A Bird of Paradise isn't actually a bird. It's a plant that looks like an exotic bird. Or is it?

A lush, sleepy story about a star who leaves the nest and falls to Earth. Read and sung by Jana for Storynory - and written by Bertie.

We'd be very happy if you support us! 
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The Fox Princess

Hello, this is Jana, and I'm here with one of our Small Stories.  It's about a fox who can change shape.  And although it's very much set in London, stories of shape-shifting foxes originally come from Korea and the Far East 

 

A fox went to watch the Changing of the Guard.

She poked her nose through the railings of the palace.

A boy pointed and called out,
"Fox!"

The fox did not want a guard to spot her.

So she turned into a princess.

 

The guard opened the gate and bowed.

Inside the palace, the red-headed princess gazed around.

Everything was shiny and grand.

Then she smelt something nice.

She followed her nose to the kitchen.

 

The cook looked up.

"What would you like, Your Highness?" he asked.

She replied,
"Chicken wings?
And a saucer of warm milk."

 

She went upstairs to a bedroom.

A footman brought a plate of chicken wings
and a saucer of warm milk.

She ate every last bite and lapped up the milk.

After that, she went downstairs again.

A young princeling smiled at her.

"Let's play hide and seek," he said.

 

She closed her eyes and counted to twenty.

She opened them.  She sniffed.
And she found him hiding under the grand piano.

They went out into the garden.

The princeling closed his eyes and counted to 20.

The princess turned back into a fox
and hid under the shed.

 

The princeling searched.

He looked behind the trees
and inside the summer house.

But he could not find her.

 

Then the King's dogs came into the garden.

The fox felt scared.

She ran.

Across the grass,
through the palace,
and out of the front gates.

A guard shouted,
"Fox!"

But she was gone.

Back to the park.

 

And that was the Small Story of the Fox Princess, written by Bertie, and read by me, Jana. 

And please don't forget, if you support us financially, via PaPal, Patreon or any other way, you can ask us for a first name shout out. And you can take part in our monthly writing competitions.  See Storynory for details. 

 

For now, from me, Jana, goodbye.

Song
The Fox Princess

Count to twenty. Don't look around.
Listen out -  for the slightest  sound.
Feel a  shimmer, or a spark ?
A rusty streak, through the dark .

Shape shifts, flame flicks, 

Moonlight shines, on your skin 

Is this a game 

Or the world we are living in

 

You're so magical?
Wild at heart.
Princess of nowhere ?
Master of art.

 

You're so magical?
Seen, then gone.
Only a pawmark
Lingering on.

You're so magical?
Changing your face.
Fairytale figure,
Leaving no trace.

You're so magical?
Fleet and free.
Princess of maybe ?
Who could you be?

A bear was walking down the road.

He passed by a house and smelt a nice smell.

He stopped.

He sniffed.

He looked through the window.

A little girl was eating her breakfast.

This is a "small Story" for our younger listeners, but we hope if you are a little bit older you will also find it amusing.  We will be doing a few more of these.  

Support us! 
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The results are in!  Jana reads the winning entries from our Writing Competition. We asked you to write about Birthdays, good birthdays, disastrous birthdays, any type of birthday. And here are the amazing winning entries.  Of course kids who grow up listening to Storynory are wizards with words!  
Support Storynory to enter our next competition - the next competition is on the subject of SNOW  - send your snowy stories to us by February 14. 
https://www.storynory.com/support-us/  Open to supporters. 

It's New Year in the Jungle and the animals are playing party games including Charades. The Bear has to pretend to be a flamingo. Do you think the animals will guess his secret?

Support Storynory for a name shout out and for entry into our next writing competition:

https://www.storynory.com/support-us/

The Cafe by the Sea is closed for Christmas. The humans are happy opening presents and eating food. But who can spare a crumb for the mice who live in the cafe?

Thanks to our sponsor. Listen to Wink: Stories for Better Bedtimes - https://lnk.to/wink-bedtime-storiesLA

We revisit London's Luxurious - and haunted - Dutch Hotel. A famous actress is staying at the hotel. She asks Yogi and Nafsi to time-travel back to 1972 to meet her younger self and put right a wrong. 

If you have younger kids, you'll enjoy our Sponsor's calming bedtime podcast.

Listen to Wink: Stories for Better Bedtimes - https://lnk.to/wink-bedtime-storiesLA.

It's Halloween on the pond, and Tim the Tadpole is feeling scared. A Story from our archive to celebrate 20 years of Storynory! - Read by Natasha and written by Bertie. Cover art by Sophie Green.Look out for our new website coming up soon.

This is Jana and I'm here with one of fairy tale land's most famous characters: Puss in Boots. He's the hero of many a holiday pantomime here in Britain. He's appeared as a character in the film Shrek and he's even starred in his own movie. But this version is a bit older than the movie. It was written in 1891 by JL Marks. Our hero is a very clever cat who likes to dress up as a human and walk around in a pair of boots. He performs all sorts of tricks to make his master rich. I would like a cat like that - and I'm sure you would too.

