Lemonada.
Hey, Story Pirates podcast listeners, Lee here.
Welcome back to Story Pirates Summer.
It's time for a Summer Story Challenge leaderboard update.
But first, big news today, because maybe you were wondering, how long does the Summer Story Challenge last?
When will it end?
When can I send my final stories in?
Today, my friends, I have those answers.
The winners of the Summer Story Challenge will be officially announced on Thursday, August 20th.
Which means that kids need to get their final stories in by end of day, Tuesday, August 18th.
Again, contest ends, winners are announced Thursday, August 20th, and final stories have to be in by Tuesday, August 18th at the end of day.
So yes!
There is still a lot of time to write some amazing stories.
Let's get into today's leaderboard.
And this week, let's count down backwards for drama's sake.
What say you?
I say yes.
At number 10 on the individual leaderboard, we have six year old Acadia in Massachusetts.
At number 9, we have a tie between 10-year-old Adrian in Georgia, Huxley, a 9-year-old in California, and 12-year-old Nora in Massachusetts.
At number 8, we have a tie between Alessandro, an 8-year-old in Spain, and Kurt, an 11-year-old in Pennsylvania.
At number seven, we have Ziva, a five-year-old in Arizona.
At number six, we have seven-year-old Maya in Colorado.
At number five, six-year-old Raffy in Rhode Island.
At number four, ten-year-old Brooklyn in Pennsylvania.
At number three, eight-year-old Gus in Canada.
And at number two this week, 11-year-old Tabitha in Arizona.
And finally, at number one this week on the individual leaderboard, we have 10-year-old Ethan in Washington.
Congratulations, everybody.
You did it.
On the group leaderboard at number five, we have Ari and Judah in New York.
Robin and Jude in Connecticut.
Tied.
At number four, we've got Sawyer, Brady, and Landon in New Jersey.
At number three, Zach, Ben, Vivi, and Violet in Canada.
At number two, Theo, Richard, and Elliot in Indiana.
And of course, at number one, good old Zev and Ruben in Oregon.
Remember that even if you don't make the leaderboard, everyone who participates gets a certificate at the end of the summer and story love.
Telling you how much we loved your stories.
We want to read as many as we can.
And come August 20th, we'll find out who the final winners are.
Check out the leaderboard for yourself at storypirates.com slash leaderboard.
Grownups, you can find links to the leaderboard and find out how to get your kids involved in the Summer Story Challenge in the show notes for today's episode.
On to today's episode after a few more words for the grownups.
It just filled me up with joy.
My mom loves the jokes.
Yo, yo, my joke.
It made me very proud about my writing.
Yeah, we're just getting, like, really deep into, like, I want to say philosophies.
I definitely think I can be more creative now.
I'm a champion!
The Story Pirates.
Okay, everybody, here's what's up.
A little while ago, we invited all of our Creator Club members to join me and Peter on a Zoom to write a story together.
Over 100 different kids from all over the world showed up, and together...
We wrote an incredible story about how the Eiffel Tower, you know, that big metal tower thing in Paris, France, how the Eiffel Tower was invented.
I mean, invited.
I mean, what?
So yeah, this is a true history story that's totally fake and very weird.
And P.S., grown-ups, we're doing this whole thing again on a Zoom with me and Peter in October, and it's not too late to get your kids involved.
We are going to write a brand new story together and then adapt it for the podcast, just like in today's episode.
Information on how to join us is in the episode description for today's episode, so grown-ups, check it out and join us.
And now, without further ado, we present to you a story by the Story Pirates Creator Club, How the Eiffel Tower Was Invited.
Hello, and welcome to the History Channel.
I'm your host, Furman St. James Ironsum-da-sum-sum-sum.
The place, Paris, France.
The thing, the Eiffel Tower.
Today, it is a staple of the Parisian skyline.
But where exactly did the Eiffel Tower come from?
Nobody knows.
Or at least my intern Kyle doesn't, which leaves me no choice but to do what any good historian would do, speculate.
Today we go back in time to when the Eiffel Tower was first invented.
Or should I say invited?
Let's go back to the Ice Age to a lonely saber-toothed tiger named Dan.
Good morning, Dan.
Good morning, Seth the Giant Sloth.
Say, Dan, I'm moving this weekend.
I was wondering if you might be able to help me.
Why would you want to move away from Paris, France?
This is the Ice Age, Dan.
Paris isn't a city.
It's a harsh, frozen, treeless tundra.
Look at the horizon.
What do you see?
I see possibilities, Seth.
Possibilities.
Sure.
So, can you help me move or what?
Sorry, I can't.
Because of my condition.
Whoa, was that a...
It was nothing.
If my sister Cheryl were still around, I bet she could help you.
She was always the stronger one.
Oh, yeah, Cheryl.
Where is she?
Seth, she went missing months ago, remember?
Right, sorry.
Well, I gotta start packing.
Thanks for nothing.
Good luck, Seth.
See you, buddy.
I really am all alone.
As much as I love this place, this empty skyline isn't exactly inspirational.
But what could possibly fill the void in that?
I'm having a vision!
I see you in my mind.
Who are you?
I am the Eiffel Tower Dane.
I am a steel structure whose spire reaches over 1,000 feet into the heavens.
But alas, I don't yet exist.
You haven't been invented yet?
Or even invited.
Invited to what?
Existence.
That's a shame.
You would be the perfect thing to cut through this lonely Parisian skyline, Eiffel Tower.
Would you accept my invitation to exist?
I accept.
Now build me then.
Build me.
But how?
It's gone.
What am I going to do?
I'm too weak even to lift moving boxes, let alone steel beams because of my condition.
Excuse me.
Oh, Cheryl, you would know what to do.
That's it.
I have to go on a quest to find my sister.
Here I go.
So Dan went looking for a clue.
He asked everyone that he knew.
If they had seen any sign of his sister, here's how they replied.
A woolly mammoth said, no, I have not.
A woolly rhino said, also not me.
A dire wolf said, no, I
A cave bear said, Can't say that I have!
A cave hyena said, Don't make me laugh!
Some cavemen said, Sheesh!
Humans, am I right?
And then, Dan gave up.
I give up.
Oh, how I wish someone would send me a sign.
Huh?
This isn't a sign.
It's the Seine.
The frozen Seine River, that is.
That's the one place I haven't looked.
Underwater!
Who is that?
Is that?
A mermaid.
You betcha.
Mermaid?
Have you heard tell of my sister's whereabouts?
I've seen your sister.
She's upstream in the town of Bocephusburg.
Of course.
The only other city I know of.
Where is she exactly?
She gave me very specific directions for when you get to the gates, and I shall tell them to you in song.
I've been told mermaid songs are the most beautiful.
Oh, they are.
Here I go.
Go to the left and go to the right side.
Then back to your left and see me shine.
Thank you.
Uh, okay.
Thanks.
Well, how about a tip?
Maybe look into some singing lessons?
Hey, that is a good tip.
Goodbye.
And now to Bo Seafistberg.
Here I am at the gates of Bocephusburg.
Once I'm inside, I'll follow the mermaid's directions and find my sis- Not so fast, saber-toothed tiger.
Who said that?
Down here, hotshot.
It's Tiny Man, the Lemming Mayor.
So you heard of me, eh?
Of course I have.
Everyone knows the evil mayor, Bocephusburg.
Evil?
Then what did I do?
Everyone says that you love to fight, and that's why you made all the taxes way too high.
Well, maybe I did.
I'm not here to fight you, tiny man.
I know all about your silly quest and your little Eiffel Tower vision.
How?
That presumptuous Eiffel Tower vision came to me first.
And had the gall to ask for an invitation to exist right here.
You had a chance to build it here and you said no?
Do you know how much that would cost?
I didn't raise all the taxes to spend money.
I did it to keep her.
Money.
Then let me find my sister so we can go build the tower in Paris without your precious money.
Why do you think I kidnapped your sister in the first place?
What?
I mean, uh...
Guards!
Reveal the wall!
It's a giant wall.
Actually, it's incredibly long, but very, very short.
Why don't I just step over it?
The wall is made of cheese booby traps.
Fire the cheese!
I'm getting hit by cheese.
This is too much for me.
I'm going to go hide behind this glacier.
And don't come
I've let you down, Cheryl.
I'm sorry I'm not as strong as you.
But you are.
Vision of the Eiffel Tower?
You can't give up now.
I'm too weak to...
Excuse me.
The power you seek has been inside you.
It's time to let it out, Dan.
You're right.
Here I go.
Hey, tiny man.
Had enough, eh?
I'll accept your surrender under one condition.
I think you've got it backwards.
I'm the one with a condition.
Firebrand!
What?
You melted all the ice.
The ice age is over.
And look at all this cheese on the ground.
What age are we in now?
The cheese age.
Free cheese.
That felt good.
Ha!
I guess the cheese age is over now, too.
That was a short one.
Dad!
Wait!
Where are you going?
I'm going left, then right, then back to left, where I'll see me shine.
Cheryl!
You're here!
And look at all those shiny tools.
Tools to build an awful tower.
Shall we get to it?
Let's do it.
Oh, no.
You won.
I'm so embarrassed.
And so, Dan and Cheryl returned to Paris, and with all the snow melted, they found a grassy spot near the banks of the Seine River where they built the mighty tower.
For thousands of years, the tower has stood, cutting through the skyline, lonely no more.
All because Dan was brave enough to extend an invitation.
From all of us here at the History Channel, I'm Thurman St. James.
I would say that... Hey, who are you?
You can't be in here.
Uh-oh.
The end!
We'll be right back after a few words for the grown-ups.
Welcome back to Story Love, where we take stories written by kids and we read them and we talk about them.
And the people doing that are myself and this other guy.
What's your name again?
My name is Peter.
Wonderful to meet you.
Let's get into our first story, Peter.
This first one was written by a seven-year-old from Colorado named Scout and it's called The Haunted Bean Can.
Ooh.
Once upon a time, a little girl was walking and she saw a really cool bean can.
She was like, why are there beans next to a tree?
And why is there a dog sniffing the beans?
FYI, the dog was her dog.
So she grabbed the bean can and she opened the bean can and there were at least 15 moldy beans and a ghost in it.
She put the lid back on the can and ran to a lawyer.
She opened the can and let the ghost fly out.
She screamed at the lawyer.
I want to sue that ghost right there.
Then the ghost got sued.
The end.
That was such an emotional journey.
Really unexpected twists and turns there.
I'm not sure I've heard you laugh that much at a story in a long time.
You know what, weirdly, to me, the strangest part of that whole story...
Is that she's walking her dog and then she says, why is there a dog sniffing the beans?
Would you ever refer to your dog as a dog?
Why are there beans next to a tree?
And why is there a dog sniffing the beans?
Yeah.
Head straight to the lawyer.
You know, anyone that goes straight to the lawyer when they have a problem is maybe not the best citizen.
Yeah.
And didn't even say, what's your story, ghost?
Like, what was the, what wrong did this ghost do to this girl?
Well, that's a great point, Peter.
Are you familiar with the concept of standing in a legal setting?
Standing?
Standing, I believe, is called when you can demonstrate that you have been harmed by something and therefore you have standing to sue.
So you can't sue someone for something that didn't harm you or affect you in any way.
Right.
So what did this can of beans... Is she offended by the can of beans and trying to blame the ghost?
Or is she offended by the ghost?
It's really hard to tell.
I mean, there's many details she could have been offended by.
The fact that the beans are next to a tree and that her dog sniffed them.
The fact that the beans next to the tree made her forget that she had a dog.
Oh, yeah.
The fact that the bean can was open and the beans are moldy in that.
Oh, you know what?
I have a little hint maybe in this story.
Okay.
Is that she certainly feels betrayed because she says she was walking, she saw a really cool bean can.
Oh, yes.
So she's excited.
Yes.
Why is there a bean next to this tree and a dog sniffing the bean?
So she grabbed it and opened up and there were at least 15 moldy beans and a ghost in it.
Okay, so she thinks the ghost is responsible for making the beans moldy.
Yeah, and maybe he's going to make her dog sick.
Yep, yep.
Yeah, you can't just leave moldy beans out next to a tree for dogs to sniff and get sick.
Okay, she has a little bit more of a case now.
But we never ask questions.
Is this the ghost's fault?
Did this ghost, was it a person whose demise came about because of these beans?
I'm not sure that there's any hard physical evidence that the ghost caused the beans to get moldy.
Yeah.
And also this implies that this is an itty-bitty ghost.
Yeah, really small.
Maybe it's a mouse ghost.
This is an awesome, awesome story.
I love every part of it.
And I want to know what happens next.
Scout, incredible idea.
Thanks for sparking our imaginations.
On to our next one.
Peter, would you like to read it for us?
Yes, I would.
This next story comes to us from a seven-year-old from Hawaii named Kaimana.
And Kaimana's story is called The Best Fingernail Stew.
One day on the Amazon River, a mom and a son were eating and the son was getting his nails clipped
And the son's nail flew into a bowl of stew and the mom served it and everyone praised it for its taste and said, what is it made of?
It's made of fingernails.
Then everyone was disgusted.
Then everyone turned into a pickle.
Then everyone ate the pickle people.
Then a doctor came and brought the antidote called escape the pickle.
The end.
Again, so many great details here.
Wow.
Wow.
Yeah.
I'm assuming the doctor was too late with the antidote.
Do you agree?
Well, I don't know.
That's what I was wondering.
The doctor came and brought an antidote, but the only people who need curing are the people that were turned into pickles.
And who were eaten already.
And they've been eaten already.
Yes.
So I would assume escape the pickle antidote only works if you have not already been eaten and chewed up.
Oh, so you're saying they showed up and brought an antidote, but were not able to use it.
Yeah, the doctor, he walks in right at the very end.
He doesn't realize what just happened.
He's like, hey, anyone need a pickle antidote?
And the other people are like, those pickles were people?
Yeah, they slapped their foreheads.
And they're like, if you could have only been here a couple minutes earlier.
Actually, you know, these are some of my favorite things.
The head slap, the collar pull with the goo.
But also, in this case, to go, did anyone see any pickled people?
And they go, those are pickled people?
Yeah.
And then they go, check, please.
Check, please.
Or they step back into the hedge.
I was never here.
I also love the smoke bomb, but then doesn't disappear.
Just goes, sorry, I'm going to leave.
That's a good one, too.
I do agree, though, that I would not want fingernail stew.
Yes, no.
No, thank you.
However, it does seem like everybody liked it.
They praised it for its taste before they knew what was in it.
Here's something we have not discussed.
Everyone thought it was delicious.
Then they found out what it was and they were disgusted.
And then everyone turned into a pickle, which says to me...
There's a very specific magical combination of things that turns you into a pickle.
One, you have to eat fingernail stew, but not just that.
You then have to know that it's fingernail stew, and then you have to be disgusted with that idea.
That combination magically turns you into a pickle.
Yeah, I mean, that could be true.
Or the sun could have had this ulterior motive the whole time and was making this sort of like, knew that if you added fingernails to the stew, people would like it.
And then before they knew it, they would turn into pickles.
Also, I'm really intrigued by there's a boat going down the Amazon River with a kitchen or an open flame to make stew.
Sure.
Yeah, yeah.
All those boats going down the Amazon River, they have like a little canopy, you know, like under that.
You have to you can't just go up onto the shore whenever you want in the Amazon.
You know, there's snakes out there.
Piranha.
You know, and I also just realized that if they're on a boat and they're eating the stew, then they all turn into pickles.
Do you think maybe then the boat just drifted off and hit the shore and then some random people came by and were like, oh, there's a boat.
Oh, pickles.
And ate it off of a stranded boat?
Are you saying who are the people that ate the pickles?
Yeah.
And then a doctor randomly came by.
And he had an antidote called escape the pickle.
But he didn't... At that point, he doesn't know that anyone needs it.
He's just walking by and he's like...
So the boat hits the shore.
Random people find it.
Eat the pickles.
Then a doctor comes by and he goes...
Hey, does anybody want to buy some escape the pickle potion?
And they're like, oh no, we're regular people.
All right, goodbye.
I think that there are just more people on the boat, right?
Like there's people above deck, there's people below deck.
The doctor's probably taking a nap down below deck.
You know, like, there's some guy, like a character you play, who also, he just wakes up and sees the pickles.
He didn't eat the stew, right?
He just wakes up, he's like, oh, this looks good.
Oh, great, someone put out lunch.
Makes sense.
Amazing story, Kaimana.
Thank you so much for sending it in.
All right, we got one more here, Peter.
I'm going to read it for you.
All right.
It's from Luella, a nine-year-old in Maryland, and it's called...
Chicken in a top hat.
Do you ever find random things in your house that you don't remember being there?
Do you wonder where they came from?
They're from chicken in a top hat.
Song.
Chicken in a top hat.
Oh, it's that chicky wicky wicky wicky wicky wicky wicky wicky wicky wicky in a top hat.
Chicken in a top hat.
The end.
This, I love a chicken story.
We get a lot of chicken stories, and for good reason.
Chickens are the funniest animal.
That's true, especially a chicken in a top hat.
I have a question for you about the end here, Peter.
Yes.
Do you have a theory on what the wiki wiki wiki in the song is?
Because I do.
Chiki wiki wiki wiki.
It's like a turntable scratching.
Yes.
Oh, it's that cheeky.
In a top hat.
Or maybe it's an unintentional record skip.
So it's chicken in a top hat.
Oh, it's chicken wicky, wicky, wicky, wicky, wicky, wicky, wicky, wicky, wicky, wicky, wicky in a top hat.
Admirable job trying to vocally represent a skip on a record.
I give myself a C.
Yeah, well, Luella, we obviously just need to know more about this chicken in a top hat.
Why is the chicken in the top hat leaving things in your house that don't belong there?
Where does the chicken get them?
What's going on with this chicken in a top hat?
You know, there's a lot of questions to be answered, but it is guiding my imagination in some pretty fun directions.
I'm imagining the kinds of things a chicken in a top hat would leave around, and they're all sort of
Turn of the century, like fancy stuff.
Like spats and a monocle.
So you think it's like the chicken's own items?
Yeah, yeah.
Because it's a chicken at the top, very fancy, but it's still a chicken.
So the chicken's dropping stuff.
But every day the chicken gets...
Goes to the tailor and gets a fancy outfit.
And then as he walks around, he keeps dropping his pocket watch.
A silk vest.
Exactly.
A cummerbund.
Exactly right.
A cravat.
See, I was thinking more like the chicken in the top hat was like...
Sort of, you know, causing problems by leaving, like, truly random things.
Like, the scene would always start with someone in, like, a normal domestic situation.
You know, they're like eating breakfast, getting ready for school, and then they reach for their spoon to eat their cereal, but instead of a spoon, it's a cucumber.
And they're like, what?
How did this get here?
And then the camera, like, whips over to the side, and the chicken in the top hat just, like, winks, and the song plays.
It goes...
They go to get in their car, and it's a tugboat.
That's right.
So they get increasingly random and weird.
Yeah, the chicken in the top hat is a mischief maker, is a trickster.
A gentleman mischief maker.
That's right.
Those are the best kinds of mischief makers.
You don't want, like, a messy mischief maker.
You want a gentleman.
Picturing this chicken having like a pencil mustache.
Where's the mustache go?
Over the beak?
Yeah, it's gotta.
Yeah.
Although, you know what?
That kind of mustache is hard for a beak.
It might have to be a classic twirly, twirly Monopoly man mustache.
I liked what you were saying about a monocle, too.
I think a chicken in a top hat with a monocle could be great.
And who knows?
Maybe this chicken's related to chicken on a motorcycle.
Chicken on a motorcycle.
Chicken on a motorcycle.
Hey, hey.
Amazing work, Luella.
Thank you so much for putting that image into our heads.
We will never, ever be able to escape the chicken in a top hat.
To read all of these stories, just head to storypirates.com.
Bye.
Bye.
And Grown Up Story Love isn't just the name of a segment on our show.
It's also the name of our inquiry.
Or our nonprofit arm, Story Pirates Changemakers.
Check the show notes for links.
That's it for today's bonus episode.
Grownups, don't forget to check the show notes for today's episode to find out how your kids can join us for our next Create a Story session in October.
We'll be back next week with more episodes.
Until then, stay creative and stay kind.
Bye!
The Story Pirates Podcast is a production of Story Pirates Studios.
Executive produced by Lee Overtree and Benjamin Salka.
Co-executive producers are Holly and Rizwan Kassim, Manu Lissi, Aaron Moore, Murray Sampson, Jack Schaefer, and Jacob Vaughn.
This episode was produced by Sam Baer, Peter McNerney, Lee Overtree, and Brittany Stahl.
Recording, sound design, and mixing by Sam Baer at The Relic Room in New York City.
Additional production by Brett Toobin.
Theme song by Bobby Lord.
Musical scoring by Eric Gerson and Jack Mitchell.
Our head writer is Peter McNerney.
Staff writers are Megan O'Neill and Alexis Simpson.
How the Eiffel Tower was invited was adapted by Peter McNerney.
Episode artwork by Camilla Franklin.
This episode features performances by Nat D'Amico, Sasha Diamond, Al King, Sherry Lane, Blake Merriman, Peter McNerney, and Brittany Stahl.
Dear Eiffel Tower, you are cordially invited to a summer barbecue on the Story Pirate ship.
We will have all sorts of French foods on the grill that you will enjoy.
You know, real French foods like sausage, spicy sausage.
Grilled pork chops, steak, and also cheese.
Yes, I will cook cheese on the grill just for you because that is what French people love to do.
I hope that you can make it.
Sincerely, Lee from the Story Pirates.
