# Goodnight, Gorilla

An episode of [Bedtime Stories for 5 Year Olds](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1778329433), 20 Oct 2025, 7:22.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/68218719/v_deo_sin_t_tulo_hecho_con_clipchamp_2.mp3

Listen to our expanded Goodnight Gorilla read aloud story. A fun, mischievous journey with the Zookeeper and zoo animals. Explore all our bedtime stories for kids

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Good Night Gorilla, the Zookeeper's long night. Once upon a time,
[0:06] Speaker 1: at the close of a very long day, the heavy
[0:10] Speaker 1: wrought iron gates of the City Zoo clanged shut with
[0:13] Speaker 1: a resonant gong that echoed faintly across the deserted pathways.
[0:19] Speaker 1: Inside the administration building, the head zookeeper, a man whose
[0:23] Speaker 1: thick mustache drooped as heavily as his eyelids, after a
[0:27] Speaker 1: grueling fourteen hour shift, checked his closing list for the
[0:31] Speaker 1: final time. Every animal was counted, fed, and accounted for,
[0:37] Speaker 1: at least on paper. It was now time for the
[0:40] Speaker 1: final quiet ritual of his day, the good night round.
[0:45] Speaker 1: He checked his pocket watch, adjusted his cap, and jingled
[0:49] Speaker 1: the enormous ring of keys, a massive, cumbersome collection of
[0:54] Speaker 1: brass and steel that felt like a trophy of his
[0:57] Speaker 1: long stewardship. The un was high and full, casting long,
[1:03] Speaker 1: dramatic shadows that turned the familiar enclosures into ghostly, whispering landscapes.
[1:10] Speaker 1: First stop, the Gorilla House, a concrete fortress designed for
[1:15] Speaker 1: strength and security. Good Night, Gorilla, the zookeeper muttered, shining
[1:21] Speaker 1: his powerful flashlight beam into the dark den. The great
[1:25] Speaker 1: ape named Hercules looked back with eyes that twinkled with
[1:30] Speaker 1: entirely too much intelligence for a creature that was supposed
[1:34] Speaker 1: to be asleep. Hercules was a genius for mischief, known
[1:39] Speaker 1: for unwinding fire hoses and rearranging the exhibit signage. And tonight,
[1:45] Speaker 1: a particular piece of dangling hardware caught his eye. The
[1:49] Speaker 1: massive key ring swung tantalizingly on the zookeeper's belt loop.
[1:54] Speaker 1: The zookeeper performed the double check, turning the secondary lock
[1:58] Speaker 1: on the gorilla's door, and started his walk toward the
[2:02] Speaker 1: next enclosure. Clink, clink, clatter. The keys he thought were
[2:09] Speaker 1: safely at his hip, but he never felt the small,
[2:13] Speaker 1: agile hand reached through the bars in the profound darkness,
[2:17] Speaker 1: nor the gentle practiced tug As Hercules, the mischievous gorilla
[2:23] Speaker 1: slipped the enormous key ring clean off the loop. It
[2:27] Speaker 1: made almost no sound, just a tiny triumphant thud on
[2:32] Speaker 1: the soft sawdust floor of his cage. In moments, the
[2:36] Speaker 1: gorilla had found the largest key, the brass one marked
[2:41] Speaker 1: with a faded g click. He was out, holding the
[2:46] Speaker 1: enormous key ring high above his head like a prize.
[2:50] Speaker 1: He was the master of the zoo at least for tonight.
[2:53] Speaker 1: Without hesitation, he tiptoed to the elephant enclosure, where the
[2:58] Speaker 1: zookeeper had just moments before called out, good night elephant.
[3:04] Speaker 1: The enormous African elephant Bess stood silently, already waiting for
[3:10] Speaker 1: her moment. The gorilla inserted the silver key etched with
[3:15] Speaker 1: a tiny trunk, and with a silent, powerful twist, he
[3:20] Speaker 1: opened Bess's enclosure. Bess simply nodded, her huge head, lumbered
[3:26] Speaker 1: out and fell into step behind her silent liberator. The