Jake and his family visit a Welsh farm for there holiday.  A man with a metal detector is looking for buried treasure on the farm. But Jake's best friend Birdy and a pig called the Emperor have even better noses for treasure! 

The Moon

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Read by Richard Scott

THE MOON has a face like the clock in the hall;

She shines on thieves on the garden wall,

On streets and fields and harbour quays,

And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,

The howling dog by the door of the house,

The bat that lies in bed at noon,

All love to be out by the light of the moon.

But all of the things that belong to the day

Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;

And flowers and children close their eyes

Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.

And that was the moon, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I hoped you enjoyed that poem which conjures up the night time in some very visual verses.

A pair of city mice visit the seaside cafe and invite Jimmy and Judith to the Big City! They make the journey and meet automatic vacuum cleaners and cats with fancy titles.

The Cafe by the Sea needs a new Cake Baker. The owner runs a competition to chose the right baker for the job. All the customers can vote for their favourite cake. Natrually the mice who live in the cafe want to vote for their favourite cake-maker.

Two fairy tales from Southern China. In the first, a man is lost in the jungle, and is crowned King of the Apes. The second is a little like a romantic fairy tale that is well known in the west. 

Sponsored by Kaboom! Kaboom: An Audio Adventure Podcast
An audio adventure podcast for the whole family to enjoy together

An Indian story that features a variety of characters, including a Tiger, a buffalo, a tree, and a road. Yes, that's an unusual collection, and there are more too. 

A kind hearted gentleman sets a tiger free.  A good deed deserves at least a nice thank you, you might think. But that is not what the tiger has in mind. 

By ELIZA COOK ( 1818-1889 ) Read by Natasha A MOUSE found a beautiful piece of plum cake, The richest and sweetest that mortal could make; 'Twas heavy with citron and fragrant with spice, And covered with sugar all sparkling as ice.

Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?

Jake is going is going on a skiiing holiday. Mum is like a "swan on skiis" and Dad is like a Giraffe on stilts. What could possbily go wrong? And will Jake's best friend Birdy, the black crow, find is way out to the skii resort to help? Check out the Kaboom! Podcast too.

Two fun fables from India's Panchatantra - The Lion the Cave and the Jackal . The Bedbug and the Flea. And we introduce you to a great adventure podcast, Kaboom!

Burns Night is a celebration held on the 25th of January in honour of Scotland's famous poet, Robert Burns. We celebrate this Scottish evening with the story of Tam O'Shanter (originally told in a poem by Burns) who stays out late and meets a gang of witches on his way home.

Jimmy and Judith are sent on a mission to visit the Chinese Restaurant and bring back a feast to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The classic Russian fairy story of a Prince who goes in search of the mystical and wonderful firebird or yar-bird.

A wise story from India about two tiny birds who take on the full force of the mighty sea. 

Jake's best friend Birdy is away on an important mission. Meanwhile Jake's little sister has some friends over and they are playing with some pretend spells. They try to put a bad luck spell on Jake. He's not sure if the magic is real or not, but all too soon he starts to suffer from a spell of bad luck.

The mice who live in the café by the sea overhear that ghost pirates are coming to the café. Should they run away? Our Reluctant hero Jimmy mouse is sent to investigate.

Jimmy Mouse finds a payment card and the mice decide to pay for cheese in future - just like the humans do - and they are surprised when the humans are angry with them.

Jake wants three wishes - just like in a fairy tale. But although Birdy is no-ordinary bird, he is reluctant to grant Jake his wishes. You seek, real life isn't always so easy...

Can we really live without chocolate? This is the question that Jake has when his mother bans sweets and chocolate. If only you could grow it in the garden... well with a little birdy magic, perahaps anything is possible.

Three Mythical Stories about Lizards filled with ancient wisdom. Lizards. Mysterious, quick, and capable of extraordinary feats, like regenerating their tails. But what if I told you that these humble creatures also carry ancient wisdom? folklore, lizards are celebrated as symbols of transformation, wisdom, and resilience. The Gecko's Complaint: A Lesson of light from Malaysia The Lizard and the Sun: A Mexican Fable of Perseverance The Chameleon's Victory: A Madagascan Tale of Patience Check our our Lizard Wisdom video on YouTube - Storynory Channel.

The second part of our story, Envy, set on the island of Crete. In the first part best friends Emily and Heidi set out on a school trip to Crete. Heidi is studying ancient Greek at School and her friend Emily - well she's just along for the trip. But somehow it is Emily, not Heidi, who gets all the praise from their teacher for knowing all about Greek mythology and even some modern Greek words. And Heidi, well, she's feeling just a little bit envious.

When we left them, they were about to take part in an archeological dig on the site where some rich people want to build a villa.

Dedicated to Zoe and Cyrus ... listen to the end to hear about the stories they sent us.

And to support us, see the sidebar on the front page of https://Storynory.com Also leave nice comments in all good podcast apps!

And you can now subscribe to our audio via YouTube.

