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The story of a faithful old dog told by the Brothers Grimm. One day Sultan's master decides that the dog has grown too old to be useful and decides to get rid of him. Fortunately, Sultan has a friend, the wolf, who has a plan to help him out.

Read by Natasha.

A farmer once had a faithful dog called Sultan, who had grown old, and lost all his teeth, so that he could no longer bite. One day the farmer was standing with his wife before the house-door, and said, “To-morrow I intend to shoot Old Sultan, he is no longer of any use.”

His wife, who felt pity for the faithful beast, answered, “He has served us so long, and been so faithful, that we might well keep him.”

“Eh! what?” said the man. “You are not very sharp. He has not a tooth left in his mouth, and no thief is afraid of him; now he may be off. If he has served us, he has had good feeding for it.”

The poor dog, who was lying stretched out in the sun not far off, had heard everything, and was sorry that the morrow was to be his last day. He had a good friend, the wolf, and he crept out in the evening into the forest to him, and complained of the fate that awaited him. “Listen well,” said the wolf, ” and Don’t be sad. I will help you out of your trouble. I have thought of something. To-morrow, early in the morning, your master is going with his wife to make hay, and they will take their little child with them, for no one will be left behind in the house. As usual, during work-time, they will lay the child under the hedge in the shade; you lie there too, just as if you wished to guard it. Then I will come out of the wood, and carry off the child. You must rush swiftly after me. I will let it fall, and you will take it back to its parents, who will think that you have saved it, and will be far too grateful to do you any harm; quite the opposite; you will dear to their hearts, and they will never let you lack for anything again.”

The plan pleased the dog, and it was carried out just as it was arranged. The father screamed when he saw the Wolf running across the field with his child, but when Old Sultan brought it back, then he was full of joy, and stroked him and said, “Not a hair of yours shall be hurt, you shall eat my bread free as long as you live.” And to his wife he said, “Go home at once and make Old Sultan some soggy bread that he will not have to bite, and bring the pillow out of my bed, I will give it to him to lie upon.”

From that time on, Old Sultan was as well off as he could wish to be.

Soon afterwards the wolf visited him, and was pleased that everything had succeeded so well. “But, listen well,” said he, “you will just wink an eye when I carry off one of your master's fat sheep.”
“Do not reckon upon that,” answered the dog; “I will remain true to my master; I cannot agree to that.” The wolf, who thought that this could not be spoken in earnest, came creeping about in the night and was going to take away the sheep. But faithful old Sultan barked, and the farmer chased after the wolf with a big stick. The wolf had to pack off, but he cried out to the dog, “Wait a bit, you scoundrel, you shall pay for this.”

The next morning the wolf sent the wild boar to challenge the dog to come out into the forest so that they might settle the affair. Old Sultan could find no one to stand by him but a cat with only three legs, and as they went out together the poor cat limped along, and at the same time stretched out her tail into the air with pain.

The wolf and his friend were already on the spot appointed, but when they saw their enemy coming they thought that he was bringing a sabre with him, for they mistook the outstretched tail of the cat for one. And when the poor beast hopped on its three legs, they could only think every time that it was picking up a stone to throw at them. So they were both afraid; the wild boar crept into the under-wood and the wolf jumped up a tree.

The dog and the cat, when they came up, wondered that there was no one to be seen. The wild boar, however, had not been able to hide himself altogether; and one of his ears was still to be seen. Whilst the cat was looking carefully about, the boar moved his ear; the cat, who thought it was a mouse moving there, jumped upon it and bit it hard. The boar made a fearful noise and ran away, crying out, “The guilty one is up in the tree !” The dog and cat looked up and saw the wolf, who was ashamed of having proved himself to be so afraid, and made friends with the dog

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This charming story by Hans Christian Andersen is about two ornaments who fall in love and decide to run away to the Big Wide World. If you have heard the Steadfast Tin Soldier you will understand how objects can have feelings and how they can run away. I am glad to say that the ending of this story is rather different from the soldier's.

Read by Natasha

Have you ever seen a very old chest, black with age, and covered with outlandish carved ornaments and curling leaves? Well, in a certain parlor there was just such a chest, handed down from some great-grandmother. Carved all up and down it, ran tulips and roses, odd-looking flourishes, and from fanciful thickets little stags stuck out their antlered heads.

Right in the middle of the chest a whole man was carved. He would make you laugh to look at him grinning away, though one couldn't call his grinning laughing. He had hind legs like a goat's, a little horn on his forehead, and a long beard. All his children called him “General Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoat-Legs.” It was a difficult name to pronounce and not many people get to be called by it, but he must have been very important or why should anyone have taken trouble to carve him at all?

However, there he stood, forever eyeing a delightful little china shepherdess on the table top under the mirror. The little shepherdess wore golden shoes, and looped up her gown fetchingly with a red rose. Her hat was gold, and even her crook was gold. She was simply charming!

Close by her stood a little chimney-sweep, as black as coal, but made of porcelain too. He was as clean and tidy as anyone can be, because you see he was only an ornamental chimney-sweep. If the china-makers had wanted to, they could just as easily have turned him out as a prince, for he had a jaunty way of holding his ladder, and his cheeks were as pink as a girl's. That was a mistake, don't you think? He should have been dabbed with a pinch or two of soot.

He and the shepherdess stood quite close together. They had both been put on the table where they stood and, having been placed there, they had become engaged because they suited each other exactly. Both were young, both were made of the same porcelain, and neither could stand a shock.

Near them stood another figure, three times as big as they were. It was an old Chinaman who could nod his head. He too was made of porcelain, and he said he was the little shepherdess's grandfather. But he couldn't prove it. Nevertheless he claimed that this gave him authority over her, and when General-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoat-Legs asked for her hand in marriage, the old Chinaman had nodded consent.

“There's a husband for you!” the old Chinaman told the shepherdess. “A husband who, I am inclined to believe, is made of mahogany. He can make you Mrs. General-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoat-Legs. He has the whole chest full of silver, and who knows what else he's got hidden away in his secret drawers?”

“But I don't want to go and live in the dark chest,” said the little shepherdess. “I have heard people say he's got eleven china wives in there already.”

“Then you will make twelve,” said the Chinaman. “Tonight, as soon as the old chest commences to creak I'll marry you off to him, as sure as I'm a Chinaman.” Then he nodded off to sleep. The little shepherdess cried and looked at her true love, the porcelain chimney-sweep.

“Please let's run away into the big, wide world,” she begged him, “for we can't stay here.”

“I'll do just what you want me to,” the little chimney-sweep told her. “Let's run away right now. I feel sure I can support you by chimney-sweeping.”

“I wish we were safely down off this table,” she said. “I'll never be happy until we are out in the big, wide world.”

He told her not to worry, and showed her how to drop her little feet over the table edge, and how to step from one gilded leaf to another down the carved leg of the table. He set up his ladder to help her, and down they came safely to the floor. But when they glanced at the old chest they saw a great commotion. All the carved stags were craning their necks, tossing their antlers, and turning their heads. General-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and -Rear-Sergeant-Billygoat-Legs jumped high in the air, and shouted to the old Chinaman, “They're running away! They're running away!”

This frightened them so that they jumped quickly into a drawer of the window-seat. Here they found three or four decks of cards, not quite complete, and a little puppet theatre, which was set up as well as it was possible to do. A play was in progress, and all the diamond queens, heart queens, club queens, and spade queens sat in front row and fanned themselves with the tulips they held in their hands. Behind them the knaves lined up, showing that they had heads both at the top and at the bottom, as face cards do have. The play was all about two people, who were not allowed to marry, and it made the shepherdess cry because it was so like her own story.

“I can't bear to see any more,” she said. “I must get out of this drawer at once.” But when they got back to the floor and looked up at the table, they saw the old Chinaman was wide awake now. Not only his head, but his whole body rocked forward. The lower part of his body was one solid piece, you see.