[3:30] Speaker 1: procession was now too strong and utterly silent. As they
[3:34] Speaker 1: approached the formidable lion's den, the zookeeper had already moved
[3:39] Speaker 1: out of earshot, his tired feet crunching the gravel path ahead.
[3:44] Speaker 1: Good night Lion. The lion, king of the jungle, but
[3:49] Speaker 1: a creature of comfortable habit at the zoo, was initially confused. However,
[3:55] Speaker 1: then he saw the gorilla, who silently offered the bronze
[3:59] Speaker 1: key marked with a fierce man click. The line stretched
[4:04] Speaker 1: with a low, satisfying groan, yawned wide to show off
[4:09] Speaker 1: his impressive teeth, and silently joined the line behind the elephant.
[4:14] Speaker 1: Next came the slinking hyena, whose cage was opened by
[4:19] Speaker 1: a dull iron key. She gave a small, silent giggle
[4:23] Speaker 1: that sounded more like a dry cough than laughter, and
[4:27] Speaker 1: willingly fell obediently into place. The final unlock was the
[4:32] Speaker 1: little pink armadillo, who scurried out of his box, a silent,
[4:37] Speaker 1: scuttling caboose on the end of the unexpected train. The
[4:41] Speaker 1: zookeeper finished his rounds, quite unaware he had been tailed
[4:46] Speaker 1: the entire way. He locked the main entrance gates with
[4:49] Speaker 1: a satisfying double click and drove his tiny electric service
[4:53] Speaker 1: cart out of the parking lot. The five liberated animals
[4:57] Speaker 1: followed him closely, perfect mimicking his pace, their shadows blending
[5:03] Speaker 1: seamlessly with the long, moonlit ones. At the zookeeper's small
[5:08] Speaker 1: cozy house, he hung his uniform coat, complete with the
[5:13] Speaker 1: now empty key loop, and padded into the bedroom. His wife,
[5:18] Speaker 1: a sensible woman wearing a pink nightgown, was already reading
[5:22] Speaker 1: in bed, framed by the warm glow of her reading lamp.
[5:27] Speaker 1: A long night, dear, she asked, softly, placing her bookmark.
[5:32] Speaker 1: The usual, he mumbled, Slipping gratefully under the heavy covers,
[5:37] Speaker 1: He closed his eyes, instantly, drifting away into the deep
[5:41] Speaker 1: sleep only total exhaustion can provide. Meanwhile, the gorilla, elephant, lion, hyena,
[5:49] Speaker 1: and armadillo had tiptoed up the front steps, across the
[5:54] Speaker 1: polished hardwood floor, and now stood silently lined up at
[5:58] Speaker 1: the foot of the zookeeper's bed, perfectly hidden by the
[6:02] Speaker 1: deep shadow cast by the heavy mahogany chest of drawers.
[6:06] Speaker 1: The zookeeper's wife turned off the lamp and kissed her
[6:09] Speaker 1: husband on the cheek. Good Night, dear, she whispered, and
[6:13] Speaker 1: from the darkness, a surprising chorus of voices, some deep,
[6:19] Speaker 1: some squeaky, some breathy, replied good night. The wife's eyes
[6:25] Speaker 1: snapped open. She quickly flicked the bedside lamp back on,
[6:30] Speaker 1: illuminating five sets of very non human eyes staring back
[6:35] Speaker 1: at her. Her jaw dropped in stun silence. The zookeeper,
[6:40] Speaker 1: blissfully unaware and deeply asleep, only rolled over, pulling the
[6:46] Speaker 1: blanket tighter. Don't forget the armadillo, dear, he murmured sleepily.
[6:51] Speaker 1: The wife, pinching the bridge of her nose, knew this
[6:55] Speaker 1: was going to be a very, very long night. With
[6:59] Speaker 1: a sigh, she gently took the zookeeper's hand, and together,
[7:04] Speaker 1: followed by a single, perfectly behaved line of zoo animals,
[7:09] Speaker 1: they began the long, quiet march back to the city zoo.
[7:14] Speaker 1: She resolved to find a very secure safe for his
[7:17] Speaker 1: keys in the morning, and this story is over.

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