bring, but that didn't matter. For now they were together, warm,
[13:48] Speaker 1: happy and full, and having a very merry time. Animal fact,
[13:57] Speaker 1: there have been many saber tooth cats the history of
[14:00] Speaker 1: our planet, but the one in our story is known
[14:03] Speaker 1: as Smilodon. The name means tooth shaped like a double
[14:08] Speaker 1: edged knife, which gives you some idea of what kind
[14:12] Speaker 1: of fearsome predator. It must have been found in the
[14:16] Speaker 1: Americas between two point five million years ago and around
[14:19] Speaker 1: ten thousand years ago, Smilodon would most certainly have run
[14:23] Speaker 1: into early humans. It died out around the same time
[14:27] Speaker 1: as many of the large animals known as megafauna disappeared.
[14:32] Speaker 1: We don't know yet and may never know, what a
[14:35] Speaker 1: smilodon's coat looked like. Was it striped like a tiger,
[14:40] Speaker 1: speckled with spots like a leopard, or plane like a lion?
[14:45] Speaker 1: I wonder how you imagine it? A great prehistoric animal suggestion, Archie.
[14:51] Speaker 1: Thank you. Although we can't write stories for every animal
[14:55] Speaker 1: suggestion we receive, we're always happy to hear from those
[14:59] Speaker 1: of you that want to sugges. Just one, and don't
[15:02] Speaker 1: forget to check out the Animal Tales books on Amazon.
[15:06] Speaker 1: Great for encouraging reading or for revisiting your favorite stories.
[15:12] Speaker 1: Make sure you join us next time for another great
[15:15] Speaker 1: animal tale. Good Bye,

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