“The old Chainman's coming!” cried the little Shepherdess, who was so upset that she fell down on her porcelain knees.

“I have an idea,” said the chimney-sweeper. “We'll hide in the pot-pourri vase in the corner. There we can rest upon rose petals and lavender, and when he finds us we can throw salt in his eyes.”

“It's no use,” she said. “Besides, I know the pot-pourri vase was once the old Chainman's sweetheart, and where there used to be love a little affection is sure to remain. No, there's nothing for us to do but to run away into the big wide world.”

“Are you really so brave that you'd go into the wide world with me?” asked the chimney-sweep. “Have you thought about how big it is, and that we can never come back here?”

“I have,” she said.

The chimney-sweep looked her straight in the face and said, “My way lies up through the chimney. Are you really so brave that you'll come with me into the stove, and crawl through the stovepipe? It will take us to the chimney. Once we get there, I'll know what to do. We shall climb so high that they'll never catch us, and at the very top there's an opening into the big wide world.”

He led her to the stove door.

“It looks very black in there,” she said. But she let him lead her through the stove and through the stovepipe, where it was pitch-black night.

“Now we've come to the chimney,” he said. “And see! See how the bright star shines over our heads.”

A real star, high up in the heavens, shone down as if it wished to show them the way. They clambered and scuffled, for it was hard climbing and terribly steep-way, way up high! But he lifted her up, held her safe, and found the best places for her little porcelain feet. At last they reached the top of the chimney, where they sat down. For they were so tired, and no wonder!

Overhead was the starry sky, and spread before them were all the housetops in the town. They looked out on the big wide world. The poor shepherdess had never thought it would be like that. She flung her little head against the chimney-sweep, and sobbed so many tears that the gilt washed off her sash.

“This is too much,” she said. “I can't bear it. The wide world is too big. Oh! If I only were back on my table under the mirror. I'll never be happy until I stand there again, just as before. I followed you faithfully out into the world, and if you love me the least bit you'll take me right home.”

The chimney-sweep tried to persuade her that it wasn't sensible to go back. He talked to her about the old Chinaman, and of General-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoat-Legs, but she sobbed so hard and kissed her chimney-sweep so much that he had to do as she said, though he thought it was the wrong thing to do.

So back down the chimney they climbed with great difficulty, and they crawled through the wretched stovepipe into the dark stove. Here they listened behind the door, to find out what was happening in the room. Everything seemed quiet, so they opened the door and-oh, what a pity! There on the floor lay the Chinaman, in three pieces. When he had come running after them, he tumbled off the table and smashed. His whole back had come off in one piece, and his head had rolled into the corner. General-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoat-Legs was standing where he always stood, looking thoughtful.

“Oh, dear,” said the little shepherdess, “poor old grandfather is all broken up, and it's entirely our fault. I shall never live through it.” She wrung her delicate hands.

“He can be patched,” said the chimney-sweep. “He can be riveted. Don't be so upset about him. A little glue for his back and a strong rivet in his neck, and he will be just as good as new, and just as disagreeable as he was before.”

“Will he, really?” she asked, as they climbed back to their old place on the table.

“Here we are,” said the chimney-sweep. “Back where we started from. We could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble.”

“Now if only old grandfather were mended,” said the little shepherdess. “Is mending terribly expensive?”

He was mended well enough. The family had his back glued together, and a strong rivet put through his neck. That made him as good as new, except that never again could he nod his head.

“It seems to me that you have grown haughty since your fall, though I don't see why you should be proud of it,” General-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoat-Legs complained. “Am I to have her, or am I not?”

The chimney-sweep and the little shepherdess looked so pleadingly at the old Chinaman, for they were deathly afraid he would nod. But he didn't. He couldn't. And neither did he care to tell anyone that, forever and a day, he'd have to wear a rivet in his neck.

So the little porcelain people remained together. They thanked goodness for the rivet in grandfather's neck, and they kept on loving each other until the day they broke.

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The story from ancient Greece of the boy who flew too close to the sun. It continues the story of Daedalus, whom we first met in the story of the Minotaur. We hear how he and his son Icarus tried to escape from Crete with wings made of feathers and wax. Some of the touching details - such as Icarus playing with the feathers - come from the Latin poet,Ovid.

Read by Natasha. Duration 9.23

I’ve told you before about the half man-half bull called the Minotaur. This strange and terrible beast lived in a deep, dark Labyrinth on the island of Crete. Well you may remember that the Labyrinth was created by the cunning and ingenious mind of Daedalus.

Daedalus was a brilliant architect and inventor – in fact, he was so brilliant that King Minos of Crete did not want to let him go back to his home in Athens. Instead, he kept him as a prisoner. Daedalus lived with his son Icarus in a tower of the palace, and King Minos made him invent weapons of war that would make his army and navy even more powerful than they already were.

Although Daedalus and Icarus had every comfort that they could ask for, the father longed to return home to Athens. His son hardly remembered his home city, but he too wanted to leave, because he longed to run and play in the open, rather than be in a tower all day.

Daedalus looked out over the waves of the Mediterranean Sea, and he realised that even if they could manage to slip out of the tower and find a little boat, they wouldn’t not be able to sail very far before they were spotted and caught by one of the ships of King Minos’s navy.

He thought for a long time about the best way to escape, and finally he came up with a plan, and this is what he did. He told King Minos that he needed feathers and wax for a new invention that he was working on. When these were brought to him, he took them up onto the roof of the tower. Here he arranged them in four lines, starting with the smallest fathers, and following those with the longer ones, so that they formed gentle curves. Then he began to stick the feathers together with thread in the middle and wax at the base. While he was working, Icarus played with the wax, squashing it between his finger and thumb, and when the feathers blew away in the breeze he ran after them and caught them.

When Daedalus had finished, he showed Icarus his work. He had made the feathers into two pairs of wings. He fastened the larger pair to his arms, and began to flap them until his feet took off from the floor and he began to hover in mid air. Icarus laughed with delight and could not wait to try out the smaller pair of wings. Over the next few days father and son both practised with them until little Icaraus was almost as good at flying as his father.

Then one morning Deadalus said to Icarus:

“Now Son, we are ready to leave this island for good. We shall fly home to Athens. But although you are now quite good at flying, you must not forget that it can be very dangerous. So listen to my instructions and be sure to follow then to the letter. At all times follow me, for I will find the way home. Do not veer off on a different flight path, or you will soon be lost. And do not fly too low, or your wings will fill with moisture from the waves and they will become too heavy you will sink down. Nor should you fly too high, or the sun will heat the wax and your wings will fall apart. Have you understood all that I have said?”

Little Icarus nodded to show his father that he had understood. And then Daedalus led his son up onto the battlements of the tower, and like a bird leading her fledglings from the nest for the first time, he jumped into mid air and flapped his wings, and Icarus followed soon after.

If a fisherman or a shepherd had looked up just then, he would have seen two very unusual birds hovering above the waves. No doubt he would have thought that they had caught sight of two winged gods : For who could have believed that a mortal father and son had mastered the art of flight?

Over the seas they sailed, and at first Icarus felt frightened for he had never ventured very far in his practice flights. But soon he found that he was really good at flying. In fact, it was the most tremendous fun you could ever have. He began to swoop up and down with the sea gulls. Wow! It was amazing ! His father turned round and called:

“Icraus, Take Care!” and for a while after that Icraus obeyed his father and flapped along behind him. But then his wings caught a warm air current, and he found that he could soar along and upwards almost without any effort. This was the life ! He was floating ever so high above the waves and the ships down below were like tiny little specks. His father called up to him

“Icarus, remember what I told you. Come down right now!” But Icarus could not hear, and his father could not catch up with him.

Icarus was way too close to the sun, and soon the wax that held the feathers together began to melt. Gradually his wings began to loose their shape, and some of the feathers even began to fall off. Icarus flapped his arms frantically, but it was too late. He had lost the power of flight and down he plunged into the sea.

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A touching and adventurous story about how Prince Bertie had a lion as a pet when he was still a boy-prince. With a nod of acknowledgment to Christian the Lion (YouTube).

More Bertie Stories…

Read by Natasha. Duration 19.57

I was walking along by the Palace Pond when I heard Tim the Tadpole’s squeaky voice saying: “Bertie can I have a puppy? Oh please Bertie. I would so love to have a pet to play with.”

Bertie was looking a bit stumped for a reply, because he doesn’t like to say “no” , but he can’t always do what Tim wants. Even though he used to be a prince, he can’t do everything. In fact, now that he’s a frog, most things are more difficult than ever: Except for hopping. And catching flies with his tongue.

But before Bertie could explain to Tim why it’s tricky for a tadpole to keep a puppy, Colin the Carp butted in:

“Oh Dear. Is there no end to the silly questions of little tadpoles? You can’t have a pet that’s bigger than yourself. If you had a puppy, you would be the puppy’s pet – or his breakfast.”

“Oh yes you can have a pet that’s bigger than yourself,” said Bertie. “The Queen once had a camel and that was even bigger than her majesty.”

“Well you can’t have a pet that’s big enough to eat you,” said Colin. “And Tim wouldn’t even make a light snack for a puppy. He would be like little morsel on the end of his tongue.”

“Oh yes you can have a pet that’s big enough to eat you,” said Bertie. “When I was a prince, I had a Lion for a pet.”

‘Rubbish!” said Colin. “You’re just making up stories again,”

“Well I’m allowed to make up stories, “ said Bertie, “Because that’s what I’m best at. But this one happens to be true.”

And then Bertie told all the pond life the story of how he had a lion as a pet. I stopped to listen because it sounded jolly interesting..

One time when Bertie was still a small princeling, he went with his mother to the pet shop. This all happened in the good old days before the Wicked Queen took over and turned Bertie into a frog. Bertie’s mother was much nicer, all though a little bit eccentric, which meant that her ideas were sometimes out of the ordinary. She wanted to buy a camel because she thought it would look interesting roaming around the palace grounds. The shopkeeper considered himself to be a bit of a whit, so he said to the Queen:

“Ah yes Ma’am, a camel. Will that be one hump or two?”

The Queen gave the shopkeeper one of her stares, as if she meant his head to be chopped off. So he stuttered.

“Of course Ma’am. I do so apologise. Right now we are out of camels. But we do have all sorts of interesting animals fresh in from Africa. For instance, we have handsome lion cub. And a lion is rather more royal than a camel if you don’t mind me saying so.”

The Queen was about to say: “You silly little man! Lions are for statues, not pets” but Prince Bertie had already run over to the cub’s corner of the shop. He was so small, fluffy and cute, and he also looked just a bit sad to be living in a box. He gave Berte a tiny little roar like:

“Rawwwww !”

And so Bertie said:

“Mummy Mummy. Do let’s have a lion cub. I promise I’ll look after him all by myself. Honest I will. I’ll keep him with me always and we’ll be bestest friends.”

Bertie’s mother sometimes seemed a bit fierce, but she was a big softie really, and she thought that the lion cub looked very cute and harmless too. So she gave the shopkeeper a gold coin and they took the cub home to the Palace.

Bertie called him Tiddles because he thought that was a funny name for a lion. The Queen said that it was alright for friends to call him Tiddles, but that he would have to have an official name too for special occasions. So she said that his proper name would be Leopold the First.

Leopold the First, or Tiddles as everybody called him, loved living in the palace. At night he slept in Bertie’s bed where he looked just like a fluffy toy lion. During the day he liked sitting on the roof and watching everyone come and go. Up there, he looked just like a statue of a lion, until he started to move and prowl along the battlements – which gave anyone who noticed a big surprise. At other times he went for walks around the palace grounds, and everyone agreed that he was far more interesting and royal than a camel would ever have been.

For breakfast, Tiddles ate raw steak. For lunch he ate raw steak. And for supper he ate raw steak.

And Tiddles grew. And he grew. And he became quite big.

But however big he became, he still loved Bertie. When he saw Bertie coming home from School, he would leap off the roof of the palace into the branches of a big oak tree, then he would climb down and bound up the drive to greet Bertie. He would jump up and hug him with his paws and lick his face. And then they would run into the grounds and play soccer together. Tiddles was great at dribbling the ball with his nose. Though one day when he was hungry he ate Bertie’s best football boots, but Bertie didn’t mind because he loved Tiddles so very much.

Anther game they liked playing was frightening the Royal Nanny. Tiddles and Bertie would both hide behind the curtains, and when they heard her coming along calling :

“Bertie. It’s way past your bedtime young prince!” The would both leap out and roar like this

RAAWWWWWWWWW!

And she would be so frightened that she would run off to her room and Bertie and Tiddles could say up for another half an hour and play.

But one day the King said to Bertie over breakfast:

“That cub of yours has become quite a lion. He’s already growing a mane. It’s time he went to the zoo.”

“The zoo!” said Bertie. “You can’t put Tiddles behind bars! And besides I love him ! You should think of my feelings too Daddy!”

Of course he king didn’t want to make Bertie sad, so he agreed that Tiddles could live in the palace a little longer. But then one day Tiddles did something that made the king cross. Very cross indeed.

He had just appointed a new prime minister. The Prime Minister and all the grandest and most important people in the land came to see the King in the palace.

And Tiddles was waiting for them. By now Tiddles wasn’t quite a grown-up lion but he was no longer a cub. By the standards of cats he was big. Well actually, he was huge. And if you didn’t know him, you would be quite scared to meet him. In fact, you would be terrified.

A big velvet curtain hung behind the thrown, and sometimes Tiddles liked to sleep behind it. It was his hideaway place.

When the new ministers trooped into the thrown room to meet the King, three musicians sounded their trumpets :

The sound woke up Tiddles and he thought that there would be a party with lots of music and games. So he strolled out from behind the curtains, stretched out his body, and then turned around to lick his bottom. In actual fact, he didn’t do anything very frightening at all.

But the ministers were frightened.

The Minister of War climbed out of the window and jumped into a rose bush where he tore his trousers on the thorns. The prime minister had more metal than that, and he picked up a chair and held it out in front of himself like a lion tamer. Tiddles yawned and showed all his teeth. That was too much, the whole government including the Prime Minister leapt out of the widows.

The king was furious because they trampled all over his roses. He decided that he didn’t like the Government after all, so he sacked the lot of them and appointed some new ministers.
The next day the newspapers ran headlines like:

King throws ministers to the lions

And

Lion-Taming Prime Minister Gets The Sack.

The king was furious when he read the papers, and he resolved that Tiddles must go immediately. The new prime minister, who had replaced the old one who had run away from Tiddles, said he thought that the best place for a lion would be Africa. In fact, everyone in the palace who loved Tiddles – and that was everyone except the Royal Nanny- all agree that it would be a wonderful thing to set him free in the wild where he could live the life of a real lion.

And so that’s what happened. The Minister for Nature put Tiddles on a flight to Africa. Before the plane left the tarmac, Prince Bertie came on board to give his pet a special goodbye hug. Then the plane flew Tiddles to Tanzania in East Africa . First he lived in a special sanctuary for lions. Then they released him into the wild. Bertie knew that things had turned out how they should, though he was very sad that he would never see his best friend again.

Three years later, the Royal Family chose a very special holiday. They went on Safari in East Africa. They travelled across the open bush in four-wheel drive cars and saw all the wild animals. They had guides who carried guns just in case any creatures tried to attack them. At night they slept in tents under the stars.

One night they camped on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater. The King and Queen decided to rest for the next day before continuing their safari.

Bertie had become friendly with the chief guide whose name was Joshua. He asked Joshua if had ever heard of a lion who had lived in a palace and been released into the wild. And to Bertie’s surprise, Joshua said that of course everyone who worked in the game reserve had heard the story of the royal lion called Tiddles.