Emily and Heidi are best friends. We first met them in a story called Fear (about a phobia of dogs).  In this story, they are both on a school trip to sunny Greek island of Crete.  Heidi studies ancient Greek. Emily is just along for the trip - and yet Emily seems to receive all the teacher's praise for her knowledge of mythology.  Heidi starts to feel an unfamiliar emotion. She's not sure what it is, but it threatens their friendship.  Read by Jana. Written by Jana and Bertie. Dedicated to Julia in Romania who supports Storynory.

We tell the Greek Creation myth, including the Battle of the Titans, Prometheus steals fire from Zeus, and Pandora releases evils from her Jar. EPIC! Visit us at https://storynory.com for more stories! And get our audio on YouTube.

The old Theatre in Katie's town is reopening - and the first performance is a musical about a young witch. Katie's friend Isis is very keen to audition for the part - the only problem is that she can't sing or dance! Katie comes to her friend's aid with a little magic - and unexpected results.

The jungle is filled with the sound of chain saws. It turns out that the humans are building tracks through the jungle. What is this all about? The monkey the bear rush to find out. Sponsored by CrunchLabs. https://crunchlabs.com/story

We drop by to tell you about a podcast by our friends at kids Stories, Science and Secrets. We've known the creators for years and years, and we've long carried their adventures about a dog called Rockford on our website. Their audio has a lot in common with ours, and we are fans, and so are many of our listeners.. Now they have a new podcast called Kids Stories, Science and Secrets and our friend, Matthew Sweetapple is here to explain more - and there's a special excerpt.  https://www.rockfordsrockopera.com/lost-on-infinity/

Birdy is a rather special crow who can talk. He's befriended a boy called Jake, who thinks that Birdy is unique - a true one off - until, well listen to the story and find out. And at the end of the story we have a bonus, an excerpt from our friends at the Stories, Science and Secrets podcast.

Ever heard someone called 'narcissistic'? It means they love themselves a LOT. The word comes from an ancient Greek boy named Narcissus who was so into his own reflection, he forgot about everything else! Imagine missing out on life because you're too busy looking in a mirror. A water nymph named Echo tried to say "hi" to him but he was too in love with his own reflection to notice her. You could say Narcissus invented the Selfie! Remember, it's great to feel good about yourself, but don't forget the world around you! Read by Natasha Adapted by Bertie (from Ovid)

Introducing Stories, Science & Secrets, a podcast by our friends Elaine and Matthew Sweetapple along with the comedian Steve Punt. Our fellow Brits! Follow a dog called Rockford and a boy called Moog on a fantastic adventure and learn all sorts of stuff that is too interesting for school!

A cat is in love with a human princess. But he takes no notice of her ... until the cat transforms into a human princess. Based on fable by Aesop. Do you think there will be a fairy tale ending? Read by Jana. Written by Bertie for Storynory.

Our cheeky monkey is bothered by an itchy flea. The flea claims he's "just like the monkey". What do you think? Read by Jana and written by Bertie for Storynory.

Katie is learning Latin - the language of the ancient Romans - at school. What's the point of this deadbeat language? Her mother says there is every point to learning Latin, especially if you are a witch who needs to understand magic. And as Katie is not making much progress, her mother finds her a Latin Tutor - a highly unusual one as it turns out. Read by Natasha.  Written by Bertie. 

Happy Chinese Year of Dragon 2024! All over the world, including London's Chinatown, you can see Chinese processions with banging drums, clashing symbols and a dragon dance performance. This story celebrates the rain-making qualities of Chinese Dragons

We talk to our friends Matthew and Elaine Sweetapple, the Creators of Lost on Infinity by Rockford's Rock Opera, and we play the first episode of their story which now features in their Stories, Science and Secrets Podcast. The musical story of a dog called Rockford who travels to an island of extinct animals has been on our website for many years and is very popular.  The new podcast reveals the science secrets behind the story.

A ghost is playing pranks on the hotel - some of them are funny but the trouble is, they are getting the hotel a bad name.   Who is the mischievous ghost?

Parents might like our story of Cleopatra (for 16+) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM-VD9pl4bA

Happy Christmas! We celebrate with a story from the Jungle where Christmas is coming to the animals. Our tricky Monkey friend goes up the Big Mountain and meets a Christmas Elf. All the best to you from Storynory! What we want for Christmas? Leave us a nice comment somewhere please!

Jake is hoping to go to Lapland for Christmas to see Santa, but it all depends on some precarious family finances. The answer lies in a series of puzzles. Can Jake's best friend Birdy, a smart crow, help him and his family to go on this special treat?

This is a story about an old friend of ours. His name is Birdy. He's a crow who has lived for hundreds of years and known all sorts of important people, including kings and queens. In this story Birdy tells Jake that dinosaurs are not necessarily extinct. Birds, for example, are closely related to dinosaurs, and it's just possible that he and his sister might meet one or two....

Also, check out Kids Stories, Science and Secrets by Rockford's Rock Opera.

A story from India's Panchatantra about a hungry Jackal who is dipped in blue dye. The animals in the jungle think that he is a god... and he takes full advantage of the situation. Also look out for our friends' podcast, Kids' Stories, Science and Secrets!w