To Become A Ninja

Three students prepare for their final test to become ninjas!
Written especially for this podcast by Alice. 

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Speaker 1: Hey, yea hello. My name's Josephine and this is the

Animal Tales podcast, where you suggest the animals featured in

our stories. There are new tales to enjoy every Monday

and Wednesday, with a third story for Premium members every Friday.

To learn more about Animal Tales, please visit our new

website at Animaltales dot uk. Tristan is from Phoenix, Arizona

in the USA, and he would like a story featuring

a praying mantis, a fox, an eagle, and a tiger.

You can learn more about these creatures in the animal

facts after the story. Okay, are you ready? That's good,

then I'll begin to become a ninja. In a secret

training base half way up a mountain, a fox, an eagle,

and a tiger were meditating. Each of them breathed in

time with their teacher, a praying mantis known as sense Mel.

The only sounds were their breathing and a distant chirping

of a bird. That is until Tristan the tiger got bored.

Do we have to do this again? The tiger wind?

The final test is tomorrow. I'd rather be training for

that than meditating. Sensey Mel opened one eye. If you

three wish to become true ninjas, you must learn to

be patient, said the praying mantis. Meditation is a helpful tool.

I'm too excited to meditate. Tomorrow we become ninjas, said

Emilio the Eagle. He was always wanting to move on

to the next thing. Only if you pass the test,

sense mel corrected him. What about you, Sawyer, do you

also wish to stop your meditating? Sawyer the Fox cast

a nervous glance at the other animals. I really don't mind,

he said, whatever everyone else wants, Sawyer, You need to

learn confidence in your own opinions, said the praying mantis,

shaking her head. Very well, do your extra training if

you must. I shall expect you all here at dawn

to morrow. The three animals nodded in agreement, as the

praying mantis got up and moved away. Immediately, Tristan and

Emilio began sparring. Sawyer though just watched. I don't need meditation,

Tristan grunted, swiping a striped paw at his friend. I'm

by far the strongest student, and that's all I need

to pass. I agree, said Amelio, flapping his wings to

dodge Tristan's strike. I'm the fastest ninja ever. I'll pass

with flying colors. But I like meditation, said Sawyer. Part

of being a ninja is knowing how to watch and wait. Yeah,

but that's all you do, said Tristan. You never seem

to want to fight properly. How can you be a

ninja if you avoid fighting? It was true, Sawyer wasn't

all that keen on fighting. After all, the fox was

much smaller than the other two students. It doesn't matter,

said Amelio as he brushed down a feather. Either we

passed the test or we don't. But just think this time,

to morrow we could all be real ninjas. The animals

were ready for whatever to morrow would bring. The following morning,

the three students appeared in the courtyard just as the

first rays of sun crept over the horizon. There they

waited and waited and waited. Where's sense Mel, Tristan finally asked. Concerned,

they went searching for their teacher, but all they found

in sense Mel's room was a rolled up note. Sawyer

picked it up and unrolled it, only to gasp with shock.

Sense Mel has been kidnapped. Who would do such a thing?

Amelio demanded. All it says is that she's been taken

to the Silent Fortress, read Sawyer. They'll only release her

if we pay them one thousand gold coins. Where could

we get that kind of money, fretted Tristan. It's impossible,

Amelio stated plainly. Then we've no choice, said Sawyer. We'll

have to rescue her ourselves without hesitation. The other two

students agreed. The Silent Fortress was in a forest to

the west. The student ninjas were forced to stop before

its high stone walls to consider what to do. I

say we go straight through the front door, said Tristan.

The Tiger, fight our way in, grab sense Mel, and

muscle our way right back out again. No no, said Amelio.

The Eagle. I say we go high, come from above

as a surpriser tack. They'll never see it coming. Or

we just sneak in, suggested Sawyer. The fox stick to

the shadows and find Sensey without being detected. That way,

there's less chance of us being caught. Everyone thought their

own plan was best. All right, new plan, suggested Tristan.

We each do our own plans. We may not get

to take our test to day, but here's an opportunity

to see which of us is the best. I like

that idea, grinned Emilio. Excited, the two larger animals charged off.

The tiger barreled into the front door, knocking it from

its hinges. Meanwhile, the eagle soared up and over the wall.

Left alone, the fox sighed he was going to have

to find his own way in Tristan, the tiger thrashed

and punched and pounded. He only began to loose steam

when he realized nobody was attacking him. There were no

guards on duty, no signs of life whatsoever. More calmly,

Tristan searched the fortress until he arrived at a huge

wooden door. He hauled on the handle, dragging it open

just far enough to slip inside. He pulled it too

behind him. He was in an enormous room, with light

leaking through barred windows high above. The room itself was

criss crossed by ropes, each one attached to a bell. Curious,

Tristan plucked lightly on the nearest rope. A bell dinged,

and something in the darkness let out a huff. Tristan's

eyes grew wide as he made out the shape of

a slumbering dragon. Not wanting to be eaten, Tristan turned

for the door, but there was no handle on this side.

Desperately looking around, the tiger spotted a second open door

on the far side of the room. Tristan was used

to fighting his way out of trouble, jumping in blindly

without a care, but if he touched a single rope,

the ringing bell would awaken the sleeping dragon. He had

no choice. He'd have to go slow, slowly, and delicately.