Now he was a big strong grown-up lion, and was the leader of his pride – which is like a group of lions .

He agreed to take Bertie the next morning to see Tiddles come down to his favorite watering hole. But he made Bertie promise to stay in the car, because Tiddles was a wild lion now and might be dangerous.

So Bertie got up at 5AM. Rosy red clouds still veiled the fierce African sun so that the air was still lovely and fresh. The great Ngorongoro crater was filled with mists so it looked like a witch’s cauldron. Then the treetops started emerge from the swirling brew. They got into the car and slowly drove down the winding route into the base of the crater. By now the sunlight was starting to play on the bark of the acacia trees. Zebra and deer were grazing in the long grass, always watching with their big glassy eyes for any suspicious movement that could be a big cat hunting for its breakfast.

Eventually they came to the watering hole where Joshua said that Tiddles like to come and drink sometimes. He didn’t come here every day, so they would need to be lucky.

And so they waited. And Bertie saw lots of beautiful pink flamingos. And he saw a hippo give the biggest yawn he had ever seen. And eventually the grass began to move and a big lion followed by three lionesses began to gamble down to the water. Although he was much bigger than when he had last seen him, Bertie knew right away that it was Tiddles. But Tiddles took no notice of the car. He was used to tourists and didn’t think to see who was inside. Instead he led his pride down to drink. Bertie wound down the window and called out “Tiddles” but still Tiddles didn’t hear him. So then Bertie did something very silly indeed. He forgot about Joshua’s warning, and he opened the door of the car and jumped out onto the ground. He started to walk towards Tiddles. Joshua immediately leapt out of the driver’s seat and trained his gun on Tiddles.

“You’re royal highness,” he said. “You had better get back into the car. Just come back slowly. Don’t run. If you run they will attack you.”

But Bertie carried on walking towards the lions and called out “Tiddles, Tiddles, don’t you remember me? I’m Bertie. Your best friend.”

Tiddles took his mouth up from the water and looked round at Bertie. He stared at him for about half a minute, and then he started to bound towards him, with a great cat like spring in his step. Joshua squeezed his trigger but his gun didn’t fire. Dust had blown up from the wheels of the car had got into the gun and jammed it. It all happened so fast. Bertie didn’t have time to be afraid or to regret not taking Joshua’s advice.

Tiddles feet took off from the ground. He flew towards Bertie, wrapped his paws around him, and licked his face. Then Bertie and Tiddles did a kind of dance under the acacia trees. The friends were united and over-joyed to see each other once again.

And that’s the story of how Bertie had a pet lion, set him free in the wild African bush, and then went out to meet him again. Bertie says that if you are ever near a wild animal you must be ever so careful and follow all the instructions that you are given. Wild animals are very beautiful but very dangerous.

And don’t forget, there are loads more stories at Storynory.com. We have stories about Bertie, both when he was a prince and now that he’s a frog. We have other original stories about Theo the Monkey, Katie the Witch, and Gladys the songwriter. And we have loads and loads of traditional fairy tales, myths and legends. So drop by soon and listen to another one soon. For now, from me, Natasha, Bye Bye !

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Theo The Monkey is not as bad as people say. Perhaps he's a bit naughty, but he means well. Still, when a new keeper, Mr Grabber, is put in charge of the monkey cage, he selects Theo to help him do something bad. At first, Theo thinks it's all a game, and only later does he realise that he is being used to help a gang of thieves. He consults Fucious, the Wise Old Monkey, for advice.

Read by Natasha. Duration 18.22.

The monkeys who lived in the cage with Theo didn't agree on many things, but they did agree on one: their keeper, Mr. Hartley, was an extremely nice man who was always kind to animals, especially monkeys.

He always made sure that they were never short of branches to swing on. He fed them on the best bananas, berries and nuts. When the baby monkeys were sick, he helped their mommies to take good care of them. And he even let the monkeys watch television in the evenings, well past closing time for the zoo.

Yes, Mr. Hartley was very popular with the monkeys. But he wasn't popular with Mr. Shingles. And that was a problem. Because Mr. Shingles was the head zoo keeper.

He didn't believe in being nice, unless it was strictly necessary. And he didn't like Mr. Hartely, because he was far too nice all round. So one day he called Mr. Hartley into his office and told him that he was being demoted - which meant he was going to do a less important job. From now on, Mr. Hartley would be in charge of the stick insects. The monkeys were going to have a new keeper who had been hand-picked for not being nice. His name was Mr. Grabber.

Mr. Grabber started work the following week. The first thing he did was to order the monkeys to tidy up their cage every day – or else.

At feeding time, he didn't give them the sweet bananas like the ones that Mr. Hartley used to give them. No, he did a deal with the local supermarket. He bought cheap bananas that were past their sell-by date - which meant they were too rotten for people to eat - but he said that they would do for a gang of monkeys. And as television, he banned it all together because he said that it only showed rubbish.

The monkeys weren't happy. But what could they do? They were prisoners in their own cage.
Mr. Shingles was very pleased with his new monkey keeper. He entirely approved of his strict methods. But still, he worried that even Mr. Grabber would have trouble with one particular monkey. And so he warned him all about Theo:

“He might look innocent, but he's a proper little blighter that one is. If he was a human, he would a criminal”, he said.

And Mr. Grabber made a note in his book: Theo - Criminal.

About a month went by, and one Sunday morning when the zoo was closed, Mr. Grabber came to the monkey cage and said to Theo:

“Right now my hairy friend. I'm taking you out for a very special treat.”

And then Theo went for a ride in the back of Mr. Grabber's van.

He didn't like that much, because Mr. Grabber drove very fast and not very straight and shook him about. Eventually they stopped, and Theo hopped out. He smelt grass and trees
Mr. Grabber led Theo by a collar and chain through a garden full of flowers and into a house. Upstairs, they met a man and a woman who were waiting for them in a big room that was almost empty. The only piece of furniture was a chest of drawers. Mr. Grabber undid Theo’s lead and said to the others:

“Now just stand back and watch what he does. If he finds it, he’ll get a banana.”

Theo wondered what “it” could be. He strolled around the room, and as there wasn't much else to do, he climbed up onto the chest of drawers. The top drawer was slightly open, so he stuck his paw into the gap and opened it some more. Inside he saw something shiny. It was a diamond necklace. Theo took it out and wrapped it around his foot. Then he scampered around the room shrieking
Oooh Ahha Ahha Ahha !

The woman took a banana out of her handbag and held it out to him.

“Clever little monkey, ” she said. “Give me the diamonds and I’ll give you the banana. That's a good swap now, isn't it?”

Theo hopped over to her, and the woman shrank back because he had big claws and sharp teeth. She held out the banana and Theo grabbed it . But he didn't give her the diamonds.

“Oi, that's not fair!” said the woman crossly. “It's just like a I thought. You can't trust a monkey to keep a deal.”

“Oh yes you can,” thought Theo to himself. And he unwrapped the necklace from his foot and gave it to the woman. The two men clapped and the woman smiled and gave him another banana. Theo felt very clever and pleased with himself.

Then, they all went into another room. This one was well furnished. Theo searched through all the drawers in all the furniture, and brought various objects over to the lady like some nail clippers, a can of deodorant, and a remote control. Each time the woman shook her head and gave the object back to him. Eventually he found a gold ring under the pillow on the bed. He brought this over to her and every one smiled and clapped. This time Mr. Grabber gave him something even better. A banana covered in chocolate. Theo was in monkey heaven.

After a few more practices at search and find game, Mr. Grabber said:
“There. I told you this monkey could do the business.”

After that, Mr. Grabber drove Theo back to the zoo. The other monkeys asked where he had been, but Theo didn't want to say in case they were jealous. Instead, he fell asleep and dreamed of chocolate covered bananas.

One evening, about a week later, Mr. Grabber again took Theo for another drive in the back of his van. Theo thought to himself:

“I expect that they are taking me to play that game again. I bet that this time I'll have to compete against some other monkeys, and if I win, the prize will be even bigger and even tastier. Yummeee !
Again they drove out of the town, and stopped outside the gate of a big house
The same man and woman as before were waiting for them. But this time they didn't go inside. Instead, they went around the side of the house, and Mr. Grabber said:

“Now Theo. You want a chocie banana don't you? Well you see that open window up there? All you have to do is to climb up the drainpipe, and in through that window, and find something nice and shiny like you did before. Bring it back to us, and we'll do a swap with you.”

Theo understood all this perfectly. He climbed up the drainpipe and through the window. It was dark inside, so he turned on a light. He saw that there were some interesting boxes on the dressing table. He opened up one and inside found a sparkling necklace. The other boxes had rings with jewels in them.

“I bet these are worth a whole crate of chocolate bananas” said Theo. And he went over to the window, and dropped them out onto the lawn.

Just as he was about to turn off the light and leave, he noticed another box by the bed. This one was even bigger than the others. He hopped over and opened it. Inside he found something wonderful.
Chocolates!

He started to stuff them into his mouth.

“Ooh Ooh, AAAhj Aaah ! “ he called out.

Out in the garden, Mr. Grabber and his accomplices were waiting and getting rather worried. What if Theo didn’t come down? They would have to leave him there, and the police might find him…. It could only mean trouble. Big trouble.

“I warned you not to trust a monkey,” said the woman.

But soon after she said that, Theo did come down the drainpipe. Everyone was very relieved.
Mr. Grabber took him back to the zoo, and hardly anyone noticed that he had been out, except for Fucious, who was a wise old monkey with silver hair. Theo was so excited that he couldn’t help telling Fucious what had happened. The wise old monkey shook his head and said:

“I fear that Mr. Grabber and his friends are up to no good. In the human world bananas are cheap and diamonds are expensive.”

“In the monkey world, bananas are beautiful and diamonds are useless. So it is a good swap for me.”
Fucious could see what Theo was thinking and he said: “And you must not forget too that it is wrong to steal. The owner of the diamonds will be very sad to lose her beautiful things.”

And Theo wondered if the lady would be more sad about losing her diamonds or her chocolates.

A week later, the owners of the house came back from holiday. The lady who owned the jewels was indeed extremely unhappy when she found that her precious diamonds and gold rings had been stolen.
“It’s all your fault,” she said to her husband. “I told you to check that the windows were closed before we left…. And the blighters even ate my chocolates. Look at my curtain … and the bed clothes… they are covered in strange chocolaty marks… like… like paw prints. And see these thick black hairs on my pillow…disgusting.”

The husband telephoned the police, who said that they would come round to take a statement in a few days time. Then a neighbour called in to say that while they had been away she had seen something very odd indeed. She had been walking down the lane one evening, when she looked up at their house, and she could swear that she saw a creature like a monkey climbing down the drainpipe. Now that was strange – but interesting all the same.

A week later, some policemen came to the zoo and said to Mr. Shingles:

“We have reason to believe that one of your monkeys has broken into a house and stolen some valuables, including diamonds and chocolates” said the policeman. “We checked our files and the name of one of your monkeys came up. Young Theodore. Seems like he has form. He was nicked last year for stealing chocolate.”

“Ah yes, that Theo’s your monkey.,” said Mr. Shingles. “I can’t say will be too sad to see the back of him”

Six police officers put on white suits and gloves and spent all day searching the monkeys’ cage. They found plenty of monkey poo, berry stones, and banana skins, but no diamonds.

Theodore was very relieved when the police officers left: Because it’s one thing to live in a cage in the zoo with all your friends, and quite another to live in a cell in a prison surrounded by criminals.
A few weeks later, Mr. Grabber changed his van for a bright red sports car. The wise old monkey said that meant he had sold the diamonds.

Theo was very puzzled by the way things had turned out:

“Oh wise one,” said Theo to Fucious: “If there is right and wrong in the world, how come Mr. Grabber has bought himself new sports car, and the lady is still missing her jewels and is very sad about what happened? Why didn’t the police find out that it was Mr. Grabber who stole the jewels?”

And Fucious, the wise old monkey, sat thinking for a while before saying:

“That is indeed the hardest question of all to answer, even after one has lived and seen the world for many a long year. I too often wonder why it is that bad people get away with doing wrong things. But believe me, young monkey, this story is not yet at an end. One day Mr. Grabber will grow too
bold with his success at wrong-doing, and then he will be caught.”

“And when will that day come? Asked Theo.

“We shall just have to wait and see,” said the wise old monkey.

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A short history of the Olympics especially for Tim The Tadpole.

Read by Natasha. Duration 10.18

As you may know, there’s a young tadpole who lives in the palace pond with prince Bertie the frog, and his name is Tim. Tim goes to the school for tadpoles, and at the end of every term the school always holds swimming races. Just recently, Tim was very excited because he came second in the backstroke race and he won a silver star. The only problem was that the star wouldn’t stick to him because he was too wet. But all the same, he was very pleased and when he saw Bertie he said
Yippeee ! I won a prize. I’m a champion swimmer !”

“Well done little Tim,” said Bertie, “ When you grow up to be a big green frog like me, you’ll win a medal in the Olympics !”

“Will I? Will I? “ asked Tim. “That’s Grrrreat ! I going to win a medal in the Olympics Er, Bertie, What’s the Olympics?”

“Ah yes,” said Bertie, who likes showing off his knowledge,” It’s when all the fastest, strongest, and most agile athletes from all over the world meet up and see whose best at each sport. It happens every year in a different country and everyone watches it on television.”

“Rubbish !” said Colin the Carp who had been overhearing this conversation. “Don’t go believing anything that comes from Bertie , In actual fact, The Olympics only happen once every four years.”
“Ah yes, didn’t I say that?” asked Bertie?

“No, you didn’t,” said Colin, “Because you’re ignorant.’

“Will I be ignorant too when I grow up?” asked Tim, who didn’t know what it meant. But nobody was listening. Tim didn’t like not being noticed, so he grew more excited and his voice grew more squeaky: “Bertie Bertie do tell me more about the Olympics because you used to be a prince and princes know everything… Why do they only happen every four years. That’s an awfully long time to wait…?
And Bertie said: “Well little Tim. As a matter of fact, Princes don’t know quite everything, but they can find out anything. And I’ll find out the whole history of the Olympics for you. In fact, I’ll ask Natasha about it right away.”

And so Bertie asked me to tell Tim the entire history of the Olympics. As I didn’t actually know it all, I went to the Palace Library to look it up. And so here is the History of the Olympics, especially for Tim.
The Olympics began over two and half thousand years ago in Ancient Greece. In those days Greece was made up of several different states including Athens, Sparta and Corinth, and they were often at war with each other.

But when the games were on, they held a truce, The greatest event was held at a place called Olympia, and that’s why the games were called the Olympics. They were held once every four years in honour of Zeus, Lord of all the Gods. But the Olympics weren’t the only important games – there were three other great festivals of sport too – which is why the Olympics only came round once in every four years.

The longest race and toughest race of all, the Marathon, also takes its name from ancient Greece. In 490 BC, the Greek states came together to fight off a vast and powerful army of invaders from the Person Empire. The battle took place at Marathon, and a soldier called Pheidippides, ran all the way back to the city of Athens. After he had given the people the news that they were saved, he died of exhaustion.

Eventually the ancient Olympics were abolished by the Roman Emperor, Theodosus the First, who was a Christian and didn’t like the games because of they were dedicated to a pagan god. But the Olympics were always remembered as a symbol of human achievement and peace.

Almost 1,500 years later, a French aristocrat called Pierre de Coubertin campaigned to restart the games in the cause of peace between nations.

The first modern Olympics were held in 1894 in Athens , the capital of Greece. The Greek hosts were delighted when the Marathon race was won by a Greek Shepherd, , Spyridon Louis.

The next games were hold in 1900 in Paris, which was at that time hosting a World Fair showing off all the most advanced inventions that people thought would change the world in the Twentieth Century. But the organisers decided to spread the games over five months, and so they lacked any focus and hardly got noticed.

The Oluympic Games continued to be held every four years, and they grew and grew in popularity. , In 1936, the Olympics were held in Berlin, the capital of Germany. The African American Jesse Owens won four gold medals for sprinting and long-jumping.

The games were held again in Germany, this time in Munich in 1972. In those days, the Olympics were almost seen as a kind of competition between the Soviet Union – which was the Communist empire of Russia – and te western world, especially the United States. Many of the Athletes of the Soviet Union, although brilliant at their sports, did not often smile very much in public. But one, a tiny young gymnast called Olga Korbut won the hearts of everyone on both sides of the divide with her charm and skill. She was the first person ever to do a backward somersault on the balance beam during a competition. On the American side, the mustachioed swimmer, Mark Spitz , won seven gold medals, and still holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympic games.

In 1980 the games were held in Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union. America refused to let its a athletes go to the games as a protest against the recent Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. But even without the Americans, the sport was memorable, especially the middle distance races in which the two English runners, Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe competed against each other for gold and glory. The two athletes really didn’t like each other – and their private differences added plenty of interest to the competition on the track.

In recent times, a big problem has been the suspicion that some athletes take drugs to make them stronger and faster. In 1988, in Seoul, Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal after he failed a test for drugs. At the Athens Olympics in 2004, 24 athletes were discovered to have taken drugs.
Now that China is growing in wealth and power, there is a hint of a return to the old East West Rivalry. But as in the times of Ancient Greece, most people see that it’s much better to compete in the sports arena than to fight outside it.

The modern games still keep the ideal of peace, harmony and good sportsmanship, even if they don’t always quite live up to it. History shows that it’s a real struggle for peace and sport to triumph over war and politics, but it’s a goal worth striving for.

And that’s the story of the Olympics – not quite the entire history – but I hope that both you and Tim found it interesting.

And don’t forget there are loads more stories at Storynory.com For now, from me, Natasha, Bye Bye!

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This is a very special story because Natasha not only tells it, but sings too !

If you heard the first part of our Girl Band story, Gladys and the chix, you'll know that Gladys has three sisters who have formed a band and want to be famous. Gladys isn't in the band because they say that she's too young and too Geeky. But she thinks that her sisters need her, because she's the brainiest.

Duration 12 Minutes. Read and sung by Natasha.

One Saturday morning, Mandy and Laura were sitting around the kitchen table drinking coffee and having an argument. Mandy thought that she ought to be the leader of the chiX, because she was the oldest, and more importantly, she was best at getting things organised. Laura thought that she should be the leader because she had friends in the music business.

“Kevin isn't in the music business,' said Mandy. “He's just a loser who sweeps up in a recording studio.”

“That's just like you,” said Laura, “You won't give anybody any credit unless it's yourself. Kevin's a studio producer and a musical whiz-kid.”

“Well just because you met the guy at a bus-stop doesn't mean that you're a musical genius too,” said Mandy

“Yeah, but I've got contacts. Besides, Kev said I've got a great voice,”

“Yeah, but Kev says that to all the girls. Besides, what this band needs is somebody to call the right shots and make the right decisions.”

“Exactly, that's why I should be leader, ” said Laura, “Because I know more about the music business than you do.”

Mandy pointed out that she was the one who had set up their web page on MySpace, and that Laura had been promising to ask her friend Kev for a recording session at his studio for two weeks now, and she still hadn't fixed it.

Laura said that was because Kev was super-busy recording lots of big starts, and he was fitting them in for free as a special favour for her. Still, she decided to give him a prompt. She took out her mobile phone and sent him a text message:

“Hey whiz-kid. Got time yet to give three gals a helping hand?”

And Kev texted back

“Sure, next week's looking good. Come over Tues.”

So the chiX had their first recording session set up for three day's time. When Gladdy heard. she pointed out that they didn't have a tune for their song, let alone any backing music.

“That's kev's job,” said Laura. “He just presses some buttons on his recording desk and pulls some levers. He's a genius at that sort of thing. He even made the diamond-girls sound half decent.”

Gladys tried to imagine the chiX turning up at the recording studio and asking Kevin to do everything for them. She thought it sounded a bit unlikely that he would just say, “sure girls, here's a number one hit single that I just wrote yesterday especially for you.”

“If it was that easy,” she said, “Everyone would be stars,”

“Yeah, but not everyone is mates with Kevin,” said Laura. “Besides, not everyone's got star quality like the chiX. ‘

After school on Tuesday evening, the girls took the train up to London. Gladys came too, because although she wasn't in the band, somebody had to look after her as she was still too young to be on her own at home. In fact, Gladys knew that she could look after herself better than the sisters, but that was how things were. When they got to London, they took the underground train to the station called Goodge Street which Laura said was in the swanky part of town. In fact, when they got out it looked pretty grotty to Gladys. Keven's studio was on the fifth floor of a tall office building. It was about the size of the their bathroom at home. Gladys watched how he kissed all three of her older sisters on both cheeks. He didn't seem to notice her at all.

‘Well what have you got girls?” asked Kevin. And Laura showed him the words that Glady had written.

“Nice,” he said when he had read them. “And what' the music?”

“A right, ” said Laura, “We were kind of hoping that you'd help us out with that bit. See as you're such a whiz-kid.”

Kevin blinked. Gladys could see that he was trying not to look too surprised. After a pause he said.

“Right girls. Go behind the sound-proof glass and put some headphones on. I'll play you some loops, and we'll see if we can build up a sound just for you.”

Gladys knew that loops were some drum beats and other bits of music that were already recorded on the computer. They were called loops because they went round and round, and when you got to the end of say 30 seconds, they music started at the beginning again.

She had been experimenting with some loops at home , and she had also been recording some music of her own using an electronic keyboard. After she had put the notes onto the computer, she could make them sound like almost any instrument.

Kevin pressed a drum beat.

(music plays)

‘Too grungy,” said Laura through the microphone. “The chiX are kind of a bit funkier than that.”

So Kevin let them here something a bit more polished”

(music plays)

“Not Really” said Mandy. “The chiX are kind of a mix of different musical styles and influences, if you see what I mean.”

“Yeah find us something that's just right.” said Sam.

And so Kevin looked at the computer and scrolled through a few more tracks till he found one thing thought they might like.

“How about this one girls” he asked?

(music plays)

“Yikes ! Are you sure your mate knows what he's doing?” asked Mandy to Laura. She didn't realise that the microphone was switched on and Kevin could hear her. Gladys thought she could see hot steam coming out of his ears.

She said:

“Ah-hum. Kevin. The girls were just shy about saying they've got some music. I brought it here on this disk.” And she handed him a CD with the music she had made at home. Of course, the other sisters hadn't heard it.

Kevin put the CD on the player

(music plays)

The sisters heard the music through their headphones and started to groove around.

“Yeah, that's more like, it Kev,|” said Laura. “We could do something with that.”

And Gladys smiled to herself. She decided it would be better not to tell them yet that it was her music that they liked.

She started to help Kevin mix in some more music into the track.

“Hey Gladdy, leave Kevin alone and let him get on with his job,” said Mandy. But Kevin replied that he was alright about showing Gladys how his mixing desk worked.

Much later that evening, after quite a few tries, the chiX made the first song of their career. And though they didn't know it yet, the music was written by Gladys with only a little help from Kevin.

And that's the story of Gladys the Music Maker.