The tiger picked his way through the ropes, stepping over

and ducking under. He barely made a sound as he

progressed with care towards the exit. This was going to

tell take a long time. Elsewhere, Emilio the Eagle had

gained entry to the fortress via a gap in the roof.

His surprise attack had turned into a surprise for him,

as he too found the fortress empty. He whizzed along

hallways and through rooms, eventually arriving in a high ceilinged library.

It was full of books, but strangely, the shelves were empty.

The books were in piles on the floor, but the

eagle had no time to look at books. He flew

straight through heading for a far door. It was locked

with a device that had a simple word written on it,

order order. What does order mean? Demanded Emilio. Clearly something

important was beyond that door, possibly sense mel He needed

to get in there, and that meant making sense of

this word? Was it an instruction? His eyes were drawn

to the empty shelves the books, said the eagle, understanding,

at last, I have to put them on the shelves.

He began to do this in his usual hurried way,

keen to get it over quickly, until he saw the

tiny numbers on each spine. Oh no, he sighed, order,

I need to put them all in the right order.

This will take forever. He got started. Sawyer the Fox

had entered the fortress by scaling a dark wall, then

slipping through a high window. The room beneath him was

an indoor garden. Several large boulders were on display, with

beautifully raked stones encircling them, creating ripples and patterns. There

were no ledges higher up, so to cross he'd have

to do it in the open on the stones. Taking

a deep breath, Sawyer lowered himself down, only for one

of the boulders to shake and shift to Sawyer's surprise,

it uncurled, revealing a head with two blazing red eyes,

two arms, and two legs. A gollumn, whispered Sawyer, and

it wasn't the only one. The other boulders were uncurling too.

Sawyer wasn't as strong as Tristan nor as fast as Emilio,

but he was smart and cunning. He also knew he

could never defeat a gollumn. He may not be keen

on fighting, but there were other ways to get through this,

so he jumped. The fox landed between the shoulders of

the closest gollumn. The creature of Stone, offended at being

used as a stepping stone, clawed at him with huge hands,

but Sawyer had already jumped again. From gollum to gollumn,

Sawyer jumped, landing squarely on their rough backs before jumping away.

The gollums thrashed and swatted, but none of them were

able to catch the quick little fox. But the final gollumn,

the one closest to the way out, had already raised

its hands, planning to catch the fox. As he leapt.

Sawyer was forced to retreat. Fortunately, the gollumns were neither

quick nor clever. He just needed to keep moving and

avoid their grasping hands. Back and forth he went, zigzagging

across the lumbering rockmen. There was no sneaking around for

Sawyer here, as he awaited the perfect opportunity. When it came,

he moved like lightning, flicking across their backs and lunging

through the outstretched arms of the final gollumn. He was through,

and at the door, he yanked it open, crashing into

a courtyard beyond. On his left, Tristan was tiptoeing through

another door, while on his right Amelio staggered through another,

looking tired. They had all made it to the middle

of the fortress at the exact same time. Well done,

my students, said the voice of sense Mel. You all

made it. The praying Mantis was sat on the branch

of a cherry blossom tree at the core yard center.

Sense Mel. Sawyer cried the kidnappers quick, We have to

get you out of here. Tristan urged, no need, said

the praying Mantis. I am in no danger. It was

just a story to lure you all here. But why,

Amelio asked, weary from his book, ordering this was your

final test, sense Mel replied, and I'm proud to say

you have all passed. But I didn't get to show

off my strength, Tristan said. I already know that you're strong,

and that Amelio is fast, and that Sawyer can be sneaky,

said sense Mel, But I needed to see if each

of you had the other skills required to be a ninja. Ah.

I get it now, said the tiger. Well done, Tristan nodded,

sense Mel. You proved that you could be quiet and

careful should the need arise. Thank you, sense Mel, said

the proud tiger. And Emilio, you showed me that you

could slow down and take your time, said the mantis.

Thank you, sense Mel, said the eagle with a bow.

And you, Sawyer, you were able to come out of

the shadows and face your opponent's head on, smiled the insect.

Thank you, sense Mel, said the happy fox. The test

was past, said their teacher, and all three of you

are now officially ninjaus. Tristan began to laugh with relief,

while Amelio lay on the floor exhausted by his trial. Sawyer, though,

gazed up at the sky, enjoying the feel of the

warm sunshine. They'd done it. Come now, said sense Mel

as she crossed the courtyard. Let us head home and celebrate.

I am proud of you all. In that case, last

one homes a rotten egg, screamed Emelio as he took

to the sky. You're on, shouted Tristan, hot on his tail.

As he climbed the fortress walls, sawyer sense Mel realized

had slipped away without her even noticing the praying mantis,

shook her head, smiled, then bounded after them. Animal fact,

a praying mantis has more eyes than you might think.

In between their two large compound eyes, they have a

triangle of three smaller eyes called osselai. A fox has

amazing hearing. Their large ears allow them to detect the

sound of movement and zero in on their prey. There

are sixty eight different species of eagle, although not all

of them are in fact eagles. We humans have added

many large birds of prey to the group based on

what they look like, even when they aren't actually related.

Tigers are extremely endangered, and we've lost ninety three percent

of the population in the last one hundred years. Despite

their size, they're very much in need of our help.

Thank you for your great suggestions. Tristan We hope you

enjoyed the story, and thank you to all of you

across the world for listening to it. Us next time

for another great animal tale. Good Bye.