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Read by Natasha. Duration 12.22

More than 800 years ago, a coach and horses was passing through Sherwood Forrest. The passengers inside the carriage were a rich and important family, and they were guarded by four soldiers riding on horseback, two out in front, and two behind. Even so, when they came to the part of the forrest known as Greenwood, the father became nervous, because he knew that it was thick with thieves and bandits. His wife noticed that his finger was tapping on his knee, and she put her hand on top of his to calm his nerves. His beautiful daughter, whose name was Marian, closed her eyes and managed to fall asleep to the rocking of the carriage.

“If the bandits attack,” thought the father, “I will give up my gold. But I only pray that they do not touch a hair on the head of my dear Marian !”

And then what he feared, happened. At first, the family did not even realise that they were being attacked. The robbers jumped down from the trees above, and pulled the soldiers off their horses and onto the ground. It was all so skillfully planned that the guards were over-powered in less than a minute. The coach driver tried to whip up the horses to make them fly forward - and that alerted the family - but it was useless for a tree lay across the road and he had to pull them up sharp with a jolt. They were caught in a trap.

The father expected to hear the age old cry of highwaymen “Stand and Deliver” - which meant that they were to get out of the carriage and hand over their valuables. But instead, there was a polite tap on the door of the carriage, and a voice said;

“Dear Sir, be so kind as to step outside.”

“Ah, they mock me,” he said to his wife.”.

As his foot set down on the road, he noticed that his knee was wobbling. He found himself facing a young man dressed in green. Behind him stood six men, dressed in the same colour, and armed with swords and long bows.

“Here,” said the father, “Take this purse of gold, Only, I beg you, do not touch my wife or daughter. I swear by St. Mary and all that is sacred that they have no jewels or valuables about their persons.”

In fact, this was not true. His wife was at that moment busy stuffing her jewels down the front of her dress.

“Good Gracious!' said the leader of the bandits. “What do you take me for?” I would do no harm to a lady !”

At that moment, Maid Marian jumped down out of the carriage.

“What are you doing? cried the father. Get back dear. This instant.”

But Maid Marian was a high spirited young lady with a fiery temper. She went up to the bandit leader and slapped him around the face.

“Take that you coward,” she said. “Give me a sword and I'll show you a fight.”

The father was horrified, for he had no idea that his daughter practiced fencing with her brothers, and was more skilled with a sword than any of them. She was no mean shot with a long bow and arrow too - but he had no inkling of that either.

The robber touched the side of his face where she had swiped him. “I would that it were a kiss,” he said, “But your hand stings sweetly all the same. Now my beautiful amazon, spare your temper. In return for the gold your father has just given me - and for which I am truly grateful - my men shall ride behind your carriage to the edge of the forest and ensure that no criminals attack you - for I'm sorry to say that this forrest is full of the worst sort of people.'

Maid Marian slapped him again round the face, and then got back into the carriage with hot tears in her eyes. But the bandits were true to their word, and gave the family their protection to the edge of the forrest. Before they parted, the leader of the robbers once more tapped on the door of the carriage. He wished his victims safe journey to their home.

“And my lady,” he said to Maid Marian, “I so desire to have the pleasure of setting eyes on you once again. Pray, do tell me your name.”

At first she did not want to reply, but then she said softly, “Marian.” And the robber said,

“Well dear Marian. This evening in Greenwood you have won the heart of Robin Hood,” and with that he jumped on his horse and sped away.

“The cheek of it!” said the mother. But the father was almost relieved, for often bandits did far more harm to travelers than they had received.

Two months went past, and Marian's father and mother decided that it was time for her to wed. They began talks with a rich lord whose eldest son was good looking, but extremely arrogant. When they told Marian that she must marry him, she was furious:

“Do I not have any say in the matter?” she said.

“My dear,” said her father, “You are young and do not know what is best for you.”

But Marian's character was not the sort that could be forced to do anything unless she wanted it herself. And so she resolved to run away. She knew that many of the local boys from poor families had gone to Sherwood Forrest and become outlaws. Some were robbers, but others lived by hunting the king's deer, which was against the law. She cut her own hair, dressed herself as a paige boy, armed herself with sword and a long bow, and rode off on the fastest horse in her father's stable.

Nobody knew better than her that it was dangerous to ride through the forest, especially alone, but she did not care because she was so angry at thought of marrying a man she did not love, or even like.

“If I meet robbers, I shall fight them, ” she said to herself, “And if they kill me, my life will be little loss to me, for I am so unhappy in my heart.'

She rode deep into the woods Eventually, she found a clearing in which there stood an old log-cabbin. It was half fallen down, but she thought that she would mend it and live there. She would survive by hunting and fishing. As she was hungry, she sat down to eat the bread and cheese that she had bought with her. While she was doing this, she heard footsteps, and she jumped to her feet, her sword in hand. A man appeared, dressed in green, and she recognised him right away as Robin Hood who had attacked her family.

“Hold back,” she called out, pointing her sword at him, “for if you try to rob me it will cost you your life.”

Robin was interested to find this spirited lad with no sign of any bristle on his chin.

“Young boy,” he said, “Put down your sword, for I mean you know harm. I am just an innocent forester, and I came here to mend my cabin.”

“No you're not,” said Marian, “You're Robin Hood, the notorious outlaw. Take one step closer, and I'll run you through.”

For in truth, what made Marian so angry was that he had not recognised her. “So much for his sweet words about winning his heart, ” she said to himself. “It was all meaningless hot air. I'll show him.”

Seeing the sword painting dangerously towards him, Robin drew his own sword, meaning to use it to push Marian's aside, but she saw what was happening and thrust forward. He only just managed to deflect her sword from cutting his ear.

And then they fought. They clashed, They thrust, they parried, they twirled. Marian drew blood from Robin's cheek, and that enflamed his anger. Then he fought back with all his strength, but she was nibble footed and skilled; even so, she took a cut above her eye. Now she was blinded by her own blood, and she was cutting wildly about her with her sword. Robin managed to get behind her and wrestle her to the ground.

“Gently, gently,” he was saying. “Calm yourself now. Time to stop fighting and be friends. I could use a boy like you in my band of followers.”

He allowed Marian to turn round and now he was looking into her face.

“You faithless man,” she said, “You do not know me,”

But he did, And he kissed her on the lips.

And that's the story of how Maid Marian came to join Robin Hood and his men in Sherwood Forrest.

Copyright Version - Storynory

Twister Audio

Natasha introduces our latest podcast, Twister

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Read by Natasha. Duration 19.50 (new recording)

There was once upon a time a poor widow who had an only son named Jack, and a cow named Milky-White. And all they had to live on was the milk the cow gave every morning, which they carried to the market and sold. But one morning Milky-White gave no milk.

“What shall we do, what shall we do?” said the widow, wringing her hands.

“Cheer up, mother, I'll go and get work somewhere,” said Jack.

“We've tried that before, and nobody would take you,” said his mother. “We must sell Milky-White and with the money start a shop, or something.”

“All right, mother,” says Jack. “It's market day today, and I'll soon sell Milky-White, and then we'll see what we can do.”

So he took the cow, and off he started. He hadn't gone far when he met a funny-looking old man, who said to him, “Good morning, Jack.”

“Good morning to you,” said Jack, and wondered how he knew his name.

“Well, Jack, and where are you off to?” said the man.

“I'm going to market to sell our cow there.”

“Oh, you look the proper sort of chap to sell cows,” said the man. “I wonder if you know how many beans make five.”

“Two in each hand and one in your mouth,” says Jack, as sharp as a needle.

“Right you are,” says the man, “and here they are, the very beans themselves,” he went on, pulling out of his pocket a number of strange-looking beans. “As you are so sharp,” says he, “I don't mind doing a swap with you — your cow for these beans.”

“Go along,” says Jack. “You take me for a fool!”

“Ah! You don't know what these beans are,” said the man. “If you plant them overnight, by morning they grow right up to the sky.”

“Really?” said Jack. “You don't say so.”

“Yes, that is so. And if it doesn't turn out to be true you can have your cow back.”

“Right,” says Jack, and hands him over Milky-White and pockets the beans.

Back home goes Jack and says to his mother:

“You'll never guess mother what I got for Milky-White.”

And his mother became very excited:

“Five pounds? Ten? Fifteen? No, it can't be twenty.”

“I told you you couldn't guess. What do you say to these beans? They're magical. Plant them overnight and — ”

“What!” says Jack's mother. “Have you been such a fool, such a dolt, such an idiot? Take that! Take that! Take that! And as for your precious beans here they go out of the window. And now off with you to bed. Not a sup shall you drink, and not a bit shall you swallow this very night.”

So Jack went upstairs to his little room in the attic, and sad and sorry he was, to be sure.

At last he dropped off to sleep.

When he woke up, the room looked so funny. The sun was shining into part of it, and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. So Jack jumped up and went to the window. And what do you think he saw? Why, the beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a giant beanstalk which went up and up and up till it reached the sky. So the man spoke truth after all.

The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack's window, so all he had to do was to open it and give a jump onto the beanstalk which ran up just like a big ladder. So Jack climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed till at last he reached the sky. And when he got there he found a long broad road going as straight as a dart. So he walked along, and he walked along, and he walked along till he came to a great big tall house, and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman.

“Good morning, ma'am,” says Jack, quite polite-like. “Could you be so kind as to give mesome breakfast?” For he was as hungry as a hunter.

“It's breakfast you want, is it?” says the great big tall woman. “It's breakfast you'll be if you don't move off from here. My man is an ogre and there's nothing he likes better than boys broiled on toast. You'd better be moving on or he'll be coming.”

“Oh! please, mum, do give me something to eat, mum. I've had nothing to eat since yesterday morning, really and truly, mum,” says Jack. “I may as well be broiled as die of hunger.”

Well, the ogre's wife was not half so bad after all. So she took Jack into the kitchen, and gave him a hunk of bread and cheese and a jug of milk. But Jack hadn't half finished these when thump! thump! thump! the whole house began to tremble with the noise of someone coming.

“Goodness gracious me! It's my old man,” said the ogre's wife. “What on earth shall I do? Come along quick and jump in here.” And she bundled Jack into the oven just as the ogre came in.

He was a big one, to be sure. At his belt he had three calves strung up by the heels, and he unhooked them and threw them down on the table and said:

Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead,
I'll have his bones to grind my bread.”

“Nonsense, dear,” said his wife. “You' re dreaming. Or perhaps you smell the scraps of that little boy you liked so much for yesterday's dinner. Here, you go and have a wash and tidy up, and by the time you come back your breakfast'll be ready for you.”

So off the ogre went, and Jack was just going to jump out of the oven and run away when the woman told him: “Wait till he's asleep. He always has a doze after breakfast.”

Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he goes to a big chest and takes out a couple of bags of gold, and down he sits and counts till at last his head began to nod and he began to snore till the whole house shook again.

Then Jack crept out on tiptoe from his oven, and as he was passing the ogre, he took one of the bags of gold under his arm, and off he pelters till he came to the beanstalk, and then he threw down the bag of gold, which, of course, fell into his mother's garden, and then he climbed down and climbed down till at last he got home and told his mother and showed her the gold and said, “Well, mother, wasn't I right about the beans? They are really magical, you see.”

So they lived on the bag of gold for some time, but at last they came to the end of it, and Jack made up his mind to try his luck once more at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning he rose up early, and got onto the beanstalk, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed till at last he came out onto the road again and up to the great tall house he had been to before. There, sure enough, was the great tall woman a-standing on the doorstep.

“Good morning, mum,” says Jack, as bold as brass, “could you be so good as to give me something to eat?”

“Go away, my boy,” said the big tall woman, “or else my man will eat you up for breakfast. But aren't you the youngster who came here once before? Do you know, that very day my man missed one of his bags of gold.”

“That's strange, mum,” said Jack, “I dare say I could tell you something about that, but I'm so hungry I can't speak till I've had something to eat.”

Well, the big tall woman was so curious that she took him in and gave him something to eat. But he had scarcely begun munching it as slowly as he could when thump! thump! they heard the giant's footstep, and his wife hid Jack away in the oven.

All happened as it did before. In came the ogre as he did before, said, “Fee-fi-fo-fum,” and had his breakfast off three broiled oxen.

Then he said, “Wife, the hen that lays the golden eggs.” So she brought it, and the ogre said, “Lay,” and it laid an egg all of gold. And then the ogre began to nod his head, and to snore till the house shook.

Then Jack crept out of the oven on tiptoe and caught hold of the golden hen, and was off before you could say “Jack Robinson.” But this time the hen gave a cackle which woke the ogre, and just as Jack got out of the house he heard him calling, “Wife, wife, what have you done with my golden hen?”

And the wife said, “Why, my dear?”

But that was all Jack heard, for he rushed off to the beanstalk and climbed down like a house on fire. And when he got home he showed his mother the wonderful hen, and said “Lay” to it; and it laid a golden egg every time he said “Lay.”

Well it wasn't long before Jack made up his mind to have another try at his luck up there at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning he rose up early and got to the beanstalk, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed till he got to the top.

But this time he knew better than to go straight to the ogre's house. And when he got near it, he waited behind a bush till he saw the ogre's wife come out with a pail to get some water, and then he crept into the house and got into a big copper pot. He hadn't been there long when he heard thump! thump! thump! as before, and in came the ogre and his wife.

“Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman,” cried out the ogre. “I smell him, wife, I smell him.”

“Do you, my dearie?” says the ogre's wife. “Then, if it's that little rogue that stole your gold and the hen that laid the golden eggs he's sure to have got into the oven.” And they both rushed to the oven.

But Jack wasn't there, luckily.

So the ogre sat down to the breakfast and ate it, but every now and then he would mutter, “Well, I could have sworn –” and he'd get up and search the larder and the cupboards and everything, only, luckily, he didn't think of the copper pot.

After breakfast was over, the ogre called out, “Wife, wife, bring me my golden harp.”

So she brought it and put it on the table before him. Then he said, “Sing!” and the golden harp sang most beautifully. And it went on singing till the ogre fell asleep, and commenced to snore like thunder.

Then Jack lifted up the copper lid very quietly and got down like a mouse and crept on hands and knees till he came to the table, when up he crawled, caught hold of the golden harp and dashed with it towards the door.

But the harp called out quite loud, “Master! Master!” and the ogre woke up just in time to see Jack running off with his harp.

Jack ran as fast as he could, and the ogre came rushing after, and would soon have caught him, only Jack had a start and dodged him a bit and knew where he was going. When he got to the beanstalk the ogre was not more than twenty yards away when suddenly he saw Jack disappear. And when he came to the end of the road he saw Jack underneath climbing down for dear life. Well, the ogre didn't like trusting himself to such a ladder, and he stood and waited, so Jack got another start.

But just then the harp cried out, “Master! Master!” and the ogre swung himself down onto the beanstalk, which shook with his weight. Down climbs Jack, and after him climbed the ogre.

By this time Jack had climbed down and climbed down and climbed down till he was very nearly home. So he called out, “Mother! Mother! bring me an ax, bring me an ax.” And his mother came rushing out with the ax in her hand, but when she came to the beanstalk she stood stock still with fright, for there she saw the ogre with his legs just through the clouds.

But Jack jumped down and got hold of the ax and gave a chop at the beanstalk which cut it half in two. The ogre felt the beanstalk shake and quiver, so he stopped to see what was the matter. Then Jack gave another chop with the ax, and the beanstalk was cut in two and began to topple over. Then the ogre fell down and broke his crown, and the beanstalk came toppling after.

Then Jack showed his mother his golden harp, and what with showing that and selling the golden eggs, Jack and his mother became very rich, and he married a great princess, and they lived happy ever